Monitoring programs for nesting turtles around the world have been important to build up a matrix of information for better comprehension of their behaviour and dispersion. The Western Indian Ocean has several monitor...Monitoring programs for nesting turtles around the world have been important to build up a matrix of information for better comprehension of their behaviour and dispersion. The Western Indian Ocean has several monitoring programs that are being used to reveal migration routes, phylogenetic interconnections and nesting behaviour patterns. We determined the nesting parameters for 69 records of hawksbill turtles collected during the Vamizi Island monitoring program. We also determined carapace measurements parameters of the turtles caught by fishermen in the area and give some considerations to improve the conservation of this species. Results show that the island receives hawksbill females all year long. Vamizi is a small nesting ground for this species, with an incubation period of 60.9 ± 10.6 days and a high reproductive rate. The turtles’ carapace measurements (SCL 42.0 ± SD 9.0 cm) revealed the existence of young individuals, foraging near the island, and their vulnerability to the fishing practices. This study strongly defends the need to identify more developmental and nesting spots, to be protected near Vamizi, to establish a solid network of marine reserves and corridors in the north of the Mozambique Channel.展开更多
The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services disturbance will result in serious ecological and socioeconomic consequences. How can people be prepared to be more efficient in preserving ecosystems, its services and ...The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services disturbance will result in serious ecological and socioeconomic consequences. How can people be prepared to be more efficient in preserving ecosystems, its services and resources? The Messalo Wilderness Area (MWA) is an area lacking a bottom-up approach for the design of a management plan. This research intended to develop a strategy to gather people’s views to begin a human wellbeing assessment for the area, for which a Digital Questionnaire (DQ) was developed and tested. The specific objectives were to 1) verify the dispersion/distribution of people and elephants;2) study the natural resources used by the inhabitants;3) locate the areas from where the most important natural resources are extracted and where conflict between humans and animals occur;4) propose a Management Plan (MP) capable of mitigating the human-animals conflict, promoting the conservation of elephants and, consequently, of other types of biodiversity, thus working towards a better socio-economical development of the area. The elements gathered in the consulted references were used to design several maps and cartographic figures shown in this article, using the Map Window software. These maps describe: fresh water distribution, habitat distribution, population dispersal and main road connections, crop fields distribution and main exploitation spots of the different resources, orography and topography. The results from the DQ analysis helped to gather indicators to the human wellbeing assessment. The information gathered in the literature and by inquiry was effective in confirming the high dependency of local people on land and sea resources, as well as the conflicts between people and wild animals, such as elephants and African wild dogs, and the reasons for those conflicts. The DQ is effective in gathering people’s opinions and it constitutes an important tool in a bottom-up approach to the design of a management plan as to the design of the MP for the MWA.展开更多
文摘Monitoring programs for nesting turtles around the world have been important to build up a matrix of information for better comprehension of their behaviour and dispersion. The Western Indian Ocean has several monitoring programs that are being used to reveal migration routes, phylogenetic interconnections and nesting behaviour patterns. We determined the nesting parameters for 69 records of hawksbill turtles collected during the Vamizi Island monitoring program. We also determined carapace measurements parameters of the turtles caught by fishermen in the area and give some considerations to improve the conservation of this species. Results show that the island receives hawksbill females all year long. Vamizi is a small nesting ground for this species, with an incubation period of 60.9 ± 10.6 days and a high reproductive rate. The turtles’ carapace measurements (SCL 42.0 ± SD 9.0 cm) revealed the existence of young individuals, foraging near the island, and their vulnerability to the fishing practices. This study strongly defends the need to identify more developmental and nesting spots, to be protected near Vamizi, to establish a solid network of marine reserves and corridors in the north of the Mozambique Channel.
文摘The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services disturbance will result in serious ecological and socioeconomic consequences. How can people be prepared to be more efficient in preserving ecosystems, its services and resources? The Messalo Wilderness Area (MWA) is an area lacking a bottom-up approach for the design of a management plan. This research intended to develop a strategy to gather people’s views to begin a human wellbeing assessment for the area, for which a Digital Questionnaire (DQ) was developed and tested. The specific objectives were to 1) verify the dispersion/distribution of people and elephants;2) study the natural resources used by the inhabitants;3) locate the areas from where the most important natural resources are extracted and where conflict between humans and animals occur;4) propose a Management Plan (MP) capable of mitigating the human-animals conflict, promoting the conservation of elephants and, consequently, of other types of biodiversity, thus working towards a better socio-economical development of the area. The elements gathered in the consulted references were used to design several maps and cartographic figures shown in this article, using the Map Window software. These maps describe: fresh water distribution, habitat distribution, population dispersal and main road connections, crop fields distribution and main exploitation spots of the different resources, orography and topography. The results from the DQ analysis helped to gather indicators to the human wellbeing assessment. The information gathered in the literature and by inquiry was effective in confirming the high dependency of local people on land and sea resources, as well as the conflicts between people and wild animals, such as elephants and African wild dogs, and the reasons for those conflicts. The DQ is effective in gathering people’s opinions and it constitutes an important tool in a bottom-up approach to the design of a management plan as to the design of the MP for the MWA.
