Human-animal interactions with mutual benefits in the wild are rare. Such positive interactions seem to require an intricate knowledge from the human side on the animals’ behavior and their habitat. In southern Brazil, dolphins and human net-casting fishers have specialized in a cooperative foraging, in which fishers report being able to identify and name dolphins. Here, we evaluate the consensus in

BACKGROUND Indigenous communities use wild plants to cure human ailments since ancient times; such knowledge has significant potential for formulating new drugs and administering future health care. Considering this, the present study was undertaken to assess use value, diversity, and conservation concerns of medicinal plants used in traditional herbal care system of a marginal hill community in Bageshwar

BACKGROUND The consumption of bear gallbladders and bear bile in Southeast Asia is a persistent threat to bear populations. As part of a larger effort to understand the characteristics of bear part consumption in Cambodia, we uncovered a consumer base of women seeking treatment for post-partum and uterine ailments. METHODS To better understand this aspect of consumption, we interviewed 122 women in

BACKGROUND Ethnic groups throughout the world have developed their own cultures expressed in the form of customs, taboos, and traditional healthcare systems. Traditional medicine system is one of the widespread cultures known throughout the world which is very much tied to cultural practices of the community or ethnic group. Medicinal plant treasure found in Gurage and Silti zones remained poorly characterized

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to record wild plants and fungi sold in the capital of Armenia. This is the first large market survey in the Caucasus region. The area of the Caucasus is characterised by a very high diversity of climates, flora and languages which results in very rich traditions of plant use. METHODS Interviews were conducted and photos and voucher specimens were taken during multiple

BACKGROUND Ethnoveterinary medicine is crucial in many rural areas of the world since people living in remote and marginal areas rely significantly on traditional herbal therapies to treat their domestic animals. In Pakistan, communities residing in remote areas, and especially those still attached to pastoralist traditions, have considerable ethnoveterinary herbal knowledge and they sometimes use

BACKGROUND Pigeonpea is a multipurpose food legume crop that contributes to food security in the Republic of Benin. For the establishment of conservation and breeding programs, previous ethnobotanical surveys on pigeonpea were done in Benin but restricted to south and central regions. In previous years, pigeonpea landraces were introduced in northern Benin for soil fertility management; it is therefore

BACKGROUND Bridging the gap between local and scientific knowledge can have useful implications in the teaching-learning process because it can create environments conducive to the valorization of sociocultural diversity in schools. The present review aims to analyze the profile and contributions of scientific publications dealing with articulations between local and scientific knowledge in basic formal

BACKGROUND Most reports of domesticated plants that involve a domestication gradient or inter-specific hybridization in Mexico have focused on those used as food. This study provides knowledge about these processes in two aromatic medicinal plants, Agastache mexicana (Lamiaceae) and A. m. subsp. xolocotziana, widely used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments

BACKGROUND In addition to playing a key role in the dynamics of ecosystems, animal diversity, especially that of wild vertebrates, is intimately linked with human evolutionary history, which has resulted in diverse interactions that must be emphasized in formal education processes. We analyzed several methods of approaches used for biological education in order to teach about wild vertebrates and their

BACKGROUND Cultural and religious practices of African origin have decisively influenced traditional health practices in the Americas since the African diaspora. Plants are core elements in the religions of African origin. Compared with other parts of Brazil where the Afro-Brazilian presence is widely recognized, in Southern Brazil, these cultural practices are often socially invisible. Yet, there

The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEET), throughout its 15 years of existence, has tried to provide a respected outlet for scientific knowledge concerning the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine-centred research has moved at the (partially artificial and fictitious) interface between nature and culture and has investigated

BACKGROUND Due to the influence of several factors on the hunting of game meat, we investigated how the seasonality of the environment, the abundance, and the biomass of wild animals, as well as the proximity to these resources, can affect the hunting. METHODS The research was developed with the Fulni-ô people in the municipality of Águas Belas, Agreste of Pernambuco, Northeast of Brazil. In order

BACKGROUND The study of human-nature relationship has made possible to understand the life dynamics of the communities and the biodiversity with which they cohabit. Although there has been a rise of ethnobiological studies over the last decade, little is known about human interaction with herpetofauna in South America and Colombia. In this work, we analyzed the knowledge, perception, and interaction

This study aimed to analyze the chain and dynamics of the trade of wild birds between keepers and traders in an area of northeast Brazil. Profit from the purchase and sale of these animals in the trade chain was also estimated. The information was obtained through interviews with direct participants in the wild bird trade chain. We recorded a total of 34 bird species involved in illegal trade. In general

Romanian ethnopediatrics has a long history of medicinal plant use. The main objective of the present review was to identify, collect, systematize, and prioritize the available bibliographical data related to medicinal plants traditionally used to treat various pediatric diseases in Romania during the 1860s–1970s. Information was mainly obtained by manual systematic search in various relevant historical

The Philippines is renowned as one of the species-rich countries and culturally megadiverse in ethnicity around the globe. However, ethnopharmacological studies in the Philippines are still limited especially in the most numerous ethnic tribal populations in the southern part of the archipelago. This present study aims to document the traditional practices, medicinal plant use, and knowledge; to determine

Wild edible plants as well as medicinal herbs are still widely used natural resources in Eastern Europe that are frequently accessed by the local population. Ethnobotanical studies rarely give insight to the specific ecosystems in which wild food and medicinal plants grow in a spatially explicit way. The present work assesses the potential of different ecosystems to provide wild plants for food and

In seasons of food shortage, local communities across Africa use wild edible plants and mushrooms (WEPM) that contribute significantly to food security by supplementing households’ diets and providing alternative income. In the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon, their biodiversity is believed to be rapidly declining as a result of land use change. Despite their potential beneficial values, there has been

Menge District has long been inhabited by people who have a long tradition of using wild mushrooms mainly as food, source of income, and medicine. Extensive utilization of wild edible mushrooms (WEM) coupled with an ever-increasing population growth, deforestation, and agricultural land expansion threatens fungal diversity and WEM in the area. Hence, this study is aimed at documenting and analyzing

BACKGROUND Due to historical perceptions of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture (Sichuan Province, China) as being a violent place, and due to its rugged terrain, cultural differences, and relative inaccessibility, few researchers have conducted in-depth ethnobotanical investigations in Liangshan. But wild edible plants (WEPs) are widely consumed by the Yi people of Liangshan, and their associated ethnobotanical

BACKGROUND As a leading practice of Homo sapiens' environmental experience for hundreds of millennia, hunting continues to evoke key research inquiries in the fields of archaeology, human ecology, and conservation biology. Broadly speaking, hunting has been mainly a subject of qualitative-symbolic and quantitative-materialistic schemata of analyze, among anthropologists and biologists, respectively

BACKGROUND Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi constitute a source of income as well as proper food with considerable nutritional value. Although edible EcM fungi are highly diverse and expected to host considerable nutritional attributes, only few studies focus on their use and promotion in the province of Tshopo (DR Congo). This study provides original ethnomycological and diversity data on edible ectomycorrhizal

BACKGROUND People's classification, management, and use of plants represent attempt to attracting people from different academic disciplines. Many countries use traditional medicine for their primary healthcare system. Medicinal plants have been important components of healthcare systems since the time immemorial. The objective of this research was to document and analyze traditional medicinal plants

BACKGROUND Earth's biocultural diversity comprising biological, cultural and linguistic diversities is being eroded quickly. Our ability to recognise and appreciate what is remaining is crucial for its survival. However, not all forms of diversity are appreciated equally and a growing trend in plant blindness indicates that humans ignore plants in the environment. In this context, open-air markets

BACKGROUND Due to their relative isolation, the previous studies of Monpa plant use were only conducted in north-east India. In October 2013, Mêdog County was no longer remote, thanks to completion of a highway into the county. This study of plant species used by the Monpa had three research objectives. These were (i) to identify and record local names and uses of plants in Mêdog County, (ii) to assess

BACKGROUND Interactions between humans and fauna lay in the heart of the history of human subsistence. In Mesoamerica, the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley (TCV) harbours a high biodiversity with archaeological and ethnoecological evidence of its use by people inhabiting the area since at least 12,000 B.P. It is recognized as one of the most ancient areas of agriculture in the Americas, and a broad spectrum

BACKGROUND Pulque is a fermented beverage prepared with sap of Agave species in Mexico. Management of agaves for this purpose has motivated domestication of some species and high phenotypic variation that commonly causes uncertainty about the taxonomic identity of varieties traditionally managed by people. This study assumed that varieties of crop species continually arise from mutations, sexual reproduction

BACKGROUND Although multiple studies advocate the advantages of participatory research approaches for ethnoscience, few provide solid contributions from case studies that involve residents in all of the project phases. We present a case study of a participatory approach whose aim is to register ethnobotanical knowledge on the use of plants in two quilombola communities (maroon communities), an important

BACKGROUND Fermentation is an ancient technique for preserving and improving the qualities of food and beverages throughout the world. Microbial communities, not seen by the producers of fermented goods, are the actors involved in the fermentation process and are selected upon through different management processes in order to achieve a final product with culturally accepted features. This study documented

BACKGROUND Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a diadromous fish compromised by various stressors, which can lead to population decline and the urgency of stronger conservation regulation. In the absence of documentation of direct knowledge of local populations, a broader zoological and ecological understanding of sea lamprey fishing has become vital for the preservation of traditional practices and

BACKGROUND Historically, aquatic environments are linked to the worldview of many local people, where there is an interconnection between the natural world, the supernatural, and the social organization. In this study, we provided a discussion on how the supernatural beings that inhabit the freshwater systems interact with artisanal fishers and fishing resources in the riverine community of Parnaíba

BACKGROUND Customary medicine of Australia's Indigenous peoples draws upon knowledge developed through millennia of interaction with Australia's unique flora and fauna. Many Indigenous Australians are interested in developing modern medicinal and commercial translations of traditional knowledge; however, barriers of trust and benefit sharing often thwart progress. METHODS Using a participatory action

BACKGROUND The relationship between humans and insects goes long back and is important. Insects provide a multitude of ecosystem services for humans, e g. by pollinating crops and decomposing matter. Our current knowledge about the cultural ecosystem services that insects provide is limited and not much examined. METHOD Scattered ethnographical descriptions and folklore records from pre-modern Sweden

BACKGROUND Plant-derived utility products (PDPs) play an important role in sustaining humans, especially tribal communities. Despite this, knowledge on PDPs is declining. METHODS The present study was therefore carried to document the PDPs used by Bhangalis, a tribal community of western Himalaya, through door-to-door surveys (n=420) and detailed questionnaire recordings (n=240). In addition to taxonomic

BACKGROUND Since ancient times, invertebrates have played an important role in the traditional medicine in many parts of the world. In south-eastern Benin, more specifically in the Plateau Department, invertebrates are widely used in folk medicine. However, studies on their therapeutic use has been neglected and their magical-religious purposes are poorly understood. The present study aims to document

BACKGROUND Ecological migration serves as an important measure for poverty eradication as well as for the protection, inheritance, and utilization of traditional ecological knowledge. This study investigated and cataloged the traditional forage plant resources and recorded the associated traditional knowledge of immigrant villages in Hongsibu District of Ningxia, China. The diversity of traditional

BACKGROUND Due to increasing pressure on natural resources, subsistence agriculture communities in Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing increasingly restricted access to diminishing natural resources that are a critical requirement of their livelihoods. Previously, common-pool resources like forests and grasslands have been either gazetted for conservation or leased for agriculture, the latter

BACKGROUND Zongzi, a common Chinese rice-pudding and one of the most symbolic foods in traditional Chinese festivals, is integral to both Chinese traditional culture and daily meals. Traditionally, the leaves of different plant species have been used to wrap zongzi. The variety of zongzi leaves (ZLs) can contribute to the zongzi-based cultural diversity. Given the cultural and dietary significance

BACKGROUND The analysis of ancient calcified dental plaque is a powerful archaeobotanical method to elucidate the key role of the plants in human history. METHODS In this research, by applying both optic microscopy and gas chromatography mass spectrometry on this matrix, a detailed qualitative investigation for reconstructing the lifestyle of a Roman imperial community of the Ager Curensis (Sabina

BACKGROUND Ecosystems provide humanity with goods and services known as ecosystem services. The value of these services represents a basis for political decision-making. To be sure that these decisions are made on a valid basis, policymakers require an understanding of the biophysical processes involved. This study was carried out around two forest reserves (Alibori-Supérieur and Ouénou-Bénou) in Northern

BACKGROUND Wild edible and medicinal plants were an important component of traditional diets and continue to contribute to food security, nutrition, and health in many communities globally. For example, the preparation and consumption of soup made of medicinal plants for promoting health and preventing disease are a key component of the traditional diets of the Hakka socio-linguistic group of China's

BACKGROUND Iraqi Kurdistan is a special hotspot for bio-cultural diversity and for investigating patterns of traditional wild food plant foraging, considering that this area was the home of the first Neolithic communities and has been, over millennia, a crossroad of different civilizations and cultures. The aim of this ethnobotanical field study was to cross-culturally compare the wild food plants

BACKGROUND The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley is a region of outstanding biocultural diversity, harboring eight indigenous ethnic groups and a remarkable biodiversity in a territory 10,000 km2 extent. Ethnobotanical studies of the region are among the most complete in Mexico; contrarily, ethnozoological studies are still limited. But information on both flora and fauna use and management is relevant for

BACKGROUND Previous lists number from 55 to 176 plant species as "Biblical Medicinal Plants." Modern studies attest that many names on these lists are no longer valid. This situation arose due to old mistranslations and/or mistakes in botanical identification. Many previously recognized Biblical plants are in no way related to the flora of the Bible lands. Accordingly, the list needs revision. METHODS

BACKGROUND The Hani people in the Honghe Prefecture of Southeastern Yunnan, China, have practiced terraced rice paddy farming for more than 1300 years. These rice fields, combined with the surrounding forests and water systems, form a special agroecosystem that has attracted both tourists and scientists. For centuries, the local people have traditionally collected wild edible plants (WEP) from the

BACKGROUND Animals from various taxonomic groups are commonly used in folk medicine, and their selection seems to be directly linked to their availability and accessibility. In the present study, we analyzed the use of animals as a source of folk medicines in a community in northeastern Brazil with access to aquatic and terrestrial animals. We hypothesize that the medicinal fauna is well represented

BACKGROUND Traditional habitat knowledge, like the classification of folk habitats and how people partition their landscape into habitats, is an emerging but still understudied part of traditional ecological knowledge. Our objectives were to reconstruct the folk habitats and the partitioning of the landscape into these folk habitats by Mongolian herders in Northern Mongolia and to compare it with other

BACKGROUND Groupers are a vulnerable but economically important group of fish, especially for small-scale fisheries. We investigated catches and local ecological knowledge (LEK) of diet, habitat, and past fishing experiences. METHODS Landings, prices, interviews, and restaurants demand for two species, Epinephelus marginatus (dusky grouper) and Epinephelus morio (red grouper), were registered. RESULTS

BACKGROUND The Yeşilli district (Mardin) is located in the southeastern of Turkey and hosts different cultures. The objective of this study was to record the traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used by indigenous people in Yeşilli, where no ethnobotanical studies have been conducted previously. METHODS An ethnobotanical study was carried out in Yeşilli district in March 2017-March 2019 to document

BACKGROUND This paper aims to record the species used for flavouring and making alcoholic drinks, mainly rakija, on the islands of the Adriatic (Croatia). METHODS Our data comes from 295 interviews performed on 36 islands, in both the Dalmatian and Kvarner areas of the Adriatic. RESULTS Altogether, 114 species are used-46% from wild locations only, 15% both wild and cultivated, 38% only cultivated

BACKGROUND To best of our knowledge, this is the first quantitative ethnobotanical study with the aim of documenting the local knowledge and practices of using plants for curing diseases in the Cava de' Tirreni area, Salerno Province, Campania Region, Italy. The present ethnobotanical field study, carried out during 2016-2017, documents the local uses of 119 plant species for medicinal, food and domestic

BACKGROUND Hñahñu (Otomi) farmers organize their experiences and ecological learning into a farmland system designed to grow food in areas of scarce water and low soil fertility. The purpose of this paper is to examine Hñahñu concepts and categories pertaining to the farming landscape and the ecological foundations underlying the system, its management implications, and categorial organization in Huitexcalco

BACKGROUND Societies have selected their food for health, cultural, religious, political, economical, and environmental reasons. Most of the food included in Sikuani traditional diet still comes from wild natural resources and involves numerous species of fish, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants. During certain periods of the Sikuani women's reproductive cycle, fish intake is

Please note that following publication of the original article [1], Figs. 4, 5 and 6 in the article have been updated to remove oblique lines that were erroneously rendered in the figures.

BACKGROUND Hornbills are known to play an important role in rainforests as agents of seed dispersal. Decades of scientific research has led to a vital body of knowledge on hornbill taxonomy, ecology, distribution, and conservation status. However, the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that local people possess on hornbills has largely been underexplored. In 2018, we collaborated with the Iban

BACKGROUND Being an isolated locality and having a tough mountainous terrain, strong ethnomedicinal practices still prevail in Dhirkot and its allied areas, which have been rarely explored yet. The present study was intended with the aim to document and compare the traditional knowledge of local communities on botanical taxa of Dhirkot, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir. METHODOLOGY Ethnomedicinal data were

BACKGROUND The article aims to analyze the representativeness of women in ethnobiological publications within the Brazilian context, as well as to relate the difficulties faced by women in their scientific careers in terms of gender bias. Biases found in publications are relevant themes to different areas of knowledge, considering the historical persistence of male privilege in these activities. We

BACKGROUND Tibetan medicine (TM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are two independent traditional medical systems. Due to geographical factors, the development of Tibetan medicinal theory is relatively independent, but there are still many shared-use medicines in TM and TCM. However, a thorough and comparative study on those medicines is still absent. This study listed shared-use medicines by

BACKGROUND The pre-industrial diet of the Swedish peasantry did not include mushrooms. In the 1830s, some academic mycologists started information campaigns to teach people about edible mushrooms. This propaganda met with sturdy resistance from rural people. Even at the beginning of the last century, mushrooms were still only being occasionally eaten, and mostly by the gentry. During the twentieth