scholarly journals Fido, Fluffy, and wildlife conservation: The environmental consequences of domesticated animals

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Twardek ◽  
Kathryn S. Peiman ◽  
Austin J. Gallagher ◽  
Steven J. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
Domesticated Animals ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Behavioural Modification ◽  
Pet Owners ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

Humans have created a strong relationship with cats and dogs by domesticating them. Whether owned by a human or living feral, modern domestic cats and dogs interact extensively with people and the environment. The negative interactions between these domesticated animals and wildlife have been discussed in several reviews, but few reports have provided an overview of both the positive and negative impacts these domesticated animals have on wildlife conservation. Here, we describe the diverse issues associated with domestic cats and dogs and wildlife including predation, competition, pathogen transmission, hybridization, behavioural modification, harvest of wild animals for pet food, and creation of human–wildlife conflict. We then discuss their role in supporting conservation efforts (e.g., use in species identification and tracking, biological control), and shaping our social values towards animals and appreciation for nature. Finally, we suggest necessary steps to harmonize our relationship with cats and dogs and the conservation of wildlife. For owned animals, there is potential for pet owners to support conservation efforts through a ‘pet tax’ adopted by veterinary clinics and pet stores to be used for wildlife conservation. Moreover, information regarding the impacts of these animals on wildlife and potential solutions (e.g., voluntarily keeping cats and dogs inside or use of “pet curfews”, use of bells to alert wildlife to cats) should be made available to owners who are most likely to have an influence on the behaviour of their companion animal.

scholarly journals Sharing Spaces and Entanglements With Big Cats: The Warli and Their Waghoba in Maharashtra, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramya Nair ◽  
Dhee ◽  
Omkar Patil ◽  
Nikit Surve ◽  
Anish Andheria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
Economic Study ◽  
The People ◽  
Societal Context ◽  
Traditional Institutions ◽  
Sharing Space ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

Long histories of sharing space and resources have built complex, robust, and enduring relationships between humans and wildlife in many communities across the world. In order to understand what makes it possible for humans and wildlife to share space, we have to look beyond the ecological and socio-economic study of damages caused by human-wildlife conflict and explore the cultural and societal context within which co-existence is embedded. We conducted an exploratory study on the institution of Waghoba, a big cat deity worshiped by the Indigenous Warli community in Maharashtra, India. Through our research, we found that the worship of Waghoba is highly prevalent, with 150 shrines dedicated to this deity across our study site. We also learnt that the Warlis believe in a reciprocal relationship, where Waghoba will protect them from the negative impacts of sharing spaces with big cats if the people worship the deity and conduct the required rituals, especially the annual festival of Waghbaras. We propose that such relationships facilitate the sharing spaces between humans and leopards that live in the landscape. The study also revealed the ways in which the range of institutions and stakeholders in the landscape shape the institution of Waghoba and thereby contribute to the human-leopard relationship in the landscape. This is relevant for present-day wildlife conservation because such traditional institutions are likely to act as tolerance-building mechanisms embedded within the local cosmology. Further, it is vital that the dominant stakeholders outside of the Warli community (such as the Forest Department, conservation biologists, and other non-Warli residents who interact with leopards) are informed about and sensitive to these cultural representations because it is not just the biological animal that the Warlis predominantly deal with.

scholarly journals Sparse Evidence for Giardia intestinalis, Cryptosporidium spp. and Microsporidia Infections in Humans, Domesticated Animals and Wild Nonhuman Primates Sharing a Farm–Forest Mosaic Landscape in Western Uganda

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Marie Cibot ◽  
Matthew R. McLennan ◽  
Martin Kváč ◽  
Bohumil Sak ◽  
Caroline Asiimwe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Triosephosphate Isomerase ◽  
Ribosomal Subunit ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Mosaic Landscape ◽  
Domesticated Animals ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Cryptosporidium Spp ◽  
Animal Contact

Zoonotic pathogen transmission is considered a leading threat to the survival of non-human primates and public health in shared landscapes. Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Microsporidia are unicellular parasites spread by the fecal-oral route by environmentally resistant stages and can infect humans, livestock, and wildlife including non-human primates. Using immunoassay diagnostic kits and amplification/sequencing of the region of the triosephosphate isomerase, small ribosomal subunit rRNA and the internal transcribed spacer genes, we investigated Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and microsporidia infections, respectively, among humans, domesticated animals (livestock, poultry, and dogs), and wild nonhuman primates (eastern chimpanzees and black and white colobus monkeys) in Bulindi, Uganda, an area of remarkably high human–animal contact and spatial overlap. We analyzed 137 fecal samples and revealed the presence of G. intestinalis assemblage B in two human isolates, G. intestinalis assemblage E in one cow isolate, and Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II in two humans and one goat isolate. None of the chimpanzee and colobus monkey samples were positive for any of the screened parasites. Regular distribution of antiparasitic treatment in both humans and domestic animals in Bulindi could have reduced the occurrence of the screened parasites and decreased potential circulation of these pathogens among host species.

scholarly journals The Implications of HIV Treatment on the HIV-Malaria Coinfection Dynamics: A Modeling Perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Nyabadza ◽  
B. T. Bekele ◽  
M. A. Rúa ◽  
D. M. Malonza ◽  
N. Chiduku ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Treatment ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Disease Epidemiology ◽  
Qualitative Dynamics ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Long Term Behavior ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Multiple Pathogens

Most hosts harbor multiple pathogens at the same time in disease epidemiology. Multiple pathogens have the potential for interaction resulting in negative impacts on host fitness or alterations in pathogen transmission dynamics. In this paper we develop a mathematical model describing the dynamics of HIV-malaria coinfection. Additionally, we extended our model to examine the role treatment (of malaria and HIV) plays in altering populations’ dynamics. Our model consists of 13 interlinked equations which allow us to explore multiple aspects of HIV-malaria transmission and treatment. We perform qualitative analysis of the model that includes positivity and boundedness of solutions. Furthermore, we evaluate the reproductive numbers corresponding to the submodels and investigate the long term behavior of the submodels. We also consider the qualitative dynamics of the full model. Sensitivity analysis is done to determine the impact of some chosen parameters on the dynamics of malaria. Finally, numerical simulations illustrate the potential impact of the treatment scenarios and confirm our analytical results.

Belled collars reduce catch of domestic cats in New Zealand by half

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 372 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Gordon ◽  
C. Matthaei ◽  
Y. van Heezik
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Urban Wildlife ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
The Public ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Catch Rates ◽  
The Uk

Context. As evidence accumulates implicating domestic cats as significant predators of urban wildlife, the need for effective mitigation of potentially negative impacts becomes more pressing. Belled collars are probably one of the cheapest and least intrusive methods, although the opinion of a proportion of members of the public in New Zealand is that they are not effective. Aims. We aimed to determine whether belled collars reduced prey catch. Methods. Prey caught and brought back home by cats that were regular hunters during 6 weeks when they wore a belled collar was compared with prey caught during 6 weeks when they did not wear a collar. Key results. Predation of birds and rodents was reduced by 50% and 61%, respectively. The number of rats, lizards and insects was not significantly reduced; however, these constituted a small proportion of the total catch. Sex and age of cats, as well as time did not affect catch rates, with the exception that older cats were more likely to catch rats (Rattus spp.) than were younger cats. Most of the cats in the study were young, reflecting our selection criteria that cats be regular and frequent hunters. Conclusions. The degree to which catch of birds and rodents was reduced is similar to that reported in two experimental studies in the UK, and confirms that belled collars are effective in the New Zealand environment. Implications. In New Zealand, small mammals are introduced pests and hunters of native wildlife; predation by cats may regulate their populations in urban areas and so care should be taken when instituting cat-control measures. It is also possible that a 50% reduction in predation may be insufficient to ensure viability for some urban wildlife populations.

Natural Resources, Energy Politics, and Environmental Consequences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Kröger
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Resource Politics ◽  
Life On Earth

Life on Earth is undergoing major changes due to the converging and rapidly accelerating climate, biodiversity, pollution, and other environmental crises and emergencies. Global environmental and ecological constraints, consequences, and politics are becoming mainstream and necessary components to include in analysis across scientific fields. Over-extraction of resources in destructive ways is leading key ecosystems into states of collapse, species and habitats are being lost at record rates, and tipping points are cascading to produce a chaotic transformation. In this setting, resource extraction, in its varied forms, needs to be urgently analyzed in terms of its impacts and politics to understand, explain, transform, regulate, and govern the way natural resource sectors and actors affect the web of life. To this end, this article opens up natural resource politics, and how their unfolding has been analyzed globally and sectorially. Most of the studies related to or discussing the topic of extraction focus on the negative impacts of these projects, their developmental impacts, or the characteristics of conflicts related to extraction. Fewer studies focus on explaining what are the politics that lead to negative impacts, development, or conflicts. The studies on the politics behind extractive investment outcomes discuss the causal paths from political actions to extraction in different contexts mostly tangentially. Yet, constructivist studies by social scientists on natural resources have shown how resources and spaces of extracting resources are also created in social and political processes, which are typically international and related to existing power relations. Resources do not just exist out there, but are imagined when a part of nature is framed as a natural resource, and some areas are turned into sacrifice zones for extraction. These are places being destroyed as they do not matter to their extractors. The span of these localities has expanded over nations and subcontinents, placing us all in the sacrifice zone now, as Naomi Klein elucidates in This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. This bibliography covers first the textbooks, followed by an assessment of the key dynamics in which resource politics are embedded, such as conflicts and developmental interventions, and their key actors: civil society, corporations, states, and global actors. Last, the particularities for different targets and sectors of extraction are assessed, including trees and forests, minerals, hydrocarbons and energy, water, and food and feed. For databases and resources, journals, and methodology of studying resource politics, please see the Oxford Bibliographies article “Politics of Extraction: Theories and New Concepts for Critical Analysis” which focuses on the key theories and organizing concepts.

scholarly journals Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by the RT-qPCR in domestic cats

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e40110918184
Author(s):  
Laila Natasha Santos Brandão ◽  
Daniela Paula Homochiski ◽  
Letícia Barbosa de Oliveira ◽  
Rosimar Moro Soares de Oliveira ◽  
Sara Andreta Maciel
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Interspecies Transmission ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
The Face ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
City State ◽  
Control And Eradication

SARS-Cov-2 has altered social behavior worldwide, causing drastic changes in the population's routine, its impacts have still been gradually perceived and several questions have arisen in the face of the pandemic, the possibility of interspecies transmission casts doubt on the participation of domestic animals in the epidemiology of the disease. The present study demonstrates the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 through RT-qPCR technique in unvaccinated domestic cats with free access outside the house, domiciled in Alta Floresta city (State of Mato Grosso, Brazil) with report of clinical respiratory manifestations and its possible transmission among individuals of the same species. Information like this is valuable and contributes to the understanding of the epidemiological chain of COVID-19 and may eventually assist in the establishment of future protocols for control and eradication programs, however the presence of positive animals needs to be carefully analysed and studied among specialists in order to avoid negative impacts on their relationship, owner and their pets, aiming to prevent unnecessary abandonment and sacrifices.

scholarly journals Environmental DNA for conservation

2021 ◽  
pp. 157-176
Author(s):  
Antoinette J. Piaggio
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Sampling Schemes ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Elusive Species ◽  
Negative Impacts

Detection and monitoring of wildlife species of concern is a costly and time-consuming challenge that is critical to the management of such species. Tools such as lures and traps can cause unnecessary stress or other health impacts to sensitive species. Development and refinement of tools that provide means to detect rare and elusive species without requiring contact with them reduce such impacts. Further, the potential of detection after the target species has moved on from a sampling site could allow for higher potential for detection of rare species. The ability to amplify DNA from environmental samples (e.g. water, soil, air, and other substrates) has provided a non-invasive method for detection of rare or elusive species while reducing negative impacts to wildlife. Like other non-invasive methods, such as cameras, there are methodological pitfalls associated with environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling to consider. Each study system will provide unique challenges to adequate eDNA sampling. Thus, pilot studies are critical for successful implementation of a larger-scale detection and monitoring study. This chapter will describe the benefits and challenges of using eDNA, detail types of eDNA sampling, and provide guidance on designing appropriate study design and sampling schemes. Empirical studies using eDNA applied to wildlife conservation efforts will be highlighted and discussed.

scholarly journals Loss of migratory behaviour increases infection risk for a butterfly host

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1801) ◽  
pp. 20141734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dara A. Satterfield ◽  
John C. Maerz ◽  
Sonia Altizer
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Protozoan Parasite ◽  
Infection Risk ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Southern Us

Long-distance animal migrations have important consequences for infectious disease dynamics. In some cases, migration lowers pathogen transmission by removing infected individuals during strenuous journeys and allowing animals to periodically escape contaminated habitats. Human activities are now causing some migratory animals to travel shorter distances or form sedentary (non-migratory) populations. We focused on North American monarch butterflies and a specialist protozoan parasite to investigate how the loss of migratory behaviours affects pathogen spread and evolution. Each autumn, monarchs migrate from breeding grounds in the eastern US and Canada to wintering sites in central Mexico. However, some monarchs have become non-migratory and breed year-round on exotic milkweed in the southern US. We used field sampling, citizen science data and experimental inoculations to quantify infection prevalence and parasite virulence among migratory and sedentary populations. Infection prevalence was markedly higher among sedentary monarchs compared with migratory monarchs, indicating that diminished migration increases infection risk. Virulence differed among parasite strains but was similar between migratory and sedentary populations, potentially owing to high gene flow or insufficient time for evolutionary divergence. More broadly, our findings suggest that human activities that alter animal migrations can influence pathogen dynamics, with implications for wildlife conservation and future disease risks.

scholarly journals Assessment Of Human-Wildlife Conflict And Its Implication For Conservation at sundarpur, Udayapur, Eastern Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Chandramani Aryal ◽  
Manoj Pokharel
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Household Surveys ◽  
Crop Raiding ◽  
Wildlife Conflict ◽  
Wildlife Species ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Observation Method ◽  
Sloth Bear ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict ◽  
Direct Observation Method

This study was carried out to document the prevailing situation of human-wildlife conflict in Sundarpur of Udayapur district, Nepal where significant numbers of sloth bear along with other troublesome wildlife species occur. Data about conflict and people's perception towards wildlife conservation was collected using household surveys supplemented by key informant interviews and direct observation method. Monkeys (93%) and elephants (86%) were found to be major animals involved in conflict mostly resulting into crop raiding, which was the major form of conflict as reported by (95%) of respondents. Livestock depredation cases were mostly by common leopard (84%) and sloth bear was involved in majority of human attack cases (90%). According to respondents, the trend of conflict was found to be increasing for elephants (63%) and monkeys (73%) while it was found to be decreasing for sloth bear (64%), wild boar (85%), and leopard (46%), where people believed natural attraction of wildlife towards crops/livestock to be the major driving factor of conflict. Despite the prevalence of conflict most of the respondents showed positive attitude towards wildlife conservation in Sundarpur. This implies a better future for wildlife conservation in this area if the issues associated with human-wildlife conflict are addressed effectively.

scholarly journals Assessment of Human-Wildlife Conflict and the Attitude of Local Communities to Wild Animal Conservation around Borena Sayint National Park, Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Salahadin Merkebu ◽  
Dereje Yazezew
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Papio Hamadryas ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Wildlife Conflict ◽  
The Status ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) has increased globally because of an increase in the human population, particularly in developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate the status of HWC and the attitude of local communities to wildlife conservation around Borena Sayint National Park, Northeastern Ethiopia. Data were collected between September 2017 and May 2018 using a face-to-face questionnaire survey (230), focus group discussions (7), and direct observation on the crop foraging. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the responses were compared using a nonparametric Pearson chi-square test. The majority of respondents (70%) reported the existence of HWC manifested because of the damage received to their assets (both crop and livestock). Canis aureus, Panthera pardus, Crocuta crocuta, and Papio hamadryas were stated as livestock depredators. Gelada, rabbit, porcupine, klipspringer, bushbuck, and duiker were considered as the major crop raiders. Over half (57.83%) of the respondents had a positive attitude, while others (36.09%) had a negative attitude towards the conservation of wildlife due to frequently faced problems. Respondents in different villages differed significantly (χ2 = 27.385, DF = 12, P < 0.05 ) in their attitude towards wildlife. Possible mitigation actions need to be undertaken to reduce the wildlife damage such that wildlife can sustainably be managed in the park.

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