Assessment of the hunting of mammals using local ecological knowledge: an example from the Brazilian semiarid region

Belarmino Carneiro Silva Neto, André Luiz Borba Nascimento, Nicola Schiel, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves (), Antonio Souto and Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque ()
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Belarmino Carneiro Silva Neto: Federal Rural University of Pernambuco
André Luiz Borba Nascimento: Federal Rural University of Pernambuco
Nicola Schiel: Federal Rural University of Pernambuco
Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba
Antonio Souto: Federal University of Pernambuco
Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque: Federal Rural University of Pernambuco

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2017, vol. 19, issue 5, No 11, 1795-1813

Abstract: Abstract The hunting of wild animals remains a common activity in various parts of the world, especially in rural communities with poor socioeconomic conditions. To investigate patterns of mammal hunting, this study adopted a rural community located in semiarid Brazil as a model to test whether variables such as perceived abundance, activity period (day or night) and animal biomass could influence the consumption potential of mammal taxa. For this study, a checklist/interview technique using 32 photographs of mammals recorded in the region and two photographs of species that did not occur in the region, which acted as “control” species, was used, in addition to other visual stimuli and free lists. All species presented in the photographs, with the exception of the “control” species, were recognized as occurring in the region. Fourteen species were cited as being those most hunted locally. The species cited as most hunted had an average perceived abundance higher than the group of the least-hunted species. However, there was no significant relationship between hunting of a species and its locally perceived abundance. No significant difference in hunting pressure between diurnal and nocturnal species was found, nor was a relationship between animal biomass and hunting pressure observed. Our findings suggest that perceived abundance is an important factor for choosing a resource fauna, but other factors such as intended use, meat flavor and vulnerability to hunting, among others, may influence the potential use of a species.

Keywords: Game animals; Ethnobiology; Ethnozoology; Human ecology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-016-9827-2

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