Biodiversity indicators are essential for monitoring the impacts of pressures on the state of nature, determining the effectiveness of policy responses, and tracking progress towards biodiversity targets and sustainable development goals. Indicators based on trends in the abundance of birds are widely used for these purposes in Europe and have been identified as priorities for development elsewhere. To facilitate this we established bird population monitoring schemes in three African countries, based on citizen science approaches used in Europe, aiming to monitor population trends in common and widespread species. We recorded > 500 bird species from c. 450 2-km transects in Botswana, > 750 species from c. 120 transects in Uganda, and > 630 species from c. 90 transects in Kenya. Provisional Wild Bird Indices indicate a strong increase in bird populations in Botswana and a small decrease in Uganda. We also provide comparisons between trends of habitat generalists and specialists, of birds within and outside protected areas, and between Afro-Palearctic migrants and resident birds. Challenges encountered included recruiting, training and retaining volunteer surveyors, and securing long-term funding. However, we show that with technical support and modest investment (c. USD 30,000 per scheme per year), meaningful biodiversity indicators can be generated and used in African countries. Sustained resourcing for the existing schemes, and replication elsewhere, would be a cost-effective way to improve our understanding of biodiversity trends globally, and measure progress towards environmental goals.

Financial incentives may aid in conservation if they broaden the numbers and types of landowners who engage in protection and conservation management on private land. We examined the hypotheses that financial incentives (1) encourage participation of people with lower autonomous motivation towards conservation and lower self-transcendence (i.e. benevolence and universalism) values compared to participants in similar programmes without such incentives; (2) enable more on-ground works and activities; and (3) enhance feelings of competence and autonomy with respect to conservation actions. We surveyed 193 landowners in private land conservation programmes in Tasmania, only some of whom had received financial incentives. All of these landowners had high self-transcendence values, and autonomous motivation towards the environment. Owners of large properties and participants with higher self-enhancement values, lower self-transcendence values and lower autonomous motivation towards the environment were slightly more likely to engage in incentive programmes. However, people who received funding did not report more conservation actions than people in programmes without incentives. Owners of larger properties receiving incentives reported fewer conservation actions. Thus financial incentives probably recruited a few into nature conservation who may not have otherwise engaged, but did not result in a more intensive level of conservation management. Our results caution against the blanket-use of incentives amongst landowners who may already have values and motivations consistent with environmental action, and point to the need for further research on the socio-psychological characteristics of landowners, to examine the contextual factors that influence the effects of conservation payments.

The pervasive influence of human agency on biodiversity in the Anthropocene gives rise to several new challenges for national and international wildlife law, including questions regarding what is natural and what is alien. Ultimately, a new vision and new rules are called for but in the meantime wildlife lawyers and other conservation professionals must work with conventional legal frameworks. Striking instances where vexing issues arise are the recent range expansions of certain canids. Coyotes Canis latrans and crab-eating foxes Cerdocyon thous in the Americas and golden jackals Canis aureus in Europe are progressively colonizing areas and countries where they did not previously occur. A key question is whether to consider this as acceptable extensions of natural range or whether the pioneering carnivores should be viewed as alien species, potentially triggering legal obligations of prevention, control and eradication. In addressing this question we draw on guidance provided under the Convention on Biological Diversity and other international legal frameworks, in which governments are forced to grapple with the application of long-standing concepts to new phenomena in an era of profound global change. Our analysis suggests that coyotes in Costa Rica, crab-eating foxes in Panama, and golden jackals in the Netherlands are not to be considered alien species, whether invasive or not. Thus, even if action to address adverse impacts by these canids on native biodiversity may sometimes be desirable, these species are not subject to legal requirements to combat invasive alien species.

Globally, little is known about the dispersal abilities of carnivores, their survival in non-protected areas, and the connectivity between protected and non-protected populations. More than a decade of sighting data for 496 known African lions Panthera leo, with 189 individuals engaging in dispersing activities plus an exchange of cross-site information, has provided unique insight into connectivity and survival in unprotected and protected areas in Kenya. In particular, three individuals, across two generations residing solely in unprotected landscapes, demonstrated connectivity between three protected areas that, to our knowledge, have not previously been recognized as harbouring connected populations. These observations suggest that unprotected areas and the human communities that reside in them may successfully create corridors of tolerance that facilitate connectivity and the long-term persistence of lion populations, both within and outside protected areas.

Identifying release sites with good habitat quality is one of the most important steps in any reintroduction project. However, despite their wide application in legislation and research, the habitat concept and habitat-related terms remain poorly defined and subject to confusion. Reviewing a variety of definitions, we advocate for understanding habitat as an area with a species-specific set of resources and environmental conditions that enable a population to persist and reproduce. Using this understanding we investigated release site selection as well as the usage of the term habitat and other habitat-related terms in 324 reintroduction case studies and reintroduction policy documents published during January 1990–May 2016. Although the use of the habitat concept in these publications remained mostly unclear because of the lack of definitions provided, we found an overall improvement in the quality of reintroduction site assessment, and a shift towards more systematic approaches, such as habitat modelling and experimental translocation. To further improve reporting on release site selection, we recommend updating IUCN reintroduction publications and encouraging practitioners to consider the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of habitat, as well as the multiple scales at which a species selects its habitat, in the design of a release site assessment.

Although both the grey parrot Psittacus erithacus and the recently recognized timneh parrot Psittacus timneh are categorized as Endangered because of harvest for the pet trade and loss of habitat, the latter has a much smaller range and may be largely restricted to a few stronghold areas. In March–April 2018 we surveyed for a total of 114 hours in and around one of these presumed strongholds, the large and well-protected Gola Rainforest National Park, the Sierra Leonean portion of the Gola Transboundary Peace Park. Timneh parrots were encountered at a rate of 0.1 groups/h in the National Park and 0.3 in the buffer zone, indicating densities of 1–3 individuals per km2. These figures are similar to recent density estimates from the Liberian side of the Peace Park, suggesting that the transboundary population amounts to c. 2,400 individuals inside the Park and an unknown number in the surrounding areas. Densities of the timneh parrot may be generally low even in strongholds, its numbers may be declining steeply, and the global population size is probably lower than previously believed.

Legalized trade in commercially farmed wildlife products is sometimes promoted as a conservation strategy. In theory, flooding the market with cheaper or better quality products will decrease the profitability of poaching. Bear bile is highly sought-after for use in traditional medicine and overhunting to supply the demand for bear parts has led to declining populations across South-east Asia. Bear bile farming was established to help supply the high demand for bear bile. In Viet Nam it is legal to keep registered bears, but illegal to extract or sell bear bile. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 66 bear bile farmers in Viet Nam to examine the conservation implications of bear bile farming. The results show that demand for wild bear bile was not satisfied by the widespread availability of farmed bear bile. Farmers report a strong consumer preference and willingness to pay more for wild-sourced products. The existence of bear bile farms presents considerable challenges to law enforcement. The results suggest that bear bile farming in Viet Nam relies on restocking from wild populations, and farmers openly admit to extracting and selling bear bile, in clear violation of national legislation. The case of bear bile farming in Viet Nam provides an example of wildlife farming failing to reduce pressure on a once widely distributed and relatively abundant species. Research into consumer values, attitudes and behaviours will help to improve understanding of market drivers and help inform the design of effective species conservation and management strategies.

Human–bear conflicts resulting from livestock depredation and crop use are a common threat to the brown bear Ursus arctos throughout its range. Understanding these conflicts requires the recording and categorization of incidents, assessment of their geographical distribution and frequency, and documentation of the financial costs and the presence of any preventative measures. Damage compensation schemes can help mitigate conflicts and, in some cases, improve acceptance of bears. This study aims to elucidate the major factors determining the patterns of damage caused by bears, examine the effectiveness of preventative measures in reducing such damage, and identify bear damage hotspots in Croatia. Our analysis is based on damage reports provided by hunting organizations to the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture during 2004–2014. The highest number of claims were made for damage to field crops and orchards. Damage to livestock, agricultural crops and beehives resulted in the highest total cost to farmers. Damage to beehives and to automatic corn feeders for game species incurred the highest cost per damage event. We identified a hotspot for bear damage claims in Croatia, located near Risnjak National Park and the border with Slovenia. Damage appears higher in areas that have more villages closer to protected areas and a greater per cent of forest cover, indicating a synergistic effect of protected environments that facilitate bear movements and the presence of human activities that provide easily accessible food for bears.

Illegal wildlife trade is one of the major threats to Neotropical psittacids, with nearly 28% of species targeted for the illegal pet trade. We analysed the most comprehensive data set on illegal wildlife trade currently available for Venezuela, from various sources, to provide a quantitative assessment of the magnitude, scope and detectability of the trade in psittacids at the national level. We calculated a specific offer index (SO) based on the frequency of which each species was offered for sale. Forty-seven species of psittacids were traded in Venezuela during 1981–2015, of which 17 were non-native. At least 641,675 individuals were traded, with an overall extraction rate of 18,334 individuals per year (35 years of accumulated reports). Amazona ochrocephala was the most frequently detected species (SO = 3.603), with the highest extraction rate (10,544 individuals per year), followed by Eupsittula pertinax (SO = 1.357) and Amazona amazonica (SO = 1.073). Amazona barbadensis, Ara ararauna and Ara chloropterus were the fourth most frequently detected species (SO = 0.564–0.615). Eleven species were involved principally in domestic trade (> 60% of records). Our approach could be the first step in developing a national monitoring programme to inform national policy on the trade in psittacids. Patterns and numbers provided may be used to update the official list of threatened species, and could also be used in planning conservation actions.

Throughout the tropics, hunting and fishing are critical livelihood activities for many Indigenous peoples. However, these practices may not be sustainable following recent socio-economic changes in Indigenous populations. To understand how human population growth and increased market integration affect hunting and fishing patterns, we conducted semi-structured interviews in five Kukama-Kukamilla communities living along the boundary of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, in the Peruvian Amazon. Extrapolated annual harvest rates of fish and game species by these communities amounted to 1,740 t and 4,275 individuals (67 t), respectively. At least 23 fish and 27 game species were harvested. We found a positive correlation between village size and annual community-level harvest rates of fish and a negative relationship between market exposure and mean per-capita harvest rates of fish. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) analyses indicated local depletion of fish populations around larger, more commercial communities. Catch-per-unit-effort of fish was lower in more commercial communities and fishers from the largest village travelled further into the Reserve, where CPUE was higher. We found no effect of village size or market exposure on harvest rates or CPUE of game species. However, larger, more commercial communities targeted larger, economically valuable species. This study provides evidence that human population growth and market-driven hunting and fishing pose a growing threat to wildlife and Indigenous livelihoods through increased harvest rates and selective harvesting of species vulnerable to exploitation.

Quantifying the abundance of species is essential for their management and conservation. Much effort has been invested in surveys of freshwater dolphins in the Amazon basin but river dimensions and complex logistics limit replication of such studies across the region. We evaluated the effectiveness of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveying two Amazon dolphin species, the tucuxi Sotalia fluviatilis and pink river dolphin Inia geoffrensis, in tropical rivers. In 2016 we conducted drone and visual surveys over 80 km of the Juruá River in Brazil. The aerial surveys provided higher accuracy than human observers in counting individuals detected in groups. Compared to estimates derived from visual surveys, the use of UAVs could provide a more feasible, economical and accurate estimate of Amazon river dolphin populations. The method could potentially be replicated in other important areas for the conservation of these species, to generate an improved index of river dolphin populations in the Amazon.

The civil unrest that ravaged Angola for nearly 30 years took a heavy toll on the country's wildlife, and led to a lengthy absence of reliable information for many threatened species, including the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and African wild dog Lycaon pictus. Using camera trapping we assessed the status of these two species in two areas of southern Angola, and complemented our findings by reviewing recent survey reports and observations to provide an update on the species' status. We found unequivocal evidence that African wild dogs are resident and reproducing in Bicuar National Park, where cheetahs appear to be absent. Conversely, cheetahs may be resident in western Cuando Cubango province, where African wild dogs may only be transient. Based on these and other recent records in Angola, we recommend a revision of these species' distribution ranges and note the need for monitoring of these remnant populations and for appropriate attention to any threats.

Although protected areas are the basis for many conservation efforts they are rarely of an adequate size for the long-term survival of populations of large, wide-roaming mammals. In the Maasai Mara, Kenya, communally owned wildlife conservancies have been developed to expand the area available for wildlife. As these continue to develop it is important to ensure that the areas chosen are beneficial to wildlife. Using presence data for cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus, elephants Loxodonta africana, spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta, leopards Panthera pardus, lions Panthera leo and wild dogs Lycaon pictus, collected through interviews with 648 people living outside protected areas, we identify key wildlife areas using false positive site-occupancy modelling. The probabilities of site use were first determined per species based on habitat, distance to protected area, human presence and rivers, and these probabilities were then combined to create a map to highlight key wildlife areas. All species, except hyaenas, preferred sites closer to the protected areas but site use varied by species depending on habitat type. All six species avoided human presence. Leopards, elephants, lions and wild dogs preferred sites closer to rivers. The resulting combined map highlights areas that could potentially benefit from conservation efforts, including the expansion of wildlife areas, and areas where human development, such as a newly tarmacked road, could have an impact on wildlife.

Conservation organizations promoting sustainable seafood have had greater success when chefs are empowered as agents of change in favour of sustainable seafood. Peru is experiencing a gastronomic revolution with seafood at its core, and Peruvian top chefs are being approached by conservation organizations to become environmental advocates. Within this context we characterize the factors that influence chefs’ behaviours regarding sustainable seafood. A total of 52 Peruvian top chefs were surveyed using the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Framework, complemented by a focus group with a subset of the surveyed population. Our results suggest that, regardless of their age or academic background, chefs are aware of the negative consequences that human activities have on the ocean and believe that restaurants have an obligation to become part of the solution by promoting the use of sustainable seafood. Nonetheless, three factors limit chefs’ understanding of key concepts and prevent them from fully internalizing the environmental consequences of their actions in restaurants: (1) sustainability is a new topic for them, particularly for older chefs; (2) the fish species commonly used at restaurants are poorly regulated, and (3) chefs are risk averse to actions that could result in profit loss. Additionally, the structure of the seafood supply chain further limits chefs’ capacity to act sustainably, even if they are aware of the need to change their behaviour. Recommendations are provided for future conservation campaigns advocating use of sustainable seafood, some of which have now been implemented.

Rigorous status estimates of populations of large carnivores are necessary to inform their management and help evaluate the effectiveness of conservation interventions. The African leopard Panthera pardus faces rising anthropogenic pressures across most of its contracting sub-Saharan range, but the scarcity of reliable population estimates means that management decisions often have to rely on expert opinion rather than being based on sound evidence. This is particularly true for Mozambique, where little is known about the ecology or conservation status of leopard populations as a result of prolonged armed conflict. We used camera trapping and spatially explicit capture–recapture models to provide a leopard density estimate in Xonghile Game Reserve in southern Mozambique, which is part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier conservation initiative. The estimated population density was 2.60 ± SE 0.96 leopards/100 km2. Our study provides a baseline leopard density for the region and the first empirical density estimate for southern Mozambique. Our results also suggest that current methods used to set trophy hunting quotas for leopards, both in Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa, may be leading to unsustainable quotas, which highlights the importance of robust empirical data in guiding conservation policy.

Predator visitation to acclimatization or soft-release pens containing captive translocated animals has the potential to cause sub-lethal effects or physical injury that could influence post-release survival and establishment. No previous study has examined potential interactions between captive and resident animals during pre-release holding periods. We monitored seven holding pens containing wild-caught northern bobwhite Colinus virginianus or scaled quail Callipepla squamata in the Rolling Plains Ecoregion of Texas, USA, using remote camera systems. Our objectives were to determine if resident predator species and conspecifics visited holding pens, and to characterize visits by species, frequency, duration and behaviour. We recorded visitation to holding pens by four potential predator species. Although most visits by mammalian predators were short in duration, northern raccoons Procyon lotor were observed spending extended periods of time at holding pens. We also recorded resident scaled quail and northern bobwhite quail visiting holding pens containing conspecifics. We recommend that future studies using a soft-release technique in which captive animals are held at the release site consider the potential impacts of predator visitation to holding pens, and methods to mitigate those impacts.

Tourists approaching wild animals can potentially cause disturbance as a result of the perceived predation risk. Risk effects arise when prey alter their behaviour in response to predators. This response may carry costs through its impact on fitness-related activities such as foraging. We recorded behavioural responses of whale sharks Rhincodon typus to experimental vessel and swimmer approaches. We simulated the disturbance caused by ecotourism in the foraging site of this planktivorous fish in Bahia de Los Angeles, Gulf of Baja California, Mexico. Stress-related behaviours (vigilance, change of direction, diving and acceleration) were more common directly after both types of disturbance than before, in particular after approach by a swimmer. Individuals were more likely to be vigilant when they were new to the bay, but we did not find evidence of within-season behavioural habituation. Sharks were 24% more likely to forage before human stimuli than after. Our study highlights negative effects of vessel and swimmer approaches on whale shark behaviour, with a short-term increase in stress-related behaviours potentially carrying energetic costs, combined with a decrease in food intake following the disturbance. Our results indicate concerns about the impact of ecotourism on large fish species. An important next step would be to determine whether these short-term behavioural responses to the perception of predation risk negatively affect fitness. Among other guidelines, we recommend preventing swimmers from approaching if whale sharks stop feeding when a vessel approaches.

Traditional knowledge gained through daily interactions with the environment can yield insights into processes at temporal or spatial scales that may be overlooked by conventional scientific research. Ninety interviews were conducted with riverine people in the vicinity of Anavilhanas National Park, Tapajós–Arapiuns Extractive Reserve and Tapajós National Forest in the Brazilian Amazon, with the aim to increase knowledge of the feeding habits of the Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis and evaluate its conservation status in contrasting protected areas. In Anavilhanas respondents identified 31 plant species consumed by the manatee, of which vines had the highest cognitive salience index value (the summed importance of each plant species), even though they are available to manatees only during the high-water season. In the Tapajós region 37 plant species were identified, with submerged species with floating leaves being the main component of the manatee's diet. Although hunting has declined it still occurs in Anavilhanas, which is susceptible to environmental crimes because of its proximity to urban centres. Manatee hunting seems to be infrequent in the Tapajós region, having little impact on the population. Given the broad knowledge within the local community about the Amazonian manatee, involvement of riverine people in manatee conservation activities is fundamental for reducing threats and increasing conservation effectiveness.

The rate of deforestation in the Amazon is increasing. Predictive models estimate that as a result of agricultural expansion 40% of these forests will be lost by 2050. As a consequence the habitat of forest-dwelling species such as the Endangered black-faced black spider monkey Ateles chamek is being lost, particularly along the arc of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. We used species distribution modelling to (1) define the distribution of this spider monkey, using environmental predictors, (2) calculate the area of this distribution covered by the protected area network, and (3) calculate the expected loss of the species’ habitat under future scenarios of deforestation. We found that the species occupies only c. 28% of its extent of occurrence. Only 32% of the species’ area of occupancy is legally protected, and the modelling suggests that 31–40% of the species’ habitat will be lost by 2050. We highlight three unprotected regions with extensive forest cover that are predicted to become severely deforested by 2050 as priority regions for expanding the protected area network. We also propose landscape management and restoration in three human-modified regions. Our study provides an example of how species distribution modelling can be applied to assess threats to species and support decision makers in implementing conservation actions.

The jaguar Panthera onca, a threatened species in Brazil, is losing suitable habitat as a result of agricultural expansion and other forms of land conversion, especially in the Cerrado biome. In the current context of habitat loss and fragmentation, a network of protected areas is paramount for the conservation of this species. We aimed to identify jaguar conservation units in the Cerrado, and propose a ranking of priority areas for the species in this region. We used the maximum entropy algorithm to model habitat suitability for the jaguar in the Cerrado, with nine uncorrelated environmental variables and 106 non-autocorrelated presence-only records. We prioritized regions, using Zonation, and ranked jaguar conservation units according to their area, proximity to strictly protected areas, jaguar presence, and potential for connectivity. Circa 30% of the Cerrado is suitable for the jaguar. The most important variables affecting jaguar distribution are mean rainfall and land cover, with a high probability of jaguar presence in forest and savannah. We selected 31 high-priority jaguar conservation units, covering c. 174,825 km2 (8.5%) of the Cerrado. We emphasize the need for new protected areas and the promotion of sustainable development, as only 0.4% of the Cerrado (8,345 km2) has high environmental suitability for jaguars and < 1% of the area covered by jaguar conservation units falls within protected areas. Most jaguar conservation units identified here are relevant for habitat connectivity in Brazil, given their proximity to other critical areas for jaguar conservation in the Caatinga and the Amazon.