Wild dog management in Australia: An interactional approach to case studies of community-led action

Wild dogs are a widespread, established pest in Australia and have economic, environmental, and social impacts. Best practice management recommends coordinated community-led action as a key strategy to reduce this vertebrate pest. This research increased understanding of how citizens organize to collectively manage wild dogs in three case studies from Australia, with attention to the interaction of cultural, structural, and interactional domains of group action. Information asymmetry and changing demographic profiles emerge as challenges to effective group development. Visible community leaders and strong group identity are important, as is peer recognition of community efforts to develop collective action norms. This article complements and extends existing quantitative data sets with qualitative analysis and contextual understanding, while also reflecting on the implications of collective action for wild dog management more broadly. This research is relevant for those concerned with community action and complex issues of vertebrate pest management.     

社区机制在农牧交错地带草地资源管理中的应用

农牧交错地带的草地退化问题非常严重,受到草地资源禀赋的制约及传统管理方式局限性的影响,通过技术手段解决问题,效果不够理想。以宁夏盐池县的草地资源管理、利用为研究对象,分析了草地资源由政府管理、市场化管理的局限性及草地资源社区化管理的必要性、可行性和艰巨性,寻找一种合理的、可行的、适宜的草地资源使用管理方式。通过对几种草地资源管理方式的比较分析,尝试引入社区机制,进行草地资源社区化管理将是农牧交错地带草地可持续利用的有效途径之一。     

Contextual influences on animal decision‐making: Significance for behavior‐based wildlife conservation and management

Survival and successful reproduction require animals to make critical decisions amidst a naturally dynamic environmental and social background (i.e. “context”). However, human activities have pervasively, and rapidly, extended contextual variation into evolutionarily novel territory, potentially rendering evolved animal decision‐making mechanisms and strategies maladaptive. We suggest that explicitly focusing on animal decision‐making (ADM), by integrating and applying findings from studies of sensory ecology, cognitive psychology, behavioral economics and eco‐evolutionary strategies, may enhance our understanding of, and our ability to predict how, human‐driven changes in the environment and population demography will influence animal populations. Fundamentally, the decisions animals make involve evolved mechanisms, and behaviors emerge from the combined action of sensory integration, cognitive mechanisms and strategic rules of thumb, and any of these processes may have a disproportionate influence on behavior. Although there is extensive literature exploring ADM, it generally reflects a canalized, discipline‐specific approach that lacks a unified conceptual framework. As a result, there has been limited application of ADM theory and research findings into predictive models that can enhance management outcomes, even though it is likely that the relative resilience of species to rapid environmental change is fundamentally a result of how ADM is linked to contextual variation. Here, we focus on how context influences ADM, and highlight ideas and results that may be most applicable to conservation biology.     

Human conflict over wildlife: exploring social constructions of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Botswana

Researchers argue that human–wildlife conflict (HWC) can be understood better in terms of conflict between humans over wildlife. We explore human conflict over wildlife by using a social constructionist approach to examine meanings of African wild dogs in Botswana. In 2013 and 2015, we conducted a qualitative study in four study sites by completing: (a) 113 semi-structured interviews with individuals in the agricultural, conservation, and tourism sectors; (b) participant observation; and (c) document analysis. Our results reveal that wild dogs are socially constructed as problem animals, as an endangered species, and as an economic resource, reflecting stakeholders’ diverging agendas, priorities, and values. The social constructions are driven by and emblematic of politico-economic and sociocultural trends, and competing development trends in Botswana. We propose: (a) seeing HWC as human conflict over wildlife can increase communication between conservationists and affected communities, and (b) integrative management plans that increase collaboration among stakeholder groups.     

放牧管理对西藏高寒沼泽植物群落结构和土壤碳氮的影响

对西藏当雄县3种不同放牧管理模式(冬季放牧、冬春季放牧和全年放牧)下的高寒沼泽的植物群落结构和土壤碳氮进行了调查。调查发现,3种放牧管理模式下的高寒沼泽植物群落总盖度差异不显著,而优势物种藏嵩草的高度和盖度差异显著;放牧管理对沼泽群落结构和物种多样性影响较大,随着放牧强度的增加,物种丰富度增加;放牧利用显著降低了高寒沼泽湿地群落优势物种藏嵩草的高度和盖度,其优势度也显著降低,使得高寒沼泽逐渐退化。冬季放牧、冬春季放牧和全年放牧沼泽地上生物量和地下生物量依次降低。同时,随着放牧强度的增加,高寒沼泽表层土壤有机碳氮的含量也显著降低,且高寒沼泽表层土壤碳氮与地上和地下生物量显著正相关。通过对比分析,冬季放牧是当前西藏高寒沼泽较好的放牧管理模式。