Behavioural indicators of exploitation

Abstract

Despite a growing interest among ethologists in applying their work to conservation, ethologists have yet to convince conservation biologists that the study of animal behaviour is of much use to conservation. In part this is because there are few empirical examples to support their claim. Here I show that mammal species subject to covert human hunting pressure are significantly more wary of observers than species that are less heavily exploited. Thus, an easily observed aspect of behaviour provides an indicator of exploitation that would otherwise be difficult for managers to measure.