Human Dimensions Of Wildlife Research Articles

Mammal Mia: A review on how ecological and human dimension research on urban wild mammals can benefit future biophilic cities

Future cities have the potential to be biodiverse areas in which humans and wildlife can coexist. However, the success of creating or maintaining wildlife-inclusive future cities can be challenged by management actions that are solely based on ecological research, while overlooking research on human perspectives. Despite the growth of literature on human-wildlife interactions, which complements the breadth of urban ecology research, the overlap between these two research areas is still uncommon. In this study, we reviewed the literature of wild mammals in urban areas to identify patterns and gaps in the literature. We found 848 published journal articles, of which 480 articles focused on wildlife ecology, 269 articles focused on human dimensions and 99 articles had interdisciplinary combinations of both. Ecology-centered publications tended to be about habitat, rather than behavior, diet, health, reproduction and inter-species-relations, and literature on human dimensions was more evenly divided into management, perception, conflict and coexistence. Most ecology studies reported on specific taxonomic families, mainly canids and murids, but in human-dimension studies, “wildlife” was considered more as a general community of species. The most studied interdisciplinary combination of research themes was wildlife habitat and human-wildlife conflicts (n = 22), while only nine studies incorporated perception with ecological research. Even though studies on human dimensions of wildlife in cities are increasing, interdisciplinary research is lacking, which limits the knowledge on how to manage and shape urban areas to achieve coexistence of humans and wild mammals. For future cities to successfully become biophilic and support human-wildlife coexistence, we outlined five key elements for a research agenda: 1) Investigate urban mammal research through an interdisciplinary lens; 2) Explore ecological dynamics beyond habitat selection; 3) Conduct research for coexistence; 4) Disentangle what is “urban wildlife”; 5) Study a diverse array of urban wild mammals.

Wildlife and human safety in the Tarangire ecosystem, Tanzania

Coexistence of people and wildlife outside protected areas is of critical conservation importance. However, human-wildlife interactions on shared landscapes can produce negative outcomes for wildlife populations and people. This article focuses on the effects of wildlife on local people's lived experiences of physical safety in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. The Tarangire ecosystem supports a diverse array of wildlife species of global conservation significance, encompassing several national parks, community-based conservation areas, forest reserves, and trophy hunting blocks. From the perspectives of local agropastoral Maasai communities, coexisting with wildlife is a routine part of everyday life, though some species are dangerous and pose threats to physical safety. These human security concerns compound the economic impacts of wildlife on local livelihoods, manifest in the forms of crop raiding, livestock depredation, and property damage. Based on mixed qualitative methods including ethnographic fieldwork (2019–2020; 2022; 2023), participant observation, household surveys (n = 1076), and in-depth interviews (n = 240), this paper identifies the species of particular concern to communities. Elephants, spotted hyenas, buffalo, and lions pose significant threats to human security. Venomous snakes and leopards are also safety concerns, but to a lesser degree. The anthropological dimensions of these threats to physical safety are underrepresented in the literature on human-wildlife conflict. This paper spotlights three recent incidents of people being killed by wildlife (elephant, hyena, and lion) in the area, and the psychosocial consequences that have since rippled across local communities. People expressed feelings of fear, resentment, anger, grief, and insecurity born of their experiences coexisting with large nondomestic mammals. Wildlife attacks on people engender material and emotional impacts with traumatic aftereffects. These human dimensions of wildlife are significant for equity reasons in and of themselves, and also for environmental sustainability as they affect people's tolerance for living with wildlife. Greater attention to the lived experiences of local people is needed to improve conservation practice in northern Tanzania.

Factors influencing intention to visit wildlife management areas: A survey of sportspersons and other recreationists in Tennessee

ABSTRACT The demand for recreational access to wildlife management areas (WMAs) is relatively under-studied subject in human dimensions of wildlife. Management of public lands such as WMAs is challenging due to the diverse preferences of outdoor recreationists. By using mixed-mode survey data collected from sportspersons and other recreationists in Tennessee, this study analyzed the factors that influence the outdoor recreationists’ intention to visit WMAs. Although the results indicate a high level of interest among sportspersons and other recreationists, visiting intentions were significantly influenced by site quality and recent experiences but not by perceptions of crowding. Similarly, the intention to visit WMAs was positively related to improvements in recreational services. These findings suggest that investment in recreational services, such as trails, hunting, fishing, and camping facilities, may help to increase public visits and generate significant benefits for visitors and wildlife agencies.

Understanding Yurok traditional ecological knowledge and wildlife management

AbstractIndigenous communities have often been marginalized in the sciences through research approaches that are not inclusive of their cultures and histories. The term traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has entered the discourse in wildlife management and conservation; however, there can be challenges in cross‐cultural communication and conceptualizations of TEK when working between Western and Indigenous paradigms. Indigenous research methodologies (IRM) is an area of scholarship intended to build ethically and culturally appropriate ways to conduct research with Indigenous communities. I implemented 7 tenets of IRM in research to explore the conceptualization of TEK and wildlife management with the Yurok Tribe of California, USA. After conducting semi‐structured interviews with 20 Yurok community members from 2011 to 2013, I conducted emergent analysis and present 5 themes from the interviews related to phases of time, the conceptualization of Yurok TEK, and views on wildlife management through the Yurok cultural lens. This research may be helpful to wildlife biologists, students, academics, and others who are interested in IRM and culturally sensitive wildlife research with Indigenous communities. By bridging concepts from Indigenous studies, wildlife management, and human dimensions of wildlife, this work may serve as a nascent trajectory that creates more inclusive space for Indigenous peoples and worldviews in The Wildlife Society and other scientific disciplines.

Do Australians have the willingness to participate in wildlife conservation?

People's behaviour towards the conservation of Australian wildlife is important, because people's actions are the main causative factor associated with the demise and future recovery of wildlife conservation. We investigated the type and prevalence of behaviour performed by NSW residents towards wildlife conservation, investigate participants’ willingness to perform conservation behaviours in the future, and identify the barriers preventing people from engaging in conservation action. New South Wales (NSW) residents (n=312) participated in an online questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. Overall, participants’ intention to engage, and rates of actual participation, in conservation behaviours was low. The latter was mostly due to lack of time, money, knowledge, and the impact of health and fitness levels. The knowledge gained from this study can be harnessed to inform future policy and management decisions, design interventions to change conservation behaviours, and provides a foundation for further enquiry into the ‘human dimensions of wildlife’. There remains a wildlife conservation ‘attitude-intention-action gap’, where we are limited with our knowledge on how to transform pro-conservation attitudes into conservation action, which warrants further research.

CURRENT ROLE, IMPORTANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN DIMENSIONS IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT FROM EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS

Human dimensions (HD) of wildlife management is a young field of enquiry which develops in several different directions and deals with various topics. Despite it is possible that popular research topics exist in HD studies, there is no proper research that identifies their role and importance. Besides, there is lack of knowledge on HD studies’ worldwide distribution and research trends per different world regions. The aim of this research was to provide knowledge on current role and characteristics of Human dimensions in wildlife management by analyzing four parameters: (1) proportion of HD studies, (2) current popular research topics in HD studies, (3) distribution of HD studies per world regions and (4) priorities in HD studies per world regions. For the purpose of this article, three journals such as The Journal of Wildlife Management (JWM), Human Dimensions of Wildlife (HDW) and European Journal of Wildlife Research (EJWR), which originate from North America and Europe, retrospectively, were analyzed for the period 2007-2012. Results of this preliminary work show that the proportion of HD studies, in the JWM and EJWR journals, was low, only 2.6%. Analysis of all three journals identified research topics like Large carnivores (15.07%); Wildlife conservation (13.88%); Wildlife management issues (13.88%); and Human-wildlife conflict (13.16%), as the most popular. A geographically biased manuscript distribution was evidenced as well as different popular research topics per world regions

Landowner perceptions of three types of boating in the Saranac Lakes area of New York State׳s Adirondack Park

In order for natural resource managers to better understand conflicting landowner perspectives related to non-motorized, motorized, and personal watercraft use, this study examines the demographic and experiential characteristics, values, attitudes, and beliefs of landowners in the Saranac Lakes area of the Adirondack Park in New York State. A mixed-methods approach, composed of 20 in-depth interviews with land managers and a mail survey of 1000 landowners, was used. Three path analyses were completed, one for each type of boat use. Results indicate that resource-related values influence beliefs and attitudes related to boat use, supporting the cognitive hierarchy model of human behavior (Fulton, D. C., Manfredo, M. J., & Lipscomb, J. (1996). Wildlife value orientations: a conceptual and measurement approach. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 1, 24–47). In addition, length of residence in the area, past participation in non-motorized and motorized boating, age, and education were found to influence attitudes towards certain types of boating. The results of this study can be used by natural resource managers to identify management strategies that better address the values and recreational interests of landowners. Management implicationsA mixed methods approach, including a path analysis, of landowner perspectives on three types of boating can assist resource managers to1.Understand differences in beliefs and attitudes of boaters – providing insight into existing and potential boater conflicts.2.Create boater education programs that influence the basic beliefs and attitudes specific to landowner concerns.3.Create recreational opportunities that meet resident needs, and garner resident support for management efforts.

Using Visual Scales in Researching Global Human Dimensions of Wildlife

Cross-cultural research in the human dimensions of wildlife brings methodological, epistemological, and logistical challenges. This article reviews two measurement tools that begin to address cross-cultural measurement issues in global human dimensions of wildlife research: the visual scale and visual aid. We discuss (a) our experience field-testing these two tools in two different human dimensions of wildlife management contexts and (b) strengths and limitations associated with cross-cultural tools for human dimension research. One area for capacity building in human dimensions is cross-cultural measurement. Tools herein may be adapted or serve as a baseline on which to evaluate other cross-cultural tools.

Human Dimensions of Wildlife in Europe: The Italian Way

In comparison to North America, human dimensions of wildlife (HDW) remains a relatively new field in Europe, especially in Italy. This article provides a European overview of HDW using Italy as a case study. Overall, 300 European HDW documents were retrieved, out of which 32 were found for Italy. Multiple languages and unpublished documents limited the findings at a European level. The case study highlights the constraints of conducting a review at a larger scale. A bibliometric analysis was used to investigate the trends, the main themes and actors playing a role in the Italian HDW up to and including 2009. The majority of Italian documents were gray literature, about general public attitudes toward large carnivores. Most of the results of the case study can be generalized to Europe. Although HDW is growing, the discipline still strives to be recognized academically and as a decision-making tool.

Introduction to Special Issue: XXVIII Congress of the International Union of Game Biologists

This special issue of Human Dimensions of Wildlife represents a selection from among more than 50 human dimensions papers and posters presented at the XXVIII Congress of the International Union of ...

Bibliometric Reflections on the First Decade of Human Dimensions of Wildlife

Volume 1, number 1 of Human Dimensions of Wildlife (HDW) was published in 1996. This article reviews the first 10 years of HDW using bibliometric analysis. Bibliometrics sheds light on the process of written communication by counting and analyzing publications within a discipline. The findings highlighted some encouraging trends. First, the number of international contributions nearly doubled from 1996–2000 to 2001–2005. Second, a wide range of wildlife-related issues (e.g., consumptive activities, nonconsumptive activities, preservation efforts) were examined. Third, most major social science disciplines were represented in all 10 volumes of HDW. Fourth, the broad range of concepts examined in HDW articles is consistent with the founding objective of promoting the application of social science theories to fisheries and wildlife management. Finally, the use of effect sizes in addition to null hypothesis significance tests increased from 1996–2000 to 2001–2005, indicating that HDW authors are practicing sound statistical practices.

Memorable Wildlife Encounters in Elk Island National Park

(2003). Memorable Wildlife Encounters in Elk Island National Park. Human Dimensions of Wildlife: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 235-236.

Findings Abstract Role Analysis to Initiate Citizen Involvement: A Case Study of the Wyoming Grizzly Bear Management Planning Process

(2002). Findings Abstract Role Analysis to Initiate Citizen Involvement: A Case Study of the Wyoming Grizzly Bear Management Planning Process. Human Dimensions of Wildlife: Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 301-302.

Suburban deer management: A case study in the village of Cayuga Heights, New York

(1999). Suburban deer management: A case study in the village of Cayuga Heights, New York. Human Dimensions of Wildlife: Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 59-60.

Animal placenames as a type of wildlife research sport

(1999). Animal placenames as a type of wildlife research sport. Human Dimensions of Wildlife: Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 56-58.

Citizen Attitudes toward elk and participation in elk management: A case study in Evergreen, Colorado

(1998). Citizen Attitudes toward elk and participation in elk management: A case study in Evergreen, Colorado. Human Dimensions of Wildlife: Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 55-56.