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Large mammals play critical roles in ecosystems, yet 60% are threatened with extinction and populations continue to decrease. Declines are particularly precipitous in conflict‐affected areas, disrupting ecosystems and reducing chances of post‐conflict recovery. Large carnivores are disproportionately impacted by armed conflict, yet information on population status is lacking in areas affected by insecurity because the intense survey effort required poses risks to human safety. The globally important W‐Arly‐Pendjari (WAP) ecosystem is increasingly affected by conflict and supports one of the four known remaining populations of the Critically Endangered, yet poorly documented, Northwest African cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus hecki ). We used camera traps in a novel dual placement design over three biennial surveys to generate reliable and repeatable estimates for cheetah in Pendjari National Park and its surrounding hunting zones. Our design ensured detection of sufficient individuals and recaptures to allow density estimation and could be adapted for other rare, low‐density species. The two best multi‐session hybrid mixture spatially‐explicit capture recapture (SECR) models estimated a density of 0.26 ± 0.10 SE individual/100 km 2 across the 4839 km 2 survey area, or 0.51 ± 0.16 SE individual/100 km 2 in Pendjari National Park and zero density in the adjacent hunting zones. The sex ratio was female‐biased, and females moved over more than twice the area of males, in agreement with studies elsewhere. Cheetahs showed strong crepuscular activity patterns, but males were also active before sunrise and after sunset. Practical implication : Our results indicate that Pendjari National Park is likely to be a core area for cheetah in this ecosystem and may be an important source population for the WAP Complex; however, the cheetah population is worryingly small. Violent extremism and insecurity are widespread across the remaining distribution of A. j. hecki and hence, we recommend that our approach, which minimises on‐the‐ground fieldwork, be used to provide vital data to prioritise and assess conservation interventions. We also recommend targeted protection and financial support to bolster the remaining key core population of A. j. hecki and their prey. Our results highlight the urgent need for effective and coordinated action to prevent the loss of this iconic cheetah subspecies. Les grands mammifères jouent un rôle crucial au sein des écosystèmes, mais 60 % sont aujourd'hui menacés d'extinction et leurs populations continuent à décliner, en particulier dans les zones de conflits armés. Ces déclins perturbent le fonctionnement des écosystèmes et compromettent les capacités de rétablissement des populations de ces espèces après les conflits. Les grands carnivores sont particulièrement affectés par les conflits armés. Cependant, le manque d'informations sur l'état de ces populations dans les zones touchées par l'insécurité persiste, car les efforts importants requis pour le suivi présentent des risques pour la sécurité des personnes. L'écosystème W‐Arly‐Pendjari (WAP), d'importance mondiale, est de plus en plus affecté par les conflits armés, tout en abritant l'une des quatre dernières populations connues de guépards d'Afrique du Nord‐Ouest ( Acinonyx jubatus hecki ), une sous‐espèce en danger critique d'extinction qui reste peu documentée. Pour pallier ce déficit de données et générer des estimations fiables et reproductibles sur la population de guépards, nous avons mis en place une méthode innovante de double placement de pièges photographiques, lors de trois suivis biennaux au sein du Parc National de Pendjari et de ses zones de chasse adjacentes. Cette approche a permis de détecter suffisamment d'individus et d'obtenir assez de recaptures pour estimer la densité des guépards dans la zone et pourrait être adaptée à d'autres espèces rares existant à faible densité. Les deux meilleurs modèles de capture‐recapture spatialement explicite (SECR) multisessions ont estimé une densité de 0,26 ± 0,10 SE individu/100 km 2 dans une zone d'étude de 4 839 km 2 , soit 0,51 ± 0,16 SE individu/100 km 2 dans le Parc National de la Pendjari et une densité nulle dans les réserves de chasse adjacentes. Le sex‐ratio était biaisé en faveur des femelles, qui se déplacent sur des surfaces deux fois plus étendues que les mâles, ce qui est en accord avec d'autres études sur l'espèce. Les guépards ont une activité principalement crépusculaire et les mâles sont actifs avant le lever et après le coucher du soleil. Implications pratiques: nos résultats indiquent que le Parc National de la Pendjari constitue probablement une zone centrale pour les guépards dans l'écosystème, jouant un rôle de source importante pour le Complexe WAP. Cependant, l'état de la population demeure inquiétant. Étant donné la prévalence de groupes extrêmistes violents et de l'insécurité dans l'aire de répartition restante de A. j. hecki , nous recommandons l'utilisation de notre approche, qui limite le travail sur le terrain, pour recueillir des données essentielles en vue de prioriser et d'évaluer les interventions de conservation. Nous préconisons également une protection ciblée et un soutien financier pour préserver les populations restantes d' A. j. hecki et de leurs proies. Ces résultats mettent en évidence l'urgence d'une action efficace et coordonnée pour éviter la disparition de cette sous‐espèce emblématique.

To document and halt biodiversity loss, monitoring, quantifying trends and assessing management and conservation strategies on wildlife populations and communities are crucial steps. With increasing technological innovations, more and more data are collected and new quantitative methods are constantly developed. These rapid developments come with an increasing need for analytical skills, which are hardly accessible to managers. On the other hand, researchers spend more and more time on research grant applications and administrative tasks, which leaves fewer opportunities for knowledge transfer. This situation tends to increase the gap between researchers and managers. Here, we illustrate how to fill this gap by presenting two long‐term collaborations between a research unit—Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology; CEFE—and a national agency—French Biodiversity Agency; OFB. The first example is a collaboration providing statistical support to national parks for the design and implementation of scientific monitoring protocols. It relies on the recruitment of a research engineer funded by OFB and physically based at CEFE, who works closely with OFB and managers. The second example is a collaboration on the management of large carnivores. For more than 10 years, it has involved several PhD students and post‐doctoral fellows co‐supervised by CEFE and OFB, and has recently resulted in the recruitment of a permanent OFB researcher who works half‐time at CEFE and half‐time at OFB. These case studies illustrate the modalities of collaborative work between public institutions acting at different levels of biodiversity conservation for the co‐construction of research agendas and the exchange of knowledge. These collaborations also bring out some challenges. Inter‐knowledge and mutual learning remain difficult at scales larger than that of the teams concerned. The staff working at this interface needs to possess good listening skills, respect all partners' needs and demonstrate flexibility. Knowledge exchanges require time, thus reducing productivity according to quantitative metrics such as scientific publications or institutional reports. These collaborations can therefore be difficult to assume socially, and remain tenuous because they rely on a good understanding of the differences in governance of the various partners. Based on our experience, success is favoured by long‐term and close relationships, and by co‐construction of projects at early stage. Sharing a space (i.e. office or building) facilitates face‐to‐face interactions during planned work sessions and casual meetings that build up a shared scientific culture and mutual trust. Résumé Pour documenter et enrayer la perte de biodiversité, plusieurs étapes clés consistent à surveiller, quantifier les tendances et évaluer les stratégies de gestion des populations d’espèces sauvages. Grâce aux innovations technologiques croissantes, de plus en plus de données sont collectées et de nouvelles approches quantitatives sont constamment proposées. Ces développements rapides s’accompagnent d’un besoin croissant de compétences analytiques. Cette situation tend à creuser le fossé entre les chercheurs et les gestionnaires. Nous illustrons ici la manière de combler ce fossé en présentant deux collaborations de long terme entre une unité de recherche – le Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CEFE) – et un organisme public – l’Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB). Le premier exemple est une collaboration visant à fournir un soutien statistique aux parcs nationaux pour la conception et la mise en œuvre de protocoles de suivi scientifique. Cette collaboration s’appuie sur le recrutement d’un ingénieur de recherche financé par l’OFB, basé physiquement au CEFE, et qui travaille en étroite collaboration avec l’OFB. Le deuxième exemple est une collaboration sur la gestion des grands carnivores. Depuis plus de 10 ans, cette collaboration a impliqué plusieurs personnes en doctorat et post‐doctorat co‐encadrées par le CEFE et l’OFB, et a récemment abouti au recrutement d’une chercheuse permanente par l’OFB qui partage son temps de travail entre le CEFE et l’OFB. Ces études de cas illustrent les modalités d’un travail collaboratif entre des institutions publiques opérant à différents niveaux de la conservation de la biodiversité pour la co‐construction d’agendas de recherche et le partage de connaissances. Ces collaborations s’accompagnent aussi de plusieurs défis. L'interconnaissance et l’apprentissage mutuel restent difficiles à des échelles plus grandes que celles des équipes concernées. Le personnel travaillant à cette interface doit faire preuve d'une bonne capacité d’écoute, respecter les besoins de tous les partenaires et faire preuve de flexibilité. L’échange de connaissances nécessite du temps, ce qui réduit la productivité mesurée selon des indicateurs quantitatifs basés sur les publications scientifiques ou les rapports institutionnels. Ces collaborations peuvent être difficiles à assumer socialement et restent fragiles car elles dépendent d’une bonne compréhension des différences de gouvernance entre les différents partenaires. Selon notre expérience, le succès d’une telle collaboration est favorisé par des relations étroites et à long terme, et par la co‐construction de projets à un stade précoce. Le partage d’un espace facilite les interactions en face‐à‐face lors des sessions de travail planifiées et les rencontres occasionnelles qui construisent une culture scientifique partagée et une confiance mutuelle.

The lethal control of large carnivores is criticized regarding its efficiency to deter hotspots of attacks on livestock. We evaluated the effects of wolf lethal removals on the distribution of attack intensities in the French Alps between 2011 and 2020, using a BACI approach with retrospective data. We built an original framework combining both continuous spatial and temporal scales and a 3D kernel estimation. We compared the attack intensities observed before and after 278 legal killings of wolves on a period of 90 days and on a range of 10 km, and with control situations where no removal occurred. The analysis was also corrected for livestock presence, and explored different subsets of removals in relation to their locations, seasons and proximity to other removals. This method provided efficient visual charts and trends of attack intensity variations before and after removals. A moderate decrease of attack intensity was the most common outcome after a lethal removal. Analysis scale modulated this general pattern, with decreases being generally amplified at a small spatio-temporal range. Contextual factors (e.g., geographical or seasonal variations) could also lead to deviations from this general pattern, with outcomes of subsets ranging from important decreases to moderate increases. Thus, between 2011 and 2020, lethal control of wolves in France generally contributed to manage livestock attacks but did not eliminate it, even though mainly implemented alongside non-lethal measures. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for scale in such assessments and suggest that the evaluation of the effectiveness of lethal removals in reducing livestock predation might be more relevant in a local context. As a next step, we recommend to move forward from patterns to mechanisms by linking the effects of lethal control on wolves to their effects on attacks through analysis of fine-scaled data on wolves and livestock.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Footnotes* Analysis with removal controls added; Results and discussion clarified* https://gitlab.com/oksanagrente/Kernel_wolf_culling_attacks_p* https://zenodo.org/records/14893823

The occurrence of wolf populations in human-dominated landscapes is challenging worldwide because of conflicts with human activities. Modeling is an important tool to predict wolf dynamics and expansion, and help in decision making concerning management and conservation. However, some individual behaviors and pack dynamics of the wolf life cycle are still unclear to ecologists. Here we present an individual-based model (IBM) to project wolf populations while exploring the lesser-known processes of the wolf life cycle. IBMs are bottom-up models that simulate the fate of individuals interacting with each other, with population-level properties emerging from the individual-level simulations. IBMs are particularly adapted to represent social species such as the wolf that exhibits complex individual interactions. Our IBM predicts wolf demography including fine-scale individual behavior and pack dynamics based on up-to-date scientific literature. We explore four processes of the wolf life cycle whose consequences on population dynamics are still poorly understood: the pack dissolution following the loss of a breeder, the adoption of young dispersers by packs, the establishment of new packs through budding, and the different types of breeder replacement. While running different versions of the IBM to explore these processes, we also illustrate the modularity and flexibility of our model, an asset to model wolf populations experiencing different ecological and demographic conditions. The different parameterization of pack dissolution, territory establishment by budding, and breeder replacement processes influence the most the projections of wolf populations. As such, these processes require further field investigation to be better understood. The adoption process has a lesser impact on model predictions. Being coded in R to facilitate its understanding, we expect that our model will be used and further adapted by ecologists for their own specific applications.

The presence of wolf populations in human-dominated landscapes is challenging worldwide because of conflicts with human activities. Modeling is an important tool to predict wolf dynamics and expansion and help in decision making concerning management and conservation. Here we present an individual-based model (IBM) to project wolf population dynamics. IBMs are bottom-up models that simulate the fate of individuals interacting with each other, with population-level properties emerging from the individual-level simulations. IBMs are particularly adapted to represent social species such as the wolf that exhibits complex individual interactions. Our IBM predicts wolf demography including fine-scale individual behavior and pack dynamics processes based on up-to-date scientific literature. The model extends previous attempts to represent wolf population dynamics, as we included important biological processes that were not previously considered such as pack dissolution, asymmetric male and female breeder replacement by dispersers or subordinates, inbreeding avoidance, establishment of dispersing individuals by budding, adoption of young dispersing wolves, long distance dispersal, and density-dependent mortality. We demonstrate two important aspects of our IBM (i.e., modularity and flexibility) by running different series of the processes representing the wolf life cycle. The simulations point out the importance of data records on these biological components when managers are willing to promote wolf population conservation and management strategies. This exercise also shows that the model can flexibly include or exclude different processes therefore being applicable to wolf populations experiencing different ecological and demographic conditions. The model is coded in R to facilitate its understanding, appropriation and adaptation by ecologists. Overall, our model allows testing different scenarios of wolf dynamics, disturbances and alternative management strategies to project wolf populations, and therefore inform decision making to improve wolf management and conservation. Footnotes * https://github.com/SarahBauduin/appendix_wolfIBM

Sharing space with large carnivores on a human-dominated continent like Europe results in multiple conflictful interactions with human interests, of which depredation on livestock is the most widespread. Wildlife management agencies maintain compensation programs for the damage caused by large carnivores, but the long-term effectiveness of such programs is often contested. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms driving large carnivore impact on human activities is necessary to identify key management actions to reduce it. We conducted an analysis of the impact by all four European large carnivores on sheep husbandry in 10 European countries, during the period 2010-2015. We ran a hierarchical Simultaneous Autoregressive model, to assess the influence of ecological and anthropogenic factors on the spatial and temporal patterns in the reported depredation levels across the continent. On average, about 35,000 sheep were compensated in the ten countries as killed by large carnivores annually, representing about 0.5% of the total sheep stock. Of them, 45% were recognized as killed by wolves, 24% by wolverines, 19% by lynx and 12% by bears. At the continental level, we found a positive relationship between wolf distribution and the number of compensated sheep, but not for the other three species. Impact levels were lower in the areas where large carnivore presence has been continuous compared to areas where they disappeared and recently returned. The model explained 62% of the variation in the number of compensated sheep per year in each administrative unit. Only 13% of the variation was related to the ecological components of the process. Synthesis and Applications: Large carnivore distribution and local abundance alone are poor predictors of large carnivore impact on livestock at the continental level. A few individuals can produce high damage, when the contribution of environmental, social and economic systems predisposes for it, whereas large populations can produce a limited impact when the same components of the system reduce the probability that depredations occur. Time seems to play in favour of a progressive reduction in the costs associated with coexistence, provided that the responsible agencies focus their attention both on compensation and co-adaptation. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.