Academic literature on the topic 'Wildlife: general interest'

The publishers of this edited volume rightly claim that it should be required reading for a varied audience interested in wildlife tourism including tourism professionals, wildlife managers, recreation managers, researchers, and general readers with an interest in the role of wildlife tourism. I volunteered to review this book, since I readily confess to being a wildlife tourist at times, and I was curious as to the inner workings of the industry. This volume provides an eye-opening viewpoint on wildlife tourism to someone outside the field

The 30th Congress of the International Union of Game Biologists (IUGB) and Perdix XIII was held at the ‘Hotel Juan Carlos I’ in Barcelona, Spain, from 5 to 9 September 2011. The event was organised by the University of Barcelona, the Regional Government of Catalonia Department of Agriculture, Farming, Fish, Food and Environment, the Spanish Institute of Game Resources Research (IREC), and the British Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. Every two years since the mid–1950s, the International Union of Game Biologists (IUGB) has brought together international wildlife biologists, forestry scientists, veterinarians, game managers, hunters and others with an interest in game or wildlife biology. The IUGB encourages the exchange of scientific and practical knowledge in the field of game and wildlife management, the broad field of game biology, and international co–operation in game and wildlife management. The aim of the conference is to build bridges between scientists, wildlife managers and authorities, and those studying the human dimensions of wildlife management. Following the meetings in Limassol (Cyprus) in 2001 and Braga (Portugal) in 2003, Perdix XIII joined the IUGB Congress series for the third time in its history. Founded in the 1960s, the Perdix series has traditionally attracted partridge, quail and francolin researchers and conservationists from across Europe and North America. To make the Perdix series even more attractive to gamebird biologists, specialists in any Galliform species —whether pheasants, cracids, megapodes or grouse— is welcomed. This joint congress provided a forum to share current developments in gamebird and mammal wildlife research and management, offering an excellent opportunity to identify research gaps, to determine conservation action needs, and to co–ordinate research projects. The congress was attended by 397 researchers and wildlife managers from 37 different countries from the five continents, and included many of the world’s leading wildlife biologists. The general topic was ‘Human–wildlife conflicts and peace-building strategies’. The objective was to summarise the general philosophy of the organising and scientific committees to try to overcome the simple collection of problems derived from human–wildlife interactions by proposing solutions on the basis of scientific knowledge of wildlife and management. A total of 260 contributions were presented. Sixty–eight Perdix XIII communications were related to galliform species (38 oral communications and 30 posters). Additionally, keynote plenary lectures were given by renowned experts, each of whom opened one of the eight main topics of the Conference: – First plenary session: ‘Veterinary aspects of wildlife and conservation’ Bushmeat hunting regulates ebola emergence. Speaker: Dr. Peter D. Walsh – Second plenary session: ‘Species extinctions and population dynamics’ Galliform species and species extinctions: what we know and what we need to know. Speaker: Dr. Philip K. J. McGowan Third plenary session: ‘Wildlife law and policy’ Policy responses to human-wildlife conflicts. A perspective from the convention of migratory species (CMS). Speaker: Dr. Borja Heredia – Fourth plenary session: ‘Conservation and management of migratory species’ Conservation and management of the Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) in Europe: past, present and future. Speaker: Dr. Manel Puigcerver – Fifth plenary session: ‘Wildlife biology, behaviour and game species management’ The Grey partridge in the UK: population status, research, policy and prospects . Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Aebischer – Sixth plenary session: ‘Interactions humans–wildlife’ Managing conflicts between conservation and gamebird management. Speaker: Dr. Steve Redpath – Seventh plenary session: ‘Methodologies, models and techniques’ Molecular genetic tools and techniques for improving management of wildlife and game species. Speaker: Dr. Lisette Waits – Eigth plenary session: ‘Human dimensions of game wildlife management’ Sustainable hunting: an exploration along ecological and social dimensions. Speaker: Dr. John Linnell Of these eight lectures, four were clearly focused on Galliformes species and the others were of general interest to the audience. Six specific workshops were also presented during the Conference, three of which were of particular interest to Perdix attendees: – Sustainable management of migratory birds – what may hunters and game biologists expect from each other?, led by Dr. Yves Lecocq and Dr. Conor O’Gorman. – GALLIPYR: Pyrenean Network for the mountain game fowl, led by Dr. Virginie Fabre (geieforespir@forespir.com) and sponsored by the GALLIPYR INTERREG Project. – Reconciling agricultural management, small game production and biodiversity conservation: recommendations for the CAP reform, led by Drs. J. Viñuela, F. Casas, F. Ros, D. Villanúa, P. Ferreras, J. Torres, I. Leranoz, J. Ardaiz, V. Alzaga, A. Cormenzana and E. Castién. Further information can be found on the Conference web page (www.iugb2011.com) where the final programme, the abstract book (in PDF format), and extended abstracts of some contributions can be downloaded. Some of the most outstanding contributions, selected by the scientific committee of the Conference, are now published in this special issue of the international scientific journal Animal Biodiversity and Conservation. We wish to thank the scientific and organising committees, the sponsors, and the participants for making this meeting such an interesting, friendly and highly valuable event.

ABSTRACTThe paper analyses the conflict between wildlife conservation and its accompanying land-use in an East African context. In the model there are two agents. First, there is an agency managing the wildlife and the habitat of the wildlife, which is referred to as parkland. On the other hand, there is the group of agro-pastoralists living in the vicinity of the wildlife habitat, whose land-use is referred to as rangelands. The parkland is used for tourism production and hunting, while the rangelands are used for agro-pastoral production. Both agents will find it beneficial to expand their land-use, so there is a land-use conflict. This is analysed in two steps. First, social optimality is studied; then we study the utilization of the wildlife and its accompanying land-use when there is no unified resource policy and the park agency follows its self-interest. The effects on the two different management schemes of changing economic conditions, such as the recommendations of the CITES convention and a programme subsidizing agro-pastoral production, are discussed.

Although wildlife rehabilitation relies heavily on volunteers, the characteristics and motivations of such volunteer workers have not been studied. 80 volunteers from three San Francisco Bay Area Rehabilitation Centers, were interviewed about their preferences in working with animals and people, their methods of dealing with grief and failure over animals' deaths, and the onset of their interest in and motives for working in a difficult field. A significant number had owned pets in childhood as well as currently. 40% preferred working only with animals to working with both animals and people. 34% stayed in rehabilitation because they loved and wanted to help animals; 23% enjoyed hands-on nurturing; and the remainder primarily felt they were giving back to Nature a part of what people have taken from it.

Abstract Acorns are recognized as an important food for wildlife in New England oak forests, but information on managing stands to enhance acorn production is scarce. Thinning oak stands in central Massachusetts to promote the growth of quality sawtimber did not diminish acorn production per hectare. During 3 successive yr, mean number of sound acorns ranged from 30,000 to 155,000/ha for unthinned stands and from 58,000 to 220,000/ha for thinned stands. Releasing individual oaks increased acorn production per tree. The differences between thinned and unthinned trees and stands were greatest during years when acorn production was lowest. The positive effect of thinning during years of generally poor acorn production is a potentially important benefit for wildlife. Thinning oak stands to enhance acorn production may be an attractive option for landowners with an interest in wildlife. North. J. Appl. For. 14(3):152-156.

Studying the human dimensions of wildlife management issues is now considered to be an essential component of wildlife research. This study examined the Living with Possums policy in Victoria, Australia, in terms of the policy?s success in educating the community and ensuring community compliance. Postal surveys and telephone interviews were conducted across three samples from Greater Melbourne. These samples included people who had experiences with possums on their property (n = 340), veterinary clinics (n = 45) and the general public (n = 103). Significant levels of non-compliance were uncovered, highlighting the need for a renewed public education campaign to take place along with a continued interest in this issue from government agencies and councils. The study also revealed discrepancies between the policy and public preferences for possum management, suggesting that a shift in the recommended management technique may be warranted.

As the global road network expands, roads pose an emerging threat to wildlife populations. One way in which roads can affect wildlife is wildlife-vehicle collisions, which can be a significant cause of mortality through roadkill. In order to successfully mitigate these problems, it is vital to understand the factors that can explain the distribution of roadkill. Collecting the data required to enable this can be expensive and time consuming, but there is significant potential in partnering with organisations that conduct existing road patrols to obtain the necessary data. We assessed the feasibility of using roadkill data collected daily between 2014 and 2017 by road patrol staff from a private road agency on a 410 km length of the N3 road in South Africa. We modelled the relationship between a set of environmental and anthropogenic variables on the number of roadkill carcasses, using serval (Leptailurus serval) as a model species. We recorded 5.24 serval roadkill carcasses/100 km/year. The number of carcasses was related to season, the amount of wetland, and NDVI, but was not related to any of the anthropogenic variables we included. This suggests that roadkill patterns may differ greatly depending on the ecology of species of interest, but targeting mitigation measures where roads pass through wetlands may help to reduce serval roadkill. Partnering with road agencies for data collection offers powerful opportunities to identify factors related to roadkill distribution and reduce the threats posed by roads to wildlife.

This article reviews biological and anthropological literatute on wild and tame Rangifer to demonstrate the powerful effect that this species has had on the imaginations of biologists, social scientists and local hunters. Through identifying a general 'human interest' in Rangifer, the author argues that there is great potential for these three communities to work together. To demonstrate this idea, the paper reviews several examples of successful and unsuccessful 'alliances' between local peoples and both natural and social scientists which have had a fundamental impact upon the history of these sciences. The paper examines recent theorerical models which suggest that human action is a major factor in the behaviour and ecology of the animals. The paper also analyses the ideas of many indigenous people for whom there is no categorical difference between semi-domesticated, semi-sedentary and migratory Rangifer through comparison with many 'anomalous' texts in English and Russian language wildlife biology. By reviewing the history of scholarly interest in Rangifer, the author argues that contemporary models of Rangifer behaviour and identity could be 'revitalised' and 'recalibrated' through the establishment of that dialogue between scientists and local peoples which so characterised the 19th century. Such a dialogue, it is argued, would help mediate many of the political conflicts now appearing in those districts where Rangifer migrate.

The Gold Coast is one of Australia's premier tourism destinations, a modern city cut out of coastal vegetation, including paperbark swamps, mangroves and rainforests of both Indigenous and worldwide significance. The Gold Coast Transformed is a collection of integrated chapters identifying and assessing the environmental impacts of the building of Australia's sixth largest city. From the time of the first European timber getters through to the present, the book traces the impacts of rapid development on the now World Heritage-listed rainforest and surrounding ecosystems. 
 The city's natural and engineered environments are both fascinating and vulnerable. The construction of massive high-rise apartment blocks, on what were frontal beach dunes, is one of the fundamental mistakes not to be repeated. The book illustrates how and why major environmentally destructive development took place and discusses the impacts of such development on the Gold Coast's beaches, wildlife, and terrestrial and marine environments, such as the destruction of riparian mangrove forest.
 The Gold Coast Transformed also shows the possibility of sustaining natural populations and reducing the city's ecological footprint. It will be of interest to ecologists, environmental scientists and managers, town planners, economists, policymakers and the general public.

<i>Abstract</i>.—In this article, we examine the different values and cultural representations of catch-and-release fishing and of human–animal relations in general. The focus is on various images of good and ethical recreational fishing practices, particularly in the context of catch-and-release fishing in Finland. The material consists of scientific articles and newspaper articles and policy documents related to fishing and human–wildlife relations. Despite the fact that modern societies show increasing interest in animal rights—often challenging traditional practices like hunting—animal welfare and nature protection groups seem to support the traditional “northern subsistence culture” in the Finnish case of recreational fishing. The context of traditional human–nature relations overrides modern human–animal relations. However, the complexity and diversity of recreational fisher groups and public debate are increasing. This calls for clarification of the ambiguous terminology of catch-and-release fishing as well as for new policy institutions where different views and values could be governed.

Tourists encounter wild animals both intentionally, in wildlife tourism; and incidentally, in adventure tourism. Some wildlife tour products, enterprises and destinations focus on icon species, others on diversity. Icon species may be large and magnificent, or small and cute. Many birdwatchers, and some diving tourists, maintain lifetime lists of species seen. Individual tourist interests depend strongly on cultural background and prior experience. Tourism creates ecological impacts on wildlife, but in some circumstances may also contribute to conservation. In some circumstances, tourists face physical risks during interactions with wild animals. More generally, tourists viewing or interacting with wild animals experience lasting social and psychological gains.

Case study 5: The Mai Po Wetlands are a protected wildlife habitat of international importance. There is a common misconception that the site is a natural wilderness with no human intervention. Instead, Mai Po is one of the most intensively managed areas in Hong Kong in order to maintain the optimum biodiversity and balance the interests of commercial fish farmers, visitor education, and wildlife conservation. Although the extensive site is owned by government, the wetland reserve is managed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). This chapter traces the history of human intervention that has shaped the wetlands beginning with paddy fields and later construction of fish and shrimp ponds within the dense coastal mangrove plantations. The Mai Po story has a lot to teach the conservation practitioner about resolving conflicts between human activities and habitat protection, sensible land use zoning, establishing buffer zones, and understanding the dynamics of organically evolved cultural landscapes in general.

Imperial expansion transformed and destroyed nature in many areas; yet, as we argue, it also contained conservationist impulses. On the one hand these involved attempts to modify practices on land that was used for agriculture both by settlers and indigenous people. On the other, land was reserved more directly by creating zones where human settlement was disallowed. In the case of forests, this often implied scientific management and controlled commercial logging—although some forests were more tightly protected. With regard to wildlife and protected habitats, settler and colonial governments placed greater emphasis on exclusion in their conservation strategies. This chapter will chart changes in attitude and policy towards protected areas, as tourists replaced elite travellers and white hunters in answering the call of the wild. As in the last chapter, our discussion moves beyond the colonial period. While we focus on countries that became part of the Commonwealth, independent states were operating in a changing international context of which the imperial heritage was only one element. We recognize the shift towards community management of natural resources, and the potential for tourism to generate income for poor people. But we argue that the legacy of exclusive conservation, informed partly by new concerns and interests, remained powerful. It is an ambivalent legacy, still the subject of intense debate and contestation, and heavily criticized in recent literature on Africa. While conservation has helped to preserve some habitats and threatened species, a point not often recognized in critiques, it has not often won local legitimacy. In discussions of wildlife protection, policies of preservation are sometimes distinguished from conservation. The boundaries between these ideas are not easily drawn. In general, preservation is seen as an earlier phase and ‘is posited on…the prevention of any active interference whatsoever’. More recently, such strategies have been adopted in highly protected wilderness zones. Conservation is seen as a later, more interventionist phase. It implies wise usage or management to ensure the long-term viability of a natural resource—much in the way that ‘sustainable’ is used now. In fact, preservation often also requires some degree of management. With respect to wildlife, conservationist approaches became associated with viewing by tourists.

<em>Abstract</em>.—Lake Norman is a 13,156-ha reservoir located north of Charlotte, North Carolina. Given its similarity in size to major reservoirs in adjacent states, anglers believe Lake Norman should produce a quality/trophy fishery for striped bass <em>Morone saxatilis</em>. However, the low nutrient loading of this reservoir make this expectation unrealistic, which has lead to two decades of conflict. Specifically, the inability of fishery managers to meet the unrealistic expectations of striped bass anglers has resulted in public criticism of management actions and a general lack of respect for fisheries management principles. Two organized fishing groups have taken management into their own hands by stocking alewives <em>Alosa pseudoharengus </em>and blueback herring <em>A. aestivalis</em> in hopes of improving the forage base for striped bass. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) undertook a number of efforts in an attempt to resolve this conflict, including meeting directly with angling groups, conducting public meetings, and providing information through the local print media. While each of these efforts met with some short-term success, they were unsuccessful over the long-term in elevating the debate beyond specific management options proposed by the angling groups. In 1998, the NCWRC established a Fisheries Advisory Committee; however, the membership did not represent all angling stakeholder groups. The committee was able to build consensus on a number of issues, but the activities and successes of the committee were not adequately conveyed to the general angling public. Recently, fisheries managers have attempted to engage the general angling public in a more effective manner. The NCWRC is currently providing population assessment data via the Internet, conducting an intensive creel survey, designing an angler opinion survey, and drafting a comprehensive fisheries management plan for Lake Norman.

Hawks and owls can negatively impact a variety of human interests, including important natural resources, livestock and game bird production, human health and safety, and companion animals. Conflicts between raptors and people generally are localized and often site-specific. However, the economic and social impacts to the individuals involved can be severe. Despite the problems they may cause, hawks and owls provide important benefits and environmental services. Raptors are popular with birdwatchers and much of the general public. They also hunt and kill large numbers of rodents, reducing crop damage and other problems. Hawks and owls are classified into four main groups, namely accipiters, buteos, falcons, and owls. All hawks and owls in the United States are federally pro-tected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 USC, 703−711). Hawks and owls typically are protected under state wildlife laws or local ordinances, as well. These laws strictly prohibit the capture, killing, or possession of hawks or owls (or their parts) without a special permit (e.g., Feder-al Depredation Permit), issued by the USFWS. State-issued wildlife damage or depredation permits also may be required.