Rangeland degradation is poised to cause Africa's first recorded avian extinction

Spottiswoode, Claire N.; Wondafrash, Mengistu; Gabremichael, Merid Nega; Abebe, Yilma D.; Mwangi, M. A. Kiragu; Collar, Nigel; Dolman, Paul M.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00246.x

Cited by 24 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The creation of buffer zones into which humans are prohibited to enter, or in which certain activities are temporally restricted, may constitute a tool for minimizing the impact of the human disturbance (Gonz´alez et al, 2007), but may be unviable in certain circumstances and even detrimental in terms of conservation if the activities that are limited are rendered economically unsustainable, and this in turn causes land use changes that are as negative for the species as the disturbance itself (or even more so). Examples of such conflicts between economic activities that are negative for a particular species, but that maintain the habitats on which these species depend are, for instance, the hunting of red grouse in Scotland, which has a negative effect on hen harrier Circus cyaneus conservation, but that helps to maintain its breeding habitat (Thirgood et al, 2000), the timber exploitation in mature boreal forests overlapping the breeding activity of different animal species but constituting a long-term sustainable forest management and the protection of important biodiversity hotspots (Lindenmayer, Margules & Botkin, 2000;Rosenvald and Loˆhmus, 2003) or burning vegetation in a sustainable way to prevent the spread of scrub and to increase the heterogeneity in grasslands for animal communities conservation (Fuhlendorf et al, 2006;Spottiswoode et al, 2009).…”

Section: Reconciling Conservation Of Endangered Species With Economicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling the conservation of endangered species with economically important anthropogenic activities: interactions between cork exploitation and the cinereous vulture in Spain

Margalida¹,

Moreno-Opo²,

Arroyo

et al. 2010

Animal Conservation

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Limitation of disturbing activities around the breeding areas of protected species is not always possible, if these activities are economically important and have, in addition, positive effects on protecting the habitats of those protected species. Searching for optimal solutions making commercial exploitation of natural resources compatible with biodiversity conservation is thus of concern to managers and policy makers. This is the case of the cinereous vulture Aegypius monachus, breeding primarily in cork-oak woodland, and cork exploitation, a traditional socio-economic activity carried out in several Mediterranean countries, and critical for the maintenance of this important habitat. We studied the effects of this anthropogenic activity on the behaviour and breeding success of breeding cinereous vultures in Spain. For the adults, the probability of nest abandonment was dependent on the distance of workers from the nest and the level of noise; activities within 500 m from the nest were likely to cause abandonment of the nest by adults, if the level of noise was intermediate or loud. Neither the size of the working group nor the use of machines per se, had any effect on the probability of nest abandonment. Pairs in an area of the colony exposed to intrusive anthropogenic activity had 20% lower breeding success than those in the same colony that were not exposed to these disturbances. If the application of buffer zones of 500 m is not possible (as is likely given the economic losses involved), several alternatives are recommended based on our results to minimize the impact of these activities, in particular to diminish the noise level of cork extraction activities. Observational studies like this help understanding the magnitude of the problem and finding alternative solutions for harmonizing conservation and economic development.

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Section: Reconciling Conservation Of Endangered Species With Economicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling the conservation of endangered species with economically important anthropogenic activities: interactions between cork exploitation and the cinereous vulture in Spain

Margalida¹,

Moreno-Opo²,

Arroyo

et al. 2010

Animal Conservation

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“…Beneficial effects of traditional land management, particularly extensive pastoralism, are well documented in temperate regions, but their potential value in some tropical environments is only recently becoming appreciated (Gray et al, 2007;Spottiswoode et al, 2009). In the European model, domestic livestock substitute for extinct or extirpated large herbivores; similar processes may also operate in some Asian regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…However, there is growing evidence that traditional low-intensity cereal and pastoral systems may be crucial to the survival of threatened biodiversity, both in Asia (e.g. Mukherjee, Borad & Parasharya, 2002;Bambaradeniya et al, 2004;Gray et al, 2007) and parts of Africa (Spottiswoode et al, 2009). Here, we examine the importance of traditional anthropogenic livestock grazing to the ecology of a critically endangered large waterbird.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dry season habitat use by critically endangered white‐shouldered ibis in northern Cambodia

Wright

Buckingham

Dolman

2010

Animal Conservation

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We present the first scientific study of white-shouldered ibis Pseudibis davisoni habitat preferences in dry dipterocarp forest. Foraging sites included seasonal pools, forest understorey grasslands and fallow rice fields, with terrestrial sites used more following rainfall. Habitat and anthropogenic effects in logistic models of foraging site selection were examined by multimodel inference and model averaging. White-shouldered ibis preferred pools with greater cover of short vegetation

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“…burning and boma creation, may even be necessary to maintain avian diversity in some East African savanna areas (Gregory et al 2010). Contrastingly, bush encroachment due to overgrazing in Ethiopia may provoke Africa"s first avian extinction (Donald et al 2010;Spottiswoode et al 2009). …”

Section: Avenues For Further Investigation Into Scientific Uncertaintmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting conservation with biodiversity research in sub-Saharan Africa’s human-modified landscapes

Trimble

Aarde

2014

Biodivers Conserv

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Protected areas cover 12% of terrestrial sub-Saharan Africa. However, given the inherent inadequacies of these protected areas to cater for all species in conjunction with the effects of climate change and human pressures on protected areas, the future of biodiversity depends heavily on the 88% of land that is unprotected. The study of biodiversity patterns and the processes that maintain them in human-modified landscapes can provide a valuable evidence base to support science-based policy-making that seeks to make land outside of protected areas as amenable as possible for biodiversity persistence. We discuss the literature on biodiversity in 2 sub-Saharan Africa"s human-modified landscapes as it relates to four broad ecosystem categorizations (i.e. rangelands, tropical forest, the Cape Floristic Region, and the urban and rural built environment) within which we expect similar patterns of biodiversity persistence in relation to specific human land uses and land management actions. Available research demonstrates the potential contribution of biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes within all four ecosystem types and goes some way towards providing general conclusions that could support policy-making. Nonetheless, conservation success in humanmodified landscapes is hampered by constraints requiring further scientific investment, e.g. deficiencies in the available research, uncertainties regarding implementation strategies, and difficulties of coexisting with biodiversity. However, information currently available can and should support efforts at individual, community, provincial, national, and international levels to support biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes.

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Rangeland degradation is poised to cause Africa's first recorded avian extinction

Cited by 24 publications

References 27 publications

Reconciling the conservation of endangered species with economically important anthropogenic activities: interactions between cork exploitation and the cinereous vulture in Spain

Reconciling the conservation of endangered species with economically important anthropogenic activities: interactions between cork exploitation and the cinereous vulture in Spain

Dry season habitat use by critically endangered white‐shouldered ibis in northern Cambodia

Supporting conservation with biodiversity research in sub-Saharan Africa’s human-modified landscapes

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