Long‐term solutions to crop raiding by elephants (Loxodonta africana) should be based on an understanding of their behaviour and ecology. The real and perceived risks from humans have been shown to affect elephant behaviour. This is evidenced by elephants predominantly raiding crops at night, avoiding the height of human activity. If such human avoidance behaviours are apparent, it might also be expected that elephants avoid risks associated with higher visibility and increased human activity as may occur during the full moon. However, elephant nocturnal crop‐raiding behaviour in relation to lunar cycles has largely been a neglected factor in studies of human–elephant interactions. In this study around Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, we apply circular statistics in this context for the first time to show a significant decrease in crop raiding during the full moon and apply this method retrospectively to data from another site in West Africa with similar results. Additionally, a greater proportion of farms raided was guarded during the full moon than any other moon phase. Our results indicate that variations in crop raiding with lunar phase could be a general feature of elephant behaviour and thus could be used to design and time mitigation efforts.

River management practices have altered the hydrological regimes of many rivers and also altered the availability of regeneration niches for riparian species. We investigated the impact of changed hydrological regimes on the sex ratios and the Spatial Segregation of the Sexes (SSS) in the dioecious species Salix myrsinifolia Salisb.-phylicifolia L. and S. lapponum L.by studying the free-flowing Vindel River and the regulated Ume River in northern Sweden.We surveyed sex ratios of these species in 12 river reaches on the Vindel River and in 17 reaches on the Ume River. In addition we surveyed the sex and location above mean river stage of 1002 individuals across both river systems to investigate the SSS of both species.Cuttings were collected from male and female individuals of S. myrsinifolia-phylicifolia from both rivers and subjected to four different water table regimes in a greenhouse experiment to investigate growth response between the sexes. We found an M/F sex ratio in both river systems similar to the regional norm of 0.62 for S. myrsinifolia-phylicifolia and of 0.42 for S.lapponum. We found no evidence of SSS in either the free-flowing Vindel River or the regulated Ume River. In the greenhouse experiment, hydrological regime had a significant effect on shoot and root dry weight and on root length. Significantly higher shoot dry weights were found in females than in males and significantly different shoot and root dry weights were found between cuttings taken from the two rivers. We concluded that changed hydrological regimes are likely to alter dimensions of the regeneration niche and therefore to influence sex ratios and SSS at an early successional stage, making it difficult to find clear spatial patterns once these species reach maturity and can be sexed.2

Ladybirds commonly engage in cannibalistic behaviour. Egg cannibalism by first instars is considered advantageous to the cannibal, because it not only results in direct metabolic gain but also a reduction in potential competitors. In this study, we quantified the effect of cannibalism on the development rate and survival of Adalia bipunctata (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) larvae through development to the adult stage. We also assessed the synchrony of egg‐hatching in relation to laying order and compared the proportion of eggs cannibalized in egg batches laid as clusters or linearly. Larvae that had consumed a conspecific egg after hatching reached the adult stage 1.65 days earlier than those larvae that had not. Larval and pupal mortality was lower for cannibals compared to non‐cannibals; only 46% of non‐cannibalistic individuals reached the adult stage whereas 81% of cannibals pupated successfully. Egg cannibalism is undoubtedly advantageous to A. bipunctata larvae both in terms of faster development and increased survival. There is a positive correlation between laying and hatching order for eggs laid linearly or in a cluster. There was no significant difference in the proportion of eggs hatching in clusters or in a line (80 and 77%, respectively). The remaining eggs were either cannibalized or did not hatch. The ecological implications of these results are discussed with particular reference to trophic egg plasticity.

The effectiveness of Protected Areas (PAs) in reducing hunting pressure on mammal populations in tropical forests has rarely been examined at a community-wide level. In African forests, commercial and subsistence hunting are widespread, but assessments of mammal abundance and distribution patterns are often lacking. We investigated patterns of occupancy and abundance for 27 species of medium-to large-bodied mammals (>2 kg) within Tanzania's Udzungwa Mountains Afromontane forests, a global biodiversity hotspot. We sampled 22 forest sites within 10 forests under varying degrees of protection, elevation, distance to extractive communities, and levels of law enforcement. We sampled 251.7 km of recce line transects during dry seasons (July-November) between September 2007 and July 2010. We found a strong positive effect of protection status on species richness and on encounter rates of the most commonly encountered species. Consistent with the levels of resources and enforcement within each PA category, there was a significant progression in species richness and abundance from Forest Reserves through Nature Reserves to sites within Udzungwa Mountains National Park. Protective status closely reflected levels of disturbance. Snaring activity, and distance to ranger posts were identified as significant predictors of overall species richness and encounter rates for mammal species, including endemics. The species-area relationship for our study species was found to be largely overridden by levels of protection. Our findings demonstrate PA effectiveness in Afromontane forests and reinforce concerns over hunting pressures particularly the threat posed by snares.

Despite the particular relevance of statistical power to animal welfare studies, we noticed an apparent lack of sufficient information reported in papers published in Animal Welfare to facilitate post hoc calculation of statistical power for use in meta-analyses. We therefore conducted a survey of all papers published in Animal Welfare in 2009 to assess compliance with relevant instructions to authors, the level of statistical detail reported and the interpretation of results regarded as statistically non-significant. In general, we found good levels of compliance with the instructions to authors except in relation to the level of detail reported for the results of each test. Although not requested in the instructions to authors, exact P-values were reported in just over half of the tests but effect size was not explicitly reported for any test, there was no reporting of a priori statistical analyses to determine sample size and there was no formal assessment of non-significant results in relation to type II errors. As a first stage to addressing this we recommend more reporting of a priori power analyses, more comprehensive reporting of the results of statistical analysis and the explicit consideration of possible statistical power issues when interpreting P-values. We also advocate the calculation of effect sizes and their confidence intervals and a greater emphasis on the interpretation of the biological significance of results rather than just their statistical significance. This will enhance the efforts that are currently being made to comply with the 3Rs, particularly the principle of reduction.