Understanding Emerging Threats to Felid Populations in Suriname

苏里南是南美洲的一个北方共和国，曾是荷兰殖民地，也是地球上森林覆盖最多的国家之一，93%的土地被植被覆盖（粮农组织，2015年）。这些森林也是六种猫科动物的家园：美洲虎（Panthera onca），虎猫（Leopardus pardalis），马盖（Leopardus wiedii），jaguarundi（Herpailurus yagouaroundi），美洲狮（Puma concolor）和Oncilla/北方虎猫（Leopardus tigrinus; Husson，1978）。2022年）。它们在吸引国际游客到苏里南方面具有额外的货币重要性，并作为未充分研究的自然环境功能的关键代理（Ouboter等人，2021; Lacher Jr等人，2021).尽管公认的威胁，包括栖息地破坏，非法野生动物贸易，和人类与野生动物的冲突，改变人口动态和人类介导的威胁的影响的学术文献仍然有限（Jedrzebrski等人，此外，很少有关于部落和土著与猫科动物及其贸易的经验的同行评议文献，以及社区如何应对减少猫科动物贩运的运动。该项目旨在弥合在社会生态学和保护阿萨姆猫科动物方面的知识差距，其关键目标是减轻对这些物种的威胁。通过这样做，它力求为制定保护政策提供宝贵的见解，特别是在苏里南即将修订其国家生物多样性战略和行动计划的背景下。

Suriname is a northern South American Republic, a former Dutch colony and one of the most forested countries on earth, with 93% of the land enveloped by vegetation (FAO, 2015). These forests are also home to six species of felid: jaguar (Panthera onca), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), puma (Puma concolor) and oncilla/ northern tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus; Husson, 1978).Felids are culturally significant to indigenous people in the Guyana Shield, revered as both noble and fearsome (Marchini et al., 2022). They have additional monetary importance in attracting international tourists to Suriname and act as pivotal proxies for the functionality of understudied natural environments (Ouboter et al., 2021; Lacher Jr et al., 2021).Despite the acknowledged threats to Surinamese felids, including habitat destruction, the illegal wildlife trade, and human-wildlife conflict, academic literature on changing population dynamics and the impact of human-mediated threats remains limited (Jedrzejewski, et al., 2018).Furthermore, there is little peer-reviewed literature on tribal and indigenous experiences with felids and their trade, alongside how communities have responded to campaigns to reduce felid trafficking. This project aims to bridge knowledge gaps in the socio-ecology and conservation of Surinamese felids, with a crucial objective of mitigating threats to these species. By doing so, it seeks to provide valuable insights for shaping conservation policies, particularly in the context of Suriname's imminent revision of its National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan.