Modern Conservation Research Articles

Genomic and Acoustic Biogeography of the Iconic Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Clarifies Species Limits and Patterns of Intraspecific Diversity.

Many highly recognisable species lack genetic data important for conservation due to neglect over their hyperabundance. This likely applies to the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), one of the world's most iconic parrots. The species is native to Australia, New Guinea and some surrounding Melanesian islands. Four subspecies are currently recognised based on morphology. Australian subspecies and populations are abundant, but several factors threaten those in New Guinea and Melanesia. Genetic data from natural populations are scarce - information that is vital to identifying evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) important for modern conservation planning. We used whole-genome resequencing to investigate patterns of differentiation, evolutionary affinities and demographic history across C. galerita's range to assess whether currently recognised subspecies represent ESUs. We complement this with an assessment of bioacoustic variation across the species' distribution range. Our results point to C. galerita sensu lato (s.l.) comprising two species. We restrict C. galerita sensu stricto (s.s.) to populations in Australia and the Trans-Fly ecodomain of southern New Guinea. The second species, recognised here as Cacatua triton, likely occurs over much of the rest of New Guinea. Restricting further discussion of intraspecific diversity in C. triton, we show that within C. galerita s.s. two ESUs exist, which align to Cacatua galerita galerita in eastern Australia and southern New Guinea and Cacatua galerita fitzroyi in northern and north-western Australia. We suggest that the evolution of these species and ESUs are linked to Middle and Late Pleistocene glacial cycles and their effects on sea level and preferential habitats. We argue that conservation assessments need updating, protection of preferential forest and woodland habitats are important and reintroductions require careful management to avoid possible negative hybridization effects of non-complementary lineages.

The Qur'anic Perspective On Marine Resource Conservation: A Human Responsibility

The conservation of marine resources is an important issue in maintaining the balance of ecosystems and the sustainability of life on earth. The Qur'an provides clear guidance on human responsibility in protecting nature, including marine resources. This article seeks to reveal the messages contained in the Qur'an related to the ocean. The Qur'an emphasises the importance of maintaining the balance of nature (mizan) and prohibits destruction (fasad) on earth. QS. Al-A'raf [7:56] and QS. Al-Baqarah [2:30] emphasise the role of humans as khalifahs responsible for environmental sustainability. These principles include the protection of marine resources through conservation measures and sustainable management. Therefore, a friendly attitude towards the environment and sustainable utilisation is a shared responsibility. This research was conducted through a literature study using qualitative, descriptive methods, relying on deductive and inductive approaches and then analysed structurally and sociologically ethnographically. These findings underscore that marine resource conservation in Islam is not only an ecological obligation but also a rewarding act of worship. Implementing these principles in everyday policies and practices can help address global environmental challenges and ensure the sustainability of marine resources for future generations. The Qur'anic perspective on marine resource conservation emphasises human responsibility for maintaining the balance of nature and preventing damage. These principles are relevant to be applied in modern conservation efforts to achieve environmental sustainability

Venice at 60: Article 5 and the acceptable limits of use

The Venice Charter is central to modern conservation, and foundational for ICOMOS specifically; yet its contemporary relevance is debatable. These and other issues were discussed by ICOMOS in Budapest 20 years ago, in a conference marking the Charter’s 40th anniversary. However, questions remain as to its ongoing significance. As Bogusław Szmygin asked in 2004, does the Charter remain the ‘Decalogue' of the conservation discipline, or has it itself become a ‘Historical Monument’?The Venice Charter as a product of high modernity, with its belief in a definitive break with the past and an overcoming of tradition. The paper assesses the Charter’s ongoing relevance in relation to one pressing issue in contemporary conservation, the limits to the acceptable use of – and change to – historic buildings (Art. 5), and using an example of recent change to an English parish church. The paper argues that the acknowledged need for the interpretation of the Charter requires a hermeneutically literate approach which acknowledges the limits of a scientific/technical reading of any historic monument – the Charter included – and the importance of a dynamic understanding of the living tradition that is conservation. It concludes that the Charter remains a central text for the conservation discipline, which itself is a tradition in good health, and for that very reason its status will continue to be fiercely debated.

The Urgency of Stakeholder Roles and Environmental Politics in Achieving SDGs through Environmental Management in Malaumkarta Village, Sorong

This study examines the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the traditional egek/sasi practices in Malaumkarta Village, Sorong Regency, Indonesia. It explores the roles of various stakeholders in integrating indigenous ecological knowledge with modern conservation efforts to achieve sustainable development. Using a qualitative case study approach, it highlights the role of a multi-stakeholder collaboration, including local youth, NGOs, religious institutions, local government, and the customary council. The study reveals that the successful localization of SDGs in Malaumkarta is attributed to a robust multi-stakeholder collaborative framework, encompassing local youth, NGOs, religious institutions, local government, and the customary council. The inaugural Egek Festival in 2023 exemplifies this collaboration, symbolizing the Moi tribe's commitment to sustainable resource management and cultural preservation. The research highlights the potential of integrating traditional ecological knowledge into modern conservation efforts and the importance of adapting global sustainability goals to local contexts. While the study's geographical scope and timeframe present limitations, its findings have significant implications for policy, practice, and future research in sustainable development, particularly in indigenous contexts. The Malaumkarta case offers valuable insights for achieving SDGs while preserving cultural heritage and ecological integrity, potentially informing similar initiatives worldwide

Reshaping conservation incorporating Indigenous perspectives

Typically, conservation is achieved by excluding, evacuating, or legally dismissing the rights of local/native people from using protected areas, resulting in evictions, ongoing distress, and dejection among many Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) worldwide. However, the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRTWS) in the Western Ghats offers a unique example of conservation where local tribal people, Soligas, have persisted and been living with tigers, elephants, bears, leopards, and other wild animals for millennia. In the past, they managed the forest which, under the colonial and later modern conservation policies, has been restricted and penalised. However, Soligas’ continuous existence in the Sanctuary suggests that people’s knowledge and skills must be contributing to enable them to co-exist with wild animals. Our integrated analysis of ecological, socio-cultural, and policy aspects and experience of working with Soligas in the BRT landscape typifies the importance of locals’ knowledge in managing the forest — urging the need to recognise and support IPLCs’ work for achieving conservation as well as socio-economic outcomes. This Note highlights the necessity to understand, recognise, and embrace IPLCs’ knowledge systems from a conservation context. Emerging future economic opportunities through Nature-based Solutions, if developed equitably, sustainably, and in culturally appropriate ways in line with IPLCs' aspirations and responsibilities, can benefit both wildlife and people, while reducing wildlife conflicts and delivering multiple-faceted conservation outcomes globally.

Student Perceptions of DEI in Conservation: An Assessment of an Undergraduate Course

Few undergraduate courses in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors provide meaningful focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) or addressing biases in science. Embracing DEIJ during this stage is essential for equipping students to participate constructively in solutions to these longstanding challenges, especially as the career landscape continues to evolve. This study focuses on a course designed to address this gap by providing students with the opportunity to critically reflect on the founding principles of conservation, to understand the long term impacts that colonialism, racism, and sexism have had on the field, and to introduce students to diverse perspectives (i.e. other ways of knowing; indigenous perspectives), thus providing a more holistic understanding of the structures and influences on modern conservation. Overall, we found that students responded very positively to the course and showed strong interest in these topics, including how addressing DEIJ could impact and improve the conservation field. Our experience suggests a broad desire among students for more DEIJ content that gives them a more holistic understanding of the conservation field and provides inclusive practices that address the long-standing issues in our field.

Stakeholder Engagement as a Core Component of Recreational Marine Fisheries Research, Education, and Conservation

Effective modern conservation depends on active stakeholder participation. Although stakeholder engagement is increasing, the extent of this engagement and the successful application of outcomes to science and management varies regionally and among types of fisheries. A collaborative model that emphasizes knowledge coproduction with stakeholders better identifies research needs and conservation threats, and influences research and policy outcomes. Stakeholder integration can be facilitated by nongovernment organizations, such as boundary organizations. Bonefish and Tarpon Trust is a science‐based, conservation organization founded in 1998 by recreational fishers and fishing guides that focuses on marine recreational fisheries in the Caribbean Sea and western North Atlantic Ocean. The Trust engages fishers directly, incorporating their knowledge and perspectives to identify conservation concerns, shape research, contribute to data collection, and disseminate information, and work with resource managers and scientific researchers to address conservation and management needs. This approach is demonstrated in case studies that show integration of recreational fishers in science, assessment of conservation threats, and application of findings to management for the recreational flats fishery in the Caribbean Sea and western North Atlantic Ocean, in the context of broader efforts of stakeholder collaboration toward actionable science to inform management.

Mangrove dynamics driven by Late Holocene drought at Laguna Bacalar, Mexico

Laguna Bacalar, one of Mexico's most significant near-coast lakes, remains underexplored in the context of its Late Holocene paleoecology. A 2,40 m long core was retrieved in northern Laguna Bacalar. Palynological and geochemical proxies were isolated and analyzed. Our findings reveal the intricate paleoecological dynamics and hydrodynamic shifts of this vital area in southeastern Mexico. Climate and ecological changes delineate three pivotal phases during the Late Holocene at Laguna Bacalar: (i) a period between 3600 and 3250 cal BP mirroring current climatic conditions with seasonal dry tropical forest and mangroves as the dominant vegetation and evidence of human activities indicated by the presence of fossil maize pollen, (ii) a relatively arid phase from 3250 to 2600 cal BP, influenced by heightened ENSO-driven precipitation variability and sea level rise favoring an estuarine environment at Laguna Bacalar, and (iii) a period between 2600 and 2200 cal BP, exhibiting hydrological conditions akin to contemporary conditions with wetland forest mangrove vegetation. These data ultimately underscore the region's susceptibility to regional climatic fluctuations and ecological resilience, providing a case study from which to predict future conditions and establish modern conservation policy for Laguna Bacalar and similar environments.

Integrated study on the conservation of ecocultural heritage in the Tiantai Mountain area, China

This study deeply analyzes the ecocultural heritage of the Tiantai Mountain area in Eastern China, assesses its current status and explores effective mechanisms for its conservation and construction. Employing remote sensing technology, kernel density analysis and Minimum Cumulative Resistance Model, the study comprehensively evaluated the environmental characteristics of the region and its role in historical and modern conservation efforts. The results demonstrate the unique distribution patterns of ecocultural heritage in various conservation zones, such as restoration, controlled construction and core conservation zone. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of religious beliefs and clan systems in the preservation of traditional knowledge and practices, with significant impacts of local community participation on conservation strategies. This research provides new theoretical and practical support for the implemention of ecocultural heritage conservation and development within religiously significant areas, highlights the need for conservation measures and synergistic strategies between ecological and cultural practices.

Potential application of batang garing cultural values of Dayak tribe in orangutan conservation

Background: This is intended to describe the Batang Garing symbol of the Dayak Ngaju tribe in Central Kalimantan as a container for preservation. From the previous study mentioned about Batang garing arise environmental consciousness, and this study attempts to identify the cultural values of the Batang Garing tribe in the life of the Dayak tribe and to seek opportunities to apply the cultural values of the Batang Garing Dayak tribe in orangutan conservation. Methods: This study using qualitative techniques is used to measure rehabilitation and assess the contribution of rehabilitation to conservation. Findings: It can be concluded that the Batang Garing concept is in harmony with the idea of orangutan conservation. The construction of meaning that is carried out provides space for collaboration between local values and modern values in the conservation agenda, it is hoped that this alignment will facilitate the involvement of indigenous peoples in harmony with orangutan conservation so that they play an active role in conservation because there are several overlapping values. Conclusion: The constructs provided are expected to be useful in forming universal knowledge/which can be understood by the wider community, including policy makers, namely the Government, as well as policy observers, both academics and practitioners regarding the agenda of forest conservation. Novelty/Originality of this Study: The novelty of this study lies in its exploration of the potential application of the Dayak Tribe's Batang Garing cultural values in orangutan conservation. This research uniquely combines indigenous wisdom with modern conservation efforts, aiming to foster community involvement and promote sustainable natural resource management.

Harmonizing Traditional Knowledge with Environmental Preservation: Sustainable Strategies for the Conservation of Indigenous Medicinal Plants (IMPs) and Their Implications for Economic Well-Being

The coexistence of traditional knowledge and environmental preservation presents a critical nexus in advancing sustainable development efforts, particularly concerning the conservation of indigenous medicinal plants. These plants play a dual role: they are essential components of traditional healing practices and are integral to economic stability, food security, and nutrition in communities worldwide. However, the rapid depletion of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation threaten the availability and sustainability of these vital resources. Despite their cultural and economic importance, there is a noticeable gap in the research addressing the conservation and sustainable use of indigenous medicinal plants, particularly focusing on the preservation of traditional knowledge systems. The existing literature often lacks comprehensive studies that document traditional knowledge practices related to medicinal plant conservation. Additionally, there is limited understanding of how the mismanagement of medicinal plant resources impacts the livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers who heavily rely on these plants for economic gains and food security. Hence, this study sought to explore and investigate the harmonious strategies that integrate traditional knowledge systems with modern conservation practices to safeguard indigenous medicinal plants on economic well-being in the Amatole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape. The study was conducted in 2023, and a structured questionnaire was used to capture the realities and experiences of prominent stakeholders (smallholder medicinal plant farmers). A multi-stratified sampling technique was used to draw up an appropriate sample of 150 smallholder farmers. Descriptive statistics and propensity-score matching were used for analysis. The study results indicated that the women farmers who are 44 years of average age and have 10 years of average schooling duration participate more in the production of indigenous medicinal plants. The average farm size per household is 1 ha, and it is reliant on an average of five members per household. The participation of women with indigenous medicinal plants underscores the significant role of women in traditional knowledge systems and sustainable agricultural practices, contributing to household income and community resilience. Additionally, the findings indicated that smallholder farmers are only aware of keeping indigenous medicinal plants by producing them in protected areas and on-farm conservation; other measures appear challenging to them. The study results reveal that knowledge of seed propagation, lack of knowledge of the implications of endangerment, the removal of forests with the motive of building houses, and, lastly, financial support were the constraints faced by smallholder farmers. Empirical results on the conservation and sustainable use of indigenous medicinal plants revealed that farmers are generating income to sustain the household as well as enhancing food and nutrition security. Based on the study results, it is recommended that government entities and policymakers are urged to prioritize supporting traditional knowledge, implement on-farm conservation, and foster sustainable agricultural practices to ensure biodiversity conservation, cultural preservation, and sustainable livelihoods. Enhancing targeted support for smallholder farmers, including access to land, agricultural services, and financial aid, alongside market development, ensures equitable benefits and sustainable livelihoods. Educational campaigns should raise awareness about indigenous medicinal plants’ ecological and economic importance, integrating traditional knowledge into formal education.

An integrated historical study on human–tiger interactions in China

AbstractTigers (Panthera tigris), as apex predators, play a crucial role in maintaining ecological functions within their ecosystems. Human–wildlife conflicts, particularly human–tiger conflicts (HTCs), have been a prevalent and severe issue in tiger‐range countries from ancient times to the present day, with various regional characteristics. This article discusses human–tiger interactions in China, including different types of HTCs throughout history and the various measures implemented to promote human–tiger coexistence. Employing a historiographic approach, this study is based on case studies. It relies on historical documentation as its primary source, using methods such as literature analysis, digital humanities techniques, and field investigations. The results reveal various forms of direct negative human–tiger interactions, ranging from mild to intense HTCs, as well as other interactions such as tiger trade, medicinal use of tiger parts, and tiger habitat loss and fragmentation due to deforestation and urbanization, all of which have led to reductions in tiger populations. Meanwhile, the study also identifies different conceptions and measures for human–tiger coexistence amidst conflicts, including animal protection and tiger worship in China's history, and modern conservation efforts such as the inclusion of tigers on protection lists, bans on tiger medicine and trade, and the establishment of nature reserves and national parks to protect tiger habitats.

Prospects and Challenges for Biodiversity in the Anthropogenic-Induced Cold Arid Landscape of Ladakh, India

Ladakh, a high-altitude cold arid region, exhibits conspicuous signs of climate change across its vast landscape. The unique biodiversity of Ladakh faces various challenges due to both exponential anthropogenic activities and the significant threat of climate change to the region's environmental landscape and physiographical variations. The region's unique topography, from high-altitude deserts to soaring Himalayan mountains, makes it a biodiversity hotspot. However, biodiversity is under threat from climate change, infrastructure development, the upward movement of invasive species, and water scarcity due to glacial retreat. There is enough potential to combine traditional ecological knowledge with modern conservation strategies. Climate change, with rising temperatures and glacial retreat, poses a significant threat to Ladakh's biodiversity, particularly that of alpine flora and fauna. Infrastructure development, including roads and hydropower projects, can fragment habitats and dislocate wildlife corridors, leading to reduced genetic diversity. Long-term field observations form the basis for an indepth exploration of prospects and potential threats to the biodiversity of Ladakh's cold arid zone, emphasizing the role of anthropogenic factors in this study.

On the macroecology of rarity and vulnerability to extinction in terrestrial mammals

Understanding the interplay between rarity and vulnerability in the decline and extinction of species is a major challenge for modern conservation biology. In addition to traditional approaches, answering this question necessarily requires integrating new methodologies and information on species' life-history traits and responses to environmental stressors. Here we use data for over 4000 mammal species to: (1) assess which forms and levels of rarity are most represented across current IUCN threat categories; (2) test whether interspecific variation in vulnerability is more closely linked to intrinsic traits related to their rarity, or to extrinsic factors related to anthropogenic pressures; and (3) identify geographical areas where species with high potential vulnerability are particularly common and assess their overlap with forecasts of land cover change. To achieve these goals, we model the directional influence of life-history traits related with rarity and extrinsic correlates on vulnerability. Our results confirm the strong link between rarity and vulnerability within mammalian orders. A model encompassing the three main rarity traits (i.e. range size, population density, and habitat breadth) correlates with vulnerability, despite not being directly correlated with population density. Recent habitat changes (within the past 35 years) did not show a direct relationship with vulnerability, but the contractions in range size reveal a more complex long-term effect on species vulnerability. Given the current scenario of limited conservation resources, we anticipate that knowledge about the characteristics most associated with vulnerability, coupled with mapping species possessing these traits and facing potential future land changes, can facilitate the development of more precise and effective conservation strategies aimed at preventing species extinctions.

Relations between Totems and Humans, the Dagara of Jirapa in the Upper West Region of Ghana, and Indigenous Belief Systems and Lessons for Modern Environmental Conservation

This essay investigates how the Dagara totemic relationship with totems may be used to protect biodiversity. The Jirapa municipality, one of the municipalities in Ghana's Upper West Region, is the subject of this essay. The study looked into how the totemic connection could be used to advance biodiversity protection and conservation in the Jirapa municipality and elsewhere. It made use of a phenomenological research. No matter where they are located, people who share a totem or, for that matter, a common ancestor, have similar belief systems and take part in similar cultural rituals, according to the study. One of the most important findings of the study was that people would go to great lengths to protect and never destroy their totems, whether they were plants or animals. Because they considered it to be one of them, the people whose totem it was protected the object. This resulted in the preservation of several plant and animal species. Totems represent family, clan ties, and what people view as appropriate or wrong behavior, according to one conclusion. The participants' conversation led them to the conclusion that totems are spiritual beings that defend their human relationships. In conclusion, there are numerous ways that this link might be used to protect biodiversity. The report makes the suggestion that modern conservation organizations, agencies, and partners use indigenous cultural practices in their conservation programs. In order to increase natural resource conservation, communities where these kinds of traditional or cultural practices are still practiced should be encouraged to maintain and spread these traditions abroad. Keywords: Jirapa, Dagara, totems, symbiotic relationships, and conservation of nature

A case for stronger integration of physical landscape processes in conservation science and practice.

I argue that the dynamic nature of contemporary, landscape-shaping (geomorphic) processes deserves more consideration in conservation science and practice. In an analysis of a sample of fundamental terms related to geomorphology and area-based conservation in the Web of Science, I found that the terms co-occurred in <2% of the analyzed entries (titles, abstracts, and keywords) from 2000 to 2020. This result is indicative of the rather peripheral attention that, more broadly, landscape-shaping processes seem to receive in the conservation literature. Among conservation scientists and practitioners, landforms that define the physical structure of habitat are often perceived as largely static, whereas the consideration of their dynamic adjustments to geomorphic processes is often limited to extreme events. I use examples derived from river-floodplain environments to illustrate strong, multifaceted, and reciprocal interactions between biota and various erosional and depositional processes. These ubiquitous interdependencies clearly demonstrate that geomorphic processes are an integral part of ecosystem dynamics at time scales relevant for conservation. Crucially, erosional and depositional processes modulate many environmental impacts of past and current anthropogenic activities. I conclude that the absence of a more explicit and widespread consideration of geomorphic processes in conservation science and practice is surprising and detrimental to their effectiveness. I call for bolstered efforts among the conservation and geoscience communities to better integrate landscape dynamics within the field of conservation. The rise of the ecosystem-based and social-ecological systems approaches to conservation and the growth of interdisciplinary geoscience branches (e.g., biogeomorphology, ecohydraulics, and geoconservation) will facilitate such an integration.

Learning from the Past: Rediscovering Traditional Medieval Wood Tar Adhesives for Sustainable Stone Conservation and Built Heritage

ABSTRACT This paper outlines a research project on the use of wood tar as adhesive for architectural stone repairs. Tar was identified as having been used in medieval repair techniques on Stavanger cathedral in Norway, as well as on several other medieval cathedrals in England and Germany. The hypothesis is that a complex adhesive mixture based on wood tar was manufactured and strategically employed by medieval artisans in northern Europe as stone repair material. Given that such repairs have withstood centuries of wear, there must have been extensive material knowledge and awareness of the complex requirements of structural adhesives. These historic tar repairs created the impetus for a research project, the aim of which is to rediscover the lost medieval art of traditional stone repair using wood tar adhesives, recreate the historic adhesive and repurpose it for modern conservation practice. By reintroducing traditional wood tar adhesives based on natural renewable source materials, we could potentially reduce dependence on synthetically manufactured adhesives. Thus, newly-discovered medieval techniques which have successfully lasted centuries will be drawn on to help solve the limited selection of suitable adhesives for stone conservation, contributing to future preservation of stone architecture and the built heritage environment.

Long-term change in a North Sea inshore fish assemblage between 1899-1913 and 2018-2019

Marine communities have been impacted by human activities for centuries, yet historical data are rarely incorporated into modern conservation efforts and restoration targets. For inshore waters, survey data sets are typically lacking because they extend back by only a few decades, despite their ecological significance as nursery grounds for many fish species. We investigated long-term change in a demersal fish assemblage from inshore waters of the Northumberland coast (UK). We collated unique historical data (1899-1913) that were sampled using a wooden beam trawl during scientific trawling investigations, shortly after the onset of widespread mechanised trawling in the North Sea. Twelve decades later (2018-2019), we re-surveyed the same bays using a modern otter trawl. The results revealed marked declines in the abundance and diversity of the entire fish and flatfish assemblage as well as among individual species. Elasmobranchs and formerly abundant species such as grey gurnard Eutrigla gurnardus were completely absent in contemporary surveys, while dab Limanda limanda and plaice Pleuronectes platessa were the most dominant species in both periods. Changes were also detected in the size distributions of the entire fish and flatfish assemblages, with proportionally fewer large individuals recorded in contemporary surveys. These findings suggest that over a century of trawling and climate change, combined with pollution, habitat alteration and increased predation risk are likely contributors to changes in the inshore fish assemblage. This work provides further evidence of long-term decline in North Sea inshore waters and offers an invaluable benchmark for improving coastal ecosystem status.

The Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Conservation Aspects of the Life of Baganda, the People of Uganda

The researcher evaluated the role of “The Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Conservation Aspects of Life of Baganda, the people of Uganda’’ Facts are that, in Buganda Kingdom, Uganda, Africa and the world over, wildlife is decreasing and terribly deteriorating at a rate unseen and unheard of before. This could be addressed by the intervention of the Indigenous knowledge and natural conservation aspects of the life of Baganda, the people of Uganda, through the use of totemism, taboos and people’s spirituality. A phenomenological research design in the study was employed since it focused on the commonality of lived experiences (verbatim) within a particular group or individuals, aiming to arrive at a description of the nature of the particular phenomenon. As a qualitative study, sample size of 34 from the population size of 3,392,333 people was used for the study. This was because a qualitative study is supposed to have a large enough sample size to uncover a variety of opinions, but limited the size at the point of saturation which occurs when the collection of new data does not shed any further light on the issue under investigation. Findings showed that, Buganda’s traditional wildlife conservational knowledge based on totemism, taboos and people’s traditional spirituality was very effective in wildlife conservation, and the same knowledge is still applicable and relevant in nature conservation today. A ‘Culturally Based Conservation Model (CBCM) was arrived at aiming at amending the existing conservation policies by the Government of Uganda, integrating them with Buganda’s indigenous traditional conservation knowledge.The study therefore recommends that, environment authorities like National Environment Management authorities and (NEMA) and Uganda Wildlife authority (UWA) should work with various cultural institutions and researchers to ensure integration of the indigenous knowledge into modern conservation strategies.

Review of heterozygosity visualization approaches in the context of conservation research

The assessment of heterozygosity level is one of the key metrics in conservation biology, as it contributes to the accurate design of conservation programs for endangered species. With the development of whole-genome sequencing technologies, it is now possible to more accurately estimate heterozygosity not only at the organismal level, but also at the population and species level. Contemporary conservation studies involve the processing of large volumes of whole-genome data, leading to problems of interpretation and necessitates the study of modern visualization methods for clear and correct presentation of results. In this review, we comprehensively examine the main types of visualization of heterozygosity assessments obtained using various approaches. We delve into the theory underlying each visualization method and discuss their characteristics using examples from studies of non-model species with different conservation statuses. The review provides insight into current tools for heterozygosity assessment and subsequent visualization, as well as current trends in this field.