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Rapid population declines of wild cats (family Felidae) are often related to widespread conflicts with people over the livestock depredation they are causing. In spite of increasing literature on wild felids, there is no overview on the evidence-based effectiveness of livestock protection interventions in reducing depredation inflicted by these animals. We collected and analyzed 92 cases from 57 publications describing the percentage of damage reduction from the application of 11 interventions to 10 felid species. We found that the effectiveness of interventions differed significantly between species. Interventions tested for cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and snow leopards (Panthera uncia) were very effective, reducing damage by 70–100% due to species shyness, good fit of interventions to these species and local conditions, and strong social involvement. The most variable and often the lowest effectiveness of interventions was found for leopard (Panthera pardus), puma (Puma concolor) and caracal (Caracal caracal), which are more common and tolerant to humans. In other felids, interventions were generally effective, but some of them reportedly failed because of local contexts and intervention performance. Much more effort is required to invigorate the research of intervention effectiveness in little studied species and regions. Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 2021 peerReviewed

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-trc-10.1177_19400829211031171 for Negative Effects of Logging on Bird Dispersed Plants in Northern Papuan Lowland Forest, Indonesia by Margaretha Pangau-Adam, Jolanta Slowik, Jan-Niklas Trei and Matthias Waltert in Tropical Conservation Science

1. Human‐wildlife conflicts are widespread, particularly with big cats which can kill domestic livestock and create a counteraction between conservation and local livelihoods, especially near protected areas. Minimisation of livestock losses caused by big cats and other predators is essential to mitigate conflicts and promote socially acceptable conservation. As big cats usually kill by throat bites, protective collars represent a potentially effective non‐lethal intervention to prevent livestock depredation, yet the application and effectiveness estimation of these tools are very limited. 2. In this study, for the first time we measured the effectiveness of studded leather collars in protecting cattle from leopard (Panthera pardus) attacks. We conducted a randomised controlled experiment during 14 months to collar 202 heads and leave uncollared 258 heads grazing in forests and belonging to 27 owners from eight villages near three protected areas in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. 3. Our results show that none of collared cattle and nine uncollared cattle were lost to leopard depredation, meaning that collars caused a zero relative risk of damage and a perfect 100% damage reduction. Most losses occurred in summer and autumn due to lush vegetation attracting more cattle, long daytime allowing movements deep into leopard habitats and dense cover favouring leopard hunts from ambush. Losses were recorded in only six owners and four villages, suggesting local rarity and patchy distribution of leopards. 4. We suggest that collars can be successfully applied to cattle freely grazing in habitats of leopards or other felids for a long time and thus remaining persistently exposed to depredation. As grazing cattle are usually not supervised by shepherds or dogs, collars can be the only practical protection tool. Production and sales of collars can become a sustainable small‐scale business for farmers to further boost conservation and rural livelihoods. Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 2020 peerReviewed

Wolves (Canis lupus) can kill domestic livestock resulting in intense conflicts with humans. Damage to livestock should be reduced to facilitate human-wolf coexistence and ensure positive outcomes of conservation efforts. Current knowledge on the effectiveness of livestock protection measures from wolves is limited and scattered in the literature. In this study, we compiled a dataset of 30 cases describing the application of 11 measures of protecting cattle and smaller livestock against wolves, estimated their effectiveness as a relative risk of damage, and identified the best measures for damage reduction. We found that: (1) lethal control and translocation were less effective than other measures, (2) deterrents, especially fladry which is a fence with ropes marked by hanging colored flags that sway in the wind and provide a visual warning signal, were more effective than guarding dogs; (3) deterrents, fencing, calving control and herding were very effective, but the last two measures included only one case each; and (4) protection of cattle was more effective than that of small stock (sheep and goats, or sheep only) and mixed cattle and small stock. In all of these cases, the relative risk of damage was reduced by 50–100%. Considering Germany as an example of a country with a recovering wolf population and escalating human-wolf conflicts, we suggest electric fences and electrified fladry as the most promising measures, which under suitable conditions can be accompanied by well-trained livestock guarding dogs, and the temporary use of deterrents during critical periods such as calving and lambing seasons. Further research in this field is of paramount importance to efficiently mitigate human-wolf conflicts. Keywords: Carnivore, Depredation, Efficiency, Germany, Intervention, Predator

There is a growing agreement that conservation needs to be proactive and pay increased attention to common species and to the threats they face. The blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) plays a key ecological role in sensitive high‐altitude ecosystems of Central Asia and is among the main prey species for the globally vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia). As the blue sheep has been increasingly exposed to human pressures, it is vital to estimate its population dynamics, protect the key populations, identify important habitats, and secure a balance between conservation and local livelihoods. We conducted a study in Manang, Annapurna Conservation Area (Nepal), to survey blue sheep on 60 transects in spring (127.9 km) and 61 transects in autumn (134.7 km) of 2019, estimate their minimum densities from total counts, compare these densities with previous estimates, and assess blue sheep habitat selection by the application of generalized additive models (GAMs). Total counts yielded minimum density estimates of 6.0–7.7 and 6.9–7.8 individuals/km2 in spring and autumn, respectively, which are relatively high compared to other areas. Elevation and, to a lesser extent, land cover indicated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) strongly affected habitat selection by blue sheep, whereas the effects of anthropogenic variables were insignificant. Animals were found mainly in habitats associated with grasslands and shrublands at elevations between 4,200 and 4,700 m. We show that the blue sheep population size in Manang has been largely maintained over the past three decades, indicating the success of the integrated conservation and development efforts in this area. Considering a strong dependence of snow leopards on blue sheep, these findings give hope for the long‐term conservation of this big cat in Manang. We suggest that long‐term population monitoring and a better understanding of blue sheep–livestock interactions are crucial to maintain healthy populations of blue sheep and, as a consequence, of snow leopards., Blue sheep play a key ecological role in high‐altitude ecosystems and represent the staple prey for the globally threatened snow leopard. We show that the Manang area, Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, still maintains a relatively high density of these ungulates. Elevation and land cover are the main local determinants of blue sheep habitats.

Many integrated conservation and development projects use road construction to induce a shift in income activities, since road access can reduce both poverty and environmental degradation. There is, however, little empirical evidence on the effects of road access on income patterns. We contribute to existing literature by analyzing the effects of road access on income activity choice in Korup National Park, Cameroon using a difference-in-difference approach. Road access led to a rise in total household income by 38% due to higher household participation in self-employment and wage labor. We neither found an effect on income from crop farming nor on participation in hunting activities. The effects of road access can be diverse and unforeseeable. Road construction in protected areas should thus be carefully considered and planned and only be implemented when other options are not feasible. Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 2019 peerReviewed

Human–predator conflicts are globally widespread, and effective interventions are essential to protect human assets from predator attacks. As effectiveness also has a temporal dimension, it is of importance to know how long interventions remain most effective and to determine time thresholds at which effectiveness begins to decrease. To address this, we conducted a systematic review of the temporal changes in the effectiveness of non-invasive interventions against terrestrial mammalian predators, defining a temporal trend line of effectiveness for each published case. We found only 26 cases from 14 publications, mainly referring to electric fences (n = 7 cases) and deterrents (n = 7 cases). We found electric fences and calving control to remain highly effective for the longest time, reducing damage by 100% for periods between three months and 3 years. The effectiveness of acoustical and light deterrents as well as guarding animals eroded quite fast after one to five months. Supplemental feeding was found to be counter-productive by increasing damage over time instead of reducing it. We stress that it is vital to make monitoring a routine requirement for all intervention applications and suggest to standardize periods of time over which monitoring can produce meaningful and affordable information. Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 2019 peerReviewed

Riparian forests, an integral part of savanna ecosystems, are threatened across West Africa by agricultural expansion. However, some patches of original riparian vegetation are protected by traditional beliefs as ‘Sacred Groves’. We assessed the role of Sacred Groves in maintaining landscape-scale bird assemblages by conducting 144 1-h point counts, distributed over 24 plots in eastern Guinea-Bissau. The plots were situated in three riparian habitat types with different levels of human modification (Sacred Grove, Young Secondary Forest, Annual Cultures) and the adjacent Wooded Savanna. We accumulated 4572 records of 174 species and compared total species richness, composition, and functional traits among the four habitat types. At the plot level, species richness was higher in Wooded Savannas and Annual Cultures compared to Secondary Forests and Sacred Groves. Bird communities in Wooded Savannas were similar to those in Annual Cultures and differed the most from those of Sacred Groves. Bird community composition in Young Secondary Forests was similar to that in Annual Cultures but showed a shift towards the community composition found in Sacred Groves. Certain traits were strongly specific to habitat type. For example, Sacred Groves were characterized by a high number of forest specialists and insectivorous birds. Our results suggest that the rapid successional dynamics in riparian habitats enable disturbance tolerant forest species to recolonize fallow areas after a relatively short period of time. However, Sacred Groves hold a distinct avifauna and their conservation may therefore be crucial for forest specialist species and the re-establishment of bird assemblages in fallow riparian areas. Our findings also stress the importance of respecting and strengthening traditional forms of nature protection. Keywords: Fourth corner analysis, Functional diversity, Guinea savanna biome, Guinea-Congo biome, Land use, Sacred groves

Overexploitation is one of the main pressures driving wildlife closer to extinction, yet broad-scale data to evaluate species’ declines are limited. Using African pangolins (Family: Pholidota) as a case study, we demonstrate that collating local-scale data can provide crucial information on regional trends in exploitation of threatened species to inform conservation actions and policy. We estimate that 0.4-2.7 million pangolins are hunted annually in Central African forests. The number of pangolins hunted has increased by ∼150% and the proportion of pangolins of all vertebrates hunted increased from 0.04% to 1.83% over the past four decades. However, there were no trends in pangolins observed at markets, suggesting use of alternative supply chains. We found evidence that the price of giant (Smutsia gigantea) and arboreal (Phataginus sp.) pangolins in urban markets has increased, mirroring trends in Asian pangolins. Efforts and resources are needed to increase law enforcement and population monitoring, and investigate linkages between subsistence hunting and illegal wildlife trade. Overexploitation is one of the main pressures driving wildlife closer to extinction, yet broad-scale data to evaluate species’ declines are limited. Using African pangolins (Family: Pholidota) as a case study, we demonstrate that collating local-scale data can provide crucial information on regional trends in exploitation of threatened species to inform conservation actions and policy. We estimate that 0.4-2.7 million pangolins are hunted annually in Central African forests. The number of pangolins hunted has increased by ∼150% and the proportion of pangolins of all vertebrates hunted increased from 0.04% to 1.83% over the past four decades. However, there were no trends in pangolins observed at markets, suggesting use of alternative supply chains. We found evidence that the price of giant (Smutsia gigantea) and arboreal (Phataginus sp.) pangolins in urban markets has increased, mirroring trends in Asian pangolins. Efforts and resources are needed to increase law enforcement and population monitoring, and investigate linkages between subsistence hunting and illegal wildlife trade.

The elusive Caspian red deer Cervus elaphus maral lives at low densities in rugged forest habitats of the Caucasus and the south Caspian region, and its declining population requires urgent attention. We here address the precision and reliability of dung counts (fecal standing crop approach FSC) and camera trapping (random encounter model REM) for estimating its population size. We surveyed 36 km of strip transects arranged in systematic random design and applied 1585 camera trap nights of effort in the mountainous forest habitats of Golestan National Park, Iran. We also conducted a dung decay analysis of 80 samples. Dung decay rates were not habitat-specific and the mean time to decay was 141.8  15.1 days, i.e. only ca 52% of the most reliable estimate available for red deer dung. Estimated deer population size and density from dung counts was lower (194  46 individuals, 0.46  0.11 individuals km–2, 2012–2013) than from REM (257  84 individuals, 0.61  0.20 individuals km–2, 2011), but this difference was insignificant. Both these estimates confirm a sharp decline of the population from an estimated 2096 animals in the 1970s. Density estimates reached a stable level and were most precise at a sampling effort of 15 transects (FSC) and 1345 camera trap-days (REM). Our results confirm that FSC and REM can both be reliable for assessing populations of Cervidae. peerReviewed

Livestock is represented in big cat diets throughout the world. Husbandry approaches aim to reduce depredation, which may influence patterns of prey choice, but whether felids have a preference for livestock or not often remains unclear as most studies ignore livestock availability. We assessed prey choice of the endangered Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in Golestan National Park, Iran, where conflict over livestock depredation occurs. We analyzed leopard diet (77 scats) and assessed wild and domestic prey abundance by line transect sampling (186 km), camera-trapping (2777 camera days), double-observer point-counts (64 scans) and questionnaire surveys (136 respondents). Based on interviews with 18 shepherds, we estimated monthly grazing time outside six villages with 96 conflict cases to obtain a small livestock (domestic sheep and goat) availability coefficient. Using this coefficient, which ranged between 0.40 and 0.63 for different villages, we estimated the numbers of sheep and goats available to leopard depredation. Leopard diet consisted mainly of wild boar (Sus scrofa) (50.2% biomass consumed), but bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus) was the most preferred prey species (Ij = 0.73), whereas sheep and goats were avoided (Ij = -0.54). When absolute sheep and goat numbers (~11250) were used instead of the corrected ones (~6392), avoidance of small livestock appeared to be even stronger (Ij = -0.71). We suggest that future assessments of livestock choice by felids should incorporate such case-specific corrections for spatiotemporal patterns of availability, which may vary with husbandry methods. Such an approach increases our understanding of human-felid conflict dynamics and the role of livestock in felid diets. Open-Access Publikationsfonds 2016 peerReviewed