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1. Women and urban wildmeat trafficking in the Republic of Congo

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110587  

   Green, Aalayna R.; Plowman, Christian; Mwinyihali, Robert; Wieland, Michelle; Gore, Meredith L. (April 2024, Biological Conservation)

   As a result of declining biodiversity and increasing rates of urbanization, the illegal urban wildmeat trade is projected to become an integral sector of the wildlife crime industry. Adequate assessment of urban wildmeat trafficking requires investigation into the roles and behaviors of individuals who engage in wildlife crimes. However, akin to much of wildlife crime literature, women's engagement within the urban wildmeat trade have received little investigation. The objectives of our investigation were to (1) explore relationships between women and wildlife products across the supply chain, and (2) determine whether a significant relationship exists between women and specific wildlife products. Through systematic social observations, we evaluate the gendered dimensions of urban wildmeat trafficking in the Republic of Congo between the urban centers of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. We place particular emphasis on species of conservation concern, namely great apes, African pangolins, and dwarf crocodiles. Results indicate that there are gendered variations at the species and the geographic level, indicating that women are sourcing and sending their products to different locations than men, and that women are specializing in trade of different species. We attest that urban wildmeat trafficking prevention strategies implement a gender-aware approach due to the unique ways that individuals engage with the industry and how that engagement is gendered. 

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2. Fishes of the Mfimi River in the central Congo basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kasai ecoregion or part of the Cuvette Centrale?

   https://doi.org/10.15560/17.6.1681  

   Melanie, L. J.; S. Elizabeth, Alter; Tobit, L.D. Liyandja; Myriam, Y. Modimo; Raoul, J. C. (December 2021, Checklist)

   Despite the cultural and economic importance of fisheries to communities in the region, the Mfimi is one of the leastwell-documented river systems in the central Congo basin. Here we present a preliminary listing of species collected during two surveys sampling 35 sites along the main channel, in major tributaries, and in some marginal habitats. A total of 2195 specimens representing 141 species were collected and archived at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and in the teaching collections of the University of Kinshasa. Five species are considered as potentially new to science, and range extensions of numerous species into the Mfimi are recorded. Based on the data presented we conclude that the fish communities in the Mfimi share affinities with those of the Cuvette Centrale to the north, rather than the Kasai basin with which the river is currently connected via an inflow at the Kwa-Kasai junction. 

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3. An unexpected new Poropanchax (Cyprinodontiformes, Procatopodidae) from the Kongo Central Province, Democratic Republic of Congo

   JOUKE, R. VAN; KIMBERLY, BERNOTAS; PEDRO, H.N. BRAGANÇA; MELANIE, L.J. STIASSNY (October 2019, American Museum novitates)

   A new procatopodid, assigned to the genus Poropanchax, is described from a wetland habitat located adjacent to the Inga Falls in Lower Congo. Poropanchax pepo, new species, is distinguished from all congeners by a combination of characters including a higher D/A ratio, rounded anal and dorsal fins, a humeral blotch in males, and the absence of a sharp ventral process on the basipterygium. The finding of a Poropanchax species in Lower Congo was unexpected, since the closest known congeneric population is located in northwestern Gabon, some 700 kilometers to the north. As recognized herein the genus Poropanchax is a clade comprised of five species geographically restricted to humid coastal regions of west and west-central Africa. 

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4. Analysis of individual-level data from 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09564-4  

   Vossler, Harley; Akilimali, Pierre; Pan, Yuhan; KhudaBukhsh, Wasiur R.; Kenah, Eben; Rempała, Grzegorz A. (December 2022, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract The 2018–2020 Ebola virus disease epidemic in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) resulted in 3481 cases (probable and confirmed) and 2299 deaths. In this paper, we use a novel statistical method to analyze the individual-level incidence and hospitalization data on DRC Ebola victims. Our analysis suggests that an increase in the rate of quarantine and isolation that has shortened the infectiousness period by approximately one day during the epidemic’s third and final wave was likely responsible for the eventual containment of the outbreak. The analysis further reveals that the total effective population size or the average number of individuals at risk for the disease exposure in three epidemic waves over the period of 24 months was around 16,000–a much smaller number than previously estimated and likely an evidence of at least partial protection of the population at risk through ring vaccination and contact tracing as well as adherence to strict quarantine and isolation policies. 

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5. Low-Cost Investigation into Sources of PM _2.5 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.3c00024  

   Westervelt, Daniel M.; Isevulambire, Paulson Kasereka; Yombo Phaka, Rodriguez; Yang, Laura H.; Raheja, Garima; Milly, George; Selenge, Jean-Luc Balogije; Mulumba, Jean Pierre; Bousiotis, Dimitrios; Djibi, Buenimio Lomami; et al (November 2023, ACS ES&T Air)