Declining species richness is a global concern; however, the coarse-scale metrics used at regional or landscape levels might not accurately represent the important habitat characteristics needed to estimate species richness. Currently, there exists a lack of knowledge with regard to the spatial extent necessary to correlate remotely sensed habitat metrics to species richness and animal surveys. We provide a protocol for determining the best scale to use when merging remotely sensed habitat and animal survey data as a step towards improving estimates of vertebrate species richness on broad scales. We test the relative importance of fine-resolution habitat heterogeneity and productivity metrics at multiple spatial scales as predictors of species richness for birds, frogs and mammals using a Bayesian approach and a combination of passive monitoring technologies. Model performance was different for each taxonomic group and dependent on the scale at which habitat heterogeneity and productivity were measured. Optimal scales included a 20-m radius for bats and frogs, an 80-m radius for birds and a 180-m radius for terrestrial mammals. Our results indicate that optimal scales do exist when merging remotely sensed habitat measures with ground-based surveys, but they differ between vertebrate groups. Additionally, the selection of a measurement scale is highly influential to our understanding of the relationships between species richness and habitat characteristics.

Recreational activities may have negative effects on wildlife, but there are very few studies specifically on the effects of free-flight activities (i.e., hang-gliders, paragliders and their powered derivatives) on wildlife. We review the existing scientific studies on this issue in order to identify the gaps in knowledge at the taxonomic-group level in order to develop guidelines to minimize the impacts of recreational free-flight on wildlife. We found that studies mainly concerned the effects on four ungulate species (chamois, red deer, roe deer and Alpine ibex) and, to a lesser extent, on raptors such as the golden eagle and two vulture species (bearded vulture and cinereous vulture). The studies have generally been carried out in high mountain areas (e.g., the European Alps). Data show that free-flight activities create disturbances and have negative effects on wildlife, resulting in increased energy expenditure, reduction of feeding time, abandonment of feeding areas, reduced breeding output, loss of body condition, increased predation risk and harm from flight accidents. However, the lack of studies on many species and areas, along with the small number of long-term studies, prevents proper assessment of the current situation regarding the impact of this activity on wildlife. We provide recommendations to improve the regulation of this activity.

Jordan’s mammalian fauna has experienced significant declines due to intensified hunting since the early twentieth century, leading to the extinction of six species and threatening 39% of the remaining species. This research evaluates the evolution of Jordan’s hunting laws across three historical stages – the Ottoman period, the establishment of Jordan and the modern era – highlighting their impacts on mammalian diversity and identifying legislative gaps contributing to species declines. Using Arabic-based legal databases and historical archives, we found that inadequate legal frameworks, political instability, economic pressures and weak enforcement often accelerated species depletion. Notably, the 1957 Hunting Law permitted hunting of vulnerable species with a licence and of predators without a licence, worsening species decline. Although the 1962 Defense Law aimed to protect nature, its expiration hindered progress. The 1966 Hunting Law largely duplicated the 1957 law, perpetuating these problems, and then hunting regulations were absorbed into agricultural law, undermining conservation efforts. Despite these legal shortcomings, Jordan’s modernization vision provides hope for reform, including the potential restoration of the Hunting Law under the Ministry of Environment and incorporating the right to a healthy environment into Jordan’s constitution to help prevent a mass extinction of mammals.

The conservation performance of protected areas (PAs) is typically measured according to whether species are likely to be present within PAs. However, to attain the goal of long-term conservation it is important to consider the performance of PAs in terms of their ability to support the persistence of the species they contain. We used the concept of minimum viable population (MVP) size to examine the potential for PAs within a large national PA network to support mammal species over the long term. By developing habitat models for each species and estimating the area required to support the MVP size for each species, we identified whether each PA had sufficient habitat to meet the species’ requirements. We found that as a whole the PA network is able to support at least one viable population for all species studied. However, the extent of protection offered to species by the PA network varies considerably, with many PAs not able to support viable populations of individual species on their own. By understanding the capacity of PAs to provide long-term protection to species, our findings can guide strategies to increase the resilience of PA networks as a whole, including by improving habitat quality within and connectivity between PAs.

There are clear links between tourism and the international wildlife trade, especially in countries with high levels of biodiversity and high numbers of international tourists. In the absence of clear regulations and implementation of existing policies, tourists can inadvertently have a negative impact on the environment, including through items bought as souvenirs. Bali is one of the world’s premier tourist destinations. We investigated legally protected species that are offered for sale specifically targeting tourists in Bali. During December 2022–June 2023, we surveyed 66 shops offering curios (skulls, bones, carvings) of animals for which the international trade is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). We found items from >500 individuals of 20 CITES-listed species, including primate skulls, ivory carvings and decorated shells. According to vendors, there would be no problem exporting these items despite the absence of CITES permits. Export records over the last two decades provided by the Indonesian authorities, mostly indicating no exports, contrast sharply with our observations in Bali. A short but effective campaign as a collaborative effort between industry, tourism operators, local and expatriate communities and government agencies could result in a drastic reduction of protected and/or CITES-listed species ending up in trade.

Biodiversity systematic monitoring programmes have been expanding across the globe, especially in protected areas (PAs). Amongst sustainable-use PAs, medium- to large-sized mammals and birds comprise crucial groups to monitor, given their importance to forest functionality and subsistence for local residents. Here, we used 6 years of community-based monitoring data from a sustainable-use PA in the Brazilian Amazonia (Tapajós–Arapiuns Extractive Reserve) to examine the influence of anthropogenic stressors and time on the density and biomass of forest mammal and bird game species. We further assessed trends in population density of target groups over the period. A total of 1915 km of line-transect surveys were completed by trained local monitors along eight established transects, providing data from 12 medium-sized and five large-sized game genera. Generalized linear mixed models of all medium-sized species, all large species and four individual taxa (Tinamidae, Dasyproctidae, primates and Cervidae) showed that some species (e.g., Dasyprocta croconota) exhibited great density, whereas others (e.g., Tapirus terrestris and Tayassu pecari) were rarely detected. Anthropogenic variables did not affect the density and biomass of the overall medium-sized and large vertebrates. Dasyproctidae, Tinamidae and primates were the only taxa influenced by anthropogenic stressors, with negative influence occurring only for Tinamidae. Moreover, density of groups and taxa remained stable throughout the period in the Reserve, although the frequency of some species may indicate past population losses. Continuation of this monitoring programme is required to improve understanding of population fluctuations, but over the 6 years studied, game population density and biomass were not linked to anthropogenic stressors.

Wildlife reintroduction projects often face resistance from local residents who see potential conflicts with the species or lack trust or confidence in the agencies and professionals involved in reintroduction. Yet the linkages between trust, confidence, risk perceptions, attitudes towards the species and local support for its reintroduction are not well known. The Dual-Mode Model of Cooperation and Cognitive Hierarchy Model were theoretical frameworks used to shed light on these linkages by exploring the potential roles trust and confidence play as mediators between risk perceptions and attitudes towards, and support for, reintroduced elk in Tennessee (USA). A mail survey of 1005 residents living in the five-county area surrounding the North Cumberland Elk Restoration Zone assessed resident attitudes and risk perceptions towards the reintroduced elk, trust towards the managing wildlife agency and support for continued conservation efforts. A structural equation model revealed that trust and confidence play positive roles in mitigating risk perceptions and improving support for the reintroduction of elk. The findings confirm the roles public trust and confidence play in wildlife reintroductions and should help agencies work towards building local trust and confidence, minimizing risks, improving attitudes and increasing the chances for successful outcomes for the species and people.

There are huge differences in the conservation support and attention received by different species, perhaps because of human preferences for specific aesthetic traits, such as body size and colouring. If there are such inherent human preferences, then new flagship species should be aesthetically similar to existing successful flagship species and conservation campaigns should not feature less attractive species. However, cultural preconceptions about species and the covariance of traits make it difficult to determine the role of aesthetic traits. Both of these problems can be overcome with imaginary animals. If preferences for certain species traits are inherent in the human psyche, then the same preferences should be found in both real and imaginary animals. Using an online survey with US participants, we find that aesthetic traits are associated with preferences for real but not imaginary animals. For both real and imaginary animals, small and declining populations are preferred. We therefore suggest that organizations should not reject potential flagship species based on appearance. Consistent preferences for poor conservation status and the ability to use our results to predict donations to real animal species suggest that conservation support for specific species could be encouraged if organizations communicate information regarding population sizes and trends.

The Makira Natural Park (Makira) is the largest terrestrial protected area in Madagascar, supporting nearly 200,000 people living around the park, who derive a significant proportion of their animal-source foods from hunting. Makira is currently managed with three different policies: (1) traditional management with no external assistance; (2) community-based forest management (Gestion Contractualisée des Forêts; GCF) with non-governmental support and externally developed policies; and (3) strict external management policies (Zone d’Occupation Controlée; ZOC), meaning a zone of controlled residence for communities inside the core protected area. Here, we longitudinally assess the impacts of these policies on wildlife hunting and consumption by using a difference-in-differences method to evaluate policy efficacy. We found that externally developed conservation policies led to drastically reduced wildlife hunting and consumption in Makira. We also found that public education in the form of environmental awareness-raising, conducted 1 year before adoption, led to a greater concealment of hunting behaviours. Overall, wildlife hunting and consumption have decreased in the Makira region since the adoption of GCF and ZOC policies and could be effective at reducing the unsustainable wildlife hunting across the Makira, particularly when supported by economic development and the creation of alternative sources of livelihood and food.

The West African giraffe is restricted to Niger, but historically it inhabited much of the Sudano-Sahelian zone. The population is concentrated in the ‘Giraffe Zone’ (GZ), an unprotected area with a high human population density. Since the mid-1990s, the giraffe population has steadily increased mainly due to the collective social and conservation initiatives of the government, non-governmental organizations and the local community. In 2018, the first West African giraffe satellite population was established through the reintroduction of eight individuals into Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve (GBR). In this study, we aimed to describe the current state of human–giraffe coexistence, human attitudes towards giraffe and human habits of natural resources use through a questionnaire survey conducted in the GZ and GBR. Although most of the GZ respondents highlighted crop damage caused by giraffe, we also found overall positive attitudes towards the animals. Most respondents from both sites expressed positive attitudes towards giraffe, highlighting that they do not see poaching as a major current threat. However, the giraffe population continues to be directly threatened by habitat loss through firewood cutting, livestock overgrazing and agriculture expansion. Long-term conservation of the West African giraffe is dependent on better habitat protection and understanding of current human–giraffe coexistence through ensuring that giraffe presence will benefit local communities across their range.

Data extraction from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery has proved effective in animal surveys and monitoring, but to date has scarcely been used for detailed population analysis and individual animal feature extraction. We assessed the zoometric and feature extraction of the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) using data acquired from a captive population for comparison with reintroduced populations monitored by UAVs. Highly accurate scaled and geo-rectified imagery derived from UAV surveys allowed precise morphometric measurements of the oryx. The scaled top-view imagery combined with baseline data from known sex, age, weight and pregnancy status of captive individuals were used to develop predictive models. A bracketed index developed from the predictive models showed high accuracy for classifying the age group ≤16 months, animals with a weight >80 kg and pregnancy. The pregnancy classification decision tree model performed with 91.7% accuracy. The polynomial weight predictive model performed well with relatively high accuracy when using the total top-view surface measurement. Photogrammetrically processed UAV-acquired imagery can yield valuable zoometric data, feature extraction and modelling; it is a tool with a practical application for field biologists that can assist in the decision-making process for species conservation management.

Destruction of tropical rainforests reduces many unprotected habitats to small fragments of remnant forests within agricultural matrices. To date, these remnant forest fragments have been largely disregarded as wildlife habitat, and little is known about mammalian use of these areas in Sumatra. Here, we conducted camera trap surveys (2285 trap-nights) within Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and five surrounding remnant forest fragments during 2010–2013 and used species composition metrics to compare use. We found 28 mammal species in the protected forest and 21 in the fragments. The fragments harboured a subset of species found in the protected forest and several species not observed in the protected forest. Critically endangered species such as Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) were found in the forest fragments, along with species of conservation concern such as marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) and Asiatic golden cat (Pardofelis temminckii). The biodiversity found within the fragments suggests that these small patches of remnant forest may have conservation value to certain mammal species and indicates the importance of further research into the role these habitats may play in landscape-level, multispecies conservation planning.