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The article discusses the importance of investing in the protection of diverse wildlife communities in African tropical forests, rather than focusing solely on a single species. While the authors of a previous study argue for prioritizing the protection of red colobus monkeys, the authors of this correspondence suggest that attention should be given to a range of taxa and ecological assemblages. They emphasize the need for a more balanced approach to conservation that considers the complexity of biodiversity and ecological functions. The authors also reference other studies that support their perspective and advocate for a more integrative approach to conservation priorities. [Extracted from the article]

Will this paper lead to any measurable impact on biodiversity conservation? In this essay, we examine the relevance of scientific publications for conservation outcomes and propose specific recommendations to encourage procedural reforms in academia. While many conservation scientists dedicate significant effort to making their research accessible and actionable for conservation outcomes, academia often doesn't reward these efforts and can even inhibit them. Universities increasingly promote engaged scholarship, yet few institutions have established formal mechanisms that promote and reward such work. We suggest a new framework to support engaged universities and propose three recommendations for research institutions. Our recommendations are based on 71 interviews of conservation scientists producing actionable science. We recommend that universities: (1) actively support faculty engagement in boundary-spanning work, providing an interface between research and society; (2) meaningfully reward faculty work that makes a genuine impact on efforts to solve real-world problems, beyond academic publications; and (3) use appropriate metrics to recognize the value of impacts on society and contributions to practical conservation outcomes. Universities supporting engaged scholarship have the potential to excel in attracting talented scholars, securing funding, and fostering impactful change. • We provide specific recommendations to reform academia for conservation scientists. • Our recommendations are based on 71 interviews with engaged conservation scientists. • Academic institutions should fully embrace their role of boundary organizations. • Academic institutions should incentivize faculty to tackle real-world challenges. • Scientists' evaluation metrics should reflect real conservation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Carnivores, often identified as keystone species, can influence prey and subordinate carnivores through density‐ and behaviourally mediated pathways. Although the magnitude of their impacts remains debated, carnivores may trigger successional direct and indirect ecological effects on lower trophic levels in specific contexts, commonly known as trophic cascades. Felids, as ambush predators, have great potential to impact food webs. Yet, their influence on ecosystem dynamics remains understudied. This global comprehensive literature review aimed to assess evidence for felids' ecological roles in trophic cascades across both natural and human‐dominated ecosystems. We found 61 publications that studied the influence of 18 felid species in trophic cascades. Research exhibited taxonomic and geographic biases, favouring big cats, temperate regions and biomes, as well as tropical moist forests in Central and South America. Of the studies, 23% (n = 14) were experimental, while 77% were observational or correlative. Among the latter, 60% tested at least one alternative hypothesis and 47% examined bottom‐up processes. Despite varying levels of inference, 80% of studies provide information consistent with trophic cascades involving felids. Their examination confirmed wild cats' ability to induce density‐ and behaviourally mediated trophic cascades, thereby influencing critical biotic and abiotic processes, including mesopredator control, functional diversity maintenance, and carbon storage. The magnitude of these effects may be altered in human‐dominated landscapes, although current research effort remains too limited to draw conclusions. In conclusion, felids may act as drivers of ecosystem change, and acknowledging their ecological roles can aid in promoting their conservation. However, we encourage more strongly inferential and comprehensive investigations into felid‐mediated trophic cascades, prioritising research on small cats, felids in Asia and Africa, and the impacts of humans on trophic cascades, which can help to better inform conservation interventions and perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius L. is a vulnerable species that requires efficient methods to monitor its populations for conservation purposes. Rapid evolution of civil drones provides new opportunities but survey protocols still need development. This study aims to determine the optimal flight parameters for accurate population estimates. A second objective is to evaluate the effects of three environmental factors: wind speed, sun reflection and cloud cover. Method: We estimated the population of two main hippo schools (Dungu and Wilibadi II) located in Garamba National Park in Democratic republic of Congo. Eight observers reviewed 252 photos taken over the Dungu school, representing a total of 2016 experimental units. A detection rate and a level of certainty were associated with each experimental unit, and five parameters were related to each count: flight height, three environmental parameters (sun reflection on water surface, cloud cover, and wind speed), and observers’ experience. Results: Flight height reduced the observers’ confidence in their detection ability, rather than the detection itself. For accurate counts of large groups an average height of 150 m was shown to be a good compromise between animal detection without zooming in and the area covered in one frame. Wind speed had little influence on the counts, but it affected the performance of the UAS. Sun reflection reduced the detection rate of hippos and increased level of certainty, while cloud cover reduced detection rates slightly. Therefore, we recommend flying when the sun is still low on the horizon and when there is little cloud, or when cloud cover is light and even. This last point reinforces our recommendation for flights early in the day. The counts also showed large differences between groups of inexperienced and experienced observers. Experienced observers achieved better detection rates and were generally more confident in their detection. Experienced observers detected 86.5% of the hippos on average (confidence interval = ±0.76%). When applied to data from the second site, the detection was 84.3% (confidence interval = ±1.84%). Two correction factors were then calculated, as the inverse of the detection rate, based on the estimated number of hippos present during one flight (Factor 1) or in the general population respectively (Factor 2). Factor 2 especially was consistent with previous studies using traditional aerial counts (1.22 vs 1.25). Factor 2 was found to be appropriate for use by experienced observers. These results confirm the use of correction factor 2 for hippo surveys, regardless of the study site, as it accounts for hippo behavior. Optimum counting and cost efficiency were achieved with two trained observers counting 7 pictures. Conclusion: This study is a promising approach for routine surveys of the hippopotamus which is a species usually ignored in wildlife counts. Drone technology is expected to improve rapidly; therefore UAS could become a very useful and affordable survey tool for other species requiring specific monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Central Africa shelters diverse and iconic megafauna, which is threatened by climate and land‐use changes and increased hunting‐induced defaunation. Though crucial for coordinating regional conservation actions, how species assemblages are spatially structured remains poorly understood. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap for mammals across central African forests. Location: Tropical moist forests from Nigeria to the Albertine Rift. Methods: An extensive compilation of forest‐dwelling mammal species lists was made from wildlife and bushmeat‐related surveys across central Africa. A beta‐diversity approach enabling the clustering of surveys composed of similar species was implemented to identify and delimit zoogeographic districts, separately for three well‐documented mammal orders: carnivores, primates and artiodactyls. Random forest classification models were then used to identify the environmental determinants of the district's distribution and to produce a continuous zoogeographic map (and associated uncertainties) critical to assess the conservation status of each district and their ongoing threats. Results: While carnivores do not present a clear spatial structure within central African forests, our findings highlight the structuring role of rivers on both primate and artiodactyl assemblages' distributions. We retained eight and six spatially congruent districts for primates and artiodactyls, respectively. These districts were shaped by the Ubangi‐Congo River system, and the Cross and Sanaga Rivers, with a secondary role of insularity and precipitation identified for primates. Highly threatened districts were highlighted, especially in Nigeria and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latter including vast areas that are understudied and poorly represented in the protected area network. Main Conclusions: Beyond refining our understanding of the diversity and uniqueness of mammalian assemblages across central African forests, our map of zoogeographic districts has far‐reaching implications for the conservation of highly threatened taxa, allowing to target species and areas of interest for further sampling, conservation and rewilding efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating the richness and abundance of animal species remains central to any conservation strategy of a given area. In remote and challenging environments such as tropical forests, camera traps have proven to be successful in documenting secretive wildlife communities compared to other survey methods, as they allow continuous monitoring without the presence of a human observer. Here, we used camera traps to characterise the community of medium and large terrestrial mammals in the community zone of Lobéké National Park, in southeastern Cameroon. We deployed a grid of 40 camera traps over a 5‐week period, recording 5156 independent detection events over 1284 camera days. We recorded 35 species, many of them showing high detection rates compared to other sites in central Africa. These results highlight the little disturbance of the studied area within the park despite its accessibility to local communities. These results obtained from a standardised approach using an expanding technology offer valuable information about the wildlife community of Lobéké, and new insights for reconciling human activities with wildlife conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge produced by conservation scientists must be actionable in order to address urgent conservation challenges. To understand the process of creating actionable science, we interviewed 71 conservation scientists who had participated in 1 of 3 fellowship programs focused on training scientists to become agents of change. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified 16 activities that these researchers employed to make their scientific products more actionable. Some activities were more common than others and, arguably, more foundational. We organized these activities into 3 nested categories (motivations, strategies, and tactics). Using a co‐occurrence matrix, we found that most activities were positively correlated. These correlations allowed us to identify 5 approaches, framed as profiles, to actionable science: the discloser, focused on open access; the educator, focused on science communication; the networker, focused on user needs and building relationships; the collaborator, focused on boundary spanning; and the pluralist, focused on knowledge coproduction resulting in valuable outcomes for all parties. These profiles build on one another in a hierarchy determined by their complexity and level of engagement, their potential to support actionable science, and their proximity to ideal coproduction with knowledge users. Our results provide clear guidance for conservation scientists to generate actionable science to address the global biodiversity conservation challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Forest duikers are one of the most important groups of mammals in Central African rainforests and over the whole Guineo-Congolian Region. To better understand the mechanisms of habitat use and sharing among duiker species, we quantified duiker activity, temporal and spatial interactions. Data were collected using camera traps over five years, in 12 sites scattered in four countries: Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon. We found that duikers usually have two main peaks of activity, which are mostly dependent on sunrise and/or sunset. In addition, analyses of temporal interactions (for five species) identified four species pairs with strong interactions and six pairs with weak interactions. Spatial interaction tests revealed no competitive habitat use among species. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of duikers in Central African rainforests, in order to improve their conservation and management. The duiker community in Central African rainforests includes a diversity of species that can coexist in the same area. The study of their activity patterns is needed to better understand habitat use or association between the species. Using camera traps, we studied the temporal activity patterns, and quantified for the first time the temporal overlap and spatial co-occurrence between species. Our results show that: (i) Two species are strongly diurnal: Cephalophus leucogaster, and Philantomba congica, (ii) two species are mostly diurnal: C.callipygus and C. nigrifrons, (iii) one species is strongly nocturnal: C.castaneus, (iv) and one species is mostly nocturnal: C.silvicultor. Analyses of temporal activities (for five species) identified four species pairs that highly overlapped ( Δ ^ ≥   0.80), and six pairs that weakly overlapped ( Δ ^ between 0.06 and 0.35). Finally, co-occurrence tests reveal a truly random co-occurrence (plt > 0.05 and pgt > 0.05) for six species pairs, and a positive co-occurrence (pgt < 0.05) for four pairs. Positive co-occurrences are particularly noted for pairs formed by C.callipygus with the other species (except C. nigrifrons). These results are essential for a better understanding of the coexistence of duikers and the ecology of poorly known species (C. leucogaster and C. nigrifrons), and provide clarification on the activity patterns of C. silvicultor which was subject to controversy. Camera traps proved then to be a powerful tool for studying the activity patterns of free-ranging duiker populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]