La Forět des Marais Tanoé-Ehy (FMTE), identifiée par le Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS) comme étant un site hautement prioritaire pour la conservation des primates en Afrique de l'ouest, est sujette à de fortes pressions anthropiques qui se traduisent par le braconnage, le prélèvement anarchique des ressources naturelles, l'exploitation forestière et les tentatives de défrichements agricoles. Tranchant avec les politiques traditionnelles de conservation des écosystèmes caractérisées par l'exclusion des communautés locales, un programme pilote de gestion communautaire de cette forět a été initié, depuis septembre 2006, avec les populations riveraines. L'appréhension des déterminants du succès et de la durabilité de cette expérience passe par une bonne connaissance des valeurs socio-économiques et anthropologiques qui sous-tendent les rapports des communautés locales avec cette forět. Dans une approche qualitative, avec les outils d'analyses compréhensive, fonctionnaliste et interactionniste, cette étude a permis de comprendre comment l'existence de la FMTE participe à la préservation des moyens de subsistance des riverains et au maintien de leurs repères socioculturels. L'étude démontre ainsi que la valeur de la FMTE pour la conservation ne se limite pas à la spécificité de sa biodiversité et donne, par ailleurs, des pistes pour une bonne prise en compte de la dimension socio-anthropologique de la conservation de ce patrimoine forestier naturel.

Prestoea acuminata is a highland clonal palm traditionally used as a source of palm hearts by the Awá Indians of Colombia and Ecuador; its commercial use thrived in the 1980's. Extraction pressure on the resource is particularly strong during Holy Week, as campesinos use it as a substitute for meat. We studied P. acuminata demography at La Planada Reserve, southwestern Colombia, and elaborated a ramet-based matrix model to assess the impact of different palm heart harvest regimes. The 1.5 ha study area had 1182 genets, composed of 5389 ramets. Harvestable stems were 23-40 years old and accounted for 0.32% of the stable stage distribution (SSD). Ramet population asymptotic growth rate lgr; was 1.0485, and was more sensitive to changes in the survival of stemless ramets. Observed stage distribution (OSD) differed from predicted SSD, which suggests the population was exhibiting transient dynamics. As our census was conducted four years after a severe ENSO, we argue that the OSD could be reflecting this environmental disturbance. Thus, harvest simulations must be interpreted with caution. Although P. acuminata ramets are abundant at La Planada, the typical genet architecture, with many stemless ramets (≈20) and only 1-2 stems appropriate for palm heart extraction, accounts for a very low resource yield (127 palm hearts ha⁻¹ in our survey). This, and its slow growth rate, make P. acuminata suitable only for household extraction. As harvest has a strong effect on sexual recruitment, we recommend a maximum annual extraction of 10% of harvestable ramets.

Selective logging is known to alter the structural and community composition of tropical forests and may disrupt plant-frugivore interactions. We hypothesized that even after a sufficient period of recovery, logged areas will not possess as complete a suite of species as an unlogged forest, the differences being more marked for biotically-dispersed species. Species of this functional group are expected to occur at lower densities, have lower species richness and diversity, and be smaller in logged forests. To quantify structural and functional differences in tree communities, we sampled 120 randomly placed plots, 60 each in logged and unlogged forest sites. We found significant differences in species richness and diversity between logged and intact forest. Within biotically-dispersed species, bird dispersed species showed a significant reduction in species richness. Consistent with previous studies, trees in logged forests were smaller, although overall density was not different between the two treatments. We posit that selective logging might have pervasive effects on functional aspects of tropical tree communities, which appear to persist even after two decades of logging cessation.

Galling insects are the only insects capable of manipulating plant tissues to form complex structures. The number of known species of galling insect is small compared to the large diversity that statistical estimates suggest for this group. The study of galling insect diversity can be a difficult task in mega-diverse environments such as in tropical regions, thus justifying the use of surrogates. This study investigated whether or not host plant richness and super-host taxa can be used as surrogates for galling insect diversity. Surveys were conducted in 15 areas of cerrado sensu stricto in different localities of the Brazilian Cerrado. The results showed that host plant richness was the main predictor of galling insect diversity. The plant genus Qualea (Vochysiaceae), with 18 galling species, was the super-host taxon used in the analyses. Despite the influence of genus on galling insect richness, the abundance of Qualea was not related to galling insect diversity. Surrogates can be a useful tool for estimating galling insect richness and diversity patterns, both of which are relevant for conservation assessments.

This study documents the community composition and forest structure of lowland rainforest in eastern Madagascar, with a first quantitative description of the primary lowland rainforest of Reserve Naturelle Intégrale de (RNI) Betampona. An intensive field survey of vegetation and environmental factors was conducted over two consecutive field campaigns in RNI Betampona, an isolated primary forest reserve located ca. 40 km northwest of the city of Toamasina. One hundred 10 m-diameter vegetation survey plots were inventoried and re-measured in 2004 and 2005. Two hundred forty-four tree species belonging to 49 families comprised the 2,487 stems greater than or equal to 5cm diameter at breast height (DBH) measured in 2004, with an average of 19.27 species per plot (2,227 and 15.71 respectively in 2005). Stem density per plot ranged from 12 to 52 for trees ≥5cm-DBH in 2004 (12 to 38 in 2005), while regeneration stems less than 5cm-DBH had a per-plot average of 57.28 in 2005 (range 19 to 140) and 94.19 (range 22 to 224) per hectare in 2004. The substantial decrease in ≥5cm-DBH trees and in stems ≥5cm-DBH from 2004 to 2005 suggests a forest undergoing thinning, perhaps following recovery from gap formation. Importance Value Indices (IVI) calculated for tree species indicated that an unidentified Uapaca species, Ravenala madagascariensis, Anthostema madagascariensis, Canarium spp and Cassipourea lanceolata were the most important species according to their overall frequency, dominance and abundance values, and accounted for 10% of the overall IVI.

Illegal hunting of wildlife is a major issue in today's society, particularly in tropical ecosystems. In this study, a total of 114 local residents from eight villages located in four wards adjacent to the northern Gonarezhou National Park, south-eastern Zimbabwe were interviewed in 2009, using semi-structured questionnaires. The study aimed to answer the following questions: (i) what is the prevalence of illegal hunting and what are commonly used hunting methods? (ii) Which wild animal species are commonly hunted illegally? (iii) What are the main reasons for illegal hunting? (iv) What strategies or mechanisms are currently in place to minimize illegal hunting? Overall, 59% of the respondents reported that they saw bushmeat, meat derived from wild animals, and/or wild animal products being sold at least once every six months, whereas 41% of the respondents reported that they had never seen bushmeat and/or wild animal products being sold in their villages and/or wards. About 18% of the respondents perceived that illegal hunting had increased between 2000 and 2008, whereas 62% of the respondents perceived that illegal hunting had declined, and 20% perceived that it remained the same. Snaring (79%) and hunting with dogs (53%) were reportedly the most common hunting methods. A total of 24 wild animal species were reportedly hunted, with African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) (18%), Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga) (21%), kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) (25%) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) (27%) amongst the most targeted and preferred animal species. In addition, large carnivores, including spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) (11%), leopard (Panthera pardus) (10%) and African lion (Panthera leo) (8%), were reportedly hunted illegally. The need for bushmeat, for household consumption (68%), and raising money through selling of wild animal products (55%) were reported as being the main reasons for illegal hunting. Strengthening law enforcement, increasing awareness and environmental education, and developing mechanisms to reduce human-wildlife conflicts will assist in further minimizing illegal hunting activities in the Gonarezhou ecosystem.