A new study has found three new strains
of malaria in Cambodia that are resistant to the drug Artemisinin (Miotto et
al., 2013), which is widely used as a first-line treatment for malaria in artemesinin-based
combination therapies such as Coartem, and one of the most effective drugs
available.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Global cooling trend over last 2000 years ended at end of 19th century
Reconstructing
spatial and temporal patterns of climate variability is important for understanding
the dynamics of the global climate system, and to distinguish anthropogenic
impacts from the background range of natural variability. While previous
studies have tended to focus on global-scale reconstructions of past temperature
change, a new study examines temperature evolution at a continental-scale over
the last 2000 years. Published online in Nature Geoscience, a large consortium of
scientists known as the PAGES organization coordinated researchers and data
across all continental regions except Africa, which unfortunately had a lack of
data.
New report on deforestation in the Congo Basin
Francais
Un nouveau rapport sur les tendances de déforestation dans le Bassin du Congo est maintenant disponible. L'étude menée par la Banque mondiale à la demande de la COMIFAC avec la participation des principales parties prenantes des pays du bassin du Congo, analyse les pressions présentes et futures des différents secteurs économiques sur les forêts du Bassin du Congo. Le rapport complet est disponible en anglais avec un résumé en français de 38 pages.
Bien vouloir telecharger ici:
Deforestation in the Congo Basin
English
A new report on deforestation trends in the Congo Basin is available. The study was led by the World Bank with COMIFAC and key Congo basin country stakeholders and analyzes current and future pressures from different economic sectors on Congo Basin forests. The full report is available in English along with a 38 page executive summary in French.
Available for download here:
Deforestation in the Congo Basin
Reference
Un nouveau rapport sur les tendances de déforestation dans le Bassin du Congo est maintenant disponible. L'étude menée par la Banque mondiale à la demande de la COMIFAC avec la participation des principales parties prenantes des pays du bassin du Congo, analyse les pressions présentes et futures des différents secteurs économiques sur les forêts du Bassin du Congo. Le rapport complet est disponible en anglais avec un résumé en français de 38 pages.
Bien vouloir telecharger ici:
Deforestation in the Congo Basin
English
A new report on deforestation trends in the Congo Basin is available. The study was led by the World Bank with COMIFAC and key Congo basin country stakeholders and analyzes current and future pressures from different economic sectors on Congo Basin forests. The full report is available in English along with a 38 page executive summary in French.
Available for download here:
Deforestation in the Congo Basin
Reference
Megevand, C (2013). Deforestation
Trends in the Congo Basin: Reconciling Economic Growth and Forest Protection.
Washington, DC: World Bank. doi: 10.1596/978-0-8213-9742-8.
Inexperienced hunters more likely to find work elsewhere than their veteran counterparts
English
A second Gabonese study has been published in this month’s Conservation Biology. ANPN’s partners at the University of Oxford, IRET, University of Stirling and WCS have published results of a long-term study of bushmeat hunting behaviour in rural Gabon (Coad et al., 2013).
Drawing on data collected in two villages over a period of ten years, the study examined changes in hunting behavior and hunter offtake over time. At the start of the study, wildlife was already depleted and large-bodied species rare. Over the 10 year period, there was no change in hunting offtake or species composition, but the number of hunters declined, with those with the lowest hunting income being more likely to have moved away from the village. This decline was offset by changes in the methods employed by the remaining hunters, who started switching to gun-hunting and set traps at larger trapping distances, and benefitted from a higher offtake per trap. These ‘core hunters’ were more likely to be older, more successful hunters than those that had left the village to pursue other opportunities. This study has important implications in the design of so-called “alternative livelihood” programmes : while availability of alternative livelihoods may encourage some hunters to switch from hunting to other activities, the most specialised hunters, who are most invested in hunting are far less likely to switch.
Coad L, Schleicher J, Milner-Gulland EJ, Marthews TR, Starkey M, Manica A, Balmford A, Mbombe W, Diop Bineni TR, Abernethy KA, 2013. Social and Ecological Change over a Decade in a Village Hunting System, Central Gabon. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology 27:270-80.
A second Gabonese study has been published in this month’s Conservation Biology. ANPN’s partners at the University of Oxford, IRET, University of Stirling and WCS have published results of a long-term study of bushmeat hunting behaviour in rural Gabon (Coad et al., 2013).
Drawing on data collected in two villages over a period of ten years, the study examined changes in hunting behavior and hunter offtake over time. At the start of the study, wildlife was already depleted and large-bodied species rare. Over the 10 year period, there was no change in hunting offtake or species composition, but the number of hunters declined, with those with the lowest hunting income being more likely to have moved away from the village. This decline was offset by changes in the methods employed by the remaining hunters, who started switching to gun-hunting and set traps at larger trapping distances, and benefitted from a higher offtake per trap. These ‘core hunters’ were more likely to be older, more successful hunters than those that had left the village to pursue other opportunities. This study has important implications in the design of so-called “alternative livelihood” programmes : while availability of alternative livelihoods may encourage some hunters to switch from hunting to other activities, the most specialised hunters, who are most invested in hunting are far less likely to switch.
Human disturbance has diverse effects on mammal distribution in Gamba
English
A new study published in this month’s Conservation Biology by our colleagues at the Smithsonian Institute shows that roads and other human disturbances have diverse effects on mammal distribution, with positive as well as negative impacts.
The team set up line transects near roads in areas of different levels of human disturbance, including industrial activities, hunting, agriculture and urbanization, in and around Gamba town and the Shell Concessions south of Moukalaba-Doudou NP. They used a mixture of signs counted on transects, camera trapping events and presence/absence indicators to record the distribution of 17 medium to large mammal species (or groups of species) ranging from giant pouched rats to elephants. They also measured a wide range of variables related to the ecosystem, human disturbance and roads. Their results showed that the pattern of association of mammals with roads and other human disturbances was diverse and included positive as well as negative associations. Main roads had negative associations with buffalo, elephants, gorilla, and sitatunga, but positive or neutral associations with the abundance of red river hog, some monkeys and duikers, which is contrary to some other recent studies. Agriculture had positive associations with situatunga, small carnivores and large rodents. Surprisingly, elephant distribution was not affected by distance to plantations, indicating that plantations are probably not an important food source for elephants in that area. Overall the authors concluded that mammals were mostly affected by hunting, agriculture, and urbanization, which are facilitated by road presence.
A new study published in this month’s Conservation Biology by our colleagues at the Smithsonian Institute shows that roads and other human disturbances have diverse effects on mammal distribution, with positive as well as negative impacts.
The team set up line transects near roads in areas of different levels of human disturbance, including industrial activities, hunting, agriculture and urbanization, in and around Gamba town and the Shell Concessions south of Moukalaba-Doudou NP. They used a mixture of signs counted on transects, camera trapping events and presence/absence indicators to record the distribution of 17 medium to large mammal species (or groups of species) ranging from giant pouched rats to elephants. They also measured a wide range of variables related to the ecosystem, human disturbance and roads. Their results showed that the pattern of association of mammals with roads and other human disturbances was diverse and included positive as well as negative associations. Main roads had negative associations with buffalo, elephants, gorilla, and sitatunga, but positive or neutral associations with the abundance of red river hog, some monkeys and duikers, which is contrary to some other recent studies. Agriculture had positive associations with situatunga, small carnivores and large rodents. Surprisingly, elephant distribution was not affected by distance to plantations, indicating that plantations are probably not an important food source for elephants in that area. Overall the authors concluded that mammals were mostly affected by hunting, agriculture, and urbanization, which are facilitated by road presence.
Vanthomme H, Kolowski J, Korte L, Alonso A
(2013) Distribution of a community of mammals in relation to roads and other
human disturbances in Gabon, central Africa. Conservation biology : the journal
of the Society for Conservation Biology 27(2): 281-291.
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