Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals

Protected areas are established for diverse conservation strategies, but their effectiveness for conserving species varies widely. We compiled studies that used telemetry to determine cause-specific mortality of North American mammals and compared mortality sources of animals monitored in areas clas...

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Main Authors: Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. DeVault, Jerrold L. Belant
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-03-01
Series:Global Ecology and Conservation
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419303646
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author Jacob E. Hill
Travis L. DeVault
Jerrold L. Belant
author_facet Jacob E. Hill
Travis L. DeVault
Jerrold L. Belant
author_sort Jacob E. Hill
collection DOAJ
description Protected areas are established for diverse conservation strategies, but their effectiveness for conserving species varies widely. We compiled studies that used telemetry to determine cause-specific mortality of North American mammals and compared mortality sources of animals monitored in areas classified as protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and non-protected areas. Our dataset consisted of 358 studies which monitored the fates of 28,925 individuals and documented 9348 mortalities of known cause across 66 mammalian species. Although anthropogenic mortality was found to be higher in protected areas, we did not find evidence that protected area status was associated with that difference. However, poaching was 75% lower in protected areas. Within protected areas, we found no evidence that number of years since protection nor IUCN category of protection influenced any mortality source, but proportion of anthropogenic mortality on average decreased by 4% with each additional 50 km2 in protected area size. Species body mass was an important factor determining susceptibility to harvest mortality and anthropogenic mortality overall. Protected areas in North America were associated with reduced poaching mortality of mammals, but the ecological importance of this reduction is likely influenced by population- and species-specific factors. Keywords: Telemetry, Conservation, Cause-specific mortality
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spelling doaj.art-6daa53f798b94f48a220451ae7917eb32022-12-22T01:20:55ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942020-03-0121Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammalsJacob E. Hill0Travis L. DeVault1Jerrold L. Belant2Camp Fire Program in Wildlife Conservation, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Dr, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA; Corresponding author. SUNY-ESF, 1 Forestry Dr, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA.U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Wildlife Research Center, 6100 Columbus Ave, Sandusky, OH, 44870, USACamp Fire Program in Wildlife Conservation, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Dr, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USAProtected areas are established for diverse conservation strategies, but their effectiveness for conserving species varies widely. We compiled studies that used telemetry to determine cause-specific mortality of North American mammals and compared mortality sources of animals monitored in areas classified as protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and non-protected areas. Our dataset consisted of 358 studies which monitored the fates of 28,925 individuals and documented 9348 mortalities of known cause across 66 mammalian species. Although anthropogenic mortality was found to be higher in protected areas, we did not find evidence that protected area status was associated with that difference. However, poaching was 75% lower in protected areas. Within protected areas, we found no evidence that number of years since protection nor IUCN category of protection influenced any mortality source, but proportion of anthropogenic mortality on average decreased by 4% with each additional 50 km2 in protected area size. Species body mass was an important factor determining susceptibility to harvest mortality and anthropogenic mortality overall. Protected areas in North America were associated with reduced poaching mortality of mammals, but the ecological importance of this reduction is likely influenced by population- and species-specific factors. Keywords: Telemetry, Conservation, Cause-specific mortalityhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419303646
spellingShingle Jacob E. Hill
Travis L. DeVault
Jerrold L. Belant
Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals
Global Ecology and Conservation
title Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals
title_full Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals
title_fullStr Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals
title_full_unstemmed Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals
title_short Protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of North American mammals
title_sort protected areas reduce poaching but not overall anthropogenic mortality of north american mammals
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419303646
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