In this article, we investigate the loss of local ecological knowledge (LEK) of wild mammals among quilombolas in southeastern Brazil. Using an Event Ecology approach, free listing exercises, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews, we recorded local knowledge relevant to wild mammals as well as key events in the life histories of residents. Next, we built a causal model connecting age; formal education; years outside the community; years in the pre-village context; and individuals' degree of LEK. Statistical analysis showed that the formation of sedentary communities and the abandonment of swidden cultivation among young people are the main sources of the erosion of LEK observed. This is the first study connecting a decrease in swidden cultivation with loss of local knowledge about fauna. The importance of swidden cultivation for non-agricultural domains of knowledge was somewhat surprising and particularly relevant in the current scenario of a worldwide collapse of this horticultural system.

People's values and attitudes regarding the natural world determine the level of care with which they approach the use of natural resources. We studied how human relationships with nature influence people's actions, using western redcedar (Thuja plicata), a major forest tree of northwestern North America, as a study system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven Northwest Coast Indigenous plant experts and eleven ecologists and foresters of mixed European descent with an ecologically-oriented perspective in coastal British Columbia. The transcripts were analyzed using NVivo qualitative data analysis software for emerging themes. Results demonstrate more commonalities than differences between the two groups; they both expressed a personal—often spiritual—connection with nature and both value long-term and interdisciplinary management strategies. First Nation individuals have a unique spiritual relationship with western redcedar that is linked to both everyday and ceremonial practices, while ecologically-based foresters and ecologists have personal and academic relationships broadly with nature. They have similar environmental concerns of damage from industrial forestry practices, particularly the loss of old growth forests, and the negative effects of climate change. Our results support the assertion that First Nation perspectives are equally scholarly as the foresters' perspectives are reverential, and people from varied cultural backgrounds can care for the environment in similar ways. Moreover, an interdisciplinary approach that unifies science with Indigenous teachings can encourage a new moral framework for forestry management that values resources beyond commodification.

To survive in the Arctic, the Inuit have developed a unique relationship with the marine environment and its living organisms. Unlike large marine mammals, the importance of smaller marine organisms for food, health, and wellbeing is largely undocumented. To call attention to these components of the food system in Nunavik, in northern Québec, and to understand their importance for health and wellbeing, Elders in two Inuit communities, Ivujivik and Kangiqsujuaq, were interviewed in May 2014. The objectives of this study were to: 1) document all marine organisms harvested and consumed in these communities; and 2) highlight the importance of these country foods through their position within the Inuit zoological classification, as well as their perceived contribution to health and wellbeing. Fifty-seven species of marine organisms were identified as part of the past or current food system, including birds, mammals, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and algae. Harvesting location is an important characteristic in the local classification. Nearly a third of all organisms listed can be harvested on the seashore and are collectively called tininnimiutait, which derives from seashore (tininniq) and includes seaweed, shellfish, and certain fish. Tininnimiutait differ from irqamiutait, which come from the bottom of the water (irqa). Furthermore, irqamiutait are a relatively recent addition to the diet that have the potential to positively impact health. Activities related to the harvest and consumption of these organisms are often associated with health and wellbeing. The abundance of tininnimiutait, their proximity to the land, and year-round accessibility make them an important food source today, particularly in light of growing concerns related to climate change, lifestyle and dietary transitions, food security, and sovereignty in the North.

Subsistence hunting remains a traditional practice providing food and many other goods from wildlife resources for households in rural Neotropical areas. In Mexico, this hunting modality is still a misunderstood and underappreciated activity. This article clarifies the reasons for the incompatibility between the current Wildlife Management Units (UMA) model and subsistence hunting through literature review and analysis of current environmental laws, the conclusions of which are reinforced by field observations. It is incongruous that authorities urge rural communities to adopt the UMA model without first recognizing the significance of subsistence hunting practices and communal management of animal resources. I consider that the current Mexican General Law for Wildlife (LGVS) fails to regard subsistence hunting and local wildlife management as important opportunities for wildlife conservation. I conclude that a much-needed review and revision of hunting regulations consider traditional management systems, thus validating elements of “uses and customs” relating to subsistence hunting—themes with direct relevance in Ethnobiology 5, biocultural design and conservation, and applied ethnobiology. The UMA instrument should undergo a careful review process to address particular conceptions of diversified use and management, which have evolved in cultural groups throughout Mexico. If revised, management policy will better align with the environmental and socio-cultural heterogeneities of rural people in Mexico.

The practice of using llama (Lama glama) caravans has decreased in Jujuy, northwestern Argentina, in recent years. Peasants, in this area known as pastores, llameros, or caravaneros, belong to Andean indigenous communities in Nor Lipez, Bolivia. The llameros, with their caravans, travel essentially to barter llama fiber in exchange for industrial food-products, mainly flour and sugar. The caravan trip to and from Santa Catalina takes an average of 12 days, five days going to and from the fair, and two days camping at the fair itself. These llameros belong to extended families that include young boys and women. Llameros have their own ethnotaxonomy and can recognize each animal of the troop. Today's llama caravans are pre-Hispanic in origin, thereby presenting collective continuance with the past. Yet caravans are disappearing given the ever more ubiquitous presence of vehicles, a trend that is also seen in other regions of the world. This paper presents a systematic study of the factors relating to the decline in the use of caravans in northwestern Argentina based on data collected from 2013 to 2017. Three reasons are offered (two socioeconomic and one environmental) to explain the observed decline: (a) the presence of a growing textile industry in Bolivia, with an increase in the demand for camelid fiber; (b) the improvement in living conditions in Bolivia; and (c) the drought that affected the area, with very little pasture for the animals on their route.

The prevalence and imperative of translocations for the conservation of plant species is increasing in response to habitat loss and degradation, plant diseases, and projected climate change. However, the intentional movement and nurture of plant species to increase their range and/or abundance has been practiced for millennia, encompassing species with food, medicinal, narcotic, and ceremonial values. While it is well documented that Australian Aboriginal people altered the composition and structure of vegetation communities through regular burning and engaged in complex food processing and storage, the extent to which they intentionally dispersed and propagated plants remains unclear. Here, I review the ethnographic, archaeological, biogeographic, and phylogenetic record relating to plant translocations in Aboriginal Australia. With the exception of re-planting of tubers after harvesting, the ethnographic record is characterized by sparse but detailed accounts of movement, planting, and/or nurture of important species, often involving ceremonial elements. Translocations encompassed assisted migrations, introductions and reinforcements, and spanned much of the continent and numerous life-forms and plant uses. The ethnographic record is fragmentary and often difficult to verify, and we will never know the full extent and nature of plant translocations in Aboriginal Australia. However, combined with biogeographic and, increasingly, phylogenetic insights, there is sufficient evidence to place modern translocations in a much older context of human-plant interactions. This allows for broader and more nuanced discussion around the practice and ethics of translocations, particularly in the context of assisted migrations in response to climate change, as well as re-evaluation of “natural” plant distributions in Australia.

We conducted structured surveys using photographs of 88 fish species grouped by commercial and non-commercial relevance to analyze the characteristics of the folk taxonomy of artisanal fisheries in the lower La Plata river basin (Argentina). The photographs were shown to 60 artisanal fishers from the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers. Out of a set of 332 folk names recorded, monotypic names (79%) prevailed and over-differentiation (68%) was the most frequent correspondence among generic folk names. Morphology (68%) and ecology (29%) were the most common categories related to specific folk nomenclature. The number of folk names per species was lower amongst the most relevant commercial species; the percentage of species recognized decreases inversely with species relevance but increases with species body size. A comparison of species similarity based on presence/absence data in five fishing sites showed a more accurate picture of species distribution according to fishers' knowledge than that based on the scientific literature. Our observed results suggest that ethnoichthyological information can be successfully applied to improve fish conservation and fisheries management; it also provides new insights on species abundance and distribution. We conclude that the folk taxonomy method is a valuable tool for long-term monitoring research programs oriented to species conservation and resource management.

This study concerns the ecological and economic features of a particular category of complementary foods in ethnic Peru—comprising of insects, crustaceans, snails, and mushrooms— grouped as chitin-bearing foods (CBFs). Data collection was through participatory methods and semistructured interviews with 242 individuals in eight communities/villages from four ethnic populations. We found that, in Peruvian Amazonian Amerindian communities, CBFs are the most relevant protein source during the rainy season. Shrimp (Macrobrachium sp.), crab (Hypolobocera peruviana), palmweevil (Rhynchophorus palmarum), leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes), and Lepidoptera larvae are common in the Amazonian diet. In Awajún and Ashaninka communities, most interviewed subjects declared significant consumption of CBFs, while a low percentage ate vertebrates every week during the rainy season and even in the dry season. In contrast, highland Quechua people occasionally consume larvae of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera and Quechua-Lamas populations (in the Amazonian region from historical times) consume the most accessible CBFs on a weekly basis. Traditional technologies and methods of semi-cultivation are evidence of a growing economic interest for CBFs. Relevant species have a high nutritional value in terms of chitin, fatty acids, and proteins, as well a high acceptance by the indigenous population. We conclude that Amazonian Amerindians manage these foods not only as a remedy for food shortage during the rainy season, but also as a stable forest resource and year-round agricultural by-product. We conclude that these traditional food practices should be incorporated within local and national agri-food policies to develop their economic potential and bring their social benefits into rural and peri-urban areas of Peru.