Quantifying drivers of human-elephant conflict in an arid savanna ecosystem

量化干旱稀树草原生态系统中人象冲突的驱动因素

• 批准号: 2737208
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Bangor University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2737208
• 关键词: Quantifying; drivers; human; elephant; conflict

The rapid expansion of agriculture and human settlement across the African continent has reduced andfragmented natural elephant habitat, resulting in remaining populations being forced into closer contactwith people. Greater overlap in space use and competition for resources has proved a catalyst for intensehuman-elephant conflict (HEC), which is further exacerbated by climate change and presents a majorthreat to biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing (Shaffer et al. 2019, Front. Ecol. Evol.).Implementing effective strategies for coexistence between elephants and humans requires acomprehensive understanding of the ecological and social components of HEC but these have commonlybeen studied in isolation.Here, we will use a social-ecological framework by integrating datasets from both disciplines to address achallenging conservation issue (Collins et al. 2011 Front. Ecol. Environ.). This project will explore the driversof HEC on the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park (MPNP), which has the highestreported HEC numbers in Botswana. Existing data on elephant distribution and crop raiding will be used inconjunction with behavioural data from motion-activated cameras, remote sensing, and surveys exploringcommunity resource-use and attitudes to elephants. Four key objectives will be addressed:1. Determine how elephant distribution and activity is influenced by ecological and geographicalvariables (e.g. habitat type, topography, agriculture and settlements).2. Quantify the influence of habitat fragmentation on HEC events using historical records and remotesensing data.3. Explore the spatiotemporal patterns of agricultural activity, and the perceptions of localcommunities with regard to elephants and HEC.4. Use a social-ecological framework to identify landscape drivers of conflict and employ individualbased modelling to predict the effects of changing land-use and climate on HEC.The outputs will support stakeholders in reducing HEC and improving human welfare through thedevelopment of effective mitigation strategies and designation of wildlife corridors

非洲大陆农业和人类住区的迅速扩张减少了大象的自然栖息地，导致剩余的种群被迫与人类更密切地接触。空间使用和资源竞争的更大重叠已被证明是激烈的人象冲突（HEC）的催化剂，气候变化进一步加剧了这种冲突，并对生物多样性保护和人类福祉构成了重大威胁（Shaffer等人，2019，Front。Ecol.Evol.）。实施大象和人类之间共存的有效策略需要对HEC的生态和社会组成部分的全面理解，但这些通常被孤立地研究。在这里，我们将通过整合两个学科的数据集来使用社会生态框架来解决具有挑战性的保护问题（柯林斯等人2011前线。Ecol.Environ.）。该项目将探索Makgadikgadi Pans国家公园（MPNP）西部边界的HEC驱动因素，该公园是博茨瓦纳报告的HEC数量最多的国家。关于大象分布和农作物掠夺的现有数据将与来自运动激活相机、遥感和探索社区资源使用和对大象态度的调查的行为数据结合使用。四个关键目标将被解决：1。确定大象的分布和活动如何受到生态和地理变量的影响（例如栖息地类型，地形，农业和定居点）.利用历史记录和遥感数据量化生境破碎化对HEC事件的影响.探索农业活动的时空模式，以及当地社区对大象和HEC的看法。使用社会生态框架来识别冲突的景观驱动因素，并采用基于个体的建模来预测变化的土地使用和气候对HEC的影响。结果将支持利益相关者通过制定有效的缓解策略和指定野生动物走廊来减少HEC和改善人类福利