Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

they move from adjacent areas of higher forest may be an important mechanism of
facilitation in the succession in old farms. Anthropic dispersal of seeds prior to the
abandonment of the farm may enhance the future attractiveness of these areas to
game animals: all wild fruits eaten by people are also important food species for
forest frugivores.
The use of active farms by wild animals is also of importance (see summaries of
ethnoecological data in chapter 6). Several species of game animal are also important
crop predators, including both species of peccary, laba, agouti and red brocket deer
(see section 6.4 for more detailed information on crop predation). Brown capuchins
(Cebus apella) and ‘haka’ (Eira barbara) are also reported to be regular crop
predators, but although these species may be shot in protecting the farm from their
raids, they are rarely or never hunted for food.
White-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) are the most destructive of all crop
predators, due to the high numbers in a typical herd. A single visit by this species
may be sufficient to completely destroy a farm. Their high mobility also makes it
unlikely that the farmer or anyone else will obtain the recompense of a hunting
opportunity as a result of such an event. The prospect of predation by this species is
commonly cited as a reason why people in Maruranau nowadays avoid establishing
farms in deep forest, a practice which they say was much more common in the past.
In Sand Creek, it is also a major concern. This species is much less important as a
food source in this village, in which livestock, fishing and savannah hunting are of
greater importance. It seems that these two factors are jointly responsible for white-
lipped peccaries being regarded as a pest species.
Other species of crop predators are less voracious, although their depredations
are nonetheless a source of complaint among farmers. On the other hand, their use of
the farms and the farming area increases their availability to hunters: most kills of
agouti and red brocket deer seem to result from their proximity to farms, and laba
and collared peccary (T. Pecari) who avail themselves of farm produce also commonly
suffer this fate. There seems to be no conscious appreciation of these presumed
benefits, however, and crop predation is viewed as a destructive activity with wholly
negative consequences.
Use of farms by some non-game species is also important to humans: avian
frugivores are responsible for the dispersal of seeds of some crops. In particular,
informants reported that cassava seeds are dispersed throughout the farming area by
a particular bird known as irodada, an unidentified species of pigeon (family
Columbidae). This may be an important mechanism promoting varietal diversity in this