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Mobility is a millenary human strategy to deal with environmental change. An outstanding example of mobility is transhumance, an ancient pastoralist practice consisting of the seasonal migration of livestock between ecological regions following peaks in pasture productivity. The maintenance of transhumance depends partly on the preservation of related traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). We (a) identified and characterized social groups that hold transhumance-related TEK, (b) analyzed trends in transhumance-related TEK across generations and social groups, (c) examined the factors that influence variation in levels of TEK, and (d) analyzed elements of transhumance-related TEK as examples of adaptive strategies to cope with global change. We used transhumance on the Conquense Drove Road, a major active transhumant network in Spain, as a case study. Through an indepth literature review, participant observation, semistructured interviews, and a focus group discussion, we developed a survey to examine transhumance-related knowledge, practices, and beliefs. We collected survey data from 150 informants. Although a rich body of TEK persisted among transhumant shepherds, we found a marked loss of TEK among transhumants born after 1975, who scored one-fifth lower on survey items than other generations. The maintenance of transhumance on foot is the most important factor influencing TEK preservation. We conclude that in developed country settings, maintaining conditions for herd mobility can contribute to enhancing the adaptive capacity of agrarian societies to cope with global environmental change.

The use of local ecological knowledge (LEK) has been advocated for biodiversity monitoring and management. To date, however, it has been underused in studying wild populations of animals and, particularly, in obtaining quantitative abundance estimates. We evaluated LEK as a tool for collecting extensive data on local animal abundance and population trends. We interviewed shepherds in southeastern Spain, asking them to estimate the local abundance of the terrestrial tortoise Testudo graeca. We quantified reliability of abundance estimates derived from interviews by comparing them with those obtained from standard field-sampling protocols (distance sampling). We also explored the complementarity of these 2 approaches. LEK provided high-quality and low-cost information about both distribution and abundance of T. graeca. Interviews with shepherds yielded abundance estimates in a much wider range than linear transects, which only detected the species in the upper two-thirds of its abundance range. Abundance estimates from both methodologies showed a close relationship. Analysis of confidence intervals indicated local knowledge could be used to estimate mean local abundances and to detect mean population trends. A cost analysis determined that the information derived from LEK was 100 times cheaper than that obtained through linear-transect surveys. Our results should further the use of LEK as a standard tool for sampling the quantitative abundance of a great variety of taxa, particularly when population densities are low and traditional sampling methods are expensive or difficult to implement.

Understanding the patterns and processes underlying the heterogeneous distribution of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) across communities of natural resource users is a growing research topic. However, social organization as a factor potentially shaping TEK intracultural distribution has received scant attention. Here, we analyze the role played by kinship groups—namely, patrilineal lineages and segments—in shaping bodies of TEK among a group of seminomadic pastoralists in India. We use two quantitative approaches (score based and similarity based) to analyze variations in four TEK domains: soils, ethnoveterinary, breeds, and ethnobotany. We find that kinship groups share divergent bodies of knowledge, a finding that we interpret in light of the social organization of migration, in which kinship provides a privileged basis that structures migratory groups and, as such, favors the constitution of shared bodies of knowledge. We conclude by advocating for a better inclusion of the organizational features that structure the collective life of local communities in research aiming at understanding TEK dynamics.

The relationships and linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem processes are critical issues in ecology. Manure removal is an ecosystem process related to several ecological functions performed by dung beetles. However, there is little information on manure removal by beetles in temperate ecosystems of Mexico. Using a linear model based on species biomass, here we estimated the amount of manure that can be potentially removed by dung beetle species in temperate forests and grasslands with sheep herding. Then, we related the estimated amount of manure removed with attributes of dung beetle communities: species richness, diversity, evenness and functional diversity in forest and grasslands sites. We compared the amount of manure potentially removed at each habitat by all species of dung beetles and by beetle’s food relocation strategies. Also, we used Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to test the relationships between manure removal and community attributes. Our model estimated that five species remove most of the manure, and tunneler beetles remove higher amounts of manure in grasslands than in forest sites. GAMs revealed that manure removal is related to dung beetle species richness and evenness, but not to functional diversity. Therefore, it is relevant to promote rich dung beetle communities to maintain optimal ecosystem functions, both in native forest and livestock areas.

Concerns about global warming, degradation of fragile ecosystems, and environmental and societal collapse have increased interest for lessons and/or solutions for today's environmental issues. Popular writers have turned to a classic degradation thesis of deforestation and presumed desertification within the Eastern Mediterranean as a cautionary tale of how past societies have committed ecological suicide. However, degradation and/or collapse is far more complex than the thesis permits, and uncritical adoption of such simplified stories encourages continued use of inaccurate assumptions about human–environment interaction. In Cyprus, such a degradation story materialized 150 y ago, and its promoters aimed to impress on readers their responsibility to reverse past environmental mistakes. Both the British Colonial authorities (1878–1960) and the post-Independence Cypriot government used it to justify their environmental policies. Unfortunately, this thesis was formed around several misunderstandings about Cypriot environments and society: (i) judgment of degradation without appropriate consideration of the difference between degradation and change; (ii) oversimplified representation of ruling powers and those people ruled; and (iii) denigration of the shepherd lifestyle and its presumed environmental impact. A multimethod approach using archival and field research offers a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of human–environment interaction, the underappreciated environmental and societal resilience of areas classified as degraded, and the importance of placing events within changing socioeconomic and political contexts. This study of natural resource management and environmental resilience illustrates that the practices that the colonial government viewed as unsustainable likely were sustainable.

Adam Smith's engagement with China and Tartary is a central yet underappreciated element of his economic and political thought. This article reconstructs this engagement and demonstrates its broader significance, arguing that it focuses on three themes: the economic institutions that promote domestic growth in a manner that alleviates the material conditions of the poorest, the social and political conditions that minimize the dependence of the poor on the wealthy, and the ethical values and civic institutions that guarantee the existential survival of the state. This treatment is significant for three reasons: It offers useful insight into the contested issue of Smith's conception of legitimate state action; it clarifies Smith's vision of a commercial order that promotes human dignity; and it reveals the depth of his participation in a specific contextual debate.

In the ecphrasis of Hannibal's shield inPunica2.403–452 allusions to Vergil's ethnographical excursus on Libya inGeorgics3.339–348 and theLaudes Italiae (G.2.118–176) subvert the ostensibly idyllic picture of the Punic countryside, thus reinforcing the dichotomy between the perspectives of the internal viewer, Hannibal, and the Roman narrator.