Wild-captive interactions and economics drive dynamics of Asian elephants in Laos
| Autor: | Baptiste Mulot, Vatsana Chanthavong, Gilles Maurer, Olivier Gimenez, Benjamin S. Rashford |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Male Species distribution Population Elephants Endangered species lcsh:Medicine Zoology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Article Elephas Animals Humans Mating lcsh:Science education education.field_of_study Multidisciplinary Extinction biology Captive elephants lcsh:R Forestry 15. Life on land biology.organism_classification Fecundity 010601 ecology Laos lcsh:Q Female |
| Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2017) |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Popis: | The interactions between wild and captive populations of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) persist in most countries of the species distribution, notably through the reproduction between captive females and wild males. However, these complex interactions have been poorly studied, despite their relevance for conservation of this endangered species. Laos has a centuries-long tradition of raising Asian elephants. Besides being cultural icons, captive elephants are inextricably linked to economics through their work in forestry. Using an ecological-economic model, we investigated the effect of socio-economic strategies on fecundity of the Lao population whose dynamics is shaped by human practices. We demonstrated that fecundity is impacted by: i) the dynamics of the wild elephant pool through mating of captive females by wild males, and ii) the financial incentive of elephant owners to breed their animals. As a result, we expect fecundity to rise in response to increases in elephant prices. The captive population will tend towards an asymptotic limit determined by the wild pool growth rate. However, the population will tend to extinction if exports continue. Our ecological-economic approach, by accounting for economic incentives, allows us to predict new equilibria that can serve as a baseline for designing sustainable management strategies for the species. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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