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Conflict with humans is one of the primary reasons why large carnivore populations are declining worldwide. Rates of human‐carnivore conflict (HCC) are particularly high in East Africa, where human settlements tend to surround protected areas, maximizing potential for human‐carnivore interactions. Despite extensive HCC research in this region, HCC persists and carnivore populations continue to decline. Evident disconnects between HCC research and conservation action, management practices and policy formation have been cited as mechanisms associated with these trends. We conducted a literature review to determine the extent to which HCC research in East Africa is actionable within the context of management and policy formation. We evaluated 36 papers for co‐production, interdisciplinary collaboration, applied or theoretical publication and stakeholder engagement. Many were published by co‐authors in academia (63.8%) and collaborative efforts between academics and non‐governmental organizations (25.0%), with limited representation outside these sectors. Collaboration with disciplines outside the natural sciences, specifically the social and political sciences (both 2.8%), was also uncommon although humans were the primary topic of study in 28% of papers. Moreover, while many papers were published in applied journals (86%), few explicitly stated policy and management objectives. Stakeholder engagement was mostly in the form of surveys and questionnaires rather than direct involvement in the research process. Our review indicates that HCC research currently lacks strong evidence of actionability and we provide recommendations for improving the practical salience of conservation research. Currently, HCC research in East Africa lacks strong evidence of actionability. There is greater need for interdisciplinary collaboration, collaboration with management practitioners and policy makers, and continued community engagement in HCC research. Adjusting HCC research to utilize these components will only serve to improve the success of conservation action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind farms are a clean and efficient source of renewable energy. However, they cause negative impacts on raptors. Here, we present a review of the existing scientific literature on the effects of wind farms on raptors' ecology with a particular interest in the potential solutions. After collecting 216 studies, we found a consensus in the literature that raptors exhibit avoidance behaviors, and that the abundance of raptors decreases after wind farm installation, although it might recover over time. The position of wind farms on mountaintop ridges poses a particular danger to large soaring raptors, as they rely on orographic uplift to gain altitude. Adult mortality significantly affects population dynamics, particularly in endangered species, but young inexperienced individuals show a higher collision risk. The combination of different methods including field monitoring, GPS telemetry and systematic search for carcasses is an adequate approach to further investigate the problem and solutions. Shutdowns on demand, the installation of deterrents, turbine micro‐sitting and the repowering of wind farms have been suggested as potential solutions, although results are contradictory and case‐specific. Furthermore, it is essential to report the potential occurrence of conflicts of interest in scientific papers, as they can influence the interpretation of the results. Finally, from a future perspective, it is crucial to assess the effectiveness of solutions to mitigate the negative effects of wind farms to promote raptor conservation. This becomes increasingly relevant in the context of renewable energy development and increasing energy demand worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fishing gear deployed by fishermen in seas and oceans throughout the world not only captures target species but also unintentionally ensnares non‐target species, a phenomenon known as ‘by‐catch’. This unintended capture of marine life can represent significant challenges for the fishing industry, with adverse impacts on both the environment and species such as sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and elasmobranchs, which may be injured or even killed. To address this problem, the fishing industry has implemented regulations and mitigation measures. In this literature review, we have examined 389 papers published between 2010 and 2022 that assess the effectiveness of these measures. Taking into account the fishing gear with which each group interacts the most, trawls for sea turtles, gillnets for marine mammals and longlines for seabirds and elasmobranchs, it has been demonstrated that ‘TEDs’ (Turtle Excluder Devices) are an effective measure for sea turtles, ‘pingers’ for marine mammals and ‘BSLs’ (Bird Scaring Lines), more commonly known as ‘tori lines’, for seabirds. The most complex case is that of elasmobranchs, and the most effective measure has yet to be discovered. This complexity arises from the ongoing targeted fishing of these species, resulting in less monitoring of their catches and, therefore, fewer surveys. Overall, we encourage the global implementation of these measures by the fishing industry in order to reduce by‐catch in an attempt to ensure the future of many endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use change, agricultural and urban expansion, and anthropogenic climate change are the major drivers of biodiversity loss across the globe. Big cats (a casual term including species such as tigers, lions, mountain lions, jaguars, leopards, snow leopards, and cheetahs) are impacted by these global changes. As human settlement and activity increasingly overlap with big cat habitat, the frequency of human conflict over wildlife is rising, often precipitating direct costs to people living near big cats. Big cats are rare, they play many critical roles in the ecosystems they inhabit, and are often flagship conservation species because they are poster‐charismatic megafauna. As many of the costs of conservation are borne by locals, local acceptance of big cats on the landscape is fundamental to the success of in‐situ conservation of these species. Here, we explore this issue by conducting a systematic literature review of articles that directly measure local perceptions (or acceptance) of big cats quantitatively. We normalized all perception data so we could synthesize results across places and species. The final set of data included the views of 14 253 locals from 45 papers, interrogating five different question types on local perceptions of big cats. Across these studies, we found that locals generally hold neutral or slightly positive perceptions of big cats – particularly for tigers and mountain lions. On average, livestock owners have more negative perceptions of big cats compared to non‐livestock owners. Geographically, there are large portions of big cat population ranges where no research on local perceptions exist. These results call for two things (1) rethinking the perception that locals largely hold negative views toward big cats across their ranges and (2) more systematic research across big cat species ranges to better understand local perceptions, what drives those perceptions, and how they impact the outcomes of conservation approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the changes in the journal "Animal Conservation." It mentions the goal of the journal. It provides an overview of the Featured paper section in the journal. The article also highlights the achievements of the journal and mentions those who have contributed to its success, such as editors Keith Crandall and Todd Katzner.

In the search for new ways to bring attention to the conservation of neglected species, marketing is increasingly recognised as offering new insights. Brand creation frameworks provide guidelines to create names or symbols for products that will differentiate them from the competition. In this paper, we examine if species common names that follow these guidelines can improve their fundraising potential. Using a novel choice experiment format that employs a budget allocation task, we evaluate if species common names influence donor preferences, where participants were given real money to donate to the species of their choosing. We model the data collected, which is fractional response data, using a Hierarchical Bayesian Dirichlet regression. Our results indicate that while all attributes are positively related to making a donation, Appeal and Familiarity coefficients are statistically significant but Name is not. There were also no statistically significant interactions between Name and any of the socio‐economic variables. Our results on the importance of Appeal and Familiarity follow past research but contradict past research on the importance of common names, although the latter looked at common names in isolation. This suggests that species traits should not be tested in isolation when trying to understand the drivers of donations to wildlife conservation, as some traits that may appear important when tested separately become comparatively irrelevant when placed in a more realistic context where respondents have to consider multiple species traits. Future research into the influence of common names should investigate the possible impact of name sentiment as well as whether names with geographic references increase support from donors from those areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous recent papers have demonstrated a central role for genetic factors in the extinction process or have documented the importance of gene flow in reversing population declines. This prompted one recent publication to declare that a revolution in conservation genetics has occurred. Contemporaneously with this revolution are a series of papers demonstrating long-term population persistence for several species despite having little or no detectable genetic variation. In a couple of notable cases, populations have been shown to have survived for centuries at small population size and with depleted levels of genetic variation. These contradictory results demand an explanation. In this review, I will show that these results do not necessarily fly in the face of theory as sometimes stated. The reconciliation of these two sets of observations relies on the incorporation of two major concepts. (1) Genetic factors do not act in a vacuum and it is their interaction with the environment, the strength and type of selection imposed, and the life history of the organism that determine the relative importance of genetic factors to extinction risk. (2) The relationship between molecular estimates of genetic variation and evolutionary potential, the relevance of genetic bottlenecks to adaptive genetic variation, and the nature of the stochastic process of extinction must be better integrated into expectations of population viability. Reports of populations persisting for hundreds of generations with very little detectable genetic variation provide us not only with valuable information but also with hope. However, recent studies suggest that we should not be sanguine about the importance of genetic diversity in the conservation of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource managers are involved in difficult decisions that affect rare species and habitats but often lack relevant ecological knowledge and experience. Ecological models are increasingly being looked to as a means of assisting the decision-making process, but very often the data are missing or are unsuited to empirical modelling. This paper describes the development and application of the Delphi approach to develop a decision support tool for wildlife conservation and management. The Delphi process is an expert-based approach to decision support that can be used as a means for predicting outcomes in situations where ‘absolute’ or ‘objective’ models are unavailable or compromised by lack of appropriate data. The method aims to develop consensus between experts over several rounds of deliberation on the assumption that combining the expertise of several individuals will provide more reliable results than consulting one or two individuals. In this paper the approach is used to engineer soft knowledge on the conservation requirements of capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, an endangered woodland grouse, into a model that can be used by forests managers to improve the quality of forest habitat for capercaillie over extensive commercial forest areas. This paper concludes with a discussion of the potential advantages and disadvantages of Delphi and other soft knowledge approaches to ecological modelling and conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response to a letter to the editor about the quality of papers published in "American Conservation" as well as the quality and integrity of its peer review process, is presented.

The First Five Years In 1998 Animal Conservation was launched to provide a new forum for rapid publication of scientifically rigorous studies of conservation biology. It was hoped that articles would draw from a variety of disciplines, ranging from genetics to population biology to behavioural ecology to palaeobiology. Five years on, it is hard to believe that the editorial that accompanied the first issue felt the need to remind people that conservation biology had indeed come of age as a mainstream biological science. The subject is widely taught at universities, fills about a dozen excellent textbooks, and underpins our understanding of a wide variety of high-profile problems from impacts of climate change to loss of biodiversity and management of endangered species and habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Nest depth may not compensate for sex ratio skews caused by climate change in turtles Other Commentaries on this paper: Chelonians in a changing climate: can nest site selection prevent sex ratio skews?; For reptiles with temperature‐dependent sex determination, thermal variability may be as important as thermal averages Response from the authors: Experimental field studies of species' responses to climate change: challenges and future directions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities are one of the main threats to species living in human‐dominated landscapes and can promote behavioral changes in birds. This paper presents a novel approach to test how a migratory species responds to habitat alterations occurring in nesting territories during winter, when the species is absent. From 2000 to 2016, we collated territory and nest monitoring data for the endangered Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus in the north of Spain, to test the effects of overwinter habitat alterations (OHA) around breeding territories on the species reproductive output. We monitored 70 different nest sites and observed OHA around the nesting area in 39 cases. Probability of switching to another nesting site almost tripled after OHA. Pairs that switched experienced substantially decreased breeding success and avoided reusing the nest for 4.8 ± 4.64 years. The presence of determinate landscape elements that provide screening, such as forest patches, increased nest reoccupancy probability after OHA by more than 0.3, to 0. 55 (compared to 0.24 when no screening was present). We also found that the distance and the situation of the OHA were critical factors explaining reproduction probabilities at nest sites. Our results demonstrate how OHA can strongly impact the breeding behavior of long‐lived species. This highlights the need to examine the long‐term impact of OHA rather than focusing only on disturbances during sensitive periods, as is often the case with habitual mitigation measures. Anthropogenic activities are one of the main threats to species living in human‐dominated landscapes and can promote behavioural changes in birds. We found that overwinter habitat alterations (OHA), mainly forestry activities, around the nest sites increase habitual nest abandonment probability respecting to those which did not suffer OHA and, in a second step, the situation of OHA reduce reproduction probability and ultimately, productivity of those pairs which switched nest. Therefore it is necessary to adopt management measures that guarantee the persistence (i.e. use of forest patches which act as a screen between OHA and nest site increase reoccupancy probability) and reproduction of species (i.e. avoiding those OHA located in front of the nest sites). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbance of wildlife by ecotourism has become a major concern in the last decades. In the Mediterranean, sea‐based tourism and related recreational activities are increasing rapidly, especially within marine protected areas (MPAs) hosting emblematic biodiversity. We investigated the impact of ecotourism in the Scandola MPA (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Corsica island), on the population of a conservation flagship, the Osprey Pandion haliaetus. Over the 37‐year study period, tourists flow increased sharply. Osprey breeding performance initially increased, but then dropped for pairs nesting within the MPA compared to those breeding elsewhere in Corsica. We examined several hypotheses that could explain such reduction in breeding performance. Recent osprey breeding failures in the MPA are not caused by food scarcity. Using underwater fish surveys, we showed that fish consumed by ospreys were more numerous within the MPA. Focal observation at nests revealed that the overall number of boat passages within 250 m of osprey nests were three times higher inside the MPA compared to a control area. Elevated boat traffic significantly modified osprey time‐budgets, by decreasing prey provisioning rate by males, and increasing time spent alarming and flying off the nest in females. This caused stress, and corticosterone levels in chick feathers were three times higher in high‐traffic areas compared to places with lower touristic flow in Corsica, the Balearic Islands and Italy. Overall, our integrative, long‐term study demonstrates the negative impact of sea‐based ecotourism on the Corsican osprey population. This stresses the worldwide importance of rigorously implementing sustainable ecotourism, within well‐enforced MPAs. Sea‐based ecotourism is impacting an emblematic species, the Osprey Pandion haliaetus, at a UNESCO World Heritage site. This paper presents an integrative multi‐decadal study of ospreys within the Scandola Marine Protected Area, Corsica, Mediterranean. We found significant impact of ecotourism on osprey population dynamics within the marine protected area, with declining breeding performance and elevated chick stress hormones. We also showed that the decline in the osprey population was not due to lack of prey, but due to increased disturbance by boat traffic. Our study stresses the worldwide importance of rigorously implementing sustainable ecotourism within well‐enforced Marine Protected Areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effectiveness of biodiversity conservation projects is influenced by socio‐political context, a reality overlooked by traditional prioritization schemes that use only measures of biological value and threat when deciding where to invest limited conservation resources. We combined ecological and socio‐political criteria to illuminate options for prioritizing investment in African wild dog Lycaon pictus conservation among countries and subpopulations. Countries and subpopulations were assigned scores for conservation priority (based on their wild dog populations) and conservation likelihood (based on their governance quality and other indicators of the likelihood of effective conservation action for wild dogs). Seven of the 19 wild dog countries scored above the median value for both priority and likelihood and supported 74% of the total wild dog population. Investment in these ‘higher priority, higher likelihood’ countries may offer the greatest returns on conservation investment. The intention of this study is not, however, to be prescriptive, nor to suggest abandoning disadvantaged countries, but to provide a tool for understanding and managing trade‐offs between where conservation is most needed for wild dogs and where it is most feasible. The prioritization framework presented in this paper may easily and profitably be applied to other taxa, extending the scope of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The trade and consumption of bushmeat are a major threat to biodiversity across the tropics. Conservationists have traditionally advocated for stricter regulation and enforcement as a way to control these practices, with less attention given to consumers and the management of the demand. Yet, it is clear that without adequately tackling demand, it is impossible to effectively curb the bushmeat trade. In this paper, we describe an intervention to reduce demand for bushmeat in northern Tanzania. The intervention was centered around the 1‐h radio show My Wildlife – My Community which included 15‐min episodes of the radio drama Temboni. Each episode of the radio drama was accompanied by a 45‐min interactive call‐in show featuring interviews with experts and local information about available community resources. We evaluated this intervention using a Before‐After‐Control‐Impact framework based on longitudinal data from 168 respondents. To account for the fact that respondents volunteered to be exposed to the intervention, in this case the radio show, we used a matching algorithm together with regression to ensure that we could build a credible counterfactual group. Our analysis did not uncover any differences in outcomes between the treatment and control groups, and thus no evidence of the intervention achieving its initial goals. One potential causal mechanism that could have led to this outcome is the low audience penetration rate. Fewer than 40% of respondents listened to the show and among those who did, only about 20% listened to five of more episodes. This research highlights the challenges of implementing and evaluating interventions delivered through mass media in developing countries, and the importance of reporting on interventions even when there is no evidence that they achieved their initial goals. Only through robust evaluation of behavior change interventions and the sharing of lessons learned can conservationists successfully tackle complex issues such as the bushmeat trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In conservation, adaptive management relies on the assessment of past actions to improve conservation efficiencies in the future. Conservation management approaches for African elephants have recently changed, however little has been done to assess the effectiveness of these changes. This is a major shortcoming as elephants (and their management) have a considerable influence on other savanna species. Traditionally, the management of elephants has focused on artificially manipulating numbers through culling, water supplementation and fencing. Lately, and specifically in the Kruger National Park, the focus has progressed to promoting ecological processes that may naturally regulate elephant populations. Density‐dependent habitat selection – suggestive of competition for resources – is fundamental in stimulating the regulatory processes that managers expect to promote. In this paper, we evaluated how effective the changes in Kruger's elephant management approach had been in promoting density‐dependent habitat selection. We used 15 years of helicopter‐based surveys and resource selection functions to test our primary prediction that an increase in population density following the cessation of culling generalized dry‐season habitat selection by female elephants in Kruger (i.e. decreased selection of high‐quality habitat and increased selection of lower quality habitat). We found that as densities increased, female occupancy of the Park rose and dry season selection of highly wooded areas, which provide crucial resources for elephant survival and reproduction, weakened. Conversely, density had little effect on the selection of rivers. Rather, high dry‐season rainfall allowed female elephants to select areas farther from permanent water, potentially alleviating normal dry‐season foraging restrictions. Our novel identification of density‐dependent habitat selection for elephants suggests that the change in conservation management in Kruger was effective in promoting a potential driver of population regulation. We suggest that ecological principles continue to provide an effective framework for scientific evaluation and elephant conservation management in Kruger and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative importance of genetic factors in increasing the risk of extinction has been hotly debated in the past and has tended to be downplayed by ecologists researching the correlates of extinction of island endemics. More recently, Frankham has argued that there is now sufficient evidence to regard the past controversies over the contribution of genetic factors to extinction risk as mostly resolved. For example, evidence indicates that the majority of threatened species including island endemics have a lower genetic diversity than taxonomically related nonthreatened species, implying that genetic factors such as inbreeding can increase the probability of extinction before extinction events occur. Yet, recent ecological research on the correlates of extinction for over 220 species of island birds found compelling evidence that exotic mammalian predators were the sole drivers of extinctions, and neglected to even mention any role of genetic factors. This paper discusses how two research groups working towards identifying and understanding the correlates of extinction for island endemics can reach such distinct conclusions. Part of the reason for the different perspectives is that ecological research has tended to focus on the correlates of historical extinctions of island endemics while conservation geneticists have concentrated on genetic correlates of currently threatened extant species. Identifying whether the population growth rate is positive or negative is crucial to this debate because even the geneticists agree that inbreeding will have little time to impact populations that are declining rapidly due to high predation rates. Inbreeding depression is likely to have a greater impact on extinction probability in species suffering from gradual habitat loss and range contraction, which typify the deterministic causes of population decline in continental species, rather than the intense predation pressure commonly associated with declines and extinctions of oceanic island endemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A companion paper in this issue describes the mapping of Cape Sable seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis) habitat using satellite imagery. In general, those maps are correct. However, testing against an independent survey of the sparrow population does identify errors. Those errors fall into two categories, model errors and bird errors. The model errors result from genuine problems with the model. More interesting for conservation are the bird errors, which are more numerous. They are of two types. (1) Commission errors: some suitable habitat does not contain birds. These are areas where prior events have depleted sparrow numbers, but because the sparrows do not disperse long distances, they cannot occupy it quickly. (2) Omission errors: some birds remain in unsuitable habitat that was formerly suitable. This results from the sparrow's very high site fidelity. Often, they will not leave an area even when it is no longer suitable. The consequences of these bird errors are that some habitat and some birds are not contributing to the species' survival. Thus, an estimate of only the amount of habitat or only the sparrow population may present an overly optimistic view of the sparrow's plight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the one hand, there is rarely an effective, one-size-fits-all biodiversity policy (and grazing may help biodiversity in some other contexts). Biodiversity conservation is a policy objective of the European Union (EU). (2022) is a timely contribution that can play a part in informing and fine-tuning a future biodiversity policy in Europe. Next, preserving biodiversity and keeping landscapes open is a point that can be mentioned in debates about large carnivore conservation. [Extracted from the article]

Read the Feature Paper: Community‐based wildlife management failing to link conservation and financial viability and the Commentaries on this Feature Paper: Wildlife conservation without financial viability? The potential for payments for dispersal areas' services in Namibia; Achieving ecological conservation impact is not enough: setting priorities based on multiple criteria [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Significant reductions in mortality of threatened seabirds in a South African trawl fishery; other Commentaries on this paper: Minimizing seabird by‐catch in industrial fisheries and the Response from the authors: Problems and solutions for seabird bycatch in trawl fisheries [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global trait-based analyses can shed light on the factors predisposing species to high extinction risk, and can help bridge knowledge gaps in speciose and poorly known taxa. In this paper, I conduct the first global comparative study of crayfish extinction risk. I collated data on intrinsic (biology and ecology) and extrinsic (environment and threats) factors for 450 crayfish species assessed on the IUCN Red List. Phylogenetic multiple regression models were used to identify correlates of risk in all species; in centres of diversity (American cambarids and Australian parastacids); and among threat types (agriculture, water management, pollution). I assessed the relative ability of threat maps quantifying specific threats (e.g. river fragmentation, mercury deposition) or a generic threat (human population density) to predict crayfish extinction risk. I also quantified the effects of range size on extinction risk with variation partitioning and multiplicative bivariate regressions. Crayfish with small range size, small body size, habitat dependency on caves, and with ranges in areas of low precipitation, high altitude and high human population density were at higher risk of extinction. Correlates of risk varied between American cambarids and Australian parastacids, suggesting that centres of diversity shape patterns of extinction risk in crayfish. The explanatory power of models ranged between 31 and 65%, with low explanatory power for models based on threat types. Few specific threat measures were significantly related to extinction risk, suggesting that large-scale threat mapping may not be informative for freshwater invertebrates. In the absence of population data for most freshwater invertebrates, trait-based models are powerful and cost-effective tools for understanding and mitigating drivers of extinction risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how the diversity of invasive species is geographically distributed and identifying the major drivers of that pattern is a relevant challenge as regards invasion biology. The aim of this paper was, therefore, to identify and characterize those areas colonized by a high number of alien species as a means to provide directional indications that can be used to minimize the potential negative effects that the alien species may have on host ecosystems. This is done by applying spatially explicit predictive modeling in order to explain the diversity of vertebrate alien species in Spain. The relative importance of the different factors was assessed using variation partitioning. Our results showed that the main factor as regards predicting the distribution of alien species was the anthropogenic variable, and that this was followed by abiotic variables. The other significant predictor of alien species was the number of native species, which had a positive relationship with the number of alien species. This accord with the 'the rich get richer' acceptance hypothesis, which predicts a higher number of alien species in areas with high native species diversity. In this study, we detected actual conflict areas (ACAs), which have high-medium values for the number of both native and alien species. Many of the ACAs identified some overlap with protected areas, which further aggravate the problem as these areas are often the home to endangered species which may be adversely affected by the emergence of alien species. This signifies that eradication, control or mitigation programs should be carried out to reduce the undesirable impact of alien species in these areas. However, other areas of conflict also appeared in unprotected areas near to big cities, where monitoring and preventive measures are necessary to avoid the release of new species and their subsequent spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The park spans the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, with a total area of 27 134 km SP 2 sp , covering 18 056 km SP 2 sp of the giant panda habitat area, in which 1631 giant pandas (87.7% of the total wild population) reside (NFGA, [5]). Down-listing pandas and upgrading conservation: China setting an example to preserve wildlife worldwide We are researching giant panda habitat and landscape ecology, understanding the characteristics of their habitat requirements, developing the design method of corridors in the region based on scientific evaluation of the status quo of giant panda habitat quality and planning the design of key giant panda habitats corridors. China is writing the giant panda protection story as a successful case for global biodiversity conservation. [Extracted from the article]

Read the Feature Paper: Does trophy hunting matter to long‐term population trends in African herbivores of different dietary guilds?; other Commentaries on this paper: Monitoring required for effective sustainable use of wildlife and the Response from the authors: The assessment of the role of trophy hunting in wildlife conservation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Assessing the accuracy of interviewed recall for rare, highly seasonal events: the case of wildlife consumption in Madagascar Other Commentaries on this paper: Unusual data in conservation science: searching for validation Response from the authors: Practical directions for the use of recall data in conservation science [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Mammal and bird species held in zoos are less endemic and less threatened than their close relatives not held in zoos Other Commentaries on this paper: Zoos have yet to unveil their full conservation potential Response from the authors: The economic geography of ex situ conservation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Mammal and bird species held in zoos are less endemic and less threatened than their close relatives not held in zoos Other Commentaries on this paper: Ex situ conservation planning is more complicated than prioritizing the keeping of threatened species in zoos Response from the authors: The economic geography of ex situ conservation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild meat is an important source of dietary protein and fat for many indigenous peoples in Amazonia. However, rates of wildlife harvest are often unsustainable, threatening not only biodiversity but also the food security of indigenous peoples. During the last decades, Ecuadorian Amazonia has undergone profound socioeconomic changes which have significantly altered peoples' livelihood strategies. Little is known, however, how such changes have affected wildlife hunting. Based on data from a household survey, this paper analyzes the socioeconomic drivers of wildlife hunting among indigenous peoples in Pastaza, in the Ecuadorian Amazonia. The results of a random-effect tobit analysis reveal that, wealthier households which have higher shares of off-farm and non-farm employment tend to harvest smaller amounts of wild meat. A probable explanation to this is that having a permanent and well-paid job implies an increased opportunity cost of time, leading to a decrease in the time spent hunting and, therefore, decreased wildlife harvests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing concern for the conservation of sharks among scientists, environmental conservation advocates, and the interested public, but misunderstanding among policy non-specialists about which conservation and management policies are available, and which might work best for certain situations, persists. Here we present a review of fisheries management and conservation literature relating to sharks. Policies are broadly divided into target-based policies that aim for sustainable fisheries exploitation (e.g. fisheries quotas) and limit-based policies that aim to prevent all fisheries exploitation of entire taxa (e.g. marine reserves). A list of the pros and cons of each policy is included, as is a decision tree to aid in selection of the most appropriate policy. Our goal is that this paper will allow policy non-specialists, including scientists without policy training, environmental activists, and concerned citizens, to make informed decisions when advocating for shark conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Protected areas and insect conservation: questioning the effectiveness of Natura 2000 network for saproxylic beetles in Italy Commentaries on this Feature Paper: Institutional vertebratism hampers insect conservation generally; not just saproxylic beetle conservation; Knowledge gaps in protected area effectiveness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Mapping the potential extinction debt of butterflies in a modern city: implications for conservation priorities in urban landscapes Commentaries on this Feature Paper: Extinction debt at different spatial scales; Setting conservation priorities when what you see is not what you get [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors address two commentaries on their paper about the benefits and costs of using lungworm as a biological control agent for invasive toads in Australia. According to them, the commentaries suggest that they are too optimistic about the effectiveness of lungworm dissemination for toad control. The authors argue that lungworm can severely depress survival, endurance and growth in metamorph cane toads even under favorable laboratory conditions.

Read the Feature Paper: Defining reintroduction success using IUCN criteria for threatened species: a demographic assessment; other Commentaries on this paper: Using the IUCN Red List criteria to assess reintroduction success; Alternative perspectives on reintroduction success and the Response from the authors: Reintroducing reintroductions into the conservation arena [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Defining reintroduction success using IUCN criteria for threatened species: a demographic assessment; other Commentaries on this paper: Alternative perspectives on reintroduction success; Developing a standard for evaluating reintroduction success using IUCN Red List indices and the Response from the authors: Reintroducing reintroductions into the conservation arena [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Setting evolutionary‐based conservation priorities for a phylogenetically data‐poor taxonomic group (Scleractinia); other Commentaries on this paper: Valuing species on the cheap; Conservation prioritization in the context of uncertainty and the Response from the authors: Setting evolutionary based conservation priorities for a phylogenetically data‐poor taxonomic group (Scleractinia): response to the commentaries [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Significant reductions in mortality of threatened seabirds in a South African trawl fishery and the Commentaries on this Feature Paper: Minimizing seabird by‐catch in industrial fisheries; Challenges in seabird by‐catch mitigation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the considerable popularity of community-based wildlife management as a conservation tool, it is of interest to assess the long-run sustainability of this policy not only in conservation terms, but also in financial terms. In this paper, we use cost-benefit analysis to study the social and financial sustainability of a large set of community conservancies in Namibia, one of the few countries where community-based wildlife management policies have been in place long enough to assess their long-term viability. We find that, although the social sustainability is generally good, the financial sustainability is problematic - especially for the younger conservancies: there is no real link between conservation achievements and financial success. This calls into question the long-term sustainability of many of these conservancies: if they are unable to generate enough revenue to pay for their running expenditure, they will eventually fail - even if they are successful from a conservation point of view. Similar problems, linked to the way in which external funders have pushed for additional conservancies to be established regardless of financial considerations, are likely to be present in other countries that have implemented such programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife managers consider animal translocation a means of increasing the viability of a local population. However, augmentation may disrupt existing resident disease dynamics and initiate an outbreak that would effectively offset any advantages the translocation may have achieved. This paper examines fundamental concepts of disease ecology and identifies the conditions that will increase the likelihood of a disease outbreak following translocation. We highlight the importance of susceptibility to infection, population size and population connectivity - a characteristic likely affected by translocation but not often considered in risk assessments - in estimating outbreak risk due to translocation. We then explore these features in a species of conservation concern often translocated in the presence of infectious disease, the Mojave Desert tortoise, and use data from experimental tortoise translocations to detect changes in population connectivity that may influence pathogen transmission. Preliminary analyses comparing contact networks inferred from spatial data at control and translocation plots and infection simulation results through these networks suggest increased outbreak risk following translocation due to dispersal-driven changes in contact frequency and network structure. We outline future research goals to test these concepts and aid managers in designing effective risk assessment and intervention strategies that will improve translocation success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The viability of many species depends on functional connectivity of their populations through dispersal across broad landscapes. This is particularly the case for the endangered brown bear in north-western Spain, with a total population of about 200 individuals in two subpopulations that are separated by a wide gap with low permeability. Our goal in this paper is to use state-of-the-art connectivity modeling approaches to provide detailed and quantitative guidance for conservation planning efforts aimed at improving landscape permeability for brown bears in Spain, with a particular focus on alleviating the barrier effect of transportation infrastructure. We predicted a regional connectivity network for brown bear by combining a multiscale habitat suitability model with factorial least-cost path density analysis. We found that the current composition and configuration of the landscape considerably constrain brown bear movements, creating a narrow bottleneck that limits flow of individuals between the two subpopulations. We identified key locations along the predicted corridors where efforts to increase road and railway permeability should be prioritized. The results provide a foundation for the development of spatially optimal management strategies to enhance connectivity within and between the subpopulations and to mitigate the impact of potential barriers to movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pastoralism impacts the habitat quality of wild animals, while poaching is a direct threat to populations. The demographic effects of pastoralism are well known, whereas the effects of poaching are difficult to obtain. In addition, little attention has been paid to the role of tourism as a facilitator of poaching, especially when tourists feed animals and thus lower their fear of humans. In this paper, we investigate the demographic effects of pastoralism (a habitat quality indicator) and tourism (a poaching indicator) on wild Barbary macaques ( Macaca sylvanus) in Middle Atlas ( Morocco). Neither pastoralism nor tourism affected reproduction rates. High tourism pressure was related to a dramatic deficit in immature individuals. In groups near tourist sites, about half of the infants disappeared suggesting a high poaching pressure on these groups; as poachers select infants to sell as pets, infants used to seeing tourists probably constitute easy poaching targets. Group size and age structure were unrelated to the intensity of pastoralism. Groups were then half the size of those in undisturbed forests and in Middle Atlas 30 years ago. The effects of poaching are predicted to cause a severe collapse of the population. Our results demonstrate the need for Moroccan authorities to be aware of the conservation issues of Barbary macaques and to stop tourists feeding them. This research work illustrates that the potential links between tourism and poaching should be taken into account regarding species conservation, even in protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Community‐based wildlife management failing to link conservation and financial viability; other Commentaries on this paper: Wildlife conservation without financial viability? The potential for payments for dispersal areas' services in Namibia and the Response from the authors: Continuous financial support will be needed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: Significant reductions in mortality of threatened seabirds in a South African trawl fishery; other Commentaries on this paper: Challenges in seabird by‐catch mitigation and the Response from the authors: Problems and solutions for seabird bycatch in trawl fisheries [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: A green strategy for shark attack mitigation off Recife, Brazil Commentaries on this Feature Paper: Moving beyond lethal programs for shark hazard mitigation; Keeping swimmers safe without killing sharks is a revolution in shark control [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: A green strategy for shark attack mitigation off Recife, Brazil Other Commentaries on this paper: Moving beyond lethal programs for shark hazard mitigation Response from the authors: Response: A conservation approach to prevention of shark attacks off Recife, Brazil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Read the Feature Paper: A green strategy for shark attack mitigation off Recife, Brazil Other Commentaries on this paper: Keeping swimmers safe without killing sharks is a revolution in shark control Response from the authors: Response: A conservation approach to prevention of shark attacks off Recife, Brazil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibian declines around the world are a major conservation concern. Monitoring trends in abundance is therefore important. Exemplar models are required, with robust, easily assessed indicators of population size that have high and consistent detection probability and which can be quantified over large geographical scales. Natterjack toads Bufo calamita potentially fulfil these criteria. This amphibian is rare and increasingly endangered in the north European part of its range, including Britain. In this paper, we analyse data on population size (based on spawn string counts) and breeding success (toadlet production) collected over 20 years from all remaining natterjack sites in the UK, permitting for the first time an assessment of population trends of an endangered amphibian at the national scale. State-space models, which account for observation error, were developed to estimate population trends and to assesss the effects of conservation management. Between 1990 and 2009, the British population of B. calamita was approximately stable as judged by spawn string counts and broadly confirmed by state-space modelling, although this indicated that continuing small decline was more probable than stability. Empirical and model analyses also demonstrated that population growth rate was influenced positively by frequency of breeding success (toadlet production) and by grazing of the terrestrial habitat by domestic livestock. The implications of these findings for future conservation management of B. calamita are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is today accepted that population viability analyses are needed at a meta-population level for most species, usually only single populations are monitored in the context of management and conservation programmes. This paper outlines a fairly general and easy-to-implement approach based on counts and capture-recapture data that allow the dynamics of single populations to be assessed even when they are highly connected to other populations. This approach was motivated by a study of the French population of the slender-billed gull Larus genei, which experienced a sharp population increase in the 1980s and 1990s, suggesting that the species was not at risk of extinction. However, several recently raised concerns indicate that the observed population increase is unlikely to have been achieved uniquely by an intrinsic growth rate. We estimated local adult survival probability at 0.81 (0.79-0.83), which is considerably lower than that of other gull species of comparable size. Moreover, local fecundity observed in slender-billed gulls [0.66 (0.47-0.85)] is lower than that observed in similar species. Massive reproduction failures and the low demographic parameters observed could be caused by chick exposure to aerial and terrestrial predation, leading to permanent emigration. Unrealistically high demographic parameter values would be needed to generate the observed local population increase. The results of our study indicate that connections with other neighbouring populations are responsible for the local population dynamics, and that about 10% of the individuals may be immigrants into this local population annually. However, our results suggest that the population of the slender-billed gull may be stable at the west Mediterranean scale. The high annual fluctuations of population size observed at a larger scale also highlight the necessity for coordinated international action to protect a maximum of potential breeding sites in order to protect the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]