TY - JOUR A1 - Ghoddousi, Arash A1 - Van Cayzeele, Corinna A1 - Negahdar, Pegah A1 - Soofi, Mahmood A1 - Kh. Hamidi, Amirhossein A1 - Bleyhl, Benjamin A1 - Fandos, Guillermo A1 - Khorozyan, Igor A1 - Waltert, Matthias A1 - Kuemmerle, Tobias T1 - Understanding spatial patterns of poaching pressure using ranger logbook data to optimize future patrolling strategies JF - Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America N2 - Poaching is driving many species toward extinction, and as a result, lowering poaching pressure is a conservation priority. This requires understanding where poaching pressure is high and which factors determine these spatial patterns. However, the cryptic and illegal nature of poaching makes this difficult. Ranger patrol data, typically recorded in protected area logbooks, contain information on patrolling efforts and poaching detection and should thus provide opportunities for a better understanding of poaching pressure. However, these data are seldom analyzed and rarely used to inform adaptive management strategies. We developed a novel approach to making use of analog logbook records to map poaching pressure and to test environmental criminology and predator-prey relationship hypotheses explaining poaching patterns. We showcase this approach for Golestan National Park in Iran, where poaching has substantially depleted ungulate populations. We digitized data from >4800 ranger patrols from 2014 to 2016 and used an occupancy modeling framework to relate poaching to (1) accessibility, (2) law enforcement, and (3) prey availability factors. Based on predicted poaching pressure and patrolling intensity, we provide suggestions for future patrol allocation strategies. Our results revealed a low probability (12%) of poacher detection during patrols. Poaching distribution was best explained by prey availability, indicating that poachers target areas with high concentrations of ungulates. Poaching pressure was estimated to be high (>0.49) in 39% of our study area. To alleviate poaching pressure, we recommend ramping up patrolling intensity in 12% of the national park, which could be achievable by reducing excess patrols in about 20% of the park. However, our results suggest that for 27% of the park, it is necessary to improve patrolling quality to increase detection probability of poaching, for example, by closing temporal patrolling gaps or expanding informant networks. Our approach illustrates that analog ranger logbooks are an untapped resource for evidence-based and adaptive planning of protected area management. Using this wealth of data can open up new avenues to better understand poaching and its determinants, to expand effectiveness assessments to the past, and, more generally, to allow for strategic conservation planning in protected areas. KW - illegal hunting KW - large herbivores KW - megafauna KW - occupancy modeling KW - patrolling optimization KW - protected area KW - rangers KW - ungulates Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2601 SN - 1051-0761 SN - 1939-5582 VL - 32 IS - 5 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Braun, Christina A1 - Mustafa, Osama A1 - Nordt, Anja A1 - Pfeiffer, Simone A1 - Peter, Hans-Ulrich T1 - Environmental monitoring and management proposals for the Fildes Region, King George Island, Antarctica JF - Polar research : a Norwegian journal of Polar research N2 - The Antarctic terrestrial environment is under increasing pressure from human activities. The Fildes Region is characterized by high biodiversity, but is also a major logistic centre for the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Different interests, from scientific research, nature conservation, protection of geological and historical values, station operations, transport logistics and tourism, regularly overlap in space and time. This has led to increasing conflict among the multiple uses of the region and breaches of the legal requirements for environmental protection that apply in the area. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of human activities in the Fildes Region by monitoring the distribution of bird and seal breeding sites and recording human activities and their associated environmental impacts. Data from an initial monitoring period 2003-06 were compared with data from 2008-10. We observed similar or increased levels of air, land and ship traffic, but fewer violations of overflight limits near Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 150 Ardley Island. Open waste dumping and oil contamination are still major environmental impacts. Scientific and outdoor leisure activities undertaken by station personnel are more frequent than tourist activities and are likely to have a commensurate level of environmental impact. Despite the initial success of some existing management measures, it is essential that scientific and environmental values continue to be safeguarded, otherwise environmental impacts will increase and the habitat will be further degraded. We argue that the Fildes Region should be considered for designation as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area, a measure that has proven effective for environmental management of vulnerable areas of the Antarctic. KW - human impact KW - Antarctic KW - Fildes Region KW - environmental management KW - Antarctic Specially Managed Area KW - protected area Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.18206 SN - 0800-0395 VL - 31 IS - 209 PB - Co-Action Publ. CY - Jarfalla ER -