Browsing by Subject "bushmeat"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing Torque Teno Virus Infection and Bushmeat Exposure Among Pneumonia Patients: Sarawak, Malaysia
(2017) Berkhouse, Hudson Taylor
Background: Torque Teno Virus (TTV) is ubiquitous, possibly zoonotic, and has potential for clinical and global health research application. The goals of the current study were to determine prevalence of TTV among pneumonia patients in two Malaysian hospitals, compare results from qPCR and conventional PCR detection methods, and to compare TTV infection against self-reported exposure to bushmeat products.
Methods: Medical officers obtained plasma, PBMC, and NP swab samples, along with bushmeat exposure information from 34 pneumonia patients in Sibu and Kapit hospitals. Samples were tested for TTV using qPCR. Results were corroborated using conventional PCR. Cornfield’s and McNemar’s exact methods were used to analyze infection by exposure, and agreement between PCR results respectively. Diagnostic abilities of the qPCR test were analyzed using conventional PCR as the gold standard.
Results: Conventional PCR reported 17.65% TTV prevalence, while qPCR reported 91.18%. Household size (OR=0.00, 95% CI=0.00, 0.96) and gender (OR=infinity, 95% CI=1.39, infinity) had statistically significant impacts on odds of infection. The qPCR method showed 100% sensitivity, but 7.69% specificity.
Conclusions: Results suggest low prevalence of TTV within the study population, and reaffirm findings by other researchers that smaller household size and being female are associated with decreased odds of TTV infection. Though statistically insignificant, indications that exposure to bushmeat in general increases odds of TTV infection should be investigated further. Researchers must be aware of differences in diagnostic capabilities between PCR methods for TTV detection when designing their own diagnostic studies or conducting TTV related literature reviews.
Open Access
Effects of hunting and human disturbance on wildlife near villages in northeastern Gabon
(2018-04-27) MacCarthy, James
Bushmeat from wild animals is the primary source of protein and income for many rural communities in northeastern Gabon, but mammals also provide valuable ecosystem services that may be jeopardized by unsustainable hunting practices and human disturbance. In this study, we deployed nearly 200 camera traps over two years to investigate whether hunting and other forms of human disturbance resulting from resource extraction activities, such as logging, alter mammal communities in tropical forests. The results of our study indicate that hunting and human disturbance reduces large mammal abundance close to roads and in more populated areas. In particular, chimpanzees and mandrills occurred far from roads, possibly reflecting more intense hunting of these species either for meat or in retaliation for crop raiding. Low relative abundances may be partially offset by in-migration from source populations in remote forests, but the further expansion of logging roads could disrupt this buffering mechanism. Although we did not find any significant effects for medium mammals as a group, Peter’s duikers and white-bellied duikers responded negatively to hunting intensity and were more numerous farther from villages and Makokou. By contrast, small mammals, such as rats and brush-tailed porcupines, responded positively to the density of logging roads, suggesting that low abundances of medium and large mammals release them from predation and competition for resourcesor that disturbed forest provides a more favorable habitat for small mammals than primary forest. Our results indicate that anthropogenic factors strongly influence the abundances and distributions of species in our study and forecast wildlife communities dominated by small mammals in human disturbed areas. To ensure a sustainable supply of animal protein for rural people, rural communities must actively manage their forests for wildlife. Wildlife management systems near villages should include a quota system that allows year-round hunting of small mammals, but limits hunting of large mammals to specific months, seasons, and areas. Government- or NGO-funded compensation for crop damage could ease the antipathy towards animals and conservation, and funding of community-led wildlife monitoring could raise awareness of the effects of hunting and the ecological and livelihood benefits of large mammals. Likewise, forestry operations should prohibit hunting in their concessions, and actively enforce regulations against hunting and use of logging roads.
Open Access
Hunting for common ground between wildlife governance and commons scholarship.
(Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 2019-02) Smith, Hillary; Marrocoli, Sergio; Garcia Lozano, Alejandro; Basurto, Xavier
Wildlife hunting is essential to livelihoods and food security in many parts of the world, yet present rates of extraction may threaten ecosystems and human communities. Thus, governing sustainable wildlife use is a major social dilemma and conservation challenge. Commons scholarship is well positioned to contribute theoretical insights and analytic tools to better understand the interface of social and ecological dimensions of wildlife governance, yet the intersection of wildlife studies and commons scholarship is not well studied. We reviewed existing wildlife-hunting scholarship, drawing on a database of 1,410 references, to examine the current overlap with commons scholarship through multiple methods, including social network analysis and deductive coding. We found that a very small proportion of wildlife scholarship incorporated commons theories and frameworks. The social network of wildlife scholarship was densely interconnected with several major publication clusters, whereas the wildlife commons scholarship was sparse and isolated. Despite the overarching gap between wildlife and commons scholarship, a few scholars are studying wildlife commons. The small body of scholarship that bridges these disconnected literatures provides valuable insights into the understudied relational dimensions of wildlife and other overlapping common-pool resources. We suggest increased engagement among wildlife and commons scholars and practitioners to improve the state of knowledge and practice of wildlife governance across regions, particularly for bushmeat hunting in the tropics, which is presently understudied through a common-pool resource lens. Our case study of the Republic of Congo showed how the historical context and interrelationships between hunting and forest rights are essential to understanding the current state of wildlife governance and potential for future interventions. A better understanding of the interconnections between wildlife and overlapping common-pool resource systems may be key to understanding present wildlife governance challenges and advancing the common-pool resource research agenda.
Open Access
The Effects of Hunting on a Forest Animal Community in Gabon
(2015-04-24) Blanchard, Emily
Gabon holds some of the world’s richest, most species-diverse tropical rainforest. Over 80% of the country’s landcover is forest and up to 20% of its plant and animal species are endemic. However, as the country seeks to increase its economic development through practices such as logging, the resulting creation of new roads and settlements in formerly remote areas increases the risk of bushmeat hunting and poaching. Species such as the African forest elephant have already experienced dramatic declines from hunting, which poses potential ecological consequences such as reduced seed dispersion. This study examined the effects of hunting on an animal community in a northeastern area of Gabon by measuring three types of hunting pressure: roads, waterways, and human populations. I focused on 9 animal species (Crowned Guenon, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Mustached Monkey, White-nosed Guenon, Blue Duiker, Yellow-backed Duiker, African Forest Elephant, Chimpanzee and Gorilla) because of their specific targeting by bushmeat hunters or poachers and because they had adequate data to estimate population abundance. The study area, a 5,800 sq. km region in the Ogouué Ivindo province of northeastern Gabon, reflected a gradient of human activities and hunting pressure. The study consisted of direct (animals seen or heard) and indirect (dung piles or nests) observations along 24 transects, which were walked at least once per month from January to December 2014. I used these observations to calculate species abundances and compared these to past estimates. In addition, I analyzed abundance correlations with the three forms of hunting pressure. Overall, 8 of the 9 species analyzed in this study have declined in abundance since their previous estimates. Blue Duikers have suffered the most drastic decline, followed by Chimpanzees and White-nosed Guenons. Distances to the nearest small village and nearest main road were the overall strongest and most commonly significant indicators of hunting pressure. Results suggest that most of the study area’s species decline has been caused by excessive bushmeat hunting. On the whole, the entire wildlife community is declining in abundance and these trends are likely to continue unless measures are taken to reduce rates of hunting and poaching.