Papers by Catherine M Hill
International Journal of Primatology, Aug 12, 2022
Tropical forests support a diversity of plants. Many of them are threatened, emphasising that the... more Tropical forests support a diversity of plants. Many of them are threatened, emphasising that their shared use by people and wildlife may benefit their conservation. Litt forests of southeast Madagascar, home to seven threatened lemur species, provide the Antanosy people with natural resources. In the early 2000s, protected areas were established in two regions that historically incurred different levels of anthropogenic pressures: Sainte Luce and Mandena. We explored the local use of plants as medicine, construction materials and firewood, and examined the overlap of plants used by people and the red-collared brown lemur (Eulemur collaris), the largest lemur in this ecosystem and an important seed disperser. Between July and October 2018, 60 adults (30 women, 30 men) participated in semi-structured interviews. Our findings show 122 plants are locally used as medicines, 60 as construction materials, and 71 as firewood. Of all utilitarian plants, 52 were confirmed in this lemur's diet. Sainte Luce participants reported they used a higher diversity of species in all three categories. Western medicines were available and preferred to medicinal plants, but the choice also often depended on the health condition being addressed. Firewood was preferred to charcoal for cooking. Resource restrictions of the protected areas has negatively affected the local people. Local ethnobotanical knowledge reflects the importance of plants, while differences in plant use of the two communities reflect differences in biodiversity and socioeconomic circumstances. Emphasising this interdependence, especially in forest restoration, could be a path towards conservation of plants, lemurs, and people, as well as traditional livelihoods.
Frontiers in Conservation Science, 2021
International Journal of Primatology, Nov 17, 2022
Works, and What Doesn't Work? The Challenges of Creating Effective Applied Conservation Research ... more Works, and What Doesn't Work? The Challenges of Creating Effective Applied Conservation Research in Human-Modified Habitats" organized at the joint European Federation of Primatology/Primate Society of Great Britain conference in Oxford on 8-11 September 2019. We also thank all the contributors to this special issue who joined the project after the symposium. Finally, we are grateful to Jo Setchell, Editor in Chief of International Journal of Primatology, for giving us the opportunity to publish this volume.
T he term 'human-wildlife conflict' is commonly used in the conservation literature to denote neg... more T he term 'human-wildlife conflict' is commonly used in the conservation literature to denote negative interactions between people and wildlife, i.e. where wildlife damage property including crops, or threaten the safety of livestock or even people. For many researchers interested in the conservation implications of these negative human-wildlife interactions, the entry point is a concern for wildlife. Consequently, the focus is often on what the animals do, and what people complain about. This perspective has, until very recently, dominated research and the design of conflict mitigation strategies. However, it is increasingly apparent that humanwildlife conflict is normally better understood as conflicts between different human groups, sometimes over how wildlife should be managed, but expressed as a clash between human and wildlife needs and activities (
Understanding Conflicts about Wildlife, 2017
Perceptions of interactions between humans and wildlife typically reflect the extent to which ind... more Perceptions of interactions between humans and wildlife typically reflect the extent to which individuals live with wildlife (Newmark et al. 1993; Rao and McGowan 2002; Altrichter 2006) and reconciling perspectives usually involves meshing disparate goals (Adams 1998; Abbot et al. 2001; Hutton and Leader-Williams 2003; Baker et al. 2013). Land use and access to resources are often central to humanwildlife interactions (see Blomley 2000; Kagiri 2002; Mukherjee and Borad 2004), particularly in many rural areas of Africa where increasing human populations depend on limited land and decreasing forest resources for livelihoods (Kepe, Cousins and Turner 2001; Bush et al. 2004; Plumptre et al. 2004; Toutain, De Visscher and Dulien 2004). Resource competition between humans and wildlife can be prevalent where human communities relying on agriculture for food security and income adjoin forest reserves that provide essential habitat for wildlife (Hill 1997; Naughton-Treves 1997; Tungittiplakorn and Dearden 2002; Knickerbocker and Waithaka 2005). Crops near forest may be a predictable and accessible source of nutrition for wildlife, and therefore many species forage on them.1 This can result in extensive ongoing damage to crops, with adverse impacts on farmer livelihood (Nyhus, Tilson and Sumianto 2000;
Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022
Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 2016
Humans and primates are coming into increasing contact within urban landscapes. Few studies have ... more Humans and primates are coming into increasing contact within urban landscapes. Few studies have investigated how the impacts of living alongside urban primates affect residents' perceptions of primates. Perceptions have been shown to play a role in conservation interest and management of other urban wildlife species. A survey of suburban residents in Knysna, South Africa was used to explore the relationships between attitudes, level of perceived threat and extent to which baboons were considered a problem, support for local baboon conservation and preferred baboon management strategies. Results indicated that perceived threat was associated with less positive attitudes towards baboons, a greater perceived problem, decreased concern for baboon conservation, and increased advocacy for their lethal removal. This article illustrates the link between respondent perceptions and acceptance of urban primates and the need for further investigation for the wellbeing of both humans and primates.
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
International Journal of Primatology, 2018
One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is ... more One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is overcoming interdisciplinary barriers. Unfamiliarity with subject-specific theory and language, distinct disciplinary-bound approaches to research, and academic boundaries aimed at Bpreserving the integrity^of subject disciplines can hinder developments in interdisciplinary research. With growing interest in how humans and other primates share landscapes, and recognition of the importance of combining biological and social information to do this effectively, the disparate use of terminology is becoming more evident. To tackle this problem, we dissect the meaning of what the biological sciences term studies in Bhuman-wildlife conflict^or more recently Bhuman-wildlife interactions^and compare it to what anthropology terms Bmultispecies ethnography.^In the biological sciences, human-wildlife interactions are the actions resulting from people and wild animals sharing landscapes and resources, with outcomes ranging from being beneficial or harmful to one or both species. In the
Etnografica, 2016
This communication explores the role of primatologists conducting fieldwork in human-impacted hab... more This communication explores the role of primatologists conducting fieldwork in human-impacted habitats and how they can become part of a complex social and political landscape. Cláudia Sousa was interested in how to avoid or mitigate negative interactions involving local populations, researchers and other stakeholders in biodiversity conservation programmes.
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
International Journal of Primatology, 2018
One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is ... more One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is overcoming interdisciplinary barriers. Unfamiliarity with subject-specific theory and language, distinct disciplinary-bound approaches to research, and academic boundaries aimed at Bpreserving the integrity^of subject disciplines can hinder developments in interdisciplinary research. With growing interest in how humans and other primates share landscapes, and recognition of the importance of combining biological and social information to do this effectively, the disparate use of terminology is becoming more evident. To tackle this problem, we dissect the meaning of what the biological sciences term studies in Bhuman-wildlife conflict^or more recently Bhuman-wildlife interactions^and compare it to what anthropology terms Bmultispecies ethnography.^In the biological sciences, human-wildlife interactions are the actions resulting from people and wild animals sharing landscapes and resources, with outcomes ranging from being beneficial or harmful to one or both species. In the
Etnografica, 2016
This communication explores the role of primatologists conducting fieldwork in human-impacted hab... more This communication explores the role of primatologists conducting fieldwork in human-impacted habitats and how they can become part of a complex social and political landscape. Cláudia Sousa was interested in how to avoid or mitigate negative interactions involving local populations, researchers and other stakeholders in biodiversity conservation programmes.
Trends in ecology & evolution, Jan 9, 2015
We are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and research into our closest living relatives, the grea... more We are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and research into our closest living relatives, the great apes, must keep pace with the rate that our species is driving change. While a goal of many studies is to understand how great apes behave in natural contexts, the impact of human activities must increasingly be taken into account. This is both a challenge and an opportunity, which can importantly inform research in three diverse fields: cognition, human evolution, and conservation. No long-term great ape research site is wholly unaffected by human influence, but research at those that are especially affected by human activity is particularly important for ensuring that our great ape kin survive the Anthropocene.
Trends in ecology & evolution, Jan 9, 2015
We are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and research into our closest living relatives, the grea... more We are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and research into our closest living relatives, the great apes, must keep pace with the rate that our species is driving change. While a goal of many studies is to understand how great apes behave in natural contexts, the impact of human activities must increasingly be taken into account. This is both a challenge and an opportunity, which can importantly inform research in three diverse fields: cognition, human evolution, and conservation. No long-term great ape research site is wholly unaffected by human influence, but research at those that are especially affected by human activity is particularly important for ensuring that our great ape kin survive the Anthropocene.
Annual Review of Anthropology, 2018
Crop foraging or crop raiding concerns wildlife foraging and farmers’ reactions and responses to ... more Crop foraging or crop raiding concerns wildlife foraging and farmers’ reactions and responses to it. To understand crop foraging and its value to wildlife or its implications for humans requires a cross-disciplinary approach that considers the behavior and ecology of wild animals engaging in this behavior; the types and levels of competition for resources between people and wildlife; people's perceptions of and attitudes toward wildlife, including animals that forage on crops; and discourse about animals and their behaviors and how these discourses can be used for expressing dissent and distress about other social conflicts. So, to understand and respond to conflicts about crop damage, we need to look beyond what people lose, i.e., crop loss and economic equivalence, and focus more on what people say about wildlife and why they say it.
Environmental Conservation, 2017
SUMMARY Representations of animals are diverse and can portray local understandings of nature con... more SUMMARY Representations of animals are diverse and can portray local understandings of nature conservation, information that is often missing from conservation debates. In Cantanhez National Park (southern Guinea-Bissau), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are recognized as animals that share certain features with humans but live independently of them in the forest. However, chimpanzees are also integral to socially mediated, deep-rooted local narratives about sorcery and nature conservation. We use results from ethnographic research to explore local interpretations of chimpanzee attacks on people. Attacks by ‘bush’ chimpanzees occur when an animal is provoked by someone's actions towards it. Unprovoked attacks, however, are either interpreted as the act of a shape-shifted chimpanzee (i.e. a sorcerer) or as the responsibility of conservation stakeholders. In the case of unprovoked attacks, chimpanzee aggression is linked to a perceived abuse of power and to greed, with implicat...
Social Anthropology, 2017
In Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau the construction of meaning made upon encounters with... more In Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau the construction of meaning made upon encounters with chimpanzees is associated with local social life. If a chimpanzee makes an unprovoked attack on a person, its actions are often understood as those of a sorcerer. Chimpanzees are involved in two parallel accusation discourses, one is played in intimate spheres of sociability where sorcerers harm their kin to benefit from secret alliances, and the other addresses a wider audience perceived to benefit from chimpanzees which are being protected at the expense of other humans. Both narratives represent local criticism against transgressions to calculations of redistribution and reciprocity.
Folia Primatologica, 2016
Access to full text and tables of contents, including tentative ones for forthcoming issues: www.... more Access to full text and tables of contents, including tentative ones for forthcoming issues: www.karger.com/fpr_issues 534 Is Tickling Torture? Assessing Welfare towards Slow Lorises (Nycticebus spp.
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Papers by Catherine M Hill