Dissertation Research: Catch-per-unit-effort as an indicator of "bushmeat" sustainability

野生动物狩猎供人类消费和使用是对全球生物多样性的重大威胁，矛盾的是，对依赖它的人也是一个重大威胁。虽然渔业研究在调查最大可持续产量和监测渔业种群状况的方法方面有着悠久的历史，但对丛林肉（野生肉）可持续性和管理的研究仍处于相对初级阶段。该项目将考察非洲刚果盆地的野生动物利用情况，这一问题传统上是从保护的角度出发，而不是从实用的角度出发。众所周知，刚果盆地的野生动物数量很难监测，因为它地处偏远，热带森林茂密，无法进行空中调查。这个研究项目的主要目标是确定渔业管理中常用的猎人单位努力渔获量指数是否可以作为中非野生动物种群状况的指标。该项目将测试非洲丛林肉的收获系统是否受到诸如装备类型、植被、季节和猎人经验等因素的影响，并将调查收获种群结构的辅助数据（例如年龄和性别）是否可以作为野生动物丰度或收获种群状况的代理。该项目解决了中非目前野生动物采伐管理中的一个重大缺口，该资源目前受到不可持续采伐的威胁。非洲数以百万计的人依赖野生动物作为蛋白质的主要来源，而替代蛋白质来源即使不是不可能，也很难获得。因此，必须确定具有成本效益、技术可行和社会可接受的方法来监测收获的野生动物种群。该项目的结果将提供给刚果盆地保护和政府机构的利益相关者，以更好地为管理战略提供信息。本项目将支持一名研究生的博士论文研究。

Wildlife hunting for human consumption and use is a major threat to global biodiversity and, paradoxically, to the very people who depend on it. While fisheries research has a long history of investigating maximum sustainable yields and methods for monitoring fisheries stock population status, research in bushmeat (wild meat) sustainability and management is still relatively nascent. This project will examine wildlife utilization in the Congo Basin of Africa, which has traditionally been approached from a conservation perspective, rather than a utilitarian perspective. Wildlife populations in the Congo Basin are notoriously difficult to monitor due to remoteness and dense tropical forest canopy, precluding aerial surveys. The main objective of this research project is to determine if hunter catch-per-unit-effort indices, commonly used in fisheries management, can be used as indicators of the status of harvested wildlife populations in Central Africa. This project will test whether the harvest system for African bushmeat is influenced by factors such as gear-type, vegetation, season, and hunter experience, and will also investigate whether ancillary data of harvested population structure (e.g. age and sex) can serve as a proxy for wildlife abundance or harvested population status.This project addresses a major gap in current management of wildlife harvesting in Central Africa, a resource that is currently under threat of unsustainable harvests. Millions of people across Africa rely on wildlife as a primary source of protein, and alternative protein sources are difficult, if not impossible, to access. Hence, it is imperative that cost-effective, technologically feasible, and socially acceptable methods for monitoring harvested wildlife populations are identified. Results from this project will be provided to stakeholders in conservation and government agencies in the Congo Basin to better inform management strategies. This project will support the doctoral dissertation research of a graduate student.