new publication: Mapping Bushmeat Hunting Pressure in Central Africa

new publication: Mapping Bushmeat Hunting Pressure in Central Africa

February 1, 2016

Biotropica_Ziegler_Fa_Wegmann_bushmeat_hunting_pressure_2016

Hunting pressure modelled for Central Africa (Biotropica link)

Our analysis on mapping bushmeat hunting pressure in Africa based on various co-variates, such as land cover, is now available online. Is is related to our article in NATURE Scientific Reports.

Hunting and trade of wild animals for their meat (bushmeat), especially mammals, is commonplace in tropical forests worldwide. In West and Central Africa, bushmeat extraction has increased substantially during recent decades. Currently, such levels of hunting pose a major threat to native wildlife. In this paper, we compiled published data on hunting offtake of mammals, from a number of studies conducted between 1990 and 2007 in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo. From these data sources, we estimated annual extraction rates of all hunted species and analyzed the relationship between environmental and anthropogenic variables surrounding each hunting rate and levels of bushmeat extraction. We defined hunting pressure as a function of bushmeat offtake and number of hunted species and confirm that hunting pressure is significantly correlated with road density, distance to protected areas and population density. These correlations are then used to map hunting pressure across the Congo Basin. We show that predicted risk areas show a patchy distribution throughout the study region and that many protected areas are located in high-risk areas. We suggest that such a map can be used to identify areas of greatest impact of hunting to guide large-scale conservation planning initiatives for central Africa.

 

Stefan Ziegler, John E. Fa, Christian Wohlfart, Bruno Streit,Stefanie Jacob and Martin Wegmann (2016) Mapping Bushmeat Hunting Pressure in Central Africa. Biotropica. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.12286/abstract

you may also like:

Advancing Paleontology Research with Multi-Sensor UAS Data

Advancing Paleontology Research with Multi-Sensor UAS Data

We are excited to share the progress of our recent collaboration with Prof. Martin Sander, focusing on the use of multi-sensor UAS data for paleontology research. This partnership aims to explore innovative approaches to mapping and analyzing fossil sites with high...

Congratulations to Alexandra Bell on Her Successful PhD Defense!

Congratulations to Alexandra Bell on Her Successful PhD Defense!

We are pleased to congratulate Alexandra Bell on the successful defense of her PhD thesis, which explored the role of Earth Observation (EO) data in political decision-making. In her research, Alexandra examined how EO technologies interact with political processes,...

EO4CAM at the 7th Climate Conference in Veitshöchheim

EO4CAM at the 7th Climate Conference in Veitshöchheim

We are happy to share that two of our Earth Observation Research Cluster (EORC) colleagues, John Friesen and Sarah Schönbrodt-Stitt, were invited to present at the 7th Climate Conference on April 2nd in Veitshöchheim. This event, organized by the Energieagentur...

EORC board meeting 2025

EORC board meeting 2025

This week, the annual board meeting of our EORC (Earth Observation Research Cluster) took place, bringing together the members to discuss and deliberate on several strategic and organisational issues. The meeting served as a platform for board members to share...

New PhD student Lukas Block

New PhD student Lukas Block

We are pleased to welcome Lukas Block as a new PhD student.  Lukas holds a Master's degree in Geological Sciences from the Free University of Berlin, where he investigated the stratigraphic record of the Anthropocene in lacustrine sediments. He has gained...