Wild animals are an important source of protein for the rural peoples living in or near tropical forests. However, the resource can easily be overexploited and game species can become locally depleted, or even extinct. This paper discusses attempts to measure the sustainability of hunting in tropical forests. It examines five indices of sustainability in current use and two models that attempt to model sustainability.

The woylie Bettongia penicillata is categorized as Critically Endangered, having declined by c. 90% between 1999 and 2006. The decline continues and the cause is not fully understood. Within a decline diagnosis framework we characterized the nature of the decline and identified potential causes, with a focus on the species’ largest populations, located in south-west Western Australia. We described the spatio-temporal pattern of the decline, and several attributes that are common across sites. We categorized the potential causes of the decline as resources, predators, disease and direct human interference. Based on the available evidence the leading hypothesis is that disease may be making woylies more vulnerable to predation but this remains to be tested. No substantial recoveries have been sustained to date, and one of the three remaining indigenous populations now appears to be extinct. Therefore, verifying the factors causing the decline and those limiting recovery is becoming increasingly urgent. Active adaptive management can be used to test putative agents, such as introduced predators. Insurance populations and ecological monitoring should also be included in an integrated conservation and management strategy for the species.

Has biodiversity ‘all but disappeared from the global dialogue on sustainable development’ as Sanderson & Redford (2003) fear? Here we explore the poverty reduction imperative that dominates the current agendas of most international development agencies, question the absence of biodiversity conservation from this agenda, and debate the role of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in building bridges between the two.

The unique primates of south-eastern Madagascar face threats from growing human populations. The country's extant primates already represent only a subset of the taxonomic and ecological diversity existing a few thousand years ago. To prevent further losses remaining taxa must be subjected to effective monitoring programmes that directly inform conservation efforts. We offer a necessary first step: revision of geographic ranges and quantification of habitat area and population size for diurnal and cathemeral (active during both day and night) lemurs. Recent satellite images are used to develop a forest cover geographical information system, and censuses are used to establish range boundaries and develop estimates of population density and size. These assessments are used to identify regions and taxa at risk, and will be a useful baseline for future monitoring of habitat and populations. Precise estimates are impossible for patchily-distributed taxa (especially Hapalemur aureus, H. simus and Varecia variegata variegata); these taxa require more sophisticated modelling.

Following the well documented extinctions of many species of endemic tree snail (family Partulidae) throughout French Polynesia, field surveys were undertaken on four islands in the Society archipelago to provide up to date information for the international conservation programme for this group of invertebrates. These surveys have confirmed the loss of all species of Partula in the wild on the Society Islands other than Tahiti. Thirty-three species have been lost from Raiatea, thereby eliminating one of the most outstanding examples of island evolutionary radiation. On Huahine the disappearance of P. varia and P. rosea, used for making lei (shell jewellery), had an economic and social effect on the local community: many of the women of the villages lost their livelihoods, and the artisan's association folded. The seven species of Partula on Moorea were extinct in the wild by the mid 1980s, terminating almost 100 years of biological research. It now seems that the remnant populations of Samoana attenuata discovered only 5 years ago are the only species of partulid still surviving beyond Tahiti on the Society Island group. The mixed species populations in the Te Pari area of Tahiti-Iti are still extant, but the predatory snail Euglandina rosea has now spread to the last valley on the Peninsula that did not have previous evidence of predator activity. On Tahiti-Nui populations of partulid, without the predator, were found near the crest of Mount Tahiti above Orofero Valley. Partulidae are clearly a highly threatened family of invertebrates, and in need of the most intense conservation focus.

In the cold and arid mountains of Central Asia, where the diversity and abundance of wild ungulates are generally low, resource partitioning among coexisting carnivores is probably less distinct than in prey-rich areas. Thus, similar-sized carnivores are likely to compete for food. We compared the summer diets of snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus in Sarychat-Ertash Reserve in the Tien-Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, based on analysis of genetically confirmed scats. Abundances of the principal prey species, argali Ovis ammon and Siberian ibex Capra sibirica, were estimated from field surveys. The diets consisted of few species, with high interspecific overlap (Pianka's index = 0.91). Argali was the predominant prey, with > 50% frequency of occurrence in both snow leopard and wolf scats. This was followed by Siberian ibex and marmots Marmota baibacina. Being largely unavailable, remains of livestock were not detected in any of the scats. In the snow leopard diet, proportions of argali and ibex were in line with the relative availabilities of these animals in the Reserve. This was in contrast to the diet of wolf, where argali occurred according to availability and ibex was significantly underrepresented. The high diet overlap indicates that the two predators might compete for food when the diversity of profitable, large prey is low. Competition may be more intense in winter, when marmots are not available. Hunting of argali and ibex outside the Reserve may be unsustainable and therefore reduce their abundances over time. This will affect both predators negatively and intensify competition for food. Reduction in ibex populations will directly affect the snow leopard, and the wolf is likely to be indirectly affected as a result of increased snow leopard predation of argali.

Achieving effective conservation in the tropics is a global concern but implicates local people. Despite considerable rhetoric about local participation the vast majority of conservation initiatives continue to be devised and controlled by a small group of powerful, external voices. What is widely overlooked is that local people often have positive conservation goals and preferences. These overlap with global values and create a strong precedent for practice, providing the basis for strategic alliances with conservation agencies. Local people can be part of a solution, rather than of the problem, if they are given the opportunity. While as yet unfamiliar to many conservationists, partnerships with local people are working in other natural resource sectors (water, commercial forestry). Strong partnerships entail shared decision making, shared risks and a balance of rights and responsibilities between external conservation agencies and local interest groups. Partnerships are no panacea, but a real commitment to partnership offers conservation outcomes that are more ethical and often more practicable than current models.

Forest carnivores are threatened globally by logging and forest fragmentation yet we know relatively little about how such change affects predator populations. This is especially true in Madagascar, where carnivores have not been extensively studied. To understand better the effects of logging and fragmentation on Malagasy carnivores we evaluated species composition, density of fossa Cryptoprocta ferox and Malagasy civet Fossa fossana, and carnivore occupancy in central-eastern Madagascar. We photographically-sampled carnivores in two contiguous (primary and selectively-logged) and two fragmented rainforests (fragments <2.5 and >15 km from intact forest). Species composition varied, with more native carnivores in the contiguous than fragmented rainforests. F. fossana was absent from fragmented rainforests and at a lower density in selectively-logged than in primary rainforest (mean 1.38±SE 0.22 and 3.19±SE 0.55 individuals km−2, respectively). C. ferox was detected in fragments <2.5 km from forest and had similar densities in primary and selectively-logged forests (0.12±SE 0.05 and 0.09±SE 0.04 adults km−2, respectively) but was absent in fragments >15 km from forest. We identified only two protected areas in Madagascar that may maintain >300 adult C. ferox. Occupancy of broad-striped mongoose Galidictis fasciata was positively related to fragment size whereas occupancy of ring-tailed mongoose Galidia elegans elegans was negatively associated with increasing exotic wild cat (Felis spp.) activity at a camera site. Degraded rainforest fragments are difficult environments for Malagasy carnivores to occupy; there is a need to prioritize the reconnection and maintenance of contiguous forest tracts.

Introduced mammals are a major driver of extinction and ecosystem change, particularly on islands. Feral goats Capra hircus have been introduced to numerous islands worldwide and have had wholesale impacts on ecosystems. Techniques are now available, however, to eradicate goat populations from islands, providing a powerful conservation tool. Goats were removed from Pinta Island, Galápagos, Ecuador after a 30-year eradication campaign, the largest removal of an insular goat population using ground-based methods. Over 41,000 goats were removed during the initial hunting effort (1971–82). In the following decade the island was twice wrongly declared free of goats. During this period, the island was visited irregularly but no monitoring programme was implemented. A revised campaign over 1999–2003, which included improved hunting techniques and monitoring, removed the final goats from the island. The use of Judas goats was critical in locating the remaining goats and as a tool to confirm eradication. A systematic monitoring programme is critical for confirming eradication and preventing future reintroductions. An earlier monitoring programme would probably have resulted in earlier eradication and significant financial savings. Given limited resources, island conservation programmes elsewhere should strive to increase eradication efficiency and learn from past campaigns.

The conservation of species listed in the Bern Convention and European Directive 1992/43/EEC (so-called policy species) is mandatory for European Union (EU) countries. We assessed the conservation status of Italian policy species, based on the IUCN categories and criteria, to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protection measures at the national level. Among the 203 vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens evaluated, 41.9% are categorized as threatened, and one is already extinct, indicating that the protection measures for policy species are inadequate. Our results for the Italian policy species are consistent with those of an assessment at the EU level. Conservation priorities should be established at both the national and regional scales. An effective conservation strategy is needed, and in situ and ex situ actions focused on threatened species should be promoted.

This comprehensive survey of the Asian elephant is the result of an FPS-sponsored project dating from 1973. The author is Co-Chairman with J.C. Daniel, Curator of the Bombay Natural History Society) of the Survival Service Commission's Asian Elephant Group, created in 1976. He discusses the history of man-elephant relationships in Asia, the animal's status in each country where it occurs, and the reasons both for its disappearance from most of its former range and for its continuing decline. Much of the information is based on reports direct from the field and, in the case of peninsular Malaysia, on the author's own observations while attached to the office of the Chief Game Warden of West Malaysia. He estimates that only 28,000-42,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild.

Protected areas across the range of the African savannah elephant Loxodonta africana are increasingly being surrounded and isolated by agriculture and human settlements. Conflicts between people and crop-raiding elephants regularly lead to direct reprisals and diminish community support for conservation. We report on field trials in northern Tanzania that employed a new, humane way for wildlife managers to move elephants away from conflict zones, from distances of > 100 m, thereby enhancing the safety of wildlife managers, farmers and elephants. We deployed 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) piloted by five trained teams of wildlife managers in the Tarangire–Manyara and Serengeti ecosystems. Game Scouts deployed the drones opportunistically during crop-raiding events at the peak of the maize ripening period in 2015 and 2016. In 100% of trials (n = 51) elephants responded to the presence of a drone by departing rapidly from crop fields (n = 38) and settlements (n = 13). The cost of five teams responsible for 617 km2 in Tarangire–Manyara was estimated to be USD 15,520 for 1 year, and all drones remained operational for the duration of the study. The initial success of this tool warrants further testing of the utility of small unmanned aerial vehicles as part of the toolbox for wildlife managers and communities dealing with high levels of conflict with wildlife.

Poaching for bushmeat is a major problem for conservation of wildlife populations in many parts of Africa, including the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania. However, the severity of the poaching problem is often unclear because of a lack of accurate data. Directly asking people to self-report illegal activity faces the obvious problem of under-reporting. Use of arrest records from anti-poaching patrols may reflect levels of poaching activity but could also be driven by funding and quality of anti-poaching efforts. A third method, assessing poaching by asking about bushmeat consumption, is indirect, possibly subject to under-reporting, and also subject to limits on the accuracy of memory of respondents. We compare rates of poaching derived by self-assessment of poaching activities (based on household interviews), dietary recall of bushmeat consumption over a variety of time frames, and arrest records from anti-poaching units. We apply these three methods to assess poaching activities in three villages bordering protected areas on the western boundary of Serengeti National Park. Our results showed that dietary recall of bushmeat consumption and arrest records indicated similar patterns of poaching across the three villages but self-reporting differed significantly. There appear to be significant advantages to coupling results from dietary recall of bushmeat consumption and arrest records to estimate the level of poaching activity. In situations where reliable data from anti-poaching units are unavailable, cost-effective data collection of bushmeat consumption will provide a viable alternative to assess levels of poaching involvement of villages that border protected areas.

Parasites place their hosts under strong selection for adaptive traits that increase parasite resistance. The initial impact of invasive parasites has rarely been observed and can be particularly strong on naïve hosts with limited prior exposure to parasites. Philornis downsi is an introduced fly to the Galapagos Islands whose parasitic larvae cause high mortality in nestlings of Darwin's finches. We used a within-nest camera system and nest monitoring data to examine this new host–parasite interaction in the wild. Many P. downsi flies entered finch nests with incubated eggs or nestlings but only when parent finches were not present. Parasitic P. downsi larvae were observed to emerge from the nest base at night to feed both internally and externally on nestlings. Adult and nestling Darwin’s finches exhibit grooming and avoidance behaviours in the presence of P. downsi parasites. Specifically, in nests with high parasite intensity, nestlings increased self-preening behaviour, ate larvae and stood on top of one another. Female finches probed into their nestling’s nares (first instar larvae reside in the nares) and probed into the nest base (second and third larvae reside in the nest base during the day). These findings shed light on the emergence of anti-parasite behaviour as well as host–parasite relationships after recent parasitism in a naïve host.

Migrations of most animal taxa are declining as a result of anthropogenic pressures and land-use transformation. Here, we document and characterize a previously unknown multi-country migration of Burchell's zebra Equus quagga that is the longest of all recorded large mammal migrations in Africa. Our data from eight adult female zebras collared on the border of Namibia and Botswana show that in December 2012 all individuals crossed the Chobe River and moved due south to Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana, where they spent a mean duration of 10 weeks before returning, less directly, to their dry season floodplain habitat. The same southward movements were also observed in December 2013. Nxai Pan appeared to have similar environmental conditions to several possible alternative wet season destinations that were closer to the dry season habitat on the Chobe River, and water availability, but not habitat or vegetation biomass, was associated with higher-use areas along the migratory pathway. These results suggest a genetic and/or cultural basis for the choice of migration destination, rather than an environmental one. Regardless of the cause, the round-trip, straight-line migration distance of 500 km is greater than that covered by wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus during their well-known seasonal journey in the Serengeti ecosystem. It merits conservation attention, given the decline of large-scale ecological processes such as animal migrations.

Population monitoring is a vital tool for conservation management and for testing hypotheses about population trends in changing environments. Darwin’s finches on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos archipelago have experienced habitat alteration because of human activity, introduced predators, parasites and disease. We used point counts to conduct systematic quantitative surveys of Darwin’s finches and other land birds between 1997 and 2010. The temporal analysis revealed that six of the nine species investigated declined significantly and that this decline was most pronounced at higher elevations in humid native forest and agricultural areas; the highland areas have been most affected by introduced species or direct human impact. Five of the six declining species are insectivorous, which suggests that changes in insect abundance or insect availability are a critical factor in the declines. Further study is required to test this idea. Other factors including habitat alteration and introduced parasites or pathogens may be contributing to the observed declines.

Human–carnivore conflict is one of the major challenges in the management of populations of large carnivores. Concerns include the increasing human population; habitat loss as a result of degradation and fragmentation of forest; and livestock predation as a result of a lack of natural prey, leading to retaliatory killings of wild carnivores. Conflicts may be further aggravated by occasional attacks that result in injury and loss of human life. The level of consumption of prey species by a predator is a benchmark to evaluate the scale of this conflict. We used a newly developed DNA-based diet analysis to study the prey profile of common leopards Panthera pardus in Ayubia National Park, Pakistan. The results suggest that the common leopard is a generalist predator, subsisting mainly on domestic animals. Based on the frequency of occurrence of prey items in 57 faecal samples, the diet of the leopard is dominated by domestic goat Capra hircus (64.9%), followed by domestic dog Canis lupus familiaris (17.5%) and cow Bos taurus (12.3%). Domestic animals (goat, dog, cow, water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, horse Equus caballus and sheep Ovis aries) occurred in 54 (95%) of the 57 samples. We recommend a two-step strategy to mitigate this conflict: (1) introducing incentives for increased acceptance of leopards among local communities in the vicinity of the protected area and (2) increasing the availability of wild prey. We hope that the results of this study will contribute to the survival of the leopard in Pakistan.

Mountain gorillas Gorilla beringei beringei are Critically Endangered, with just two small populations: in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in south-western Uganda and the nearby Virunga Volcanoes on the borders with Rwanda and Uganda. A survey of the Bwindi population was carried out in 2002 and results were compared with the previous census in 1997. Our estimate of total population size increased over that period by c. 7% to 320 individuals and the structure and distribution of the population were largely unchanged. Signs of human disturbance were more common in 2002 than 1997, and gorillas tended to be found in areas of relative low disturbance. This suggested that disturbance could be a constraint on population growth and distribution but demographic stochasticity may also be responsible for the observed level of population change over a short time period. Other potential limiting factors, including habitat availability and disease, are discussed. While conservation activities in Bwindi have probably contributed to the stability of the population, strengthening of law enforcement and continued vigilance are needed to ensure the population's long-term growth and survival.

Because of the large home range requirements of wide-ranging carnivores, protected areas are often too small to maintain large populations. Consequently these carnivores regularly move outside protected areas, where they are likely to be exposed to anthropogenic mortality. We used data from 15 packs of radio-collared African wild dogs Lycaon pictus to examine the level of anthropogenic mortality African wild dogs experience around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, and tried to determine whether the buffer zone outside the Park acts as an ‘ecological trap’. Over time, study packs moved their territories closer to or beyond the Park border. With the movement of territories into the buffer zone outside the Park, African wild dogs experienced an increasing level of anthropogenic mortality. Although larger litters were born outside the Park, mortality exceeded natality. Densities of the African wild dog in the study area were low and territories for given pack sizes were smaller outside the Park. Hence, the movement of packs outside the Park does not appear to be density related and the buffer zone is therefore unlikely to function as a classic sink. Favourable ecological conditions indicate that the buffer zone outside the Park is likely to serve as an ecological trap, with fitness-enhancing factors attracting African wild dogs outside the Park, where they are incapable of perceiving the higher mortality risk associated with mostly indirect anthropogenic causes. As far as we know this is one of the first studies describing an ecological trap for mammals.

Leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea nesting has declined on Pacific beaches and as a result the species is considered Critically Endangered. Atlantic populations are, however, also important for the species' survival and therefore we undertook a study to quantify the size and nesting trend of the Caribbean Costa Rica and Panama leatherback turtle rookery. Tag returns show that post-nesting females from the rookery disperse throughout the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic. Aerial and track survey results were used to estimate 5,759–12,893 nests per year between San Juan river and Chiriquí beach, making this the fourth largest rookery worldwide. Monitoring results from three beaches (Tortuguero, Pacuare and Gandoca) were used to examine any temporal trend in nesting using nonparametric regression. Nesting appeared to decline slightly from 1995 to 2003 but the trend could be an artefact of interannual variation in nest numbers. Explanations for the difference in nesting trends over the past 15 years for Pacific (rapid decline) and Caribbean (slight decline or stable) rookeries include: (1) hatching success on Caribbean beaches has been higher due to dispersed nesting, (2) fisheries bycatch has been greater in the Pacific, and (3) less overlap between fishing areas and leatherback turtle habitats in the Atlantic. Quantification of human-caused mortality of all life stages and knowledge of the marine habitats used by Atlantic leatherback turtles are required to facilitate the development and implementation of effective strategies to reduce threats and avoid a repeat of the decline that has occurred in the Pacific population.