Worldwide, Salmonella spp. is a significant cause of disease for both humans and wildlife, with wild birds adapted to urban environments having different opportunities for pathogen exposure, infection, and transmission compared to their natural conspecifics. Food provisioning by people may influence these factors, especially when high-density mixed species flocks aggregate. White Ibises (Eudocimus albus), an iconic Everglades species in decline in Florida, are becoming increasingly common in urbanized areas of south Florida where most are hand-fed. We examined the prevalence of Salmonella shedding by ibises to determine the role of landscape characteristics where ibis forage and their behavior, on shedding rates. We also compared Salmonella isolated from ibises to human isolates to better understand non-foodborne human salmonellosis. From 2010–2013, 13% (n = 261) adult/subadult ibises and 35% (n = 72) nestlings sampled were shedding Salmonella. The prevalence of Salmonella shedding by ibises significantly decreased as the percent of Palustrine emergent wetlands and herbaceous grasslands increased, and increased as the proportion of open-developed land types (e.g. parks, lawns, golf courses) increased, suggesting that natural ecosystem land cover types supported birds with a lower prevalence of infection. A high diversity of Salmonella serotypes (n = 24) and strain types (43 PFGE types) were shed by ibises, of which 33% of the serotypes ranked in the top 20 of high significance for people in the years of the study. Importantly, 44% of the Salmonella Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis patterns for ibis isolates (n = 43) matched profiles in the CDC PulseNet USA database. Of these, 20% came from Florida in the same three years we sampled ibis. Importantly, there was a negative relationship between the amount of Palustrine emergent wetland and the number of Salmonella isolates from ibises that matched human cases in the PulseNet database (p = 0.056). Together, our results indicate that ibises are good indicators of salmonellae strains circulating in their environment and they have both the potential and opportunity to transmit salmonellae to people. Finally, they may act as salmonellae carriers to natural environments where other more highly-susceptible groups (nestlings) may be detrimentally affected.

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SUMMARYCommunity-based conservation efforts are designed to foster local stewardship of important ecological resources. However, inequitable distribution of costs and benefits in communities surrounding protected areas can negatively impact livelihoods, increase wealth disparities and create conflict. To examine the potential for conflict between host communities involved in a community-based conservation program and neighbouring (non-host) communities, we explored local residents’ attitudes towards conservation at Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary (TIWS) in Sierra Leone. Intercept surveys (n = 368) were conducted in 18 villages (eight host, ten non-host) within 8 km of TIWS during 2010. Results revealed significant differences between residents of the host and non-host villages with respect to attitudes towards resource use and overall support for site protection. The most substantial discrepancies centred on perceived benefits associated with TIWS, and these drastically different perspectives generated a high potential for conflict. To minimize conflict and foster broader community support for conservation, managers must carefully consider how benefits associated with protected areas are communicated and distributed across protected area-proximate landscapes.

The pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis is an Endangered species found only in the Upper Guinea rainforests of West Africa. Using a two-phase approach, with initial semi-structured interviews followed by more extensive questionnaires, we examined local residents' awareness of and attitudes towards the pygmy hippopotamus along the Moa River near Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Sierra Leone. The interviews and questionnaires addressed human-hippopotamus interactions, local knowledge and awareness of pygmy hippopotamus ecology and behaviour, and public attitudes towards hippopotamus conservation. Overall, 22% of questionnaire respondents acknowledged benefits related to hippopotamus conservation; factors affecting the perception of benefits included age, livestock ownership, distance from Tiwai Island and exposure to conservation programmes. The results of this study could be used to inform the conservation of the pygmy hippopotamus and highlight the critical role of local support in the management of threatened species in biodiversity hotspots. This paper contains supplementary material that can be found online at

Forest ungulates in West Africa are common bushmeat species and are subject to habitat degradation through deforestation. Based on historical data, there are possibly 12 species of forest Bovidae and Tragulidae found in eastern Sierra Leone. We used camera trapping to assess occupancy by forest ungulates on and around a small protected area, Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone. We then assessed habitat over two field seasons during 2008–2011 for those species where we had sufficient numbers of detections. We detected 6 of 12 potential species and obtained enough data to further assess the habitat of two species. Species detected included the black duiker (Cephalophus niger), bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), Maxwell’s duiker (Philantomba maxwellii), water chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus) and yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor). Among detected species, the bongo is considered near threatened. Several of the species not detected might be extirpated from the region, but for several species we found no records of them in the area. For the two species with sufficient detections for analysis, we found that Maxwell’s duikers were common throughout woody and swamp habitat and yellow-backed duikers preferred old growth forests with open understory. Despite widespread deforestation in Sierra Leone, a recent civil war and continued bushmeat trade, it appears that small wildlife refuges such as Tiwai Island continue to provide sanctuary for many of the forest ungulates of the region.Conservation implications: The Guinea Rainforest ecosystem of West Africa has undergone significant human impact and deforestation, negatively impacting all aspects of the biodiversity of the region. In addition, a long-standing civil war in Sierra Leone further exacerbated conservation concerns of many wildlife species. There are some recognised reserves in Sierra Leone, but small reserves managed by local people and conservation organisations have a role to play. Our work on Tiwai Island, along the Moa River in Sierra Leone, demonstrated that a significant proportion of the forest dwelling ungulate biodiversity of the region has been maintained in a small reserve despite isolation and effects of the war. Our work also suggests that Tiwai Island continues to have significant ecological value for ungulate conservation in the region and should be considered a model for establishment of other small reserves to help maintain the region’s biodiversity.