Bioaccumulated trace element toxicity in commercially harvested bronze whaler sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) of South Africa.

Shark meat consumption may pose a significant risk to human health as high levels of toxic pollutants bioaccumulate in muscular tissue. Commercial harvest of Carcharhinus brachyurus meat in South Africa is estimated at 100-300 filleted tons per annum. Muscle tissue samples from 41 sharks were collected from the southern and eastern coastlines of South Africa in 2022 and analysed for 10 trace elements and 8 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners.

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa's major land uses.

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.

Leopard density and the ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing density in a mixed-use landscape in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Large carnivores face numerous threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, direct killing, and prey depletion, leading to significant global range and population declines. Despite such threats, leopards (Panthera pardus) persist outside protected areas throughout most of their range, occupying diverse habitat types and land uses, including peri-urban and rural areas. Understanding of leopard population dynamics in mixed-use landscapes is limited, especially in South Africa, where the majority of leopard research has focused on protected areas.

Anthropogenic activities and age class mediate carnivore habitat selection in a human-dominated landscape.

Human activities increasingly challenge wild animal populations by disrupting ecological connectivity and population persistence. Yet, human-modified habitats can provide resources, resulting in selection of disturbed areas by generalist species. To investigate spatial and temporal responses of a generalist carnivore to human disturbance, we investigated habitat selection and diel activity patterns in caracals ().

On the Fence: The Impact of Education on Support for Electric Fencing to Prevent Conflict between Humans and Baboons in Kommetjie, South Africa.

Few studies test whether education can help increase support for wildlife management interventions. This mixed methods study sought to test the importance of educating a community on the use of a baboon-proof electric fence to mitigate negative interactions between humans and Chacma baboons () in a residential suburb of the City of Cape Town, South Africa. An educational video on the welfare, conservation and lifestyle benefits of a baboon-proof electric fence was included in a short online survey.

Why humans kill animals and why we cannot avoid it.

Killing animals has been a ubiquitous human behaviour throughout history, yet it is becoming increasingly controversial and criticised in some parts of contemporary human society. Here we review 10 primary reasons why humans kill animals, discuss the necessity (or not) of these forms of killing, and describe the global ecological context for human killing of animals. Humans historically and currently kill animals either directly or indirectly for the following reasons: (1) wild harvest or food acquisition, (2) human health and safety, (3) agriculture and aquaculture, (4) urbanisation and industrialisation, (5) invasive, overabundant or nuisance wildlife control, (6) threatened species conservation, (7) recreation, sport or entertainment, (8) mercy or compassion, (9) cultural and religious practice, and (10) research, education and testing.

Small-livestock farmers' perceived effectiveness of predation control methods and the correlates of reported illegal poison use in the South African Karoo.

The use of poison against predators is pervasive and negatively impacts biodiversity and ecosystem health globally. Little is known about the correlates of poison use as a lethal control method on small-livestock farmland. We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate commercial farmers' experience with and perceived effectiveness of predation control methods, reported poison use and its correlates in the Central Karoo.

Postpartum cessation of urban space use by a female baboon living at the edge of the City of Cape Town.

Species with slow life history strategies that invest in few offspring with extended parental care need to adapt their behavior to cope with anthropogenic changes that occur within their lifetime. Here we show that a female chacma baboon () that commonly ranges within urban space in the City of Cape Town, South Africa, stops using urban space after giving birth. This change of space use occurs without any significant change in daily distance traveled or social interactions that would be expected with general risk-sensitive behavior after birth.

Quantifying allo-grooming in wild chacma baboons () using tri-axial acceleration data and machine learning.

Quantification of activity budgets is pivotal for understanding how animals respond to changes in their environment. Social grooming is a key activity that underpins various social processes with consequences for health and fitness. Traditional methods use direct (focal) observations to calculate grooming rates, providing systematic but sparse data.

Effects of accelerometry-derived physical activity energy expenditure on urinary C-peptide levels in a wild primate (Papio ursinus).

Animals have finite energy reserves for growth, survival, and reproduction and must maintain a stable energy balance. Measuring energy balance in the wild, however, is beset with methodological challenges. Quantification of urinary C-peptide (uCP), a proxy for insulin secretion, has enabled researchers to non-invasively estimate energy balance, and positive relationships between uCP levels and energy intake have been documented in numerous non-human primates.

Seasonal Movement Patterns of Urban Domestic Cats Living on the Edge in an African City.

Domestic cats () are amongst the most destructive invasive vertebrates globally, depredating billions of native animals annually. The size and seasonal variation of their geographical "footprint" is key to understanding their effects on wildlife, particularly if they live near conservation areas. Here we report the first GPS-tracking studies of free-roaming owned cats in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.

Poisoned chalice: Use of transformed landscapes associated with increased persistent organic pollutant concentrations and potential immune effects for an adaptable carnivore.

Wildlife around cities bioaccumulate multiple harmful environmental pollutants associated with human activities. Exposure severity can vary based on foraging behaviour and habitat use, which can be examined to elucidate exposure pathways. Carnivores can play vital roles in ecosystem stability but are particularly vulnerable to bioaccumulation of pollutants.

Troubled spots: Human impacts constrain the density of an apex predator inside protected areas.

Effective conservation requires understanding the processes that determine population outcomes. Too often, we assume that protected areas conserve wild populations despite evidence that they frequently fail to do so. Without large-scale studies, however, we cannot determine what relationships are the product of localized conditions versus general patterns that inform conservation more broadly.

Simultaneous investigation of urinary and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations reveals short- versus long-term drivers of HPA-axis activity in a wild primate (Papio ursinus).

Glucocorticoids (GCs), a class of steroid hormones released through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, perform many vital functions essential for survival, including orchestrating an organism's response to stressors by modulating physiological and behavioural responses. Assessing changes and variation in GC metabolites from faecal or urine samples allows for the non-invasive monitoring of HPA-axis activity across vertebrates. The time lag of hormone excretion differs between these sample matrices, which has implications for their suitability for studying effects of different temporal nature on HPA-axis activity.

Flexible group cohesion and coordination, but robust leader-follower roles, in a wild social primate using urban space.

Collective behaviour has a critical influence on group social structure and organization, individual fitness and social evolution, but we know little about whether and how it changes in anthropogenic environments. Here, we show multiple and varying effects of urban space-use upon group-level processes in a primate generalist-the chacma baboon ()-within a managed wild population living at the urban edge in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. In natural space, we observe baboon-typical patterns of collective behaviour.

The naked truth: a comprehensive clarification and classification of current 'myths' in naked mole-rat biology.

The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) has fascinated zoologists for at least half a century. It has also generated considerable biomedical interest not only because of its extraordinary longevity, but also because of unusual protective features (e.g.

Beauty or beast? Farmers' dualistic views and the influence of aesthetic appreciation on tolerance towards black-backed jackal and caracal.

Various species of wild, adaptable, medium-sized carnivores occur outside of protected areas, often coming into contact with people and their domestic animals. Negative human-carnivore interactions can lead to antagonistic attitudes and behavior directed at such species. In the South African Karoo, a semi-arid rangeland, the predation of small-livestock by mesopredators is common and farmers typically use a combination of non-lethal and lethal methods to try and prevent livestock losses.

Behavioral Causes, Ecological Consequences, and Management Challenges Associated with Wildlife Foraging in Human-Modified Landscapes.

Humans have altered up to half of the world's land surface. Wildlife living within or close to these human-modified landscapes are presented with opportunities and risks associated with feeding on human-derived foods (e.g.

Energetics at the urban edge: Environmental and individual predictors of urinary C-peptide levels in wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus).

As human-modified landscapes encroach into natural habitats, wildlife face a reduction in natural food sources but also gain access to calorie-rich, human-derived foods. However, research into the energetics of wildlife living within and adjacent to urban and rural landscapes is lacking. C-peptide - a proxy for insulin production and a diagnostic tool for assessing pancreatic function in humans and domestic animals - can be quantified non-invasively from urine (uCP) and may provide a way to investigate the energetic correlates of living in human-altered landscapes.

Molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in caracals (Caracal caracal) living in human-modified landscapes of South Africa.

Background: Wild carnivores living alongside humans and domestic animals are vulnerable to changes in the infectious disease dynamics in their populations. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and diversity of selected tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) of veterinary and/or zoonotic concern in wild populations of caracals (Caracal caracal) occurring in human-modified landscapes in South Africa. Using molecular techniques, we screened 57 caracal blood samples for infection by rickettsial bacteria and piroplasms in three regions of South Africa: rangeland in the Central Karoo (n = 27) and Namaqualand (n = 14) as well as the urban edge of the Cape Peninsula (n = 16) of South Africa.

Unsustainable anthropogenic mortality disrupts natal dispersal and promotes inbreeding in leopards.

Anthropogenic mortality of wildlife is typically inferred from measures of the absolute decline in population numbers. However, increasing evidence suggests that indirect demographic effects including changes to the age, sex, and social structure of populations, as well as the behavior of survivors, can profoundly impact population health and viability. Specifically, anthropogenic mortality of wildlife (especially when unsustainable) and fragmentation of the spatial distribution of individuals (home-ranges) could disrupt natal dispersal mechanisms, with long-term consequences to genetic structure, by compromising outbreeding behavior and gene flow.

Testicular Structure and Spermatogenesis in the Naked Mole-Rat Is Unique (Degenerate) and Atypical Compared to Other Mammals.

The naked mole-rat (NMR) queen controls reproduction in her eusocial colony by usually selecting one male for reproduction and suppressing gametogenesis in all other males and females. Simplified, polymorphic and slow-swimming spermatozoa in the NMR seem to have been shaped by a low risk of sperm competition. We hypothesize that this unique mammalian social organization has had a dramatic influence on testicular features and spermatogenesis in the NMR.

High Seroprevalence of in an Urban Caracal () Population in South Africa.

We investigated antibody seroprevalence in free-ranging caracals () in Cape Town, South Africa, from 2014 to 2017. Seropositivity was 83% (24/29), which is substantially higher than that detected in sympatric feral domestic cat () populations. The impact of this pathogen on local human and wildlife communities may be of concern.