Communications Earth & Environment (Aug 2023)
Socio-political and ecological fragility of threatened, free-ranging African lion populations
- Samantha K. Nicholson,
- Amy Dickman,
- Amy Hinks,
- Jason Riggio,
- Hans Bauer,
- Andrew Loveridge,
- Matthew Becker,
- Colleen Begg,
- Shivani Bhalla,
- Dawn Burnham,
- Alayne Cotterill,
- Stephanie Dolrenry,
- Egil Dröge,
- Paul Funston,
- Leela Hazzah,
- Dennis Ikanda,
- Fikirte Gebresenbet,
- Philipp Henschel,
- Roseline L. Mandisodza-Chikerema,
- Moreangels Mbizah,
- Luke Hunter,
- Kim Jacobsen,
- Peter Lindsey,
- Nakedi Maputla,
- Ewan Macdonald,
- David W. Macdonald,
- Resson Kantai Duff,
- Craig Packer,
- Claudio Sillero-Zubiri,
- Tutilo Mudumba,
- Paolo Strampelli,
- Etotépé A. Sogbohossou,
- Peter Tyrrell,
- Andrew P. Jacobson
Affiliations
- Samantha K. Nicholson
- The Endangered Wildlife Trust
- Amy Dickman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Amy Hinks
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Jason Riggio
- Museum of Wildlife & Fish Biology, Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California
- Hans Bauer
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Andrew Loveridge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Matthew Becker
- Zambian Carnivore Programme, PO Box 80 Mfuwe Eastern Province
- Colleen Begg
- Niassa Carnivore Programme, Postnet Suite 230
- Shivani Bhalla
- Ewaso Lions, PO Box 14996, Nairobi
- Dawn Burnham
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Alayne Cotterill
- Lion Landscapes, Highcliffe
- Stephanie Dolrenry
- Lion Landscapes, Highcliffe
- Egil Dröge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Paul Funston
- African Lion Conservation
- Leela Hazzah
- Lion Landscapes, Highcliffe
- Dennis Ikanda
- WWF Tanzania Country Office Plot 252, Kiko Avenue Mikocheni PO Box
- Fikirte Gebresenbet
- Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire
- Philipp Henschel
- Panthera
- Roseline L. Mandisodza-Chikerema
- Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority P O Box
- Moreangels Mbizah
- Wildlife Conservation Action
- Luke Hunter
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Southern Boulevard
- Kim Jacobsen
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Peter Lindsey
- Lion Recovery Fund, Wildlife Conservation Network
- Nakedi Maputla
- African Wildlife Foundation, Appartement 3 A, 3è niveau Immeuble les Palmiers Kinshasa
- Ewan Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Resson Kantai Duff
- Ewaso Lions, PO Box 14996, Nairobi
- Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota 1479 Gortner Avenue
- Claudio Sillero-Zubiri
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Tutilo Mudumba
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Paolo Strampelli
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Etotépé A. Sogbohossou
- Lab of Applied Ecology, University of Abomey-Calavi
- Peter Tyrrell
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford
- Andrew P. Jacobson
- Department of Environment and Sustainability, Catawba College
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00959-3
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 4,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 18
Abstract
Abstract Lions are one of the world’s most iconic species but are threatened with extinction. Developing effective range-wide conservation plans are crucial but hampered by the relative lack of knowledge on specific threats facing each population and the socio-political context for conservation. Here, we present a range-wide examination of the relative fragility of lion populations, examining socio-political factors alongside ecological ones. We found Ethiopia’s Maze National Park had the most ecologically fragile geographic population while Kavango-Zambezi was the least. At a country level, lion populations had highest ecological fragility in Cameroon and Malawi. When we examined socio-political fragility, Somalia was the most fragile lion range country, followed by South Sudan. When socio-political and ecological fragility were combined, lion populations in Maze National Park and Bush-Bush (Somalia) and more broadly, Somalian and Malawian lion populations were the most fragile. These insights should help inform more nuanced and appropriately targeted lion conservation plans.
