Protected forest areas of Sulawesi are gradually being replaced by intensively used agroforestry systems and farmland, especially in lowland and sub-montane regions. Studies on the impact of these man-induced changes on biodiversity are of urgent conservation concern. We compared the fruitfeeding butterfly assemblage of a natural hill forest to that of a disturbed hill forest, representing a mosaic of old secondary forest and recently abandoned or active subsistence farms. Overall, species richness seemed highest in the disturbed site, but both abundance and diversity of endemic butterflies were significantly higher in the natural forest. Although the butterfly assemblage showed a clear vertical structure in the natural forest, vertical stratification was no longer pronounced at the disturbed site. Comparative studies based on diversity estimates from ground samples should consider not only the scale at which sampling is carried out and influences from nearby habitat patches in the surrounding landscape mosaic, but also possible behavioural changes in stratified species after forest modification. This study shows that higher overall species richness does not imply higher species distinctiveness, and indicates that the contribution of land-use systems to global biodiversity should be evaluated with caution, even when relatively high species richness estimates are found.

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1. Many large mammalian carnivores are facing population declines due to illegal killing (e.g. shooting) and habitat modification (e.g. livestock farming). Illegal killing occurs cryptically and hence is difficult to detect. However, reducing illegal killing requires a solid understanding of its magnitude and underlying drivers, while accounting for the imperfect detection of illegal killing events. Despite the importance of illegal killing of large carnivores in comparison with other causes of mortality, its relationship with potential drivers such as livestock density and wild prey abundance is rarely described.2. Using ranger-collected data (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019) of leopard killing events and data on covariates (livestock density, wild prey abundance, road length, protected area size, elevation) across Iran, we applied a single-visit N-mixture model to jointly model variation in detection probability and expected annualized number of leopard killing events.3. Over the study period, we estimated 428 leopard mortalities (95% CI 184 to 1,014), which was 45% larger than the observed number. Expected intensity of leopard killing was positively related to protected area size, livestock density and wild prey abundance. Detection of leopard killing was higher in areas with more developed road networks. Synthesis and applications.Ranger-based monitoring data on poaching of carnivores are cost effective, but traditional analysis does not take into account imperfect detection. We show that innovative statistics (single-visit N-mixture modelling) can reliably quantify poaching events and address their drivers, at | 1537

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In many traditional societies, beliefs and taboos influence human behaviour towards the natural environment. Such beliefs and taboos are informal institutions where norms rather than official laws determine land use and nature protection in general and wildlife in particular. The present study on beliefs and taboos of the people of the northern periphery of the Korup National Park is an attempt to reveal how norms influence their relation to the environment. A total of 195 households were sampled through a household survey conducted in four villages. The results revealed that before the application of “modern” approaches for wildlife protection and management, the people relied on norms to establish a relationship with wildlife and nature. The enactment of the 1994 legislation on forest, wildlife and fisheries resulted in stiff resistance as it contradicts traditional norms. It was found that 57.4 % of the respondents still perceive wildlife as a resource that can never get extinct. Traditional norms had a differentiated impact especially on game protection. The study recommends that a wildlife benefiting code of beliefs and taboos is developed to provide a basis for establishing a synergy between park management laws and traditional belief/taboo systems that drive the management of wildlife.