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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Human impact on wildlife even in protected areas    
    Largest survey of its kind could inform biodiversity policy    
      
     Date:   
         June 26, 2023   
     Source:   
         Rice University   
     Summary:   
         The largest long-term standardized camera-trap survey to date finds   
         that human activity impacts tropical mammals living in protected   
         areas and sheds light on how different species are affected based   
         on their habitat needs and anthropogenic stressors.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   By 2030, if the 30 by 30 initiative supported by more than 100 countries   
   is successful, 30% of our land and ocean ecosystems will be designated   
   protected areas meant to safeguard biodiversity and help limit the   
   impacts of climate change.   
      
   However, a study by Rice University ecologist Lydia Beaudrot and   
   collaborators reports for the first time that tropical mammals living   
   inside protected areas are not spared the effects of human activity even   
   when it occurs outside of the protected boundaries.   
      
   Based on the largest long-term camera-trap wildlife survey of its   
   kind to date, the research sheds light on how anthropogenic stressors   
   such as human population density and habitat fragmentation impact   
   159 mammal species in 16 protected areas across three biogeographic   
   regions. The study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, could   
   inform biodiversity policymaking decisions by 30 by 30 participants.   
      
   Composed of millions of images collected over multiple years from over   
   1,000 camera-trap sites, the data set was assembled by a large-scale   
   network of research stations that agreed to implement a consistent   
   data-collection protocol as part of a partnership between Conservation   
   International, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Smithsonian   
   Institution.   
      
   "This data set is just phenomenal -- it was a herculean effort unlike   
   anything attempted before," said Beaudrot, an assistant professor of   
   biosciences.   
      
   The study found that specialist species -- which occupy specific habitats   
   only -- thrive when habitat fragmentation is low and are generally more   
   susceptible to the negative impacts of human activities like hunting   
   and land use than generalist species, which are able to live in more   
   diverse habitats. Thus, a white-bellied pangolin living in the Bwindi   
   Impenetrable National Park in Uganda should shuffle closer to its center,   
   since specialists are likely to fare better the farther inward they are   
   from the edge of a protected area.   
      
   "Habitats are more varied at the edge of the protected area," said   
   Asuncio'n Semper-Pascual, a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian   
   University for Life Sciences and the lead author on the study. "There   
   is usually this difference between forest cover and open landscape,   
   such as an area used for agriculture, etc. Some generalist species   
   thrive in this kind of diverse setting because it provides access   
   to different resources."  Generalist species, such as the tayra --   
   a dog-sized omnivore in the weasel family that is at home both under   
   forest cover and in grasslands or cropland, only thrive near the edge   
   of protected areas if human population density there is low.   
      
   Understanding species-specific responses to different anthropogenic   
   stressors can help set conservation priorities and guide protected-area   
   management - - locally by focusing on the most vulnerable species in a   
   region and globally by highlighting how landscape-scale factors impact   
   biodiversity beyond the protected perimeter.   
      
   "We have to think about the situation holistically," Beaudrot said.   
      
   "Conservation is going to work best when it's tackled in specific contexts   
   and in concert with the people who live there so as to create win-win   
   situations for both the people and the wildlife."  "As more protected   
   areas are created, we need to think carefully about the factors both   
   within and outside protected areas that influence biodiversity,"   
   Semper-Pascual said.   
      
   The Research Council of Norway (NFR301075) and the National Science   
   Foundation (2213568) supported the research.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Nature # Ecology_Research # Endangered_Animals # Mice   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Ecology # Biodiversity # Environmental_Awareness #   
                   Environmental_Policy   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Fin_Whale o Gorilla o Ostrich o   
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   Story Source: Materials provided by Rice_University. Original written   
   by Silvia Cernea Clark.   
      
   Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Asuncio'n Semper-Pascual, Douglas Sheil, Lydia Beaudrot, Pierre   
      Dupont,   
         Soumen Dey, Jorge Ahumada, Emmanuel Akampurira, Robert Bitariho,   
         Santiago Espinosa, Patrick A. Jansen, Marcela Guimara~es Moreira   
         Lima, Emanuel H.   
      
         Martin, Badru Mugerwa, Francesco Rovero, Fernanda Santos,   
         Eustrate Uzabaho, Richard Bischof. Occurrence dynamics   
         of mammals in protected tropical forests respond to human   
         presence and activities. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1038/s41559-023-02060-6   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230626163159.htm   
      
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