We use data on game harvest from 60 Pygmy and non-Pygmy settlements in the Congo Basin forests to examine whether hunting patterns and prey profiles differ between the two hunter groups. For each group, we calculate hunted animal numbers and biomass available per inhabitant, P, per year (harvest rates) and killed per hunter, H, per year (extraction rates). We assess the impact of hunting of both hunter groups from estimates of numbers and biomass of prey species killed per square kilometre, and by examining the proportion of hunted taxa of low, medium and high population growth rates as a measure of their vulnerability to overhunting. We then map harvested biomass (kg^-1P^-1Yr^-1) of bushmeat by Pygmies and non-Pygmies throughout the Congo Basin. Hunting patterns differ between Pygmies and non-Pygmies; Pygmies take larger and different prey and non-Pygmies sell more for profit. We show that non-Pygmies have a potentially more severe impact on prey populations than Pygmies. This is because non-Pygmies hunt a wider range of species, and twice as many animals are taken per square kilometre. Moreover, in non-Pygmy settlements there was a larger proportion of game taken of low population growth rate. Our harvest map shows that the non-Pygmy population may be responsible for 27 times more animals harvested than the Pygmy population. Such differences indicate that the intense competition that may arise from the more widespread commercial hunting by non-Pygmies is a far more important constraint and source of conflict than are protected areas.

Capsule Bird communities are better conserved in vineyards with mechanically managed herbaceous cover corridors. Aims To determine the advantages of herbaceous cover corridors for the conservation of farmland birds. Methods We studied birds in three vineyards subjected to different crop management schemes. Two vineyards had a herbaceous cover planted between crop rows to prevent soil erosion. In one vineyard these herbaceous cover corridors were chemically managed to prevent competition between the herb cover and the crop, whereas in a second the herbaceous cover was subject to mechanical management through some clearing, crop coverage, and height checks. A third vineyard was under conventional management (bare soil and soil tillage) and served as a control. We compared landscape structure and metrics, and passerine species richness, abundance, and diversity between the three vineyards. Results Overall bird species richness and diversity, as well as abundance of insectivorous passerine birds were highest in the mechanically managed vineyard. The chemically managed vineyard had lower species richness and abundance in comparison to the mechanically managed vineyard. In contrast, the conventionally managed plot had the lowest bird diversity, abundance, and species richness of all three plots. Landscape diversity was similar across the three vineyards. Conclusion Although our findings are preliminary and more research and replications are needed, we demonstrate that mechanically managed herbaceous cover corridors in vineyards, have positive impacts on the resident bird communities.