Doctoral Dissertation Research: Human Use and Potential Conservation of River Turtles in Eastern Lowland Bolivia

博士论文研究：玻利维亚东部低地河龟的人类利用和潜在保护

• 批准号: 0082250
• 负责人: Michael Binford
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-08-01 至 2002-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0082250&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Human; Use

After centuries of exploitation, including the harvest of both adults and eggs, populations of the freshwater turtles Podocnemis expansa and P. unifilis are seriously reduced throughout most of their ranges in the upper Amazon basin. These turtles remain important wildlife resources for river-oriented communities within the jurisdiction of National Park Noel Kempff Mercado in eastern lowland Bolivia. A major challenge facing people of this region is maintaining population levels of turtles in the face of growing demand for turtle meat and eggs. This doctoral dissertation research project will investigate how contemporary socioeconomic factors affect the hunting pressure on turtle populations. Data will be collected on socioeconomic characteristics of two communities where Podocnemis turtles are hunted and consumed. The relative abundance of turtle populations will be assessed through basking observations in areas with active hunting as well as in lightly or non-hunted river transects. Human activity patterns along transects of the rivers accessed by two communities will be cataloged and recorded using a global positioning system. This information, combined with the relative abundance data and socioeconomic information will be analyzed in a geographic information system (GIS) to ascertain patterns of spatial correlation. The relative abundance data should provide parameters for the calculation of sustainable turtle harvest. Regression analyses of socioeconomic data will offer insights into the importance of specific elements and their influence driving turtle protein consumption. It is hypothesized that with greater access to markets and cash-generating opportunities, consumption of turtle meat and eggs as subsistence will decrease. Also under examination will be the relevance of microeconomic theories that hold that increased levels of knowledge and ensuing protection of natural resources will result as the market values of species increase, thereby encouraging residents to be more likely to protect valuable species. The combined relative abundance and socioeconomic information that will be gathered through this project will contribute to knowledge about the effects of increased access to cash income on wildlife resources and community-based conservation and management efforts. The location of the study area in the buffer zone of a protected area should also yield results that are useful for protected-area management. Quantifying the impacts of hunting and the driving forces behind them will provide a basis for development of a management plan that is based on a local context and thus will be more likely to remain in tact than plans developed without consideration of such factors. The aggregation of the information collected in this study will contribute to the understanding of the present situation of turtle use in eastern lowland Bolivia and to the potential for community-based conservation of Amazonian wildlife species. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.

经过几个世纪的开发，包括收获成虫和卵，淡水龟Podocnemis expansa和P. unifilis在亚马逊盆地上游的大部分栖息地的数量严重减少。 这些海龟仍然是玻利维亚东部低地的国家公园诺埃尔肯普夫梅尔卡多管辖范围内面向河流的社区的重要野生动物资源。 该地区人民面临的一个主要挑战是，面对对海龟肉和海龟蛋日益增长的需求，如何维持海龟的数量。 这个博士论文研究项目将调查当代社会经济因素如何影响海龟种群的狩猎压力。 将收集有关两个社区的社会经济特征的数据，在那里Podocnemis海龟被猎杀和消费。 将通过在狩猎活跃的地区以及在狩猎较少或未被狩猎的河流断面进行晒太阳观察，评估海龟种群的相对丰度。 将利用全球定位系统对两个社区所经河流的沿着人类活动模式进行编目和记录。 将在地理信息系统中对这些信息与相对丰度数据和社会经济信息进行分析，以确定空间相关模式。 相对丰度数据应为计算可持续海龟捕捞量提供参数。 对社会经济数据的回归分析将深入了解特定元素的重要性及其对海龟蛋白质消费的影响。 据推测，随着市场准入和创收机会的增加，作为生计的龟肉和龟蛋消费量将会减少。 还将审查微观经济理论的相关性，这些理论认为，随着物种市场价值的增加，知识水平的提高和随之而来的对自然资源的保护将产生，从而鼓励居民更有可能保护有价值的物种。 将通过该项目收集的综合相对丰度和社会经济信息将有助于了解增加现金收入对野生动物资源和社区保护和管理工作的影响。 研究区位于保护区的缓冲区内，也应产生对保护区管理有用的结果。 量化狩猎的影响及其背后的驱动力将为制定基于当地情况的管理计划提供基础，因此，与不考虑这些因素的计划相比，更有可能保持机智。 本研究收集的信息汇总将有助于了解玻利维亚东部低地使用海龟的现状，并有助于社区保护亚马逊野生物种的潜力。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立的研究生涯。