Disentangling the Effects of Human Pressures and Available Resources on Critically Endangered Lion Space use in a Protected Area Complex of West Africa

management;protected area;trophy hunting;occupancy;School for Environment and Sustainability

Mills, Kirbyna, na ;

University of Michigan

关键词: management;    protected area;    trophy hunting;    occupancy;    School for Environment and Sustainability;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/148835/Mills_Kirby_Thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

African lions reside primarily in protected areas, both of which are increasinglythreatened by human pressures and subsequent depletion of natural resources andsuitable habitat. Management of protected areas as hunting concessions often resultsin higher revenues and smaller areas compared to national parks, allowing for highquality habitat and stronger regulation of illegal activity. The successful conservationof lions in protected areas where both management types are implemented coulddepend on the extent to which lions avoid the risks associated with humanencounters, which likely depends on distribution of high-quality habitat, wateravailability and prey resources. We conducted the first camera survey of lions in theW-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) protected area in West Africa, a 26,620-km2complex whichhas two primary management types: national parks (NPs) and hunting concessions(HCs). We combined occupancy modeling, which accounts for imperfect detection oflions, and structural equation modeling to disentangle the relative effect sizes (ES) ofenvironmental, ecological, and anthropogenic variables expected to influence lionspace use. Lion occupancy () did not show a response to management type (NP =0.56; HC = 0.58), exhibiting no spatial avoidance of hunting concessions. Wateravailability was higher and habitats were more diverse in hunting concessions, whichmay negate mortality risks from trophy hunting and higher human occupancy (NP =0.49; HC = 0.61). Lion occupancy was strongly driven by prey availability (ES =0.219), which was influenced by edge effects and water availability. Cues of highquality habitat combined with increased human pressures may indicate huntingconcessions functioning as ecological traps for lions in WAP. We recommendmanagement interventions (e.g., increasing water availability and patrols near parkedges) to provide refuge for lions in national parks by reducing the intersection oflion space use and the risk of human encounters.