David Macdonald

University of Oxford | OX · Department of Zoology

Although the spotted hyaena ( Crocuta crocuta ) has been widely considered to be resilient to human disturbance, the species is now thought to be undergoing widespread population declines. Nevertheless, only a handful of population density estimates are available for the species, despite the importance of this information for informing conservation...

Animals in the wild continually experience changes in environmental and social conditions, which they respond to with behavioural, physiological and morphological adaptations related to individual phenotypic quality. During unfavourable environmental conditions, reproduction can be traded-off against self-maintenance, mediated through changes in re...

ContextReductions in the tiger’s (Panthera tigris) range in Southeast Asia have been concurrent with large infrastructure expansion and landscape change. Thailand’s Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex (DPKY), a landscape of tiger conservation priority, may be particularly vulnerable to such changes, necessitating investigations into effects on po...

Providing sufficient benefits to local people can be an important component of effective and equitable conservation, especially where local communities face substantial opportunity costs or disbenefits from conservation. However, the distribution of benefits to local people is often inadequate or inequitable. In this study we investigated the heter...

In a study of more than 3,000 participants from nine countries, we explored peoples’ preferences for the conservation of two groups of species that frequently interact with humans: large carnivores (n=29 species in the order Carnivora with average adult body mass > 15 kg), and wild canids and wild felids (n=73 species). We presented participants wi...

In the face of a growing human footprint, understanding interactions among threatened large carnivores is fundamental to effectively mitigating anthro- pogenic threats and managing species. Using data from a large-scale camera trap survey, we investigated the effects of environmental and anthropogenic variables on the interspecific interaction of a...

Species occur in sympatric assemblages, bound together by ecological relationships and interspecific interactions. Borneo and Sumatra host some of the richest assemblages of biota worldwide. The region, however, faces the highest global deforestation rates, which seriously threaten its unique biodiversity. We used a large camera trap dataset that r...

Conservation scientists are increasingly recognizing the need to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve human-wildlife coexistence across different contexts. Here we assessed the long-term efficacy of the Long Shields Community Guardians programme in Zimbabwe. This community-based programme seeks to protect livestock and prevent dep...

Although less studied than interspecific interactions, interactions among members of the same species can influence space use and temporal activity. Using techniques commonly applied to the analysis of interspecific interactions – multi-species occupancy modelling and the analysis of temporal activity patterns – we studied intraspecific interaction...

Land-use change has led to substantial range contractions for many species. Such contractions are particularly acute for wide-ranging large carnivores in Asia’s high altitude areas, which are marked by high spatiotemporal variability in resources. Current conservation planning for human-dominated landscapes often takes one of two main approaches: a...

Rates at which predators encounter, hunt and kill prey are influenced by, among other things, the intrinsic condition of prey. Diseases can considerably compromise body condition, potentially weakening ability of afflicted prey to avoid predation. Understanding predator–prey dynamics is particularly important when both species are threatened, as is...

In 2013, we launched a community-based human-lion conflict intervention in western Zimbabwe, to mitigate livestock depredation by African lions (Panthera leo) and the retaliatory killing of lions by local farmers. Our objective was to promote human-lion coexistence by encouraging farmers to adopt livestock husbandry practices that reduce the risk o...

Article impact statement: : Conservationists, mindful of perils of procrastination, should not wait for in situ actions to fail before considering ex situ solutions.

Home range size is a fundamental measure of animal space use, providing insight into habitat quality, animal density, and social organization. Human impacts are increasingly affecting wildlife, especially among wide-ranging species that encounter anthropogenic disturbance. Leopards (Panthera pardus) provide a useful model for studying this relation...

Large carnivores have extensive spatial requirements, which often result in ranges that span geopolitical borders. Consequently, management of transboundary populations is subject to different political jurisdictions, often with high heterogeneity in conservation challenges. In continental Asia, there are four endangered leopard subspecies with tra...

We used radiocollars and GPS collars to determine the movements and habitat selection of golden jackals (Canis aureus) in a seasonally dry deciduous forest with no human settlements in eastern Cambodia. We also collected and analyzed 147 scats from jackals to determine their seasonal diet and prey selection. The mean (± SE) annual size of home-rang...

Context Understanding the environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing habitat selection of multiple species is a foundation for quantifying human impacts on biodiversity and developing effective conservation measures. Objectives To determine the effect of multiple scales of environmental/topographic and anthropogenic variables and landscap...

Understanding individual variation in fitness‐related traits requires separating the environmental and genetic determinants. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that are thought to be a biomarker of senescence as their length predicts mortality risk and reflect the physiological consequences of environmental conditions. The rel...

Context Effective planning for protected areas and wildlife population management requires a firm understanding of the location of the species’ core habitat patches, the dispersal corridors connecting them, and the risk they face from key threats, notably deforestation. Objectives To quantify and map core habitat patches and dispersal corridors fo...

Apex predators play important roles in ecosystem functioning and, where they coexist, intraguild interactions can have profound effects on trophic relationships. Interactions between predators range from intraguild predation and competition to facilitation through scavenging opportunities. Despite the increased availability of fine-scale GPS data,...

West Asian drylands host a number of threatened large carnivores, including the leopard (Panthera pardus) which is limited generally to areas with low primary productivity. While conservation efforts have focused on these areas for several decades, reliable population density estimates are missing for many of them. Spatially explicit capture-recapt...

Resource availability is a key component in animal ecology, yet the manner in which carnivore populations respond to spatial and temporal fluctuations of resources remains unclear. We take a population-level approach to determine how resource pulses, in this case a temporary hyper-abundance of prey, influence the densities and space-use of cheetahs...

The Sunda Clouded Leopard Neofelis diardi is the apex predator on the island of Borneo, yet little is known of its ecology. We document the length of residency of male Sunda Clouded Leopards in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Over 10 years, camera trap data have been obtained in the Sebangau peat swamp forest in a study area of ~ 105km2. We...

Background There is a rich body of literature addressing the topic of illegal hunting of wild terrestrial mammals. Studies on this topic have risen over the last decade as species are under increasing risk from anthropogenic threats. Sub-Saharan Africa contains the highest number of terrestrial mammals listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically...

Rates of biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia are among the highest in the world, and the Indo-Burma and South-Central China Biodiversity Hotspots rank among the world’s most threatened. Developing robust multi-species conservation models is critical for stemming biodiversity loss both here and globally. We used a large and geographically extensive...

Trade-driven killing for body parts has long been a major cause of population decline for a number of big cat species. There are now worrying suggestions that commercialised illegal trade in body parts might become a threat for wild lions in Africa, and recent concerns have been raised that trade in captive-bred lion skeletons from South Africa may...

Woody plant encroachment (WPE) is reshaping the physiognomy of grasslands and savannahs worldwide. At the same time, this habitat conversion is accelerating the loss of associated biodiversity. In general, studies on WPE have focused on abiotic factors, singly or in combination, that trigger this phenomenon. Despite its ecological relevance, very f...

Reactivation of latent Gammaherpesvirus in the genital tract can lead to reproductive failure in domestic animals. Nevertheless, this pathophysiology has not received formal study in wild mammals. High prevalence of Mustelid gammaherpesvirus 1 (MusGHV-1) DNA detected in the genital tracts of European badgers (Meles meles) implies that this common p...

Satellites allow large-scale surveys to be conducted in short time periods with repeat surveys possible <24hrs. Very high-resolution satellite imagery has been successfully used to detect and count a number of wildlife species in open, homogeneous landscapes and seascapes where target animals have a strong contrast with their environment. However,...

Environmental variations can influence the extent to which individuals interact with other individuals by changing the value of grouping. It is well known that many species can form and disband groups, often in response to the distribution and abundance of resources. While previous studies showed that resources influence the broad‐scale structure o...

We determined the consumption of fruits and estimated potential seed dispersal of a canid community in semi-arid ecosystems of South Africa by comparing diets, defecation sites, densities and potential seed shadows of cape foxes (Vulpes chama), bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) and black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) on Ben-fontein and Rooipoo...

West Asian drylands host a number of threatened large carnivores, including the leopard (Panthera pardus) which is limited to spatially scattered landscapes with generally low primary productivity. While conservation efforts have focused on these areas for several decades, reliable population density estimates are missing. Spatially-explicit captur...

Human–wildlife conflicts are complex and defy simple explanations and solutions. The fields of conflict analysis and peacebuilding offer insights into the intensity, intractability, and possible approaches to addressing different kinds of conflict. Building on these fields, as well as advances in conservation practice, we adapt a framework for huma...

Persian leopards Panthera pardus saxicolor have been extirpated from over 84% of their historic range, and are now limited to rugged landscapes of west Asia and the Caucasus. Understanding and maintaining genetic diversity and population connectivity is important for preventing inbreeding and genetic drift, both of which can threaten population via...

Habitat loss caused by deforestation is a global driver of predator population declines. However, few studies have focussed on these effects for mesopredator populations, particularly the cryptic and elusive species inhabiting tropical rainforests. We conducted camera trapping from 2009–11 and 2014–16, and used occupancy modelling to understand tre...

Temporal partitioning can allow sympatric carnivores to coexist, especially if overlap of other resources is high. Using camera trap data from 2013 to 2017, we investigated the temporal partitioning of a community of wild felids and a canid in Nam Et–Phou Louey National Protected Area, Laos, to determine the extent to which temporal avoidance might...

Transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) have the potential to provide havens for large carnivores while preserving connectivity across wider mixed-use landscapes. However, information on the status of species in such landscapes is lacking, despite being a prerequisite for effective conservation planning. We contribute information to this gap for l...

The ball python ( Python regius ) is the most traded, CITES listed, live animal exported from Africa. Recent studies have raised concerns as to whether production methods in Africa are sustainable, humane and compliant with legislation. To aid future management we explored export patterns, using the CITES and U.S. LEMIS database, for live ball pyth...

Evidence for age-related changes in innate and adaptive immune responses is increasing in wild populations. Such changes have been linked to fitness, and knowledge of the factors driving immune response variation is important for understanding the evolution of immunity. Age-related changes in immune profiles may be owing to factors such as immune s...

Context: With accelerating global declines in biodiversity, establishment and expansion of conservation areas (CAs) have increasingly been advocated in recent decades. Gap analysis has been useful to evaluate the sufficiency and performance of CAs. Objectives: Researchers often identify putative gaps in the protection of biodiversity in CA network...

Our review of the CITES trade database confirmed that the ball python is the most exported species by Togo; with 1,657,814 live individuals-comprising 60% of all live reptiles-reported by importing countries since 1978 (almost 55,000 annually since 1992). In total, 99% of the ball pythons legally exported from Togo under CITES were intended for com...

Endangered dholes ( Cuon alpinus ) are restricted to small and declining populations in Southeast Asia, and little is known about how their ecology differs within the region. We used DNA‐confirmed scats and prey surveys to determine the seasonal diet and prey selection of dholes in 2 different landscapes that dominate Southeast Asia: closed evergre...

A controversial, multifaceted debate surrounds the trade in commercially captive-bred (farmed) lion skeletons. A prominent topic relates to relative preferences for tiger and lion bone in Asian consumer countries. To contribute preliminary information on this subject we conducted the first quantitative study to assess the consumer preferences of th...

Animals living at high population densities are expected to experience greater exposure to disease, leading to greater parasite burdens. However, social animals can accrue immunological and hygienic benefits from group living, and individuals can often minimise exposure using avoidance behaviours, so the costs and benefits of sociality for disease...

Most species of wild felids are threatened, but for many little is known about their status in the wild. For the cryptic and elusive Vulnerable Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi , key metrics such as abundance and occupancy have been challenging to obtain. We conducted an intensive survey for this species on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. We...

Passive acoustic monitoring is rapidly gaining recognition as a practical, affordable and robust tool for measuring gun hunting levels within protected areas, and consequently for its potential to evaluate anti-poaching patrols’ effectiveness based on outcome (i.e., change in hunting pressure) rather than effort (e.g., kilometres patrolled) or outp...

Many have stridently recommended banning markets like the one where COVID-19 originally spread. We highlight that millions of people around the world depend on markets for subsistence and the diverse use of animals globally defies uniform bans. We argue that the immediate and fair priority is critical scrutiny of wildlife trade.

Information on population characteristics of Paraechinusis is valuable for ensuring long term survival of populations, however, studies are currently lacking. Here we investigate the population dynamics of Ethiopian hedgehogs based on a capture-mark-recapture study in Qatar by fitting Jolly-Seber and Cormack-Jolly-Seber models. Over the 19 months o...

We explored the perceptions held by subsistence farmers (living in communal lands within the CAMPFIRE programme area in northwestern Zimbabwe) towards the African lion (Panthera leo) and related conservation interventions undertaken by management authorities. Conceptually guided by the cognitive hierarchy, we used a semi-structured, face-to-face in...

Determining the contexts of emission and information content of vocal signals can yield insights into the function of different call types, and remains an important step towards understanding the diversification of mammalian vocal repertoires. In this study, we used infra-red video cameras and remote audio recorders to document seasonal and context...

Accurately quantifying species’ area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area‐based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home‐range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on previous work,...

Conflict between people and carnivores can lead to the widespread killing of predators in retaliation for livestock loss and is a major threat to predator populations. In Kenya, a large, rural, pastoralist population comes into regular conflict with predators, which persist across southern Kenya. We explored the social and psychological backdrop to...

Among the Carnivora, there is sparse evidence for any substantive fitness benefits of post reproductive lifespan (PRLS, survival after reproductive cessation, RC). Using the European badger (Meles meles) as a model species, we analyzed sex-specific cross-sectional endocrinological and morphological data to investigate: 1) age-dependent reproductive...

The persistent high deforestation rate and fragmentation of the Amazon forests are the main threats to their biodiversity. To anticipate and mitigate these threats, it is important to understand and predict how species respond to the rapidly changing landscape. The short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis is the only Amazon-endemic canid and one of the...

We examine the extent to which intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence reproductive phenology in male bats at the population level. Using data from thirteen breeding seasons (2006–2018), encompassing the reproductive histories of 1546 Myotis daubentonii and 530 M. nattereri males, we compare rates of sexual maturation and the temporal distributio...

The authors wish to make the following corrections to their paper [...]

Life‐history and pace‐of‐life syndrome (POLS) theory predict that populations are comprised of individuals exhibiting different reproductive schedules and associated behavioural and physiological traits, optimised to prevailing social and environmental factors. Changing weather and social conditions provide in situ cues altering this life‐history o...

The bush-meat poaching crisis is a significant threat to biodiversity in tropical forest and savannah biomes, however its impacts on wild animal populations are often difficult to quantify across large spatial scales. Using data from 17 camera trap survey sites in southern Africa, within the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area, w...

The wildlife trade threatens global biodiversity and animal welfare, where parrots are among the taxa most frequently traded, supplying exotic pets and captive breeders worldwide. Using phylogenetic path analysis, we examine how biological factors interact with price to influence online protected parrot trade volumes in China, using transactions re...

We investigated short-eared dog habitat associations on two spatial scales. First, we used the largest record database ever compiled for short-eared dogs in combination with species distribution models to map species habitat suitability, estimate its distribution range and predict shifts in species distribution in response to predicted deforestatio...

Traditional medicine beliefs are culturally important in some West African communities, where there is a thriving domestic consumer demand for wild animal derivatives. Yet, such practices can threaten the conservation of wild populations and negatively impact animal welfare. To identify those species most likely to be affected, we investigated wild...

The ball python ( Python regius ) is the single most exported live CITES-listed species from Africa, with a large proportion of snakes being sourced from Togo, West Africa, officially via a system reported nationally as “ranching”. This study represents the first in-depth review of ball python hunting being carried out by rural communities in Togo...

Apex carnivores are wide-ranging, low-density, hard to detect, and declining throughout most of their range, making population monitoring both critical and challenging. Rapid and inexpensive index calibration survey (ICS) methods have been developed to monitor large African carnivores. ICS methods assume constant detection probability and a predict...