TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fa, John E.
A1  - Olivero, Jesús
A1  - Real, Raimundo
A1  - Farfán, Miguel A.
A1  - Márquez, Ana L.
A1  - Vargas, J. Mario
A1  - Ziegler, Stefan
A1  - Wegmann, Martin
A1  - Brown, David
A1  - Margetts, Barrie
A1  - Nasi, Robert
T1  - Disentangling the relative effects of bushmeat availability on human nutrition in central Africa
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - We studied links between human malnutrition and wild meat availability within the Rainforest Biotic Zone in central Africa. We distinguished two distinct hunted mammalian diversity distributions, one in the rainforest areas (Deep Rainforest Diversity, DRD) containing taxa of lower hunting sustainability, the other in the northern rainforest-savanna mosaic, with species of greater hunting potential (Marginal Rainforest Diversity, MRD). Wild meat availability, assessed by standing crop mammalian biomass, was greater in MRD than in DRD areas. Predicted bushmeat extraction was also higher in MRD areas. Despite this, stunting of children, a measure of human malnutrition, was greater in MRD areas. Structural equation modeling identified that, in MRD areas, mammal diversity fell away from urban areas, but proximity to these positively influenced higher stunting incidence. In DRD areas, remoteness and distance from dense human settlements and infrastructures explained lower stunting levels. Moreover, stunting was higher away from protected areas. Our results suggest that in MRD areas, forest wildlife rational use for better human nutrition is possible. By contrast, the relatively low human populations in DRD areas currently offer abundant opportunities for the continued protection of more vulnerable mammals and allow dietary needs of local populations to be met.
KW  - plant species richness
KW  - development policy
KW  - Congo Basin
KW  - conservation
KW  - dependence
KW  - wildlife consumption
KW  - food security
KW  - forests
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - hotspots
Y1  - 2015
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144110
VL  - 5
IS  - 8168
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Naidoo, Robin
A1  - Du Preez, Pierre
A1  - Stuart-Hill, Greg
A1  - Jago, Mark
A1  - Wegmann, Martin
T1  - Home on the Range: Factors Explaining Partial Migration of African Buffalo in a Tropical Environment
JF  - PLoS One
N2  - Partial migration (when only some individuals in a population undertake seasonal migrations) is common in many species and geographical contexts. Despite the development of modern statistical methods for analyzing partial migration, there have been no studies on what influences partial migration in tropical environments. We present research on factors affecting partial migration in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in northeastern Namibia. Our dataset is derived from 32 satellite tracking collars, spans 4 years and contains over 35,000 locations. We used remotely sensed data to quantify various factors that buffalo experience in the dry season when making decisions on whether and how far to migrate, including potential man-made and natural barriers, as well as spatial and temporal heterogeneity in environmental conditions. Using an information-theoretic, non-linear regression approach, our analyses showed that buffalo in this area can be divided into 4 migratory classes: migrants, non-migrants, dispersers, and a new class that we call "expanders". Multimodel inference from least-squares regressions of wet season movements showed that environmental conditions (rainfall, fires, woodland cover, vegetation biomass), distance to the nearest barrier (river, fence, cultivated area) and social factors (age, size of herd at capture) were all important in explaining variation in migratory behaviour. The relative contributions of these variables to partial migration have not previously been assessed for ungulates in the tropics. Understanding the factors driving migratory decisions of wildlife will lead to better-informed conservation and land-use decisions in this area.
KW  - Savannas
KW  - utilization distributions
KW  - movement ecology
KW  - predation risk
KW  - animal ecology
KW  - South Africa
KW  - size
KW  - conservation
KW  - Serengeti
KW  - ecosystem
Y1  - 2012
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-134935
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -