DOI: 10.5061/dryad.w0vt4b8mf
title: Data from: Community-based wildlife management area supports similar mammal species richness and densities compared to a national park

description: Community-based conservation models have been widely implemented across
 Africa to improve wildlife conservation and livelihoods of rural
 communities. In Tanzania, communities can set aside land and formally
 register it as Wildlife Management Area (WMA), which allows them to
 generate revenue via consumptive or non-consumptive utilization of
 wildlife. The key, yet often untested, assumption of this model is that
 economic benefits accrued from wildlife motivate sustainable management of
 wildlife. To test the ecological effectiveness (here defined as
 persistence of wildlife populations) of Burunge Wildlife Management Area
 (BWMA), we employed a participatory monitoring approach involving WMA
 personnel. At intermittent intervals between 2011 and 2018, we estimated
 mammal species richness and population densities of ten mammal species
 (African elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck,
 warthog, impala, Kirk’s dik-dik, and vervet monkey) along line transectss
 . We compared mammal species accumulation curves and density estimates
 with those of time-matched road transect surveys conducted in adjacent
 Tarangire National Park (TNP). Mammal species richness estimates were
 similar in both areas, yet observed species richness per transect was
 greater in TNP compared to BWMA. Species-specific density estimates of
 time-matched surveys were mostly not significantly different between BWMA
 and TNP, but elephants occasionally reached greater densities in TNP
 compared to BWMA. In BWMA, elephant, wildebeest, and impala populations
 showed significant increases from 2011 to 2018.  These results
 suggest that community-based conservation models can support mammal
 communities and densities that are similar to national park baselines. In
 light of the ecological success of this case study, we emphasize the need
 for continued efforts to ensure that the BWMA is effective. This will
 require adaptive management to counteract potential negative repercussions
 of  wildlife populations on peoples’ livelihoods. This study can
 be used as a model to evaluate the effectiveness of wildlife management
 areas across Tanzania. Community-based conservation models have been
 widely implemented across Africa to improve wildlife conservation and
 livelihoods of rural communities. In Tanzania, communities can set aside
 land and formally register it as Wildlife Management Area (WMA), which
 allows them to generate revenue via consumptive or non-consumptive
 utilization of wildlife. The key, yet often untested, assumption of this
 model is that economic benefits accrued from wildlife motivate sustainable
 management of wildlife. To test the ecological effectiveness (here defined
 as persistence of wildlife populations) of Burunge Wildlife Management
 Area (BWMA), we employed a participatory monitoring approach involving WMA
 personnel. At intermittent intervals between 2011 and 2018, we estimated
 mammal species richness and population densities of ten mammal species
 (African elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck,
 warthog, impala, Kirk’s dik-dik, and vervet monkey) along line transectss
 . We compared mammal species accumulation curves and density estimates
 with those of time-matched road transect surveys conducted in adjacent
 Tarangire National Park (TNP). Mammal species richness estimates were
 similar in both areas, yet observed species richness per transect was
 greater in TNP compared to BWMA. Species-specific density estimates of
 time-matched surveys were mostly not significantly different between BWMA
 and TNP, but elephants occasionally reached greater densities in TNP
 compared to BWMA. In BWMA, elephant, wildebeest, and impala populations
 showed significant increases from 2011 to 2018.  These results
 suggest that community-based conservation models can support mammal
 communities and densities that are similar to national park baselines. In
 light of the ecological success of this case study, we emphasize the need
 for continued efforts to ensure that the BWMA is effective. This will
 require adaptive management to counteract potential negative repercussions
 of  wildlife populations on peoples’ livelihoods. This study can
 be used as a model to evaluate the effectiveness of wildlife management
 areas across Tanzania.