Local Human Communities Research Articles

Simulation of ash clouds after a Laacher See-type eruption

Abstract. Dated to approximately 13 000 years ago, the Laacher See (East Eifel volcanic zone) eruption was one of the largest midlatitude Northern Hemisphere volcanic events of the Late Pleistocene. This eruptive event not only impacted local environments and human communities but probably also affected Northern Hemispheric climate. To better understand the impact of a Laacher See-type eruption on NH circulation and climate, we have simulated the evolution of its fine ash and sulfur cloud with an interactive stratospheric aerosol model. Our experiments are based around a central estimate for the Laacher See aerosol cloud of 15 Tg of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 150 Tg of fine ash, across the main eruptive phases in May and a smaller one in June with 5 Tg SO2 and 50 Tg of fine ash. Additional sensitivity experiments reflect the estimated range of uncertainty of the injection rate and altitude and assess how the solar-absorptive heating from the fine ash emitted in the first eruptive phase changed the volcanic clouds' dispersion. The chosen eruption dates were determined by the stratospheric wind fields to reflect the empirically observed ash lobes as derived from geological, paleoecological and archeological evidence linked directly to the prehistoric Laacher See eruption. Whilst our simulations are based on present-day conditions, and we do not seek to replicate the climate conditions that prevailed 13 000 years ago, we consider our experimental design to be a reasonable approximation of the transport pathways in the midlatitude stratosphere at this time of year. Our simulations suggest that the heating of the ash plays an important role for the transport of ash and sulfate. Depending on the altitude of the injection, the simulated volcanic cloud begins to rotate 1 to 3 d after the eruption. This mesocyclone, as well as the additional radiative heating of the fine ash, then changes the dispersion of the cloud itself to be more southward compared to dispersal estimated without fine ash heating. This ash-cloud-generated southerly migration process may at least partially explain why, as yet, no Laacher See tephra has been found in Greenland ice cores. Sulfate transport is similarly impacted by the heating of the ash, resulting in stronger transport to low latitudes, later arrival of the volcanic cloud in the Arctic regions and a longer lifetime compared to cases without injection of fine ash. Our study offers new insights into the dispersion of volcanic clouds in midlatitudes and addresses a likely behavior of the ash cloud of the Laacher See eruption that darkened European skies at the end of the Pleistocene. In turn, this study can also serve as significant input for scenarios that consider the risks associated with re-awakened volcanism in the Eifel.

Sustainable Floodplains: Linking E-Flows to Floodplain Management, Ecosystems, and Livelihoods in the Sahel of North Africa

Floodplains are particularly important in the semi-arid region of the Sub-Sahelian Africa. In this region, water governance is still being developed, often without adequate information and technical capacity for good, sustainable water resource management. However, water resources are being allocated for use with minimal sustainability considerations. Environmental flows (e-flows) include the quantity and timing of flows or water levels needed to meet the sustainable requirements of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. Holistic regional scale e-flows linked to floodplain management can make a noticeable contribution to sustainable floodplain management. The Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali is an example of a vulnerable, socio-ecologically important floodplain in the Sahel region of North Africa that is being developed with little understanding of sustainability requirements. Although integrally linked to the Upper Niger River catchment, the IND sustains a million and half people within the region and exports food to surrounding areas. The flooding of the Delta is the engine of the socio-economic development as well as its ecological integrity. This paper aims to demonstrate the contribution that holistic regional e-flow assessment using the PROBFLO approach has to achieving floodplain sustainability. This can be achieved through the determining the e-flow requirements to maintain critical requirements of the ecosystems and associated services used by local vulnerable human communities for subsistence and describing the socio-ecological consequences of altered flows. These outcomes can contribute to the management of the IND. In this study, the socio-ecological consequences of altered flows have been evaluated by assessing the risk of alterations in the volume, duration, and timing of flows, to a number of ecological and social endpoints. Based on the risk posed to these endpoints by each scenario of change, an e-flow of 58% (26,685 million cubic meters (MCM) of water annually) was determined that would protect the ecosystem and maintain indicator components at a sustainable level. These e-flows also provide sustainable services to local communities including products for subsistence and limit any abnormal increases in diseases to the vulnerable African communities who live in the basin. Relative risk outputs for the development scenarios result in low-to-high-risk probabilities for most endpoints. The future development scenarios include insufficient flows to maintain sustainability during dry or low-flow periods with an increase in zero flow possibilities. Although unsuitable during the low-flow or dry periods, sufficient water is available through storage in the basin to meet the e-flows if these scenarios were considered for implementation. The IND is more vulnerable to changes in flows compared to the rivers upstream of the IND. The e-flow outcomes and consequences of altered flow scenarios has contributed to the management of vulnerable IND floodplains and the requirements and trade-off considerations to achieve sustainability.

The First Report on the Ecology and Distribution of the Wolf Population in Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park

The Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus, Altobello, 1921) is currently experiencing a period of great population change. Any information that helps to understand this transformation will be valuable for managing it. Here we provide, for the first time, quantitative data (habitat suitability, segregation, seasonal activity, daily time budget, social structure and sex-ratio) on the population of Italian wolf from the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, the largest protected area in Italy, that houses a rising population. Using transects to locate signs and traces, we have identified 224 presence points, useful for elaborating the ecological suitability map for the wolf, in and around the Park. The suitable area expands up to 1042.65 km2, with elevation being the strongest predictive variable affecting the species. The model predicts two main suitable patches (Alburni Mountains and Cervati/Motola Mountains), and at least seven remote areas, differently linked to each other by ecological corridors. Camera-trapping information was collected in the two suitable patches (Alburni and Cervati/Motola) for the wolf and revealed some characteristics of this population. The highest number of wolves was recorded in May and December, and during the night, depending on the reproductive behavior and dynamic of dispersion. Single individuals and couples (at least 3 recorded) are observed more frequently than groups (maximum of 3 groups that varied from three to eight individuals). The sex-ratio in the population, inferred by camera-trapping, showed a balanced population, with males found to be group leader in 91% of the cases. Furthermore, genetic analysis revealed that the males were in charge of marking the territory in 86% of cases. Our data increases the knowledge of the wolf population from Cilento, which seemed to have stopped at the 1990s, until now. Our contribution could be helpful in defining a wolf management strategy in the National Park, as well as in the other regions of the Apennine mountains and Alps, where the wolf is expanding, aiming also at coexistence with local human communities.

The importance of assessing positive and beneficial impacts of alien species

Extensive literature is available on the diversity and magnitude of impacts that alien species cause on recipient systems. Alien species may decrease or increase attributes of ecosystems (e.g. total biomass or species diversity), thus causing negative and positive environmental impacts. Alien species may also negatively or positively impact attributes linked to local human communities (e.g. the number of people involved in a given activity). Ethical and societal values contribute to define these environmental and socio-economic impacts as deleterious or beneficial. Whilst most of the literature focuses on the deleterious effects of alien taxa, some recognise their beneficial impacts on ecosystems and human activities. Impact assessment frameworks show a similar tendency to evaluate mainly deleterious impacts: only relatively few, and not widely applied, frameworks incorporate the beneficial impacts of alien species. Here, we provide a summary of the frameworks assessing beneficial impacts and briefly discuss why they might have been less frequently cited and applied than frameworks assessing exclusively deleterious impacts. Then, we review arguments that invoke a greater consideration of positive and beneficial impacts caused by alien species across the invasion science literature. We collate and describe arguments from a set of 47 papers, grouping them in two categories (value-free and value-laden), which span from a theoretical, basic science perspective to an applied science perspective. We also provide example cases associated with each argument. We advocate that the development of transparent and evidence-based frameworks assessing positive and beneficial impacts might advance our scientific understanding of impact dynamics and better inform management and prioritisation decisions. We also advise that this development should be achieved by recognising the underlying ethical and societal values of the frameworks and their intrinsic limitations. The evaluation of positive and beneficial impacts through impact assessment frameworks should not be seen as an attempt to outweigh or to discount deleterious impacts of alien taxa but rather as an opportunity to provide additional information for scientists, managers and policymakers.

Hunting strategies used in protected areas in the atlantic rainforest of northeastern Brazil

The significance of faunal resources and their utilization potentials for the benefit of mankind is well known, and constitute important natural resources in local communities in the Atlantic forests of region Northeastern Brazil, including in their protected areas. In order to gain access to these resources, hunters have developed a series of techniques and strategies that are described in the present work from interviews with 109 hunters in 4 official conservation units. Fifteen different techniques for the hunting and capture of wild animals have been registered, divided into 3 categories: Trapping (n=27,9%), active search (n=31%) and passive waiting (n=41,1%). All the techniques listed under the active search and passive waiting categories are complemented by the use of firearms. The environmental and administrative characteristics of the studied areas and the socioeconomic profile of the hunters interviewed, influenced the differences in the techniques and hunting strategies. Additional studies concerning these hunting activities will be useful to contribute to proposals for oversight and management plans for hunting in the region, with the objective of attaining sustainable use of faunal resources to the local human communities.

Positioning human heritage at the center of conservation practice.

Conservation projects subscribing to a community‐based paradigm have predominated in the 21st century. We examined the context in which the phrase was coined and traced its growth over time. Community‐based conservation first appeared in the literature in the early 1990s; but grew little until after the 5th World Parks Congress in 2003. Thereafter, publications describing community‐based conservation approaches increased exponentially. The conference theme was Benefits Beyond Boundaries, and its goal was to provide an economic model based on revenue accrued from conservation fundraising and ecotourism to support ecosystems, wildlife, and people, particularly in the Global South. Such models tended not to incorporate, as a core principle, the heritage of local human communities. Human heritage varies substantially over time and space making generalization of conservation principles across scales challenging. Pitfalls that have grown out of the community‐based conservation approaches in the Global South include fortress conservation, conservation militarism, consumptive and nonconsumptive ecotourism, and whiz‐bang solutions. We propose 10 tenets in a human heritage‐centered conservation framework (e.g., engage in conservation practices using local languages, thoughtfully propose and apply solutions consistent with human heritage, provide clear professional development pathways for individuals from local communities, and promote alternative revenue‐generating programs centered in local communities, among others). Progressive philosophies can derive from authentic and ethical integration of local communities in conservation practice.

Dredging Contaminated Sediments: Is it Worth the Risks?

Dredging Contaminated Sediments: Is it Worth the Risks?

Variation in Intergroup Relationships Among Species and Among and Within Local Populations of African Apes

Although many animals typically defend key resources from conspecifics during encounters, tolerant encounters also occur frequently in some primate species. For example, African apes and humans (Homininae) show large variation in terms of agonistic and affiliative intergroup relationships, and local human communities are formed via a network of affiliative relationships among groups. To understand this variation and its evolution, we need to examine the variation between species, between populations, and within populations. In the genus Pan, both eastern and western chimpanzees commonly express aggressive intergroup relationships, whereas intergroup relationships in bonobos are generally affiliative. In the genus Gorilla, although the proportions of groups with multiple males differ, all subspecies show large overlap of home ranges and both aggressive and affiliative intergroup interactions. Differences in intergroup relationships among local populations of the same (sub)species are limited in both Pan and Gorilla. In contrast, intergroup relationships vary within the same local populations in bonobos, with female dispersal among groups seemingly contributing to the affiliative relationships. Such tendencies in bonobos seem to resemble those in local human communities, where intergroup relationships differ for different combinations of groups and female dispersal among groups plays an important role in affiliative relationships. Intergroup relationships within the same local populations also vary from affiliative to aggressive in all subspecies of gorillas, and kin relations between leading males play important roles in affiliative relationships. Studies of variation in intergroup relationships, the contributions of males and females to such variation, and the genetic structure of local populations might increase our understanding of the evolutionary process underpinning local communities in Homininae.

Relationship between area size and elevational distribution pattern of cryptic pheasant species in Mts. Gaoligong, China

The size of a geographic area is believed to be one of the most important factors that drive patterns of species richness. Studies have shown that mountains have a diverse range of patterns (area, species distribution, etc.) along an elevation gradient. Therefore, an understanding of the relationship between the distribution patterns of mountainous species and the area of altitudinal bands is of great importance to accurately determine and monitor global patterns of species diversity. However, the effects of area size on the distribution of species depends on taxon-specific idiosyncrasies. Few studies have assessed such effects on the secretive terrestrial pheasant species. In this study, we conducted three-dimensional map-based interview survey (3DIS) with local human communities that inhabit the same environments as the pheasants in Mts. Gaoligong, Western China. We obtained distributional information for 15 pheasant species, which enabled further analyses to be conducted. The area sizes of the different elevation bands were determined using a Digital Elevation Model database, and the altitudinal range of each species was calculated via interpolation. The area sizes at different altitudes showed a unimodal hump-shaped pattern that matched the diversity distribution of the pheasants. This study confirmed that the pattern of biodiversity of cryptic pheasants in the mountainous areas of Southwest China was hump-shaped, which is a very typical biodiversity pattern for most biotaxa. Regression analysis also revealed that area size was a key factor that affects the diversity and distribution of pheasant species, and may act concurrently with other factors, such as climate, energy, geometric constraints, and human disturbance.

The what and where of primate field research may be failing primate conservation.

With approximately 30% of nonhuman primate species listed as critically endangered, the window of opportunity to conserve primates is closing fast. In this article, we focus on the degree to which publications in field primatology are biased in favor of particular taxa and field sites. We examined more than 29,000 peer‐reviewed articles and identified 876 field visits to 349 field sites. We found a highly clumped distribution by site and species. We also examined publication ethical statements and the extent to which they acknowledged local human communities (<5%). Due to a lack of consistency across publications, we provide recommendations for improving ethical statements and for evaluating research impact. Given the plight of primate biodiversity, these results suggest broader coverage of primate species and geographies, as well as more attention to the local human communities whose support is necessary if the intent is to have primate species in the wild in the 22nd century.

Society-based solutions to coral reef threats in french pacific territories

This article reviews the state of coral reefs in French Pacific territories in the context of global change (especially threats linked to climate change). We first outline the specific local characteristics, vulnerabilities, and threats faced by the coral reefs of New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. We also emphasize local and other human communities’ economic and cultural reliance on coral reefs. Secondly, we discuss the natural and anthropogenic threats facing coral reefs in French Pacific territories, and current ecological responses such as mitigation and adaptation strategies. We conclude by proposing socio-economic solutions for the Pacific region across varying scales, with a special focus on enforcement measures and socio-political issues.

Resilience of tropical, freshwater fish (Nematabramis everetti) populations to severe drought over a land-use gradient in Borneo

Biodiversity-rich forests in tropical Southeast Asia are being extensively logged and converted to oil palm monocultures. In addition, extreme climatic events such as droughts are becoming more common. Land-use change and extreme climatic events are thought to have synergistic impacts on aquatic biodiversity, but few studies have directly tested this. A severe El Niño drought in Southeast Asia in early 2016 caused 16 low-order hill streams across a land-use gradient encompassing primary forest, logged forest and oil palm plantations in Sabah, Malaysia, to dry up into series of disconnected pools. The resulting disturbance (specifically, increased water temperature and decreased dissolved oxygen concentration) tolerated by the fish during the drought exceeded any worst-case scenario for climate change-induced warming. We quantified the biomass, density and movement of the dominant freshwater fish species, Nematabramis everetti (Cyprinidae), in these streams across this land-use gradient before, during, and after the 2016 El Niño drought period. Density of N. everetti was significantly lower in logged forest streams than primary forest or oil palm streams, and the biomass of individuals captured was lower during drought than prior to the drought; however, there was no change in the biomass density of individuals during drought. The distance moved by N. everetti was significantly lower during and after the drought compared to before the drought. We detected a significant antagonistic interaction on biomass of captured fish, with the magnitude of the drought impact reduced land-use intensified. Populations of N. everetti were surprisingly resilient to drought and seem most affected instead by land-use. Despite this resilience, it is important to monitor how this widespread and abundant species, which provides an important ecosystem service to local human communities, is affected by future land-use and climate change, as logging, deforestation and conversion to plantation monocultures continue across Southeast Asia.

High Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in an Urban Caracal (Caracal caracal) Population in South Africa

We investigated Toxoplasmosis gondii antibody seroprevalence in free-ranging caracals (Caracal caracal) in Cape Town, South Africa, from 2014 to 2017. Seropositivity was 83% (24/29), which is substantially higher than that detected in sympatric feral domestic cat (Felis catus) populations. The impact of this pathogen on local human and wildlife communities may be of concern.

The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition by Arthur H. Carhart in collaboration with Stanley P. Young. Edited by Andrew Gulliford and Tom Wolf

Reviewed by: The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition by Arthur H. Carhart in collaboration with Stanley P. Young. Edited by Andrew Gulliford and Tom Wolf Sharon Wilcox The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition. By Arthur H. Carhart in collaboration with Stanley P. Young. Edited by Andrew Gulliford and Tom Wolf. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2017. vii + 283 pp. Maps, illustrations, index. $24.95 paper. Perhaps more than any other wild animal in North America, the wolf has long sparked emotional, inflamed, and violent responses from human communities. What can critical reflection on past interspecies encounters reveal about contemporary conditions, and how can it inform our comingled futures? The Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition brings past attitudes into dialog with those of the present in order to explore the potential for recovery of the species in Colorado. In the volume's introduction, coeditor Tom Wolf positions Arthur Carhart as a "prophet" in the cause to save wilderness as "something that could mark America as the Chosen Land, as God's own country" (xii). Utilizing patriotic and religious rhetoric more often associated with the articulation of anti-wolf sentiment, he seeks a new cultural path to coexistence, noting, "They will have no wolves in Colorado until we learn to say to hell with our differences and reunite behind our true heritage as Americans: a wild wilderness" (xiii). Comprising the first half of the volume, Carhart's The Last Stand of the Pack (1929) weaves together intimate tales of men and wolves at moments of violent encounter. While Carhart engages with familiar recriminations of wolves as violent, unnatural "outlaws," the narrative also contains moments of admiration and sympathy for these animals, revealing a complex, contradictory biopolitics that remains interwoven in wolf-human relations today. The second part of the book situates The Last Stand within contemporary debates concerning the return of the wolf to the front ranges of Colorado. Coeditor Andrew Gulliford notes that within a year of publication, Carhart queried, "Isn't it a just consideration that the cats and wolves and coyotes have a damned sight better basic right to live in the hills . . . than the domestic livestock of the stockmen?" (230). Gulliford considers how such shifts in perception might be facilitated today, noting the potentialities and impediments to wolf restoration are located within deeply held human value systems. He locates a way forward through culturally informed measures that acknowledge and are sensitive to the fears and values of local human communities. Two subsequent chapters written by stakeholders collectively articulate popular rationales central to contemporary anti-wolf sentiment. Concerns for personal safety, citing hyperbolic tales of wolf predation, remain a common refrain, while the protection of financial interests and lifeways tied to the land underlay this resistance. These chapters reinforce Gulliford's position that pro-wolf arguments founded in science are not enough to sway opinion. Rather, the fears, values, and needs of the local community must be addressed by pro-wolf advocates. In the final chapter, authors Phillips, Bishop, and Gardner address the enduring "power of myths" in conveying misinformation about wolves, as articulated in the prior chapters. They highlight outreach and education efforts by grassroots community groups to address these fears and to "fix a narrative that is vastly different" than the one that has so far informed human-wolf relationships, in order to form "a restorative and affirming relationship" (271) moving forward. The authors collectively offer valuable insight into the challenges ahead for wolf restoration in Colorado. This volume joins an important body of work on wolf-human relationships in North America and represents a significant contribution in theory and method for practitioners and scholars working in fields as diverse as environmental history, animal studies, and conservation social science. [End Page 45] Sharon Wilcox Center for Culture, History, and Environment Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin–Madison Copyright © 2019 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Ethics of Primate Fieldwork: Toward an Ethically Engaged Primatology

Field primatologists have ethical responsibilities that extend beyond study subjects to the local human communities living near primate populations and their surrounding ecosystems. In this review, we explore the history of ethical discussions within anthropological primatology and examine the best practices for an ethically engaged primatology that should be followed and role-modeled by primatologists. An increasing number of primates are showing reduced population sizes and are in imminent danger of extinction; thus, we need to carefully consider the ethics of intervening to ensure the survival of remaining populations, the impact of anthropogenic factors (e.g., climate change), and whether long-term field research results in conservation outcomes that consider local human communities. Because best practices change over time as theoretical frameworks and methodological tools advance and scientific goals change, field primatologists must continually reflect on what constitutes ethical practice and consider how research influences the overlapping dimensions of fieldwork: primates, people, and ecosystems.

Can the Vaquita Be Saved From Extinction

vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is considered the world’s most endangered marine mammal. It is the smallest member of the porpoise family endemic to the upper part of the Gulf of California. The current population is estimated at <30 individuals. The primary reasons for the species decline includes limited habitat and incidental mortalities associated with illegal gillnet fishing Since 2008, the Mexican government has taken environmental and economic actions to protect the vaquitas, focusing on reducing bycatch deaths to zero. In 2015, a federal agreement decreed by the Secretaria de Agricultura, Ganaderia, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentacion prohibited the use of any fishing gillnets for 2 years, severely affecting local human communities because coastal fisheries in the region represent 40% of the gross domestic product and 50% of the local inhabitants are devoted to this activity. Recently, an economic welfare compensation program is giving monthly to fishermen who have fishing permits if they do not continue with their fishing However, none of these actions have fully considered the range of social and economic solutions for the local inhabitants of this region. The paradigms of the contemporary conservation programs must also focus on the well-being of local fishing communities to prevent the vaquita from becoming the second marine mammal species to disappear due to human activities.

Hurricane disturbance and forest dynamics in east Caribbean mangroves

AbstractDespite low plant diversity and structural simplicity, mangroves offer various ecosystem services to local human communities, including sheltering coastal social‐ecological systems from high‐energy storm damage. The expected increasing intensity of hurricanes due to climate change raises questions concerning the capacity of mangroves to resist and recover from such disturbances. Herein, this study contributes to a better understanding of (1) the relation between storm intensity and damage to mangrove vegetation, (2) the contributions of species‐specific as well as stand‐specific components of mangrove vegetation to ecosystem resistance, and (3) the recovery of pre‐hurricane forest structure through time. The first two issues have been addressed using a stand‐level approach implemented at two east Caribbean mangrove sites in response to three storm events. The third was addressed through a 23‐yr survey of forest recovery following the passage of a high‐energy storm across one of the two study sites. Generally, hurricane damage was primarily controlled by wind velocity, followed by the hydro‐geomorphic context of mangrove forests and species‐specific composition, respectively. The relationship between damage to trees and wind velocity evidenced a sigmoidal trend, with a maximum slope at a wind velocity averaging 130 and 180 km/h for higher vs. lower canopy stands, respectively. The red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, was significantly less resistant to hurricane damage than was the black mangrove, Avicennia germinans. Unlike the fringe and scrub stands, inner, tall‐canopy stands fully recovered by the end of the study (23 yr). These stands were more resilient because of their growth performances. Finally, the time for east Caribbean mangroves to recover from high‐energy storms seems to fall within the range of the average return time of such disturbances. This may prevent such ecosystems from ever reaching a steady state.

The mismatch between location of protected areas and suitable habitat for the Vulnerable taruka Hippocamelus antisensis

AbstractProtected areas help to decrease human impacts on threatened mammals but do not always include species’ core habitats. Here we focus on the Vulnerable taruka Hippocamelus antisensis near the Atacama Desert, Chile, a population that is mainly threatened by interactions with local human communities. We develop a species distribution model for taruka and assess the contribution of protected areas to safeguarding its preferred habitat. From sightings (collected during 2004–2015), absence records (collected in 2014), and environmental variables, we determined that taruka habitat is scarce, highly fragmented and limited to humid areas. Only 7.7–11.2% of the taruka's core habitat is under protection. We recommend the establishment of a protected area in the south of Arica-Parinacota district, an area without settlements that lies within the taruka's core habitat, along with educational programmes, fencing of crops, and inclusion of communities in decision-making in areas where farmer–taruka interactions are negative.

The Neotropical otter Lontra longicaudis: a comprehensive update on the current knowledge and conservation status of this semiaquatic carnivore

Abstract The Neotropical otter Lontra longicaudis is a widespread semiaquatic carnivore living in a wide variety of environments in both fresh‐water and salt‐water ecosystems. We summarise the current knowledge on distribution, ecology, behaviour, evolution and conservation status of the species, and highlight the main threats that have been affecting it as well as priority actions for securing its survival. The current geographical range of Lontra longicaudis is discussed, as well as several efforts that have been made to update knowledge of the range. Throughout its known distribution area, the Neotropical otter has high genetic diversity, and recent molecular research suggests that variations in genetic diversity are related to geography. Taxonomic issues regarding the existence of subspecies persist, mainly due to limited sampling in key portions of the species’ range. Although the Neotropical otter is widely distributed in Latin America and has flexible behaviour, it is subjected to a variety of threats, which lead this otter to be officially considered Threatened in several countries within its geographical range. The species still faces an uncertain future due to the impact of human activities, thus justifying its classification as Near Threatened in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. The real level of human‐otter conflicts and the impact of modified environments on Neotropical otter populations are still unclear, and must be a priority focus of future studies. There is an urgent need to increase our knowledge on aspects of the Neotropical otter's biology, such as reproduction, generation time, behaviour, physiology, distribution limits, sanitary aspects, evolution and taxonomy. Understanding these topics is vital to ensure the long‐term survival of the species, both at the local and at the regional scale, as well as to provide the basis for environmental education actions involving local riverside human communities .

The beauty and the beast: Endemic mutualistic interactions promote community-based conservation on Socotra Island (Yemen)

The understanding that biodiversity is supported by an entangled network of interactions is fundamental if we are to guarantee the persistence of endemic and restricted-range taxa. When it comes to remote, isolated and rural areas, local human communities play a pivotal role in preserving their native flora and fauna. Locals typically show contrasting aesthetic appreciation for different species, unaware that the fate of highly valued species might be closely linked to the activity of non-charismatic and disregarded species. Therefore, conveying the importance of biotic interactions in sustaining biodiversity is important to incentivise environmental awareness in those areas. The remote Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), a Natural World Heritage, hosts one of the oldest forest ecosystems on Earth and 31 endemic reptile species. The relic dragon’s blood tree Dracaena cinnabari is classified as Vulnerable and it is highly valued among locals. On the contrary, reptiles are typically persecuted and feared by them, in spite of the fact that they might provide services to D. cinnabari. In order to document the role of nocturnal lizards as pollinators of D. cinnabari, we conducted a trip to Socotra Island and we examined 11 tree populations at night for the presence of reptiles and whether they carry pollen in their snouts. Our results confirmed that three species of geckos carried pollen grains of D. cinnabari and at least seven other unidentified species. This result indicates that these geckos visit D. cinnabari flowers, likely to feed upon pollen or nectar, suggesting that they may pollinate this relic tree. We point out that by focusing on the need of preserving mutualistic biotic interactions, instead of individual species, environmental awareness would increase and Socotri people would steadily shift their attitude towards an holistic preservation of D. cinnabari.