Large herbivores in African savannahs coexist with each other in protected areas and of interest is whether they compete for resources among themselves. Most of these protected areas were set aside primarily for conserving wildlife species regardless of quality or quantity of resources such as food. Hence, animals like the African buffalo and plains zebras were chosen in this study to ascertain any form of competition among them as herbivores within the Zambezi National Park (ZNP). This study concluded that both buffalo and plains zebra in the ZNP confined their habitat use mostly to two vegetation types (mixed and grassland), which together covered 25% of the protected area and consistently used the same habitat patches throughout the year. Photograph by Bob Mandinyenya.

Efficient monitoring of urban reserves is critical for effective conservation, but can be logistically and financially demanding. We evaluated how well a low-effort monitoring approach was able to estimate the presence of six small mammal species, habitat associations and species interactions. The approach was successful and we provide suggestions for how future monitoring across the network could be used to evaluate changes in fragmented preserve sites. Photograph by Lake County Forest Preserve District.

Confirmation of pest absence by wildlife managers requires repeated non-detections achieving a given level of statistical confidence. We develop the rapid eradication assessment (REA) model to incorporate multiple devices of differing detection probability, mobile detection methods such as trained dogs and known locations of pest incursions. We demonstrate the incremental improvements these model additions have for confirming rat absence on Great Mercury Island, New Zealand. Photograph by Rob Chappell.

Roatán spiny-tailed iguanas (Ctenosaura oedirhina) are found only on the island of Roatán, Honduras, and are threatened by overharvesting, fragmentation of habitat and predation by domestic animals. Using systematic survey techniques, the population of this species within the surveyed protected areas was estimated at 3759 (95% CI = 1406–12 616) individuals within the study sites and up to 730 outside of these protected areas. This species is in decline and may become extirpated from some locations on Roatán. Photograph by Ashley B. C. Goode.

Knowledge of large snake species is generally inadequate to properly assess conservation status or to evaluate their broader ecological requirements. The present study used non-systematic data to evaluate Oenpelli python (Simalia oenpelliensis) population trends, distribution and habitat associations. The findings enabled improved assessment of its conservation status, highlighted important knowledge gaps, and informed improved survey and monitoring methods for the species. Photograph by Christopher Jolly.

In camera-trapping studies, a clear viewshed is critical to detect wildlife, but viewsheds can become obscured in the field because of a variety of factors, such as vegetation and topography. We found that such obstruction reduces wildlife detection rates in several North American species. It is crucial to properly account for this effect when interpreting camera-trap data to achieve robust inference. Photograph by Cleveland Metroparks.

Pest species are a major environmental and biodiversity threat worldwide. This research tested the validity of a measure, the pest-management attitude (PMA) scale, developed to understand people’s attitudes towards pest management. We confirm a reliable unidimensional measure in three community samples aimed to enable attitude theory to be built on across differing contexts and geographical ranges. Photograph by James Russell.

We quantified the influence of several variables on the probability of detection of an animal target (animal-shaped toy) inside the detection ranges of a standard camera-trap model (n = 35). Among others, we showed how detection probability is negatively influenced by distances from camera traps, speed of animal movement, as well as higher ambient temperatures (by decreasing differences between background surface temperatures and animal surface temperatures). Importantly, our results also indicated substantial variation in performance among individual camera traps of the same model. We then illustrated the impacts of persistent imperfect detection probabilities on resultant population-density models, and conclude with recommendations to estimate individual camera-trap performance for incorporation into subsequent analyses. Photograph by Trevor McIntyre.

The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) can access buildings and cause damage or disruption to building occupants. We found that some landscaping and building attributes could be manipulated to reduce possums entering buildings. This study demonstrated that building maintenance records represent an important resource for addressing human–wildlife conflicts. Photograph by Philip Gibbons.