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The conservation and management of large fauna often pose a difficult challenge for their complex interactions
with humans. In the last years I have been involved in a series of studies related to this topic: |
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| Ecological role of Asian elephants The human-elephant conflict The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
is a species of global concern because of its ecological and cultural
significance. It has become Endangered due to the rapid decline of
populations in recent decades as a consequence of habitat loss,
fragmentation, and the subsequent increases in conflict with humans
through their range. This is especially true for elephant populations
in South Asia, where elephants live in developed areas in close contact
with humans.
From 2004 to 2006 I have been engaged on a study of the temporal and spatial patterns of human-elephant conflict (HEC) incidents in southeastern Sri Lanka. The results of this study probed that: (i) HEC is a highly seasonal phenomenon in this region, with two peaks of high incidence. These two periods corresponded (2004-5) to the extreme drought of the late dry season, and the main cropping season, right after the main rainy season; (ii) most of HEC incidents were cause by solitary or small group of elephants, suggesting that males are responsible for the majority of the conflict; and (iii) landscape configuration strongly determined the spatial occurrence of HEC incidents at broad spatial scales, but not locally. Areas with low human influence, high forest fragmentation, and far from water sources probed to be of higher risk for the occurrence of HEC. I have not yet published any of this results... but I am working on it :) |
 House attacked by male elephant  Paddy trampled by elephant herd  Man injured by male elephant  Nomadic ger houses in Mongolia
(Y. Yoshihara)  A group of sika deer (S. Takatsuki)
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| Food overlap between Mongolian gazelles and livestock Mongolian gazelles (Procapra gutturosa)
were once the most abundant ungulates in Mongolian steppes. However, in
a few decades their range and numbers have plumbed drastically due to
human influence. Among the reasons suggested for this decline are
overhunting, development of infrastructural barriers (the railway
Beijing-Ulaanbaatar), and overgrazing by livestock. I compared the food
habits of Mongolian gazelles and three livestock species and found a
high food overlap with two of them. This suggests that in case of food
limitations, livestock are likely to compete with Mongolian gazelles.
The present policy of promoting a change from nomadic to sedentary way
of life, with its consequent increase in livestock numbers, poses thus
a serious risk for the conservation of Mongolian gazelles.
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Study of north-south variations of food habits in sika deer in Japan Sika deer (Cervus nippon)
in Japan shows a great variability due to historical and ecological
factors. It has been found a north-south variation in the species food
habits that implies important ecological differences between different
populations. We hypothesized that the population of sika in Shiranuka
Hills (Hokkaido) would fall at the end of the range on the grazer
extreme, and our analyses of their food habits proved it to be true.
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| Prediction of crop damage by wild boar in NW Spain In
NW Spain, rural population has decreased during recent decades due to
massive emigration to coastal areas and main cities. Large mammals like
wolf, deer or wild boar have steadily increased in numbers. Associated,
damage to crops and livestock has increased in depopulated areas. This
situation creates a negative attitude towards nature conservation in
local farmers, which often derives in actions like intentional forest
fires. In 2001-2002 I participated in a project trying to develop
predictive models for the presence of crop damage by wild boar (Sus scrofa)
in specific crop plots. We used neural network models, a relatively new
tool in predictive ecology, for their ability to deal with non-linear
phenomena. The predictive ability of our models, local and
between-years, was not high but we identified next steps for future
research that at present is being conducted from part of the team.
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