Data on species trade profiles and volumes of wild animals on sale in local markets can provide useful insights into the bushmeat trade, enabling identification of priorities for management and conservation planning. We monitored bushmeat traded in three markets (Sandema, Chiana and Fumbisi) in the Upper East Region of Ghana during October 2018–October 2019. More than 80% of carcasses sold were amphibians (frogs). Species composition and volumes of bushmeat traded varied significantly across markets. Bushmeat sales were highest during the dry season (75% of total biomass traded). The bulk (60% of total biomass) traded in the local markets was transported long distances for resale in major urban markets in southern Ghana. Large-bodied species were comparatively low in number and sold almost exclusively for resale in southern markets. This study highlights the importance of frog meat as an affordable protein source for consumers and as income for traders in an economically deprived region. Seasonal fluctuations of bushmeat sales demonstrated the importance of bushmeat as part of a diversified livelihood strategy for hunters and traders. Furthermore, this study underscores the significant role that long-distance trade networks play as key drivers of the bushmeat trade in these parts of northern Ghana, and highlights the risks posed by current extraction levels for species conservation in this understudied region. Our recommendations include investigating the potential of sustainable amphibian production, improving protection of particular vulnerable species and of the protected areas in the region and exploring alternative livelihoods during the peak hunting season.

This article is a discussion of Plin. Ep. 7.29 and Ep. 8.6, in which he presents his reaction to seeing the grave monument of Marcus Antonius Pallas, the freedman and minister of the Emperor Claudius, beside the Via Tiburtina. The monument records a senatorial vote of thanks to Pallas, and Pliny expresses intense indignation at the Senate's subservience and at the power and influence wielded by a freedman. This article compares Pliny's letters with Tacitus’ account of the senatorial vote of thanks to Pallas at Ann. 12.52–3 and explores the differences between the ways in which the two authors encourage readers to relate to past events. It is noted that the Pallas letters are unusual amongst Pliny's letters for their treatment of material unconnected with the life and career of Pliny and his friends, and argued that in Ep. 7.29 Pliny uses language and attitudes drawn from satire to evoke the past. Ep. 8.6 is read as an idiosyncratic piece of historical enquiry, considering Pliny's use of citation and his anonymization of historical individuals. Both letters are considered in the context of the surrounding letters, and a hypothesis is offered regarding the identity of their addressee Montanus, considering evidence from Tacitus’ Histories and Annals. Discussion of Tac. Ann. 12.52–3 focusses on the use of irony. Pliny's evocation of enargeia (‘vividness’) is compared with that of Tacitus. The article concludes with comparison of the historical accounts offered by Pliny and Tacitus through reflection on Juvenal, Satire 1.

Over the past decade, the World Health Summit (WHS) has provided a global platform for policy-makers and decision-makers to interact with academics and practitioners on global health. Recently the WHS adopted health security into their agenda for transnational disease risks (eg, Ebola and antimicrobial resistance) that increasingly threaten multiple sectors. Global health engagement (GHE) focuses efforts across interdisciplinary and interorganizational lines to identify critical threats and provide rapid deployment of key resources at the right time for addressing health security risks. As a product of subject matter experts convening at the WHS, a special side-group has organically risen with leadership and coordination from the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in support of GHE activities across governmental, academic, and industry partners. Through novel approaches and targeted methodology that maximize outcomes and streamline global health operational process, the Global Health Security Alliance (GloHSA) was born. This short conference report describes in more detail the GloHSA.

Snowpack base temperatures vary during accumulation and diurnally. Their measurement provides insight into physical, biological and chemical processes occurring at the snow/soil interface. Recent advances in Raman-spectra instruments, which use the scattered light in a standard telecommunications fiber-optic cable to infer absolute temperature along the entire length of the fiber, offer a unique opportunity to obtain basal snow temperatures at resolutions of 1 m, 10 s and 0.1°C. Measurements along a 330 m fiber over 24 hours during late-spring snowmelt at Mammoth Mountain, California, USA, showed basal snow temperatures of 0 ± 0.2°C using 10 s averages. Where the fiber-optic cable traversed bare ground, surface temperatures approached 40°C during midday. The durability of the fiber optic was excellent; no major damage or breaks occurred through the winter of burial. Data from the Dry Creek experimental watershed in Idaho across a small stream valley showed little variability of temperature on the northeast-facing, snow-covered slope, but clearly showed melting patterns and the effects of solar heating on southwest-facing slopes. These proof-of-concept experiments show that the technology enables more detailed spatial and temporal coverage than traditional point measurements of temperature.

There is little information on the changing role of bushmeat hunting in the agricultural areas of West Africa. We assessed the status and role of bushmeat hunting and rural consumption in three communities in Ghana, through household surveys (n = 250), and interviews with hunters (n = 69), eatery owners (n = 18) and bushmeat traders (n = 3). Hunting was embedded within dynamic livelihood strategies, with two broad categories of hunters identified: a large group who targeted pests on their own farms using traps, and a smaller group of professional hunters. The professional hunters included a group of young men who hunted with dogs, and another group of older firearm hunters who tended to be members of Hunters’ Associations. All professional hunters reported a decline in bushmeat availability and expressed concerns about the viability of hunting as a livelihood. The frequency of consumption of bushmeat increased with distance from the region's main urban centre, Kumasi, but bushmeat was not found to be a major component of the diet in any of the villages. Few men self-identified as hunters, although bushmeat hunting continued to play an important role in the rural economy, primarily for crop protection. Conservation efforts need to consider the full spectrum of hunting behaviours. Specific measures should target forest-based hunters, who are more likely to damage forest ecosystems than crop pest hunters but also show more concern for the sustainability of hunting, and commitment to hunting as an institution.