The Pendjari National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in northern Bénin, West Africa, constitutes one of the last refuges for African megafauna in the region. It is threatened by many factors, such as ecosystem degradation, insecurity and poaching. Getting insights into the perceptions of all stakeholders having an interest for and/or an influence on the park is key to inform an effective management of the protected area and its unique biodiversity. We therefore identified priority conservation and management measures through a participatory approach adopting elements of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. A structured priority-setting exercise involving scientists, local authorities, park managers and representatives of local communities led to the formulation of over 70 conservation and management measures addressing prioritized threats on three priority ecosystem services provided by the Pendjari ecosystem: food supply, water supply and tourism. A group consensus was reached on measures implying more organic farming in the area (both to preserve food and to secure water supply), improved land use planning, soil fertility improvement practices, reinforcement of water supply through pumps, maintenance of tracks, advocacy towards private lodges, and promotional communication. The study concludes that conservation outcomes can be enhanced through stronger local stakeholder ownership and the implementation of practical measures based on the long-term provision of a diverse set of ecosystem services. It also highlights the multiple benefits of participatory decision-making in the context of a UNESCO Biosphere reserve, which serves as living laboratory to foster sustainable human-nature relationships.
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Homeomorphy is common in the valves and carapaces of Ostracoda. One of the best-known examples in non-marine ostracods is the morphological similarity in the extreme armature of anterior and posterior spines on the left valve in both Strandesia bicornuta Hartmann, 1964 from India and in Rudjakoviella prolongata (Triebel, 1962) Malz, 1973 from Margarita Island (West Indies). Here, we describe a third representative with such armature, Pseudocypricercus bonito gen. nov. spec. nov. from Brazil. These new taxa belong to the Cypricercinae McKenzie, 1971, which is characterized by the presence of the Triebel's loop in the middle of the attachment of the caudal ramus. The main characteristics of Pseudocypricercus gen. nov. are the shape and length of the β seta on the mandibular palp, which is slender and elongated, compared to other genera of this subfamily; the absence of seta d on the first thoracopod, and the absence of seta d2 on the second thoracopod, amongst other features. Pseudocypricercus bonito gen. nov. spec. nov. also has large anterior and posterior spines on the left valve as well as a posterior spine and the anterior blunt protrusion on the right valve. In addition, both the mandibular coxa and the third endite of the maxillula have remarkable large fist-like setae, while the male right prehensive palp has a perpendicularly positioned second segment. The similar armature on left valve and right valve in this taxon makes the homeomorphy known from R. prolongata and S. bicornuta into a “three-species problem”.
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