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Human Communities (human + community)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	66%

Selected Abstracts

Translocations: Providing Outcomes for Wildlife, Resource Managers, Scientists, and the Human Community

RESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
Kevin A. Parker
Abstract The World Conservation Union (1987) defines a translocation as a release of animals with the intention of establishing, reestablishing, or augmenting an existing population. Despite frequent use as a tool for the management of threatened and endangered wildlife, the full benefits of translocations often go unrealized. In this article, I demonstrate how translocations can achieve outputs for conservation management, conservation science, and the wider human community, using North Island (NI) Saddleback or Tieke (Philesturnus rufusater) as an illustrative example. From a conservation management perspective, NI Saddleback have been salvaged from a relic population of less than 500 birds on 484-ha Hen Island to a metapopulation of approximately 6,000 birds on 13 offshore islands and at two mainland New Zealand sites. These translocations have reduced the risk of global extinction for this species and helped restore the ecosystems involved. All these translocations have occurred in the past 42 years from known source populations and with known numbers of birds released. The resulting replicated serial population bottlenecks provide numerous scientific opportunities for conservation and biological research. Although the first Saddleback translocations were to reserves closed to the public, subsequent translocations have been to open reserves, providing the wider human community with an opportunity to see and be actively involved in the management of a threatened endemic species. This has raised the profile of both NI Saddleback and other species and has provided wider community conservation benefits. These three outputs illustrate the value of translocations for resource management and conservation science and for increasing community interest, participation, and investment in biological conservation. [source]

Global constraints on rural fishing communities: whose resilience is it anyway?

FISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 1 2007
Martin D Robards
Abstract Sustaining natural resources is regarded as an important component of ecological resilience and commonly assumed to be of similar importance to social and economic vitality for resource-dependent communities. However, communities may be prevented from benefiting from healthy local resources due to constrained economic or political opportunities. In the case of Alaskan wild salmon, the fisheries are in crisis due to declining economic revenues driven by the proliferation of reliable and increasingly high-quality products from fish farms around the world. This stands in contrast with many of the world's wild-capture fisheries where diminished biological abundance has led to fishery collapse. Furthermore, increasing efficiency of salmon farm production, globalization, and dynamic consumer preferences, suggests that the wild salmon industry will continue to be challenged by the adaptability, price and quality of farmed salmon. Conventional responses to reduced revenues by the wild-capture industry have been to increase economic efficiency through implementing a range of entry entitlement and quota allocation schemes. However, while these mechanisms may improve economic efficiency at a broad scale, they may not benefit local community interests, and in Alaska have precipitated declines in local ownership of the fishery. To be viable, economic efficiency remains a relevant consideration, but in a directionally changing environment (biological, social or economic), communities unable to procure livelihoods from their local resources (through access or value) are likely to seek alternative economic opportunities. The adopted strategies, although logical for communities seeking viability through transformation in a changing world, may not be conducive to resilience of a ,fishing community' or the sustainability of their wild fish resources. We use a theoretically grounded systems approach and data from Alaska's Bristol Bay salmon fishery to demonstrate feedbacks between global preferences towards salmon and the trade-offs inherent when managing for the resilience of wild salmon populations and human communities at different scales. [source]

Adverse reactions of anti-tuberculosis drugs in hospitalized patients: incidence, severity and risk factors,

PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 10 2007
Mohammad Reza Javadi
Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) has been a common chronic infectious disease in human communities. Besides disease-related complications, there could be serious adverse reactions due to anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) drug therapy. Objectives To assess the incidence and severity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by anti-TB drugs. To determine possible covariates associated with detected ADRs. Methods All patients with respiratory TB admitted to a teaching hospital who received anti-TB drugs during the research period entered the study and were monitored for ADRs. Socio-demographic and medical history of patients were used as independent covariates. The relationship between independent covariates with frequency and severity of ADRs was analysed using multivariate logistic regression. Preliminary analyses of the Mann,Whitney, Chi-square, Kruskal,Wallis and the Fisher's exact tests were applied to determine factors unlikely associated with the independent variables. Results Among 204 patients admitted, there were 92 patients (45.1%) with ADRs induced by anti-TB drugs. Patients with a previous history of anti-TB drugs usage (OR,=,5.81, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.31,25.2), patients with a history of drug allergy (OR,=,6.68, CI: 1.28,36.2), those from Afghani ethnic (OR,=,4.91, 95%CI: 1.28,18.30) as well as smoker patients with concurrent diseases (OR,=,19.67, CI: 1.24,341.51) had a higher rate of ADR incidence. Being female (OR,=,1.63, 95%CI: 1.96,36.40) and having previous history of ADR (OR,=,17.46, 95%CI: 1.96,20.42) were identified as risk factors. Conclusion Anti-TB drugs could cause severe and frequent adverse effects. Females, those with a previous history of ADRs to anti-TB drugs and Afghani patients, should be considered as high-risk groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Long-term field studies: positive impacts and unintended consequences

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2010
Karen B. Strier
Abstract Long-term field studies of wild primates can have far-reaching impacts that transcend their contributions to science. These impacts can benefit not only the study animals, study areas, and local human communities, but they can also have unintended, potentially negative consequences. Examples of some of the positive impacts from the Northern Muriqui Project of Caratinga, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, include contributions to conservation efforts on behalf of this critically endangered species, capacity building through the training of Brazilian students, and employment opportunities for local people through our collaboration with a locally administered NGO that is facilitating ecotourism, education, and reforestation programs. Some concerns about unintended consequences of the research include the effects of our trails and trail traffic on surrounding vegetation and other aspects of the environmental "footprints" that both long-term researchers and short-term visitors may leave. In addition, although precautions against potential health risks from routine exposure to human observers are now standard protocol, little is known about the other ways in which our long-term research presence can affect the primates' experiences or alter their perceptions of their social and ecological environments. Risk analysis, which weighs both the positive and negative impacts can provide useful perspectives for addressing the ethical considerations that can arise during long-term field studies. Am. J. Primatol. 72:772,778, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Putting the community back in community ecology and education: the role of field schools and private reserves in the ethical training of primatologists

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2010
P.A. Garber
Abstract In 1993 and 1999, with the assistance of a Nicaraguan family, we founded La Suerte Biological Research Station in northeastern Costa Rica and Ometepe Biological Research Station in southern Nicaragua as a privately owned conservation-oriented business. Our goal was to develop a program of sustainable community ecology focused on education, research, and the conservation of primates and tropical forests. In order to accomplish this we developed field courses in which undergraduate and graduate students conduct scientific research, experience local cultures, and learn about conservation. Over 120 of these students have received doctoral degrees or are currently in graduate programs. Four doctoral dissertations, several MA theses, and some 20 scientific articles have been published based on research conducted at our field stations. In order to achieve our long-term goals of preserving the environment, we also needed to engage directly with local communities to address their needs and concerns. To this end, we developed a series of community-based initiatives related to health care, bilingual education, and conservation education using traditional and on-line teaching tools. In this article, we describe our efforts in Costa Rica and Nicaragua teaching conservation-oriented field courses and working with the local human communities. Building upon these experiences, we outline a set of ethical considerations and responsibilities for private reserves, conservation-oriented businesses, NGOs, and conservancies that help integrate members of the local community as stakeholders in conservation. Am. J. Primatol. 72:785,793, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]