Integrating social and ecological knowledge is requisite for solutions to global conservation problems, including human–wildlife conflict, but gathering sufficient data to facilitate integration has proved difficult. Social–ecological systems models have also traditionally overlooked individual human thought and behavior that can affect the success of management interventions. In response to these challenges, we drew upon psychological theory and long‐term ecological data on wildlife populations and conflict occurrence to inform qualitative research on pastoralists' values toward wildlife in the northern Namib Desert. We explored how values and ecological conditions shaped individuals': (a) interactions with and tolerance of species; and (b) perceptions of challenges and potential solutions to living with wildlife. Semi‐structured interview data revealed a prevailing domination value orientation toward wildlife, reflected in concerns for human and livestock wellbeing. Despite these concerns and high rates of reported conflicts, pastoralists were generally tolerant of wildlife, including predators, and indicated this in their proposed management solutions. In addition to its practical implications for informing human–wildlife coexistence strategies in the Namibian context, our approach advances knowledge about wildlife values globally, offers insights on the utility of qualitative assessments for cross‐cultural social–ecological systems research, and furthers understanding of conservation challenges and opportunities in extreme arid environments.
Carnivore predation on livestock is a complex management and policy challenge, yet it is also intrinsically an ecological interaction between predators and prey. Human–wildlife interactions occur in socioecological systems in which human and environmental processes are closely linked. However, underlying human–wildlife conflict and key to unpacking its complexity are concrete and identifiable ecological mechanisms that lead to predation events. To better understand how ecological theory accords with interactions between wild predators and domestic prey, we developed a framework to describe ecological drivers of predation on livestock. We based this framework on foundational ecological theory and current research on interactions between predators and domestic prey. We used this framework to examine ecological mechanisms (e.g., density‐mediated effects, behaviorally mediated effects, and optimal foraging theory) through which specific management interventions operate, and we analyzed the ecological determinants of failure and success of management interventions in 3 case studies: snow leopards (
- PAR ID:
- 10456237
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Conservation Biology
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0888-8892
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 854-867
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Conflict between livestock producers and wild predators is a central driver of large predator declines and simultaneously may imperil the lives and livelihoods of livestock producers. There is a growing recognition that livestock–predator conflict is a socio‐ecological problem, but few case studies exist to guide conflict research and management from this point of view. Here we present a case study of coyote‐sheep predation on a California ranch in which we combine methods from the rapidly growing field of predation risk modeling with participatory mapping of perceptions of predation risk. Our findings reveal an important selection bias that may occur when producer perceptions and decisions are excluded from ecological methods of studying conflict. We further demonstrate how producer inputs, participatory mapping, and ecological modeling of conflict can inform one another in understanding patterns, drivers, and management opportunities for livestock–predator conflict. Finally, we make recommendations for improving the interoperability of ecological and social data about predation risk. Collectively our methods offer a socio‐ecological approach that fills important research gaps and offers guidance to future research.
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Abstract Domestic dogs are the most abundant large carnivore on the planet, and their ubiquity has led to concern regarding the impacts of dogs as predators of and competitors with native wildlife. If native large carnivores perceive dogs as threatening, impacts could extend to the community level by altering interactions between large carnivores and their prey. Dog impacts may be further exacerbated if these human-associated predators are also perceived as indicators of risk from humans. However, observational approaches used to date have led to ambiguity regarding the effects of dog presence on wildlife. We experimentally quantified dog impacts on the behavior of a native large carnivore, presenting playbacks of dog vocalizations to pumas in central California. We show that the perceived presence of dogs has minimal impacts on puma behavior at their kill sites, and is no more likely to affect total feeding time at kills than non-threatening controls. We previously demonstrated that pumas exhibit strong responses to human cues, and here show that perceived risk from human presence far exceeds that from dogs. Our results suggest that protected areas management policies that restrict dogs but permit human access may in some cases be of limited value for large carnivores.
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Abstract Wildlife species are transitioning to greater crepuscular and nocturnal activity in response to high human densities. This plasticity in temporal niches may partially mitigate the impacts of human activity but may also result in underestimating human effects on species foraging, predator–prey relationships and community‐level interactions.
We deployed remote cameras to characterize shifts in herbivore diel activity in protected habitat versus pastoralist landscapes. We then compared species traits including body mass, dietary preferences and behavioural characteristics as potential predictors of species sensitivity to livestock.
Our data capture a significant temporal shift away from core cattle activity for nearly every herbivore species in our study, leading to more crepuscular activity patterns. As livestock were primarily diurnal and predators primarily nocturnal in pastoralist habitat, species that decreased their overlap with livestock were more likely to increase their overlap with potential predators.
Other than species' typical daytime activity levels, we found no evidence that any particular trait significantly predicted temporal shifts in response to livestock. Instead, species generally trended towards greater activity levels at dawn, suggesting that cattle have a homogenizing effect on community‐wide activity patterns.
Our findings highlight how cohabitation with livestock can profoundly alter the temporal niches of wild herbivores. Shifts in diel activity patterns may reduce herbivore foraging time or efficiency and potentially have cascading shifts on predator–prey dynamics. Given that species traits could not predict responses to livestock, our analysis suggests that conservation strategies should consider each species separately when designing interventions for wildlife management.
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null (Ed.)Research on the ecology of fear has highlighted the importance of perceived risk from predators and humans in shaping animal behavior and physiology, with potential demographic and ecosystem-wide consequences. Despite recent conceptual advances and potential management implications of the ecology of fear, theory and conservation practices have rarely been linked. Many challenges in animal conservation may be alleviated by actively harnessing or compensating for risk perception and risk avoidance behavior in wild animal populations. Integration of the ecology of fear into conservation and management practice can contribute to the recovery of threatened populations, human–wildlife conflict mitigation, invasive species management, maintenance of sustainable harvest and species reintroduction plans. Here, we present an applied framework that links conservation interventions to desired outcomes by manipulating ecology of fear dynamics. We discuss how to reduce or amplify fear in wild animals by manipulating habitat structure, sensory stimuli, animal experience (previous exposure to risk) and food safety trade-offs to achieve management objectives. Changing the optimal decision-making of individuals in managed populations can then further conservation goals by shaping the spatiotemporal distribution of animals, changing predation rates and altering risk effects that scale up to demographic consequences. We also outline future directions for applied research on fear ecology that will better inform conservation practices. Our framework can help scientists and practitioners anticipate and mitigate unintended consequences of management decisions, and highlight new levers for multi-species conservation strategies that promote human–wildlife coexistence.more » « less
