Researchers at the University of British Columbia recently released a swath of amazing animal photos taken from camera traps across four continents.
The study, conducted by UBC’s faculty of forestry, analyzed data from 8,671 camera traps and found more mammal diversity in survey areas where habitat had a protected designation compared to forests and other wilderness areas that lacked that designation.
“This is not shocking news in itself, but it is exciting evidence of the critical role that parks and nature reserves play in wildlife conservation,” said Dr. Cole Burton, the study’s senior author.
The study found the results were the same even when these protected areas experienced human disturbances such as recreational use and logging.
“As international discussions continue on new global targets for expanding protected areas, it’s important to be able to measure the benefits of the protections that do currently exist,” Burton said.
Protected areas are the final strongholds of many endangered mammals, noted Burton, adding that mammals are a particularly challenging group to protect because they require large areas for habitat, and so tend to come into conflict with people.
“If we want to keep larger mammals around, along with the critical roles they play in ecosystems, we need to continue focusing on the growth of the protected area network,” said Burton.
To read more about the study’s findings you can see the published in the scientific journal Conservation Letters.
