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While overall numbers of African elephant have declined dramatically in recent times, some populations are now confined to protected areas and are locally overabundant—an undesirable situation for both biodiversity conservation and elephants. In forested protected areas, options to manage elephants are limited because it is difficult to safely approach animals, yet it is vital that these populations are managed because browsing by elephants can dramatically alter forest ecosystems. Using data collected over 50 yr in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we examine the prediction that increasing elephant numbers and associated changes in their foraging behavior have caused a shift in tree community composition. Although the relative abundance of elephants increased significantly between 1996 and 2010, the population structure of their preferred tree food species did not change, nor did tree community composition change in favor of species able to re-sprout after elephant damage. Furthermore, over the last 50 yr Kibale elephants have not become more selective foragers, as would be expected if more nutritious tree species were declining. However, elephants are more abundant in disturbed areas dominated by shrubs and grasses and appear to have arrested forest succession in these areas. At their current abundance, elephants have not selectively altered the composition of intact old growth forest, but they do inhibit the regeneration of disturbed areas.

It is widely viewed that by providing employment or services to neighbouring communities, a protected area may increase positive attitudes towards conservation and discourage encroachment, but this is rarely tested. Our research examines this view by evaluating local attitudes towards the park and incidence of encroachment before and after the implementation of a novel conservation strategy – a mobile health clinic - in the predominantly agricultural communities bordering Kibale National Park, Uganda. The implementation of the mobile clinic programme coincided with a more positive attitude towards the park and a decrease in the number of people who ‘disliked’ the park. Despite this, the incidence of encroachment increased. There are a number of possible explanations for this contradiction, including respondents giving answers they believe will maintain the service they appreciate, and that while the local community may appreciate the mobile clinic, this appreciation is not sufficient to make people alter their behaviour because of tradition or need (e.g., the need among the very poor to feed their family or send a child to school is very high). Overall, people typically expressed that they did not have a problem with living adjacent to the park, except for the harm done by crop-raiding animals. However, local people expressed the view that they receive few benefits from the park – a perception that might be improved with more extensive use of the mobile clinic.

Within developing countries, awareness efforts that promote wildlife conservation are not only important to engage communities neighboring wildlife habitats, but they are also critical nationally because urban dwellers are not usually exposed to wildlife. Here, we suggest that media and public relations professionals can promote domestic tourism activities, and engage communities in ways that will encourage the public to protect wildlife. We outline examples of successful ongoing initiatives we have used that stem from the principles of strategic communication to promote wildlife conservation in Uganda. First, tours with journalists, celebrities, and politicians have been launched to support awareness of wildlife and their economic value to the country. These initiatives highlight protected areas to the mainstream media and encourage domestic tourism. Second, parades around the country, intramural sports teams, as well as public lectures, community and school events are held to mobilize additional conservation awareness. Lastly, we discuss the role of strategic communication through media frames by the national newspapers in promoting the importance of wildlife conservation. These initiatives have likely led to the demonstrated increase in domestic tourism to national parks over the past decade and increase in support for wildlife by the Ugandan public.

Wildlife counts in Africa and elsewhere are often implemented using light aircraft with ‘rear‐seat‐observer’ (RSO) counting crews. Previous research has indicated that RSOs often fail to detect animals, and that population estimates are therefore biased. We conducted aerial wildlife surveys in Murchison Falls Protected Area, Uganda, in which we replaced RSOs with high‐definition ‘oblique camera count’ (OCC) systems. The survey area comprises forests, woodlands and grasslands. Four counts were conducted in 2015–2016 using a systematic‐reconnaissance‐flight (SRF) strip‐transect design. Camera inclination angles, focal lengths, altitude and frame interval were calibrated to provide imaged strips of known sample size on the left and right sides of the aircraft. Using digital cameras, 24 000 high‐definition images were acquired for each count, which were visually interpreted by four airphoto interpreters. We used the standard Jolly II SRF analysis to derive population estimates. Our OCC estimates of the antelopes – hartebeest, Uganda kob, waterbuck and oribi – were, respectively, 25%, 103%, 97% and 2100% higher than in the most recent RSO count conducted in 2014. The OCC surveys doubled the 2014 RSO estimate of 58 000 Uganda kob to over 118 000. Population size estimates of elephants and giraffes did not differ significantly. Although all four OCC buffalo estimates were higher than the RSO estimates – in one count by 60% – these differences were not significant due to the clumped distribution and high variation in herd sizes, resulting in imprecise estimation by sampling. We conclude that RSO wildlife counts in Murchison have been effective in enumerating elephants and giraffe, but that many smaller species have not been well detected. We emphasize the importance of 60 years of RSO‐based surveys across Africa, but suggest that new imaging technologies are embraced to improve accuracy. We conducted four aerial surveys in Murchison Falls, Uganda, where we replace human ‘rear‐seat‐observers’ (RSOs) with high‐resolution camera systems. The results indicate that the populations of many large mammal species are far higher than previously estimated by RSO‐based counts. We emphasize the importance of 60 years of RSO‐based surveys across Africa, but suggest that new imaging technologies are embraced to improve accuracy.

DEAR EDITOR Deforestation represents one of the greatest threats to tropical forest mammals, and the situation is greatly exacerbated by bushmeat hunting. Determining the impacts of hunting and evaluating the potential interventions can be challenging, particularly for cryptic species that respond slowly to changing hunting pressure. [...]long-term studies are critical, but obtaining funding for the needed duration is extremely difficult (Chapman et al., 2017). The tracks and dung of the two duiker species can be distinguished when the signs are of good quality; however, quality declines over time and depends on the season and environment. [...]it was not always possible to identify the signs to species, and we therefore elected to report a combined duiker value. In the old-growth forest sites, the number of snares detected per patrol was consistently low in all time periods.

The Queen Elizabeth Protected Area (QEPA) hosts 60% of Uganda's elephants and large populations of buffalo, hippopotamus and Uganda kob. However, the area is subjected to continued poaching, livestock incursions, animal disease and invasive plant species. Population estimates derived from aerial observers have shown great variability, and therefore trends are hard to discern. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) requires precise wildlife population estimates to guide conservation actions. The aim of this study is to provide accurate and precise baseline estimates for wildlife populations of QEPA using aerial imagery and high sampling intensity, and to improve survey methods for determining future trends. High-resolution cameras, orientated at 45°, captured images along sample strips to left and right of the aircraft. Transects at 1 km separation gave a high sampling intensity of 28% to improve precision. We captured 43 000 images for visual enumeration of 13 wildlife species. Population estimates (Ŷ), standard errors (SE) and relative margins of error (RME =95% c.l/Ŷ) were determined using 'Jolly II', Marriott and bootstrapping methods. With improved detection using imagery the QEPA elephant population is estimated at 4 711 ± 1 106 (95% c.l), which is 62% higher than the previous observer-based estimate of 2 900 in 2014, and the highest since counts began in the 1960s. The survey achieved an RME for elephants of 23%, making this one of the most precise counts for any similar-sized elephant area in Africa. The buffalo, Uganda kob and hippopotamus populations have stabilized at 'safe' levels but remain well below the high point of the mid-1990s; the high density of bone patches indicate high mortality, attributable to disease and to the continued invasion of the unpalatable grass species Imperata cylindrica, which now covers 50% of the grassland area. Our methods indicate that methods and sample parameters prescribed by international elephant counting standards can be revised and improved using aerial cameras, especially for smaller survey areas.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.

Elephant populations across much of Africa face severe rates of decline due to poaching and habitat loss. The recent decision by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to separately list African forest (Loxodonta cyclotis) and savanna (L. africana) elephants on the IUCN Red List both highlights the different threats of extinction faced by these two species and emphasizes the need for genetic data to classify taxonomically undefined populations across the continent. This includes western Uganda – a region that harbors the largest known modern hybrid zone between the two species. We combined a new high-throughput amplicon sequencing (HTAS) approach with fecal DNA-based Capture Mark Recapture (CMR) analysis to infer the population sizes and species compositions of elephants living in two forests. We demonstrate that Kibale National Park hosts a relatively large elephant population (573 individuals, 95% CI: 410 to 916; 0.72 elephants/km2) composed primarily of hybrids (81.5%) and savanna elephants (17.7%), while Bwindi Impenetrable National Park hosts a smaller population (96 individuals, 95% CI: 64 to 145; 0.29 elephants/km2) composed of forest elephants (86.8%) and hybrids (13.2%). We then sequenced maternally inherited (mtDNA) and paternally inherited (AMELY) genetic markers and found that the two parks’ populations exhibit different patterns of sex-linked genetic variation. The contrasting patterns of species identity and genetic variation between these parks demonstrate different histories of hybridization and highlight the importance of site-specific monitoring where elephants are taxonomically undefined.

Malaria still remains a global health issue. In response, the World Health Organisation has continuously recommended the use of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy (IPTp) as a malaria preventive measure for the mother and fetus, which has been implemented by the Ugandan government. In collaboration with partners, the government has created awareness of using SP for IPTp (SP-IPTp) among women mainly through media. Studies have investigated the effect of a woman's education attainment on SP-IPTp. However, the effect of knowledge of SP as prophylaxis for malaria on SP-IPTp has not been studied. Notably, education does not necessarily have an effect on knowledge of SP for malaria prevention, and knowledge of SP as prophylaxis may not result in its significant uptake for IPTp. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to ensure baseline covariate balance and determine the effect of knowledge of SP as preventive chemotherapy on its uptake for IPTp. The study utilised the Ugandan Malaria Indicator Survey dataset of 2018-19. Women aged 15-49 years who indicated their uptake status of SP during their last pregnancy formed the sample of this study. The inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment technique was applied to assess the study objective. The findings revealed a positive and significant effect of knowledge of SP as malaria prophylaxis on its uptake for IPTp (Average Treatment Effect of the Treated or ATET =  0.163; 95% CI =  0.138-0.188). Ensuring covariate balance while applying IPWRA resulted in more precise estimates of treatment effects. Programmes and policies that create awareness of using SP as malaria prophylaxis may serve as effective interventions towards SP-IPTp in Uganda.

Malaria still remains a global health issue. In response, the World Health Organisation has continuously recommended the use of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy (IPTp) as a malaria preventive measure for the mother and fetus, which has been implemented by the Ugandan government. In collaboration with partners, the government has created awareness of using SP for IPTp (SP-IPTp) among women mainly through media. Studies have investigated the effect of a woman's education attainment on SP-IPTp. However, the effect of knowledge of SP as prophylaxis for malaria on SP-IPTp has not been studied. Notably, education does not necessarily have an effect on knowledge of SP for malaria prevention, and knowledge of SP as prophylaxis may not result in its significant uptake for IPTp. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to ensure baseline covariate balance and determine the effect of knowledge of SP as preventive chemotherapy on its uptake for IPTp. The study utilised the Ugandan Malaria Indicator Survey dataset of 2018-19. Women aged 15-49 years who indicated their uptake status of SP during their last pregnancy formed the sample of this study. The inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment technique was applied to assess the study objective. The findings revealed a positive and significant effect of knowledge of SP as malaria prophylaxis on its uptake for IPTp (Average Treatment Effect of the Treated or ATET = 0.163; 95% CI = 0.138-0.188). Ensuring covariate balance while applying IPWRA resulted in more precise estimates of treatment effects. Programmes and policies that create awareness of using SP as malaria prophylaxis may serve as effective interventions towards SP-IPTp in Uganda.

Introduction Malaria still remains a global health issue. In response, the World Health Organisation has continuously recommended the use of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy (IPTp) as a malaria preventive measure for the mother and fetus, which has been implemented by the Ugandan government. In collaboration with partners, the government has created awareness of using SP for IPTp (SP-IPTp) among women mainly through media. Studies have investigated the effect of a woman's education attainment on SP-IPTp. However, the effect of knowledge of SP as prophylaxis for malaria on SP-IPTp has not been studied. Notably, education does not necessarily have an effect on knowledge of SP for malaria prevention, and knowledge of SP as prophylaxis may not result in its significant uptake for IPTp. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to ensure baseline covariate balance and determine the effect of knowledge of SP as preventive chemotherapy on its uptake for IPTp. Methods The study utilised the Ugandan Malaria Indicator Survey dataset of 2018-19. Women aged 15-49 years who indicated their uptake status of SP during their last pregnancy formed the sample of this study. The inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment technique was applied to assess the study objective. Results The findings revealed a positive and significant effect of knowledge of SP as malaria prophylaxis on its uptake for IPTp (Average Treatment Effect of the Treated or ATET = 0.163; 95% CI = 0.138-0.188). Conclusion Ensuring covariate balance while applying IPWRA resulted in more precise estimates of treatment effects. Programmes and policies that create awareness of using SP as malaria prophylaxis may serve as effective interventions towards SP-IPTp in Uganda.