CHAPTER 1 ABSTRACT: In tropical regions, reliance on protected areas to conserve wildlife has come under increased criticism. Remote communities on the southeastern coast of Nicaragua are shifting from predominantly fisheries-based livelihoods to forest-based—creating challenges for conservation of terrestrial mammals. We hypothesized that as hunting and farming pressure increased, occupancy would decrease due to increasing human pressures on the forest. We expected large-bodied mammals to experience the greatest decrease in occupancy, followed by meso-carnivores and, ultimately, generalist prey species. We placed cameras in lowland rainforest adjacent to nine small villages to capture images of terrestrial mammals at 80 unique sites in 2010, 2012 and 2014. We analyzed detection/non-detection data using single-season occupancy models with disturbance, livelihood, and interaction covariates. In 2010 and 2014, occupancy of low-sensitivity species (agouti, paca, armadillo, coati, white-tailed deer) was affected by distance from road (-), distance from coastline (+), and the interaction between livelihood and distance from community (+). Moderate-sensitivity species (ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, tayra, collared peccary) were only affected by gathering (+) and distance from road and coastline (+). High-sensitivity species (jaguar, puma, tapir, white-lipped peccary, red brocket deer) were affected by distance from road (+) and distance from fresh water (- 2010, + 2014). These effects may be closely related to the increasing human presence on the coast. The increase in farming likely provided food and edge habitat to support generalist herbivores in the low-sensitivity group, preventing rapid decline and supporting meso-carnivores within the moderate-sensitivity group. High-sensitivity species persisting at low occupancy throughout the study, but responded negatively to riparian development. These results indicate that while the impact of subsistence livelihoods on occupancy may be low, the effect of an advancing cattle-ranching frontier may be very high and warrants immediate action to prevent further decline in mammalian occupancy.CHAPTER 2 ABSTRACT: The majority of global forests and biodiversity exists outside of protected areas. Working forests form an important area of study in the conservation literature. In working forests, understanding the roles and perceptions of local people is becoming recognized as paramount to successful conservation outcomes. I conducted 50 interviews in July 2014 in the Miskito community of Kahkabila, Nicaragua. The interviews focused on local knowledge and perceptions of six carnivores; jaguars, pumas, ocelots, margays, jaguarundis and tayras. My three primary objectives were to: 1) assess the ability of forest users to identify target species when presented with photos and a size reference, 2) ascertain the level of depredation on domestic animals over the past five years that coincide with a long-term camera trapping study, and 3) determine community perceptions of conflict and conservation for each of the six target species. Participants could identify the larger carnivores well (jaguar, puma, ocelot; mean >70%), but correct identification of smaller species was much less common (margay, jaguarundi, and tayra; mean < 25%). There were very few reports of depredation in the five years leading up to the interviews, and thus, 62% of participants indicated a lack of fear for their livestock and domestic animals. In addition, more than 80% of participants reported that jaguars, pumas, and ocelots were in severe decline due to hunting and deforestation. Approximately 65% of participants reported that they would only resort to lethal control of carnivores after depredation. Less than 10% of participants reported that they would persecute carnivores without provocation, and ≈28% indicated no desire to kill carnivores even if depredation had occurred. A commendable carnivore knowledge base and largely pro-conservation values indicate good potential for coexistences between carnivores and forest-users in Kahkabila’s working forests.
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