@article{fdi:010078802,
  title = {{A}ssessing the spatiotemporal dynamics of endangered mammals through local ecological knowledge combined with direct evidence : the case of pangolins in {B}enin ({W}est {A}frica)},
  author = {{Z}anvo, {S}. and {G}aubert, {P}hilippe and {D}jagoun, {C}.{A}.{M}.{S}. and {A}zihou, {A}.{F}. and {D}jossa, {B}. and {S}insin, {B}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A}lthough pangolins are considered to be one of the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, their conservation status remains uncertain through most of their ranges, and notably in western {A}frica. {U}sing local ecological knowledge in combination with direct occurrence evidence, we assessed the distribution and abundance of the white-bellied pangolin ({P}hataginus tricuspis) and the giant pangolin ({S}mutsia gigantea) in {B}enin over the last two decades (1998-2018). {W}e organised focus groups with local hunters in 312 villages within sampling units of 25 km × 25 km covering the whole country. {P}articipatory maps of past and current geographic ranges of pangolins combined with direct evidence (96 collected scales) suggested that the white-bellied pangolin had a wide distribution and reached higher latitudes than previously known, whereas the giant pangolin could be restricted to a single forest and has been absent from the northern part of the country over at least the last two decades. {L}ocal hunters perceived a significant decline of the white-bellied pangolin (range contraction = 31% in 20 years) and almost unanimously an extirpation of the giant pangolin (93%), the latter being restricted to the {A}libori forest reserve (northern {B}enin). {P}rotected areas were identified as the main potential occurrence zones for pangolins: 77 and 100% of the potential geographic ranges of the white-bellied and the giant pangolins, respectively, overlapped partially or totally with the protected area network of {B}enin. {U}sing a generalized linear model, we showed that the probability of reporting recent observations of the white-bellied pangolin was significantly higher for villages near protected areas and distant from main roads. {T}he forests perceived as having sustainable populations of white-bellied pangolins were the {L}ama {F}orest reserve (southern {B}enin) and the complex comprising {M}onts {K}ouff{\'e} - {W}ari {M}aro - {O}u{\'e}m{\'e} sup{\'e}rieur (central {B}enin), a view that was supported by the great number of direct occurrence evidence collected in those areas. {O}verall, our study highlights an important geographic range contraction of the white-bellied pangolin and a possible entire extirpation of the giant pangolin over the last two decades in {B}enin.},
  keywords = {{BENIN}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}lobal {E}cology and {C}onservation},
  volume = {23},
  numero = {},
  pages = {art. e01085 [12 ]},
  ISSN = {2351-9894},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01085},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078802},
}