Dr Susan Cheyne

Conservation funding is currently limited; cost-effective conservation solutions are essential.We suggest that the thousands of field stations worldwide can play key roles at the frontline of biodiversity conservation and have high intrinsic value.We assessed field stations’ conservation return on investment and explored the impact of COVID-19. We surveyed leaders of field stations across tropical regions that host primate research; 157 field stations in 56 countries responded. Respondents reported improved habitat quality and reduced hunting rates at over 80% of field stations and lower operational costs per km2 than protected areas, yet half of those surveyed have less funding now than in 2019. Spatial analyses support field station presence as reducing deforestation. These “earth observatories” provide a high return on investment; we advocate for increased support of field station programs and for governments to support their vital conservation efforts by investing accordingly.

As road infrastructure networks rapidly expand globally, especially in the tropics, previously continuous habitats are being fragmented, resulting in more frequent wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVC). Primates are widespread throughout many sub-/tropical countries, and as their habitats are fragmented, they are increasingly at risk of WVC. We created the Global Primate Roadkill Database (GPRD), the largest available standardized database of primate roadkill incidents. We obtained data from published papers, un-published and citizen science databases, anecdotal reports, news reports, and social media posts. Here, we describe the collection methods for the GPRD and present the most up-to-date version of the database in full. For each primate roadkill incident, we recorded the species killed, the exact location, and the year and month the roadkill was observed. At the time of publication, the GPRD includes 2862 individual primate roadkill records from 41 countries. As primates range in more than twice as many countries, the absence of data from these countries is not necessarily indicative of a lack of primate vehicular collisions. Given the value of these data for addressing both local and global research questions, we encourage conservationists and citizen scientists to contribute to the GPRD so that, together, we can better understand the impact road infrastructure has on primates and evaluate measures which may help mitigate risk-prone areas or species.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social relationships observed within a captive breeding group of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at an EAZA accredited facility: Blackpool Zoo, UK. Gorillas are complex and intelligent primates, with the western-lowland sub-species being a familiar favourite in zoo collections. Captive living can raise some issues for animals, particularly for gorillas which, in the wild, live in large family groups with a distinct hierarchy which forms the basis of stability within the group – studying these captive groups can help facilities make informed decisions for gorilla captive management. This study was carried out from May-July 2018. Important elements of this group’s life were focused on: social associations in relation to the individual’s sex and hierarchal position. The gorillas were observed using interval focal sampling over a six-hour period for two months, with a different individual being observed daily. Data on independent and social behaviours were collected with reference to an ethogram. ANOVA tests were conducted initially on the behavioural categories (independent and social). Inactive behaviours were most common across everyone with adult gorillas displaying increased levels of sitting and lying, in comparison with younger individuals. Additionally, the focal animal’s nearest neighbour was recorded, and these data were analysed by creating a cluster analysis diagram. The results suggest individual preferences for social associations, with younger individuals associating closely with their mothers, and a mother and infant associating closely with the silverback. A sub-adult female was less associated with anyone which could suggest her readiness to transfer. This study emphasises the influence that both environment and hierarchy have on gorilla behaviour and provides some suggestions for gorilla management with reference to the findings of this study.

Contemporary conservation professionals are part of a workforce focused on overcoming complex challenges under great time pressure. The characteristics of conservation work, and in particular the evolving demands placed on the workforce, mean that to remain effective these professionals need to enhance their skills and abilities continually. Currently, there are no sector-wide guidelines to promote systematic professional development that addresses both individual and organizational learning. This study builds upon existing knowledge from other sectors by examining professional development in conservation through an in-depth qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with 22 conservation professionals, resulting in an effectiveness framework for professional development in the conservation sector. Our findings indicate how individuals’ motivation to learn, proactivity, open-mindedness towards alternative information and views were considered preconditions for effective professional development. A balance between organizational goals and career ambitions was found essential to maintain this motivation to learn and vital for staff retention and preservation of institutional knowledge. Professional development plans may help distinguish between individual career aspirations and organizational objectives and aid a discussion between staff and management on how to balance the two. Leaders have the opportunity to remove barriers to effective professional development. We discuss solutions to overcome specific barriers, to promote an inclusive approach for diverse learners through provision of opportunities, effective learning design, and resource distribution for professional development. This effectiveness framework can be used by conservationists and conservation organizations to plan and decide on professional development.

Species occur in sympatric assemblages, bound together by ecological relationshipsand interspecific interactions. Borneo and Sumatra host some of the richest assem-blages of biota worldwide. The region, however, faces the highest global deforesta-tion rates, which seriously threaten its unique biodiversity. We used a large cameratrap dataset that recorded data for 70 terrestrial species of mammals and birds, toexplore the drivers of regional species richness patterns. Using a multi-scale, multi-variate modelling framework which quantified the main environmental factors asso-ciated with patterns of biodiversity, while simultaneously assessing individualrelationships of each species, we determined the ecological drivers of sampled biodi-versity, and their contributions to community assemblages. We then mapped pre-dicted species richness, evaluated the effectiveness of protected areas in securingbiodiversity hotspots, performed gap analysis to highlight biodiverse areas lackingprotection and compared our predictions with species richness maps produced byusing IUCN range layers. Finally, we investigated the performance of each speciesas an indicator of sampled biodiversity. We demonstrate that biodiversity in Borneoand Sumatra is primarily affected by gradients of ecological and anthropogenic fac-tors, and only marginally by topographic and spatial factors. In both islands, speciesare primarily associated with elevational gradients in vegetation and climate, leadingto altitudinal zonation in niche separation as a major factor characterizing theislands’biodiversity. Species richness was highest in north-eastern Borneo and inwestern Sumatra. We found that most predicted biodiversity hotspots are not for-mally protected in either island; only 9.2 and 18.2% of the modelled species richnessoccurred within protected areas in Borneo and Sumatra, respectively. We highlightedthat our prediction for Borneo performed better than, and differed drastically from,the IUCN species richness layer, while for Sumatra our modelled species richnesslayer and the IUCN one were similar, and both showed low predictive power. Ouranalysis suggests that common and generalist carnivores are the most effective indi-cators of sampled biodiversity and have high potential as focal, umbrella or indicatorspecies to assist multi-species vertebrate conservation planning. Understanding exist-ing drivers and patterns of biodiversity is critical to support the development ofeffective community conservation strategies in this rapidly changing region.IntroductionSpecies  co-occurring  within  biological  communities  areaffected individualistically by habitat factors and interactivelyby interspecific interactions (Hutchinson, 1957). Nonetheless,the simultaneous distributions of multiple species can also bedescribed by common factors (Daviset al., 2018; Haidir,Macdonald  &  Linkie,  2018;  Hearnet  al.,  2018b);Animal Conservation(2022)–ª2022 The Authors.Animal  Conservationpublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Zoological Society of London.1This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430

Our understanding of the transmission of anthropozoonotic diseases between humans and non-human primates, particularly great apes due to their close genetic relationship with humans, highlights a serious potential threat to the survival of these species. This is particularly the case at tourism sites where risk of disease transmission is increased. We focus on the interaction between tourists and the Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) at Bukit Lawang in the Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, before and after the park was closed due to the threat of COVID-19 in April 2020. Through analysis of posts on Instagram we determine the extent of compliance by visitors with the rule to keep a minimum distance of 10 m from orangutans and assess the positional behaviours of the orangutans. Of the 2,229 photographs we assessed between November 2019 and July 2020, 279 depicted one or more orangutans. Forty-two of these contained both a human and an orangutan, and of these all showed inappropriate behaviours (direct contact, feeding orangutans, close proximity

Illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade (IUWT) currently presents one of the most high-profile conservation challenges. There is no “one-size-fits-all” strategy, and a variety of disciplines and actors are needed for any counteractive approach to work effectively. Here, we detail common challenges faced when tackling IUWT, and we describe some available tools and technologies to curb and track IUWT (e.g. bans, quotas, protected areas, certification, captive-breeding and propagation, education and awareness). We discuss gaps to be filled in regulation, enforcement, engagement and knowledge about wildlife trade, and propose practical solutions to regulate and curb IUWT, paving the road for immediate action.

In January 2021, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Primate Specialist Group Section for Human Primate Interactions (IUCN PSG SHPI) published best practice guidelines on the use of non-human primate imagery online. This paper explores the contribution of professional primate keepers to the detrimental online sharing of images involving humans and primates, and their knowledge and opinions towards this subject. A total of 421 primate keepers responded to an online questionnaire shared in March 2021, providing information about their use of primate imagery on social media platforms and sharing their understanding of scientific studies on this topic. Over half (56%) of primate keepers admitted to sharing images online of themselves and primates, that could be considered irresponsible. A complementary review of posts shared on Instagram™ under the hashtag #primatekeeper revealed that 64% of 128 images surveyed depicted primates in situations which prior research has shown to have negative consequences for primate conservation, in addition to affecting the way the public perceives the conservation status of species in such imagery. Of the respondents, 53% had not heard of the IUCN PSG SHPI, and 67% of primate keepers were unaware of the new guidelines published by the group. It is recommended that the best practice guidelines are disseminated to zookeepers directly through appropriate forums to ensure primate keepers are acting in line with the recommendations in the best practice guidelines, and that further research is conducted regarding human-primate two-shot images to better guide decisions made by primatologists and others working both in and ex situ with primates.

Arboreal camera trapping is a burgeoning method providing a novel and effective technique to answer research questions across a variety of ecosystems, and it has the capacity to improve our understanding of a wide range of taxa. However, while terrestrial camera trapping has received much attention, there is little guidance for dealing with the unique challenges of working in the arboreal realm. 2. Our review draws on the expertise of researchers from six continents and the broader literature to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of arboreal camera trapping, and challenges to consider when using this technology. We also include mini-guides with detailed information on the current arboreal camera trap literature, mounts used to install arboreal cameras, tree climbing pointers and safety tips, methods for deploying cameras without climbing, and tips for managing interference with camera function. 3. We find that arboreal camera traps have been most commonly used in the study of mammals in forests; however, there is potential for this method to be applied to a broad range of habitats including urban areas, and taxa such as birds, amphibians, invertebrates, and plants. Methods in arboreal camera trapping could be improved by developing a greater understanding of the factors affecting detection of species. The most common challenges of arboreal camera trapping are camera placement and camera site access. These can be overcome by understanding correct camera orientation, managing potential sources of interference in front of cameras, utilizing appropriate cameras mounts and training researchers properly. Given the benefits and opportunities presented by arboreal camera trapping, it is likely to become an ever-more popular method of studying arboreal species and systems. The information synthesized in this review provides guidance for future studies to help direct more reliable and robust ecological inferences from arboreal camera trapping.

Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park (Inani) is a wildlife habitat in Bangladesh located under the Cox’s Bazar South Forest Division,Cox’s Bazar. It constitutes signifcant habitat for the charismatc and globally ‘Endangered’ Western Hoolock GibbonHoolock hoolock in Bangladesh. Here, we show that Inani is a poorly-known gibbon habitat with a population of seven groups, comprising a total of 18 individuals. Among them, 77.8% were adults (males and females), and 11.1%, 5.6%, and 5.6% were sub-adults, juveniles, and infants, respectively, indicating low reproductive output. Five of seven groups had no offspring present in the group, and the mean group sizeof 2.57 individuals/group is low compared to other habitats in Bangladesh. Besides Western Hoolock Gibbon, Inani is home to many threatened wildlife species. The first record of the Slaty-backed Flycatcher Ficedula erithacus in Bangladesh occurred in Inani, adding this new species to the national bird checklist of Bangladesh. The presence of the globally ‘Endangered’ Asian ElephantElephas maximus, Phayre’s Langur Trachypithecus phayrei, & Elongated TortoiseIndotestudo elongata and the globally ‘Vulnerable’ Northern Pig-tailedMacaqueMacaca leonina, Capped LangurTrachypithecus pileatus, Indian LeopardPanthera pardus, & Asiatc Sofshell TurtleAmydacartlagineahighlight the importance of Inani as a conservaton area in Bangladesh. The Western Hoolock Gibbon and other threatened wildlife of Inani are now on the verge of local extinction due to a sharp increase in forest resource extraction resulting from the recent infux of large numbers of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, many of whom have settled around Inani. Through stakeholder interviews in the area, we have identified feasible and measurable conservation actions at Inani that are urgently needed to prevent further loss of wildlife and to protect this important gibbon habitat.

Many countries allow lawsuits to hold responsible parties liable for the environmental harm they cause. Such litigation remains largely untested in most biodiversity hotspots and is rarely used in response to leading drivers of biodiversity loss, including illegal wildlife trade. Yet, liability litigation is a potentially ground-breaking conservation strategy to remedy harm to biodiversity by seeking legal remedies such as species rehabilitation, public apologies, habitat conservation and education, with the goal of making the injured parties ‘whole’. However, precedent cases, expert guidance, and experience to build such conservation lawsuits is nascent in most countries. We propose a simplified framework for developing conservation lawsuits across countries and conservation contexts. We explain liability litigation in terms of three dimensions: (1) defining the harm that occurred, (2) identifying appropriate remedies to that harm, and (3) understanding what remedies the law and courts will allow. We illustrate the framework via a hypothetical lawsuit against an illegal orangutan trader in Indonesia. We highlight that conservationists’ expertise is essential to characterizing harm and identifying remedies, and could more actively contribute to strategic, science-based litigation. This would identify priority contexts, target defendants responsible for egregious harm, propose novel and meaningful remedies, and build new transdisciplinary collaborations.

The often synanthropic long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is listed in Appendix II of CITES and was recently updated to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The update was highly anticipated, as it can have wide-reaching implications for long-tailed macaque conservation and trade. Long-tailed macaques have suffered from intensive capture for bio-medical research since the 1960s. From 2008–2019, at least 450,000 live long-tailed macaques, and over 700,000 “specimens ”from an unknown number of individuals were part of this trade, with over 50,000 termed as wild-caught. These official trade numbers exclude laundering of wild-caught individuals as captive bred, harvesting for breeding center upkeep, their capture for the pet trade, hunting for consumption, and culling due to human-macaque conflicts. With Fooden’s population estimate of 3 million long-tailed macaques in Southeast Asia in 2006, this is likely not sustainable. In some areas, they have already been extirpated because of this trade, as detected by a survey of 200 km of suitable habitat in Cambodia in 2008. Long-tailed macaques are one of the most geographically widely dispersed and adaptable primate species. However, their flexibility and preference for the forest edge draws them to anthropogenic habitats, where their visibility results in assumptions of over-abundance, as was demonstrated on Java in 2009 and 2017. Long-tailed macaques face many threats, and there is an urgent need for systematic demographic and range surveys across Southeast Asia, as well as investigation into local, regional and national perceptions of long-tailed macaques. Current conservation foci should include dynamic widespread synanthropic species, such as long-tailed macaques, which are often targets of intensive trade and other threats. Insights from such studies may be critical for effective conservation and management in the 21stcentury.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global disruption, with the emergence of this and other pandemics having been linked to habitat encroachment and/or wildlife exploitation. High impacts of COVID-19 are apparent in some countries with large tropical peatland areas, some of which are relatively poorly resourced to tackle disease pandemics. Despite this, no previous investigation has considered tropical peatlands in the context of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Here, we review: (i) the potential for future EIDs arising from tropical peatlands; (ii) potential threats to tropical peatland conservation and local communities from COVID-19; and (iii) potential steps to help mitigate these risks. We find that high biodiversity in tropical peat-swamp forests, including presence of many potential vertebrate and invertebrate vectors, combined, in places, with high levels of habitat disruption and wildlife harvesting represent suitable conditions for potential zoonotic EID (re-)emergence. Although impossible to predict precisely, we identify numerous potential threats to tropical peatland conservation and local communities from the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes impacts on public health, with the potential for haze pollution from peatland fires to increase COVID-19 susceptibility a noted concern; and on local economies, livelihoods and food security, where impacts will likely be greater in remote communities with limited/no medical facilities that depend heavily on external trade. Research, training, education, conservation and restoration activities are also being affected, particularly those involving physical groupings and international travel, some of which may result in increased habitat encroachment, wildlife harvesting or fire, and may therefore precipitate longer-term negative impacts, including those relating to disease pandemics. We conclude that sustainable management of tropical peatlands and their wildlife is important for mitigating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reducing the potential for future zoonotic EID emergence and severity, thus strengthening arguments for their conservation and restoration. To support this, we list seven specific recommendations relating to sustainable management of tropical peatlands in the context of COVID-19/disease pandemics, plus mitigating the current impacts of COVID-19 and reducing potential future zoonotic EID risk in these localities. Our discussion and many of the issues raised should also be relevant for non-tropical peatland areas and in relation to other (pandemic-related) sudden socio-economic shocks that may occur in future.

Despite the large body of literature on ape conservation, much of the data needed for evidence‐based conservation decision‐making is still not readily accessible and standardized, rendering cross‐site comparison difficult. To support knowledge synthesis and to complement the IUCN SSC Ape Populations, Environments and Surveys database, we created the A.P.E.S. Wiki (https://apeswiki.eva.mpg.de), an open‐access platform providing site‐level information on ape conservation status and context. The aim of this Wiki is to provide information and data about geographical ape locations, to curate information on individuals and organizations active in ape research and conservation, and to act as a tool to support collaboration between conservation practitioners, scientists, and other stakeholders. To illustrate the process and benefits of knowledge synthesis, we used the momentum of the update of the conservation action plan for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and began with this critically endangered taxon. First, we gathered information on 59 sites in West Africa from scientific publications, reports, and online sources. Information was compiled in a standardized format and can thus be summarized using a web scraping approach. We then asked experts working at those sites to review and complement the information (20 sites have been reviewed to date). We demonstrate the utility of the information available through the Wiki, for example, for studying species distribution. Importantly, as an open‐access platform and based on the well‐known wiki layout, the A.P.E.S. Wiki can contribute to direct and interactive information sharing and promote the efforts invested by the ape research and conservation community. The Section on Great Apes and the Section on Small Apes of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group will guide and support the expansion of the platform to all small and great ape taxa. Similar collaborative efforts can contribute to extending knowledge synthesis to all nonhuman primate species.

Subsistence hunting is an essential livelihood strategy of Indigenous people in the Amazon. The present study examines the aspects influencing hunting practices by the Indigenous Maraguá people in the central Amazon, Brazil. We used a Generalized Additive Model to test the effects of economic (breeding of domestic animals), demographic (individual age), cultural (preference for hunting vs. fishing), and religious (Adventism, an Evangelical denomination vs. other Christian beliefs) factors on the frequency of hunting. We used a Principal Coordinate Analysis to assess how religious taboos associated with Adventism determine the composition of target taxa. The average hunting frequency of the 26 interviewees was 10.2 trips per month. Sixty-five percent (n = 17) of the interviewees were non-Adventists, and 35% (n = 9) were Adventists. Both younger and older people hunted less frequently than those in the middle age group (c. 50 years old). We found no influence of religious affiliation or breeding of domestic animals on the frequency of hunting. Ten taxa were cited as favorite game by the informants, and while Adventists avoided eating several mammalian taxa, nonAdventists did not declare any religious dietary restrictions. This study is one of the first to approach
the influence of modern Christian belief systems on hunting habits of Indigenous Amazonian people. We highlight the importance of consideration of cultural and religious particularities in research on subsistence hunting and design of management plans for Indigenous lands in Amazonia.

Gibbons are highly territorial and have two key areas within these territories. The core area in which we find all sleeping trees and the trees from which the gibbons duet and the wider home range (HR) which has varying levels of overlap with neighbouring gibbon groups. The core area is strenously defended, with the wider HR being more of a shared area for neighbouring groups. We present ranging and movement data on four wild gibbon groups from January 2010 to July 2018. Global Positioning System (GPS) data were collected every 5 mins on habitauted groups in Sebangau, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia resulting in 35,521 waypoints. Gibbon home- and corerange sizes were calculated using 95%, and 50%, volume contours of kernel density estimates. Home-ranges ranged from 58.74–147.75 ha with a mean of 95.7 ± SD 37.75 ha, the highest of comparable Hylobates species. Core-range size ranged from 20.7–51.31 ha with a mean size of 31.7 ± SD 13.76 ha. Gibbons had consistant site fidelity for their home- and core ranges; percentage overlap ranged from 4.3 23.97% with a mean 16.5 ± SD 8.65% overlap in home-range area. Core ranges did not overlap with the exception of two groups, in which a 0.64 ha (2.69%) overlap occurred. Unsurprisingly forest loss from fire does affect the location of the HR of the impacted group, but does not appear to affect adjacent groups, though more data are needed on this. Understanding the complex use of space of these territorial animals is important in assessing both carrying capacity for wild populations and understanding how reintroduced gibbon pairs will establish their core and HR.

Tropical forests are globally important for both biodiversity conservation and the production of economically valuable wood products. To deliver both simultaneously, two contrasting approaches have been suggested: one partitions forests (sparing); the other integrates both objectives in the same location (sharing). To date, the ‘sparing or sharing’ debate has focused on agricultural landscapes, with scant attention paid to forest management. We explore the delivery of biodiversity and wood products in a continuum of sparing-to-sharing scenarios, using spatial optimization with set economic returns in East Kalimantan, Indonesia—a biodiversity hotspot. We found that neither sparing nor sharing extremes are optimal, although the greatest conservation value was attained towards the sparing end of the continuum. Critically, improved management strategies, such as reduced-impact logging, provided larger conservation gains than altering the balance between sparing and sharing, particularly for endangered species. Ultimately, debating sparing versus sharing has limited value while larger gains remain from improving forest management.

We develop a time budget model for the hylobatid family with the aim of assessing the extent to which their contemporary and historical biogeographic distributions might be explained by ecological constraints. The model uses local climate to predict time budgets, and from this the limiting size of social group that animals could manage at a given location. The model predicts maximum group sizes that vary between 3-15 within the taxon’s current distribution, indicating that the combination of their dietary and locomotor styles with the kinds of habitats they inhabit radically constrain group size. Beyond the edges of their current distribution, sustainable group size rapidly tends to zero, although if they had been able to bypass some of these areas, they would have found very suitable habitats in southern India and across the Wallace Line. While travel time would be a major constraint on group size at larger group sizes, as it is in great apes, the main factor limiting the gibbon’s current distribution is the time they need to spend resting that is imposed on them by the environment. The model also indicates that gibbons would not now be able to survive in regions of central and southern China where they are known to have occurred within historical times, perhaps suggesting that historical climate change following the Little Ice Age of the C18th made these regions uninhabitable for them. Finally our results indicate that gibbons have the ecological capacity to live in larger groups than they do, making it unlikely that their adoption of monogamy reflects purely ecological constraints. 

Using direct observations and camera traps at eight sites across Indonesian Borneo we show how red langurs (Presbytis rubicunda) are more terrestrial than previously believed, regularly coming to the ground. This unusual behavior has been found at six of the eight sites surveyed. We find that red langurs come to the ground more frequently in disturbed forests, specifically ones which have been impacted by logging, fire, and hunting, though more data are needed to confirm this as a direct correlation. We also found a trend towards decreased ground use with increased elevation of the habitat. When on the ground, red langurs are predominantly engaged in feeding (50% direct observations, 61% camera traps) and traveling (29% direct observations, 13% camera traps). Red langurs are found on the ground throughout the day, at similar times to activity periods of the apex predator, the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi). We suggest that ground use by red langurs could be an adaptation to disturbed forest to exploit additional food sources and to facilitate travel.