Michael P. Gilmore

The socio-cultural importance of Mauritia flexuosa palm swamps (aguajales) and implications for multi-use management in two Maijuna communities of the Peruvian Amazon

BackgroundFruit from the palm Mauritia flexuosa (aguaje) is harvested throughout the Peruvian Amazon for subsistence and commercial purposes. Recent estimates suggest that residents of Iquitos, the largest city in the region, consume approximately 148.8 metric tons of aguaje fruit per month, the vast majority of which is harvested by felling and killing adult female trees. In this study, we sought to better understand and document the importance of M. flexuosa palm swamps (aguajales) in two Maijuna indigenous communities to inform the sustainable management of this habitat and species.MethodsSemi-structured interviews, focus groups, and household surveys were carried out to assess the significance of aguajales and their associated plant and animal resources as well as to determine how the relationship that the Maijuna have with aguajales has changed over time.ResultsAguajales and their associated resources are culturally significant and useful to the Maijuna in a wide variety of ways. In addition to M. flexuosa, the Maijuna use over 60 different species of plants from aguajales. When M. flexuosa is in fruit, aguajales are important hunting areas with a total of 20 different animal species hunted. The Maijuna also have traditional beliefs about aguajales, believing that malevolent supernatural beings reside in them. Notably, the relationship that the Maijuna have with aguajales has changed considerably over the years as aguaje fruit went from a subsistence item collected opportunistically from the ground to a market good destructively harvested beginning in the early 1990s. The Maijuna are concerned not only about how this has affected the future commercial harvest of aguaje but also about its effects on game animals given the importance of hunting to Maijuna cultural identity, subsistence, and income generation.ConclusionsIn order to meet the multiple socio-cultural and economic needs of the Maijuna, sustainable management efforts must be expanded to not only focus on the commercial harvest of aguaje but also other facets of their relationship with this habitat. Our study suggests that the research and development of multi-use forest management plans must not be restricted to commercial forest products and ecosystem services given that many communities rely on tropical forests for a wide range of non-market cultural, economic, and subsistence goods and services.ResumenAntecedentesLa fruta de la palma Mauritia flexuosa (aguaje) se cosecha en toda la Amazonía peruana con fines de subsistencia y comerciales. Recientes estimados sugieren que los habitantes de Iquitos, la ciudad más grande en la región, consumen aproximadamente 148.8 toneladas métricas de fruta mensualmente, la gran mayoría de las cuales se cosecha mediante la tala de palmas adultas de genero femenino. En este estudio, hemos tratado de comprender y documentar la importancia de los pantanos de las palmeras M. flexuosa (aguajales) en dos de las comunidades indígenas Maijuna y de esta manera informar el manejo sostenible de este hábitat y esta especie.MétodosEntrevistas semiestructuradas, grupos focales y encuestas a hogares se llevaron a cabo para evaluar la importancia de aguajales y los recursos de plantas y animales asociados a estos. Así como también para determinar cómo la relación que tienen los Maijuna con los aguajales ha cambiado a través del tiempo.ResultadosLos aguajales y los recursos asociados con estos son culturalmente significativos y útiles para los Maijuna en una amplia variedad de formas. Adicionalmente a M. flexuosa, los Maijuna utilizan más de 60 diferentes especies de plantas en los aguajales. Cuando la cosecha de fruta de M. flexuosa ocurre, los aguajales son importantes áreas de caza ya que un total de 20 especies diferentes de animales pueden ser casados. Los Maijuna también tienen creencias tradicionales relacionadas a los aguajales, existe una creencia que seres sobrenaturales malévolos residen en allí. Es de destacar que la relación que tienen los Maijuna con los aguajales ha cambiado considerablemente a través del tiempo, ya que el fruto de aguaje pasó de ser un elemento de subsistencia recolectado de manera oportunista de la tierra, a un bien de mercado cosechado de manera destructiva desde principios de los 1990. Los Maijuna están preocupados no sólo sobre cómo esta practica ha afectado el futuro de la cosecha comercial del aguaje, sino también sobre sus efectos en los animales de caza, dada la importancia que tienen la caza en su identidad cultural y su subsistencia y generación de ingresos.ConclusionesCon el fin de satisfacer las múltiples necesidades socio-culturales y económicas de los Maijuna, los esfuerzos de manejo sostenible deben expandirse a enfocar no sólo a la cosecha comercial de aguaje, sino también tener en cuenta otras facetas de su relación con este hábitat. Dado que muchas comunidades dependen de los bosques tropicales en una amplia gama de aspectos culturales, económicos y de subsistencia que no están relacionados al mercado, nuestro estudio sugiere que la investigación y el desarrollo de los planes de usos múltiples para el manejo forestal no deben limitarse únicamente a los productos forestales comerciales y a los servicios de los ecosistemas.

The Use of Participatory Mapping in Ethnobiological Research, Biocultural Conservation, and Community Empowerment: A Case Study From the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract This paper describes in detail a community-based participatory mapping project that was carried out in collaboration with the Maijuna of the Peruvian Amazon. We use this project as a case study to explore the role that participatory mapping can play in ethnobiological studies and to examine the rich and diverse range of data that this methodology can generate, ultimately shedding light on how indigenous and local communities use, perceive, and interact with their environment and resources. Additionally, participatory mapping can be a powerful tool for biocultural conservation and community empowerment. This is especially critical given that many ethnobiologists work with marginalized indigenous and local communities experiencing enormous sociocultural and environmental change and challenges. Given the great potential of this methodology we strongly feel that participatory mapping can and should play a more significant role in ethnobiological studies. Resumen Este artículo describe en detalle un proyecto comunitario basado en el mapeo participativo que se elaboró en colaboración con los Maijuna de la Amazonia Peruana. Usamos este proyecto como estudio de caso para explorar el papel que el mapeo participativo puede tener en los estudios etnobiológicos y para examinar la amplia y rica gama de datos que se pueden generar con esta metodología para determinar cómo las comunidades indígenas y locales usan, perciben, e interactúan con su medio ambiente y sus recursos. Además el mapeo participativo puede ser una poderosa herramienta para la conservación biocultural y el fortalecimiento comunitario. Esto es especialmente importante, ya que muchos etnobiólogos trabajan con comunidades indígenas y locales marginalizadas que están experimentando enormes cambios y retos socioculturales y medioambientales. Dado el gran potencial de esta metodología creemos firmemente que el mapeo participativo puede y debe tener un papel más relevante en los estudios etnobiológicos.

Physiological impacts of housing maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) with female relatives or unrelated males

The maned wolf is a threatened canid species native to South America. Previous studies have suggested the species exhibits induced ovulation. In captive breeding facilities, reproductive success is low while rates of neonatal mortality are high. Females that are not recommended for breeding are frequently housed together. However there has never been a systematic study of the reproductive consequences of co-housing females. This study was conducted for three purposes, to: (1) corroborate the presence of induced ovulation, (2) determine whether elevated cortisol is implicated in neonatal pup mortality, and (3) evaluate the endocrine correlates of group housed females. Using fecal hormone monitoring for estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol, 43 cycles from 33 female maned wolves were studied from 2002 to 2015. Females were categorized by their reproductive status: pregnant and successfully raised pups (PR; n = 11), pregnant with neonatal pup demise within 3 days (PL; n = 7), housed with a male but no signs of breeding or pregnancy (PP; n = 10), housed singly (S; n = 8), or housed with related females (F; n = 7). Estrogen and progestagen remained at baseline for all females not housed with a male (S, F), while elevations consistent with ovulation were seen in females housed with a male (PP, PL, PR). Compared to PR females, PL individuals showed similar cortisol levels throughout the cycle and slightly lower progesterone levels during gestation. As for the effect of co-housing related females, F females showed estrogen and progesterone levels lower even than S females while cortisol levels were elevated compared to all other groups. These findings support the previous evidence of induced ovulation in the maned wolf. Although elevated cortisol does not seem to be implicated in pup loss, a non-significant trend towards lower progesterone during gestation could be implicated. Future studies should assess depressed progesterone levels as a correlate to neonatal pup mortality. Female maned wolves housed with related females experience suppressed reproductive hormones and elevated adrenal hormones. Therefore, a more systematic study of hormonal and behavioral correlates to co-housing with related females is warranted.

Data on spatio-temporal patterns of wild fruit harvest from the economically important palm Mauritia flexuosa in the Peruvian Amazon

These data are the foundation of the analyses and results published in the article “Spatio-temporal patterns of Mauritia flexuosa fruit extraction in the Peruvian Amazon: Implications for conservation and sustainability” (Horn et al., 2018) [1]. Here we include data on the volume of M. flexuosa fruit arriving in the city of Iquitos, Peru from the surrounding region. This includes the amount of fruit (in sacks and kg), the date of entry into Iquitos, the point of embarkation (watershed and coordinates), the method of transportation and the point of entry into Iquitos. Data is provided in a number of formats, including data tables, Google Earth KML files and summary tables by watershed and/or month.