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

The gathering of eggs of turtles and iguanas is also heavily dependent on
ethnoecological knowledge. Those people who collect these foods do so on the basis
of a precise knowledge of the reproductive behaviour of the animals concerned: the
timing of laying eggs, the signs which show where a female has made her burrow, the
criteria used by the animals for selecting sites for laying, and the exact locations of
particular breeding sites. I have observed individuals practicing habitat modification in
favour of nesting iguanas. In one case, having noted a female iguana using a sandy
area on the east bank of the Kwitaro for laying, an individual cleared a small sandy
area on the other bank, adjacent to his camp, in such a way as to make it a more
attractive nesting site. As he predicted, in the next breeding season she laid her eggs
at the site he had prepared, thus providing him with easier access to the eggs.
Finally, a knowledge of microhabitat preferences is employed in the collection of
other animal foods, such as crabs and snails. Those who consume these foods are
aware of the specific habitat types in which they are found, and will search for them
in suitable locations. Overall, ethnoecological knowledge appears commonly to be
employed in the location of many different kinds of gathered animal foods.
8.1.7 Fishing
As already noted (chapter 4.4), many of the variety of fishing techniques rely heavily
on ethnoecological knowledge. This was demonstrated in people’s explanations of
why they employed particular fishing techniques in particular circumstances. A series
of ethnoecological interviews on fish were conducted with a single informant.
Although the results are not reported in detail in this thesis, they demonstrated an
extensive and detailed knowledge of aspects of the ecology and behaviour of fish
species relevant to their capture.
A knowledge of the broad-scale movements of fish of many species as a result of
seasonal hydrological changes is essential to success in the setting of seines, building
of fish traps, and poisoning of moving rivers and creeks. Knowledge at a finer scale of
the habitat use of particular fish species, and its seasonal changes, is also basic in
techniques such as line fishing, diving for large fish, and the setting of spring traps
and floating traps, for which site selection is of crucial importance. The choice of bait
for fishing with hooks is based on a knowledge of the dietary preferences of the fish
species being sought, and may be applied in combination with knowledge of habitat
use, in order to select the appropriate bait to catch the species of fish known to be
present at a particular location at a particular time of year.