Information on the densities of threatened species in non-protected areas is crucial for assessing the degree of isolation of adjacent protected areas and consequently their potential for preserving species from extinction. Relatively few studies, however, provide such information. We present the results of a survey of the densities of two great ape species, the gorilla Gorilla gorilla gorilla and chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes, in a non-protected area on the northern periphery of Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon. Densities of chimpanzees and gorillas were estimated to be 1.1 and 3.8 weaned individuals per km², respectively. The results confirm that gorillas prefer building nests in vegetation types with limited visibility, and that within preferred vegetation types for nesting, gorillas select patches that are the most difficult to penetrate, resulting in less conspicuous nests. Although the opposite tendencies were exhibited by chimpanzees, no firm conclusions could be drawn from our data. Despite its non-protected status and past and ongoing logging activities in the area, the densities of gorillas and chimpanzees on the northern periphery of Dja Faunal Reserve are comparable to those found within the reserve itself, indicating the need for developing alternative conservation action to protect these important populations. The creation of a Communal Wildlife Zone in this area is legislatively possible, and could be an effective conservation tool because it has to originate from the local people.

The current extinction and climate change crises pressure us to predict population dynamics with ever‐greater accuracy. Although predictions rest on the well‐advanced theory of age‐structured populations, two key issues remain poorly explored. Specifically, how the age‐dependency in demographic rates and the year‐to‐year interactions between survival and fecundity affect stochastic population growth rates. We use inference, simulations and mathematical derivations to explore how environmental perturbations determine population growth rates for populations with different age‐specific demographic rates and when ages are reduced to stages. We find that stage‐ vs. age‐based models can produce markedly divergent stochastic population growth rates. The differences are most pronounced when there are survival‐fecundity‐trade‐offs, which reduce the variance in the population growth rate. Finally, the expected value and variance of the stochastic growth rates of populations with different age‐specific demographic rates can diverge to the extent that, while some populations may thrive, others will inevitably go extinct.

Protected areas have become a vital conservation strategy to protect wildlife; however, illegal activities performed by local people within and around protected areas may undermine their conservation goals. We used information from 169 direct interviews with rural residents in order to understand the factors affecting illegal behaviors related to hunting and deforestation in three protected areas and a buffer zone of the Southern Bahian Atlantic Forest. We explored correlations between background factors, attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control and behaviors toward different motivations for hunting (hunting for consumption, killing animals in retaliation for damage to crops or livestock, and keeping wildlife in captivity as pets), and deforestation based on insights from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Our results suggest that a combination of demographic factors, values held for protected areas and location influenced respondents’ attitudes, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control in the study region. We also found that components of the Theory of Planned Behavior such as attitudes and descriptive norms may be good predictors of the studied behaviors. Increasing local support for and compliance with policies of the protected areas is necessary for the long-term efficacy of these areas and for protection of species. Our findings suggest that to change behaviors of residents toward conservation in the study area, management actions should consider people’s attitudes and norms and the combination of background factors that influence these variables.

To investigate the practice of hunting by local people in the southern Bahia region of Brazil and provide information to support the implementation of the National Action Plan for Conservation of the Central Atlantic Forest Mammals, we conducted 351 interviews with residents of three protected areas and a buffer zone. Thirty-seven percent of respondents stated that they had captured an animal opportunistically, 16% hunted actively and 47% did not hunt. The major motivation for hunting was consumption but people also hunted for medicinal purposes, recreation and retaliation. The most hunted and consumed species were the paca Cuniculus paca, the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus and the collared peccary Pecari tajacu; threatened species were rarely hunted. Opinions varied on whether wildlife was declining or increasing; declines were generally attributed to hunting. Our findings suggest there is illegal hunting for consumption in and around protected areas of the region. Management efforts should prioritize fairness in the expropriation process for people who must be relocated, and adopt an approach to wildlife management that involves residents living around the protected areas, and considers their needs.