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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (57)
Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of...
Predictions obtained from wildlife population models may be prone to influences associated with the quality of the data available for parameterization. We assessed accuracy of furtaker‐assigned sex of bobcats ( Lynx rufus ; n = 123) harvested during 2017–2018 across the western USA by comparing those data to genetically assigned sex, the latter of...
Background
Previous phylogeographic studies of the lion (Panthera leo) have improved our insight into the distribution of genetic variation, as well as a revised taxonomy which now recognizes a northern (Panthera leo leo) and a southern (Panthera leo melanochaita) subspecies. However, existing whole range phylogeographic studies on lions either con...
The impact of snaring and human-wildlife conflict (HWC) on large carnivore populations is of growing concern, and yet few empirical data are available. Mortality is the metric most often used, but non-lethal injuries that impact fitness are also important threats. However, because non-lethal injuries to wild carnivores are difficult to detect, they...
Determining the incidence and causes of craniodental damage in wild carnivores is often constrained by limited access to specimens with associated ecological data, such as prey type and abundance. We assessed dental condition and cranial injuries in lion, leopard, and spotted hyena in relation to prey and predator populations in Zambia’s Luangwa Va...
Reported effects of trophy harvest often are controversial. The subject is nuanced and many studies lack details necessary to place their results in context. Consequently, many studies are misunderstood or their conclusions misapplied. We propose that all dialogues about trophy hunting include a definition of how they use the term trophy, details o...
Direct comparisons between historical and contemporary populations allow for detecting changes in genetic diversity through time and assessment of the impact of habitat fragmentation. Here, we determined the genetic architecture of both historical and modern lions to document changes in genetic diversity over the last century. We surveyed microsate...
Direct comparisons between historical and contemporary populations allow for detecting changes in genetic diversity through time and assessment of the impact of habitat fragmentation. Here, we determined the genetic architecture of both historical and modern lions to document changes in genetic diversity over the last century. We surveyed microsate...
The Scramble for Africa in the late 1800s marked the beginning of increased human population growth in Africa. Here, we determined the genetic architecture of both historical and modern lions to identify changes in genetic diversity that occurred during this period of landscape and anthropogenic change. We surveyed microsatellite and mitochondrial...
Background
Previous phylogeographic studies of the lion ( Panthera leo ) have improved our insight into the distribution of genetic variation, as well as a revised taxonomy which now recognizes a northern ( Panthera leo leo ) and a southern ( Panthera leo melanochaita ) subspecies. However, existing whole range phylogeographic studies on lions eith...
Small African carnivores (<15 kg) make up 35% of extant small carnivores worldwide, and eight of the world’s 13 terrestrial carnivore families have representative species meeting this criterion in Africa. In spite of this diversity, studies on larger species seem to dominate African carnivore research. To both quantify research bias and highlight k...
The Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia is a transverse offshoot of the Great Rift Valley system. This region appears to have an isolating effect as evidenced by suspected endemic subspecies, such as the Cookson’s wildebeest and Thornicroft’s giraffe. Recent mitochondrial DNA studies demonstrated that African lions in Zambia consist of two highly dive...
A summary report and photographic catalogue of individually identified African wild dogs Lycaon pictus and their pack affiliations was compiled from sightings made during the period 2007-2012 in the southern Kafue ecosystem, Zambia. Ten sightings with photographs and/or videos were made first-hand by the authors while 12 additional sightings accomp...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153648.].
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is a small canid with a circumpolar Arctic distribution. Several subspecies are recognized, including a subspecies known as the Pribilof fox (V. l. pribilofensis) endemic to the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, USA. Pribilof fox tissues were collected from the islands of St. Paul (n = 38) and St. George (n = 13). Levels o...
The biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council has developed pan-Arctic biodiversity monitoring plans to improve our ability to detect, understand and report on long-term change in Arctic biodiversity. The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) was identified as a target of future monitoring because of its circumpolar distribution, ecological importance...
A previously unrecognized condition is described in wild free-ranging Pribilof arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus pribilofensis) from the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA. This condition is called shaggy lame fox syndrome (SLFS) denoting the primary clinical signs first observed. Criteria used to suspect SLFS on gross examination included emaciation, failur...
Comparative phylogeography of African savannah mammals shows a congruent pattern in which populations in West/Central Africa are distinct from populations in East/Southern Africa. However, for the lion, all African populations are currently classified as a single subspecies (Panthera leo leo), while the only remaining population in Asia is consider...
Trophy hunting plays a significant role in wildlife conservation in some contexts in various parts of the world. Yet excessive hunting is contributing to species declines, especially for large carnivores. Simulation models suggest that sustainable hunting of African lions may be achieved by restricting offtakes to males old enough to have reared a...
Countries that allow sport hunting of African lions, Panthera leo, increasingly are mandating minimum age regulations for harvested individuals that require accurate aging techniques. However, individual variation in dental characteristics used for aging could result in errors and has not been quantified. We assessed individual variation in three d...
Improved age estimation of African lions Panthera leo is needed to address a number of pressing conservation issues. Here we present a formula for estimating lion age to within six months of known age based on measuring the extent of pulp closure from X-rays, or Ratio Of tooth AReas (ROAR). Derived from measurements taken from lions aged 3–13 years...
Step-by-step instructions on how to use Adobe Photoshop to obtain measures of tooth and pulp areas, after Cameriere et al. 2011.
(DOCX)
Lion breeding facility and taxidermy studios.
(DOCX)
In Table 1, the information in the “Source msat data” column is incorrect for the “Zambia” row. Please see the corrected Table 1 here.
Table 1
Overview of lion populations included in this study.
Analysis of DNA sequence diversity at the 12S to 16S mitochondrial genes of 165 African lions (Panthera leo) from five main areas in Zambia has uncovered haplotypes which link Southern Africa with East Africa. Phylogenetic analysis suggests Zambia may serve as a bridge connecting the lion populations in southern Africa to eastern Africa, supporting...
Sample information and haplotype calls for 165 lions.
(XLSX)
Polymorphic sites between all 12S-16S mitochondrial haplotypes.
(DOCX)
It is listed as Least Concern as this species has a relatively wide distribution in a variety of habitats, has proved to be quite common in areas where camera-trapping surveys have been conducted, there are no major obvious threats, and it is present in several protected areas across its range.
This species is listed as Least Concern because although uncommon, this species is relatively
widespread, faces no obvious major range-wide threats, and is present in several protected areas.
The evolutionary history of a species is key for understanding the taxonomy and for the design of effective management strategies for species conservation. The knowledge about the phylogenetic position of the lion (Panthera leo) in West/Central Africa is largely based on mitochondrial markers. Previous studies using mtDNA only have shown this regio...
Sport hunting has reportedly multiple benefits to economies and local communities; however, few of these benefits have been quantified. As part of their lease agreements with the Zambia Wildlife Authority, sport hunting operators in Zambia are required to provide annually to local communities free of charge i.e., provision a percentage of the meat...
Current understanding of genetic variation in lions (Panthera leo) is inadequate to guide many management decisions necessary for conservation of the species. We studied sequence variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome-b (cyt-b) gene of 75 lions and nuclear variation at 11 microsatellite loci of 480 lions across 8 range states (Cameroon, Uganda,...
Surveys of the diversity, distribution, habitat use and nocturnal activity patterns of small carnivores were conducted in a protected part of the North Luangwa Valley, Zambia, during three periods: dry season (September–November) 2003; dry season (Sep-tember–November) 2004; and wet season (May–June) 2005. The first used direct-observation and camer...
Despite formidable challenges and few successes in reintroducing large cats from captivity to the wild, the release of captives has widespread support from the general public and local governments, and continues to occur ad hoc. Commercial so-called lion Panthera leo encounter operations in Africa exemplify the issue, in which the captive breeding...
A modern African elephant carcass was monitored taphonomically on a shallow lakeshore during dry and wet seasons of 2010–2011. The young adult female died on the lakeshore during the hot dry season of early October 2010. African lions were first to scavenge on the carcass, feeding on the intestines and inner organs that were accessed through the an...
We describe a miniaturized infrared camera mounted on a remotely operated platform (burrow probe system) that we developed to investigate spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) cubs while still in their natal dens. In conjunction with the burrow probe system, we used a hook system to retrieve carcasses from within burrows. To test the utility of these sys...
In this study we present empirical data on predator numbers, movements and area usage, and predation obtained from tracking transient killer whales Orcinus orca throughout the inland waters of southeastern Alaska, USA. During 1991-2007, we documented 155 transient killer whales via photo-identification methodology within the large study area (27,80...
Aim To assess the distribution, group size, seasonal occurrence and annual trends of cetaceans.
Location The study area included all major inland waters of Southeast Alaska.
Methods Between 1991 and 2007, cetacean surveys were conducted by observers who kept a constant watch when the vessel was underway and recorded all cetaceans encountered. For e...
Unlike Oceanic islands, the islands of the Arctic Sea are not completely isolated from migration by terrestrial vertebrates. The pack ice connects many Arctic Sea islands to the mainland during winter months. The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), which has a circumpolar distribution, populates numerous islands in the Arctic Sea. In this study, we used g...
Among spotted hyenas, Crocuta crocuta, neonatal aggression in twins is a well-known phenomenon and serves to establish intra-litter dominance soon after birth.
As the stronger more aggressive cub presumably attains dominance over its twin, intra-litter dominance presents mothers with
an ideal opportunity to assess individual cub fitness and, therea...
Spotted hyaenas house cubs in communal dens during much of the early development period. This practice facilitates social integration of young into the clan's dominance hierarchy. For Crocuta, however, use of communal dens entails costs. Within a clan, social rank is correlated with individual privilege. If costs of denning communally likewise vary...
Reproductive success in female spotted hyenas, Crocuta crocuta, is positively correlated with social rank. High-ranking females are known to produce more offspring, but the effects of maternal rank on early cub survivorship have not been investigated. Cub mortality was examined over a 4-year period in one clan of wild-living spotted hyenas in Kenya...
Thesis (Ph. D. in Integrative Biology)--University of California, Berkeley, Fall 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-188).
Aggression among spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta, siblings is often intense, and sometimes lethal. Frank et al. (1991, Science, 252, 702–704) proposed that siblicide routinely occurs in half of all spotted hyaena litters, namely those composed of same-sex twins. We propose an alternative to this ‘obligate’ model. In our ‘facultative’ model we sugge...
