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Unforeseen consequences of conservation management practices: case study on herding rhino as an anti-poaching measure
Animal Conservation ( IF 3.4 ) Pub Date : 2020-10-07 , DOI: 10.1111/acv.12646
María C. Fàbregas 1, 2 , Geoffrey T. Fosgate 2, 3 , André Ganswindt 2, 4 , Henk Bertschinger 3 , Leith C. R. Meyer 1, 2, 4
Affiliation  

The current biodiversity crisis calls for effective conservation measures. However, some measures may have unforeseen negative consequences on individual species. Herding, a management practice currently used in some wildlife species to protect animals from poachers, can cause habituation to humans, which unintentionally might increase their risk of being poached at a later time. Herding could also negatively impact animal welfare and physiology when perceived as a stressor, with potential negative consequences at the individual and population level. In this study, we tested the following hypotheses: 1) herding elicits habituation to humans in white rhino, and 2) this practice affects the behavior and physiological state of rhino, but they can habituate to it. To that aim, we investigated the effects of herding on the response of rhino to initially unfamiliar people, expression of aggressive and discomfort behaviors, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations (a commonly used indicator of physiological stress) in two cohorts of six and 10 semi-wild orphan white rhino. Rhino did not interrupt their activity to an approaching person on foot (99%) or in a vehicle (94%), indicating habituation to humans. Aggressive and discomfort behaviors were displayed more often while being herded, and their frequency increased significantly with increasing herding pressure. Finally, overall mean fGCM concentrations were 16.1% higher under herding compared to non-herding conditions, but individual fGCM levels varied up to 17-fold under each scenario, suggesting that herding might not elicit a physiological stress response in these animals. While rhino security is paramount in the current poaching crisis, management practices must ensure that they do not impact negatively at the individual and population level.

中文翻译:

保护管理实践的不可预见后果:以放牧犀牛作为反偷猎措施的案例研究

当前的生物多样性危机需要采取有效的保护措施。然而,一些措施可能会对个别物种产生无法预料的负面影响。放牧是目前在一些野生动物物种中用于保护动物免遭偷猎者的管理实践,可能会导致人类习惯,这可能会无意中增加他们日后被偷猎的风险。当被视为压力源时,放牧也可能对动物福利和生理产生负面影响,对个人和种群水平产生潜在的负面影响。在这项研究中,我们测试了以下假设:1) 放牧导致人类习惯白犀牛,2) 这种做法会影响犀牛的行为和生理状态,但它们可以习惯它。为了这个目标,我们研究了放牧对犀牛对最初不熟悉的人的反应、攻击性和不适行为的表达以及粪便糖皮质激素代谢物 (fGCM) 浓度(一种常用的生理压力指标)的影响,分为两组,每组 6 只和 10 只半野生孤儿白犀牛。Rhino 不会对步行 (99%) 或车辆 (94%) 接近的人打断他们的活动,这表明他们已经习惯了人类。在被放牧期间,攻击性和不适行为的表现更频繁,并且随着放牧压力的增加,其频率显着增加。最后,与非放牧条件相比,放牧条件下的总体平均 fGCM 浓度高 16.1%,但在每种情况下,个体 fGCM 水平变化高达 17 倍,表明放牧可能不会引起这些动物的生理应激反应。虽然犀牛安全在当前的偷猎危机中至关重要,但管理实践必须确保它们不会对个人和种群产生负面影响。
更新日期:2020-10-07
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