A spatial model is developed for the hunting of two endemic wild pig species, the babirusa and the Sulawesi wild pig, in the northern arm of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The spatial component of the model allows the influences of distance from the end market, road condition, and the distribution of vegetation types to be included into the model. These are all key determinants of the effects of hunting pressure on populations of these species. The model shows that under current economic conditions at equilibrium, the babirusa will be reduced to very small numbers in remote parts of the region, while the Sulawesi wild pig will be less badly affected. Under the conditions pertaining in the 1950s, before major road‐building, the two species were much more widespread. The model is used to investigate the effects of various law‐enforcement policies on hunting. It is shown that the best way to reduce hunting pressure on the babirusa is to enforce fines for the selling of babirusa meat in the end market. The model is also sensitive to changes in hunters’ opportunity costs, showing that if economic conditions in the region improved, the hunting rate would decrease substantially. This is a new application for coupled map lattice models, and one with great potential for the analysis of the population dynamics of other exploited species.
During the course of a recent compilation of information concerning the natural history of Sulawesi, Indonesia, it became apparent that there were no recent records of the endemic Caerulean paradise‐flycatcher Eutrichomyias rowleyi and few of the endemic species of the fish family Adrianichthyidae. Efforts were made to confirm the continued existence of these animals but without success, and while it is impossible to be certain, we suggest that these species, and perhaps others from their communities, may be extinct or iritically endangered It is of great concern that none of the species discussed has ever been mentioned in the IUCNRed Data books, and it is suggested that further species in the endemic‐rich area ofWallacea may also have become extinct in the last few decades.
A spatial model is developed for the hunting of two endemic wild pig species, the babirusa and the Sulawesi wild pig, in the northern arm of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The spatial component of the model allows the influences of distance from the end market, road condition, and the distribution of vegetation types to be included into the model. These are all key determinants of the effects of hunting pressure on populations of these species. The model shows that under current economic conditions at equilibrium, the babirusa will be reduced to very small numbers in remote parts of the region, while the Sulawesi wild pig will be less badly affected. Under the conditions pertaining in the 1950s, before major road-building, the two species were much more widespread. The model is used to investigate the effects of various law-enforcement policies on hunting. It is shown that the best way to reduce hunting pressure on the babirusa is to enforce fines for the selling of babirusa meat in the end market. The model is also sensitive to changes in hunters' opportunity costs, showing that if economic conditions in the region improved, the hunting rate would decrease substantially. This is a new application for coupled map lattice models, and one with great potential for the analysis of the population dynamics of other exploited species.
Detailed data are rarely available to show how interventions such as captive breeding programs can create an uncontrolled demand for live specimens of endangered species. We present a case study of the effect of a planned, internationally recognized captive breeding program on trade in the endangered babirusa wild pig from July to December 1998. Although the program had not yet begun, international interest in the captive breeding of babirusas gave hunters and dealers the false impression that there was a potentially lucrative and officially sanctioned national and international demand for any live babirusas they might catch. Swift action by the Indonesian authorities halted this trade, but the study provides a warning about the damage that can be caused to the conservation of a species if management programs are instituted without a full understanding of the practicalities of its conservation, particularly interactions between the species and local people.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.