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

捕杀野生动物以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，对依赖生物多样性的人也是如此。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很长的历史，但对丛林肉(野肉)可持续性和管理的研究仍相对较新。这个项目将研究非洲刚果盆地的野生动物利用，传统上是从保护的角度来处理，而不是从实用的角度。众所周知，刚果盆地的野生动物种群很难监测，原因是偏远和茂密的热带森林树冠，阻碍了航空调查。这一研究项目的主要目的是确定渔业管理中常用的猎人单位努力捕获量指数是否可用作中部非洲野生动物捕捞种群状况的指标。该项目将测试非洲丛林肉的收获系统是否受到诸如渔具类型、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(例如年龄和性别)的辅助数据是否可以作为野生动物丰度或收获种群状况的替代。该项目解决了目前中部非洲野生动物收获管理的一个重大缺口，这一资源目前正面临不可持续的收获威胁。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，替代蛋白质来源即使不是不可能，也很难获得。因此，当务之急是确定经济有效、技术可行和社会可接受的监测野生动物种群的方法。该项目的成果将提供给刚果盆地的保护和政府机构的利益攸关方，以便更好地为管理战略提供信息。该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.