British Ecological Society » People and Nature
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People and Nature is a broad-scope open access journal publishing work from across research areas exploring relationships between humans and nature. We are the British Ecological Society: the oldest ecological society in the world. We were established in 1913 and we have been fostering the science of ecology ever since.
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
22h ago
Abstract
Zoonoses constitute a major risk to human health. Comprehensive assessments on the potential emergence of novel disease outbreaks are essential to ensure the effectiveness of sanitary controls and to establish mitigating actions. Through a continental-scale survey of rural human settlements conducted over 13 years in 15 Neotropical countries, we document the vast extent of poaching to meet the local demand for pets, resulting in thousands of families living with ca. 275 species of wild animals without any sanitary controls. Parrots account for ca. 80% of wild pets, dying mostly from d ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
22h ago
Abstract
Human-wildlife interactions become increasingly common in urban areas across all continents and ecosystem types. Depending on the context, human-wildlife interactions can be categorized as harmonious, neutrality, or in conflict and raises cultural, economic and ecological challenges in maintaining urban biodiversity. Understanding the mechanism behind the tolerance of residents to the presence of wildlife is vital to promoting a harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife in urban environments. To advance our knowledge of this mechanism, we developed a questionnaire to survey r ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
22h ago
Abstract
Many tropical landscapes have experienced the loss of traditional cultivation practices as they have transitioned to other land use systems. The Tanintharyi Region of southern Myanmar is a landscape experiencing a rapid land use regime shift from traditional subsistence farming to permanent cash crop agriculture. Despite previous research in this region on the expansion of large-scale agribusiness, such as oil palm and rubber plantations, little is known about how the small-scale shifting cultivation system practiced by the local Karen ethnic people in Tanintharyi has changed over rec ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
22h ago
Abstract
Many of the world's iconic, endangered and endemic species rely on large, contiguous landscapes for their survival. In the US West, working ranches are integral to large landscape conservation goals and there are numerous influences on ranchers' conservation actions, including their relational values, perceived self-efficacy and property rights concerns. Using survey data from 681 ranchers in eastern Idaho and western Montana, we sought to answer the question: How do relational values, property rights orientations, perceived efficacy and public lands dependence affect reported conserv ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
1w ago
Abstract
Ecosystems are rapidly degraded by anthropogenic pressures, affecting the provision of ecosystem services. Therefore, it is increasingly important that we can quantify and manage ecosystem services to maintain human well-being. Many ecosystem services are underpinned by ecosystem functions and processes that are driven by interspecific ecological interactions. Humans then benefit from ecosystem services through socio-ecological interactions. Therefore, interaction network approaches can provide a unique understanding of ecosystem service flows. In this paper, we assess the current int ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
1w ago
Abstract
In their response to Wilson, Pashkevich, Rookmaaker, et al. (2022), Ferreira et al. argue that our conclusions regarding shrinking rhino horns were risky, given the low sample size used for this assessment, the variation in rhino horn length related to non-heritable factors (including age, sex, environment and behaviour) and the low impact that current selective trophy hunting has on rhino numbers. We agree that our sample size was low and that many factors can influence horn length and therefore we discussed these points as important caveats in Wilson, Pashkevich, Rookmaake ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
1w ago
Abstract
Image-based analyses from an online repository on rhino horns asserted that declines in size over time could be the consequence of poaching and hunting. We provide reflections on whether the sample was representative enough to make generalizations, the study adequately accounted for the main sources of horn-size variation and the statistical methods were adequate to be confident in the results. The sample had a limited representation, most coming from zoo animals. We highlight several sources of variance in horn size that such a sample could not evaluate robustly using linear regressi ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
1w ago
Abstract
Parks are an integral component of cities. Ensuring city residents have equitable and easy access to parks is crucial for human well-being. In temperate climates, park accessibility is particularly important in the summer months when these green spaces provide an area to recreate, exercise and escape indoor temperatures and heat emanating from paved and built surfaces. However, there are well-known disparities in park accessibility in cities globally that may threaten the health of city residents, especially with global warming. We examined some of the largest city parks (>50 ha) i ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
1w ago
Abstract
Global emergence of Rights of Nature (RoN) has gained momentum since Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally recognize it in 2008. The shift from perceiving nature as an object, to granting it legal subjecthood, can revolutionize protection of ecological systems. In 2021, Ecuador's Constitutional Court issued a landmark ruling, halting mining in the Los Cedros Protected Forest. Three pillars form the basis for legal protection of Los Cedros: (i) the right to timely, Free Prior Informed Environmental Consultation, (ii) application of the Precautionary Principle in risk to ..read more
British Ecological Society » People and Nature
1w ago
Abstract
Gardens hold untapped potential for participatory biodiversity conservation. Conservation gardening has recently emerged as a way to foster declining native plant species in urban and rural green spaces. But the impact of cultivating these species on population trends in the broader landscape remains underexplored. This study examines the effects of cultivating herbaceous native plants on their long-term population trends and endangerment, using Rothmaler's ‘Herbaceous Ornamental and Crop Plants’ in Germany, along with the German Red List of 1998 and 2018. It investigates whether nati ..read more