Annotated Bibliography in CSE Style

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For most sciences, including environmental science, CSE format is used.  Based on Lafayette's guide on how to cite journal articles and websites, I complied an annotated bibliography on the six sources I've recently analyzed.  The example of a reference sheet in CSE citation-sequence format can be found here.

References

AFW. #Thailand – one of the largest #ivory markets – is taking a stance on #elephant poaching: bit.ly/thailand-ivory [Internet]. Nairobi (Kenya): Twitter; 2015 [cited 2015 September 5]. Available from: https://twitter.com/AWF_Official/status/638369769234677760. 

AFW’s tweet promoted the official website’s article about a recent ivory destruction operation in Thailand.  Asia has an enormous ivory market, so it’s very important for their government to “take a stance.”  By destroying the vast sum of two tons of ivory, the Thailand government is exerting a zero-tolerance mentality, which might encourage other Asian countries to do the same.  This article is important because it’s very recent, and shows another way to combat ivory trade that is more related to the political side, rather than the conservation side.  Having a balance of the two perspectives will help me understand and convey the complexity of the issue. 


CapRadio News. A bill that would tighten California’s ban on ivory sales was approved on Wednesday by the state Senate. bit.ly/1JDx47A [Internet]. Sacramento (CA): Twitter; 2015 [cited 2015 September 5]. Available from: https://twitter.com/CapRadioNews/status/639460395325878277. 

CapRadio New’s tweet promoted Capital Public Radio’s news article about the CA state Senate attempting to reduce elephant poaching by regulating ivory trade more heavily.  CA houses a large ivory market in the form of household goods and antiques, rather than the raw ivory markets of Africa.  The article explains that those who oppose the bill argue it won’t be effective in actually reducing the amount of elephants poached, but rather “could make criminals out of long-time ivory collectors.”  Although the article is very short, it provides a link to the official text of the bill directly from the CA Legislative Information website, which could be useful in understanding more about the bill.  Additionally, the understanding ivory trade within the US itself, and not just Africa and Asia is also important, because the market is global, and the products vary from refined piano keys legally owned to raw ivory tusks illegally shipped across an entire continent.  This article will help me understand the civil and legal side of ivory trade, which still raises debate, because conservation groups are against any use or possession of ivory, even if it is decorative or antique. 

Important “Ivory” Bill Introduced [Internet]. Washington (DC): NRA-ILA; 2015 [cited 2015 September 9]. Available from: https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150206/important-ivory-bill-introduced.

The National Rifle Association has an extreme stance against conservation efforts, making them one of the main opposition forces against an ivory trade ban.  The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action is the political lobbying part of the organization.  In this article, they ask their members to show support for a bill that would prevent Obama’s proposed ban on US ivory trade.  Since the audience is already in favor of gun rights, they don’t need much convincing that their ivory guns need to be protected, and therefore the ban should be struck down.  This article is important because it is one of the few I have that describes an opposing view with passion.  It will help me understand the pro-trade stance better.

Joyce C. DNA Tracking of Ivory Helps Biologists Find Poaching Hotspots [Internet]. Washington (DC): National Public Radio; 2015 [cited 2015 September 8]. Available from: http://www.npr.org/2015/06/19/415596177/dna-tracking-of-ivory-helps-biologists-find-poaching-hotspots.

By extracting DNA from ivory tusks recovered from illegal poaching and trade, it is possible to find where the tusks came from.  It’s hard to track ivory moment within Africa; most seizures happen when the ivory is coming into Asia markets.  Although it’s hard find the origins of the ivory by trade, the source can be located by using biological techniques of studying the DNA, and matching it to areas in Africa with similar elephants.  With this technique, there have been three hotspots found where most of the ivory is coming from: Tridom (central Africa), Tanzania, and Mozambique.  The solution proposed in this article is to protect the elephants in these concentrated areas, to cut the source of ivory directly.  This article relates to the article about Thailand’s ivory destruction in that the Chinese government is taking official measures to crack down on ivory trade.  Having the connection of the two Asian governments resisting trade is important and helpful to show political opposition and progression.

Leblan V. The Impact of West African Trade on the Distribution of Chimpanzee and Elephant Populations (Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, 19th—20th Century). Human Ecology [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2015 September 5]; 44(3): 445-465. JSTOR. New York (NY): Springer. Available from: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/stable/24013737. 

Leblan compared how human interactions through trade affected the amount of chimpanzees and elephants in southern Africa, spanning from the late 1800s to the present.  He drew his data about the previous century from published journals and studies, as well as collecting his own field data.  Leblan found that elephant populations and sighting occurrences were well documented throughout the last century, because ivory is such a valuable commodity.  Warfare, as well as human settlement and trade, pushed elephants to move into the northern parts of Guinea-Bissau.  The impact humans had on elephants is similar to that of chimpanzees and other wild animals, which usually includes declining populations of animals as the number of humans rise, and displacing the animals, forcing them to acquire new habitat.  This source is important, because understanding the history of ivory trade, and human interaction with elephants, gives me context to the ongoing controversy today. 

Lieberman S. Scaling Up the War on Elephant Poaching [Internet]. New York (NY): Huffington Post; 2015 [cited 2015 September 8]. Available from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-lieberman-phd/scaling-up-the-war-on-elephant-poaching_b_6948764.html.

In March 2015 an international meeting was held in Botswana concerning ivory trade.  However, the outcome of this meeting was disappointing to Wildlife Conservation Society and similar organizations.  They were not able to effectively push for a ban on all ivory trade, or encourage governments to take a stricter position in fighting the large-scale organized crime that’s committing most of the poaching and trade crimes.  In what I saw as similar to the drug trade issue, this article argued governments need to be targeting kinpins, not the scattered poachers that don’t have much authority themselves.  Also similar to drug trade, ivory trade is rotting with corruption, which allows much of the illegal network to thrive.  This article called for a serious increase in efforts to decrease demand and supply of ivory.  The report on the Botswana meeting is helpful to me, because it shows the progress (or lack of) that has recently been taking place, as well as supporting many of the claims other articles were making, such as the declining elephant population, and the driving force of organized crime.

Mathiesen K. Elephant poaching crisis unchanged a year after global pledge [Internet]. New York (NY): The Guardian; 2015 [cited 2015 September 5]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/elephant-poaching-crisis-unchanged-a-year-after-global-pledge. 

This article explains that since the 2014 CITES ban on ivory trade, in which 46 agreed to “control ivory trade” the amount of elephants poached has not decreased significantly.  The article gives statistics on the amount of elephants killed over the last decade, noting that the numbers of the last five years are unsustainable.  Like the journal article about elephant sustainability, this article also raises the concern that elephants will become extinct in the year future if current trends continue.  Mathiesen argues that although ivory trade is recognized as a serious global concern, and although progress has been made and that “Africa-wide numbers disguise regional successes and failures,” change is not happening quick enough.  He argues that since elephants could become extinct within the next few decades, there is significant pressure on current organizations and the current generation to do something about the issue that will make a substantial impact.  This article is important because it tracks the effects of the CITES ban, and will help answer the question of if current laws are effective. 

Onion R. Should We Destroy Our Ivory Art Out of Guilt? Prince William Seems to Think So [Internet]. New York (NY): Slate; 2014 [cited 2015 September 8]. Available from: http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_things/2014/02/19/prince_william_duke_of_cambridge_s_comments_on_destroying_royal_ivory.html.

This article mainly brings up the question of the ethics of ivory relics.  Prince William had many “surrendered ivory keepsakes” (all owned by the royal family for centuries) destroyed to show support of conservation efforts.  However, these ivory pieces were much more valuable (both in monetary and cultural value) than the raw ivory that many governments have destroyed, including the US and China.  These pieces were relics, created before elephant populations were seriously threatened as they are today.  This article is important because it raises the debate of if having old and legal ivory is still morally wrong, and should therefore be surrendered or confiscated.  Some believe that destroying ivory relics will do nothing to impact elephant poaching today.  Others argue that it’s about the mentality, and learning from history.  Either way, this debate is an important part of the civil and legal aspect of ivory trade and goods.

Ramzy A. Conservationists Continue Push to Block Hong Kong Ivory Sales [Internet]. New York (NY): New York Times; 2014 [cited 2015 September 8]. Available from: http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/29/conservationists-continue-push-to-block-hong-kong-ivory-sales/.

Many sources explain how Asia houses the world’s largest ivory market, with China as a driving force.  This is in part due to the traditional use of ivory for many decorative goods, including stamps and intricate carvings.  However, conservationist groups are rising up in protest, holding rallies with a festival-like feel, including drum performances, in front of ivory stores.  China’s famous basketball player Yao Ming has endorsed the ban on ivory trade, which has added momentum to the movement.  The 1989 CITES global ban on ivory trade only prohibits ivory collected after 1989 to be traded.  Many shops are using this loophole to trade ivory that has been collected since, under the guise that it is older than 1989 and therefore legal.  Hong Kong has held some ivory destruction demonstrations, but according to the article, could be doing more to enforce the ban.  This article is important because the loophole in the CITES ban is used in the United States as well, connecting the issue across the globe.  The article will help me understand the aspects of US ivory trade, too.

Russo C. Can Elephants Survive a Legal Ivory Trade? Debate Is Shifting Against It [Internet]. Washington (DC): National Geographic; 2014 [cited 2015 September 5]. Available from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140829-elephants-trophy-hunting-poaching-ivory-ban-cities/. 

Russo explores multiple aspects of ivory trade, including international trade laws, trade laws in the US, and the economics of ivory trade.  She explains the perspective of both those who are pro-trade, and those who are against.  The opinion of the person she interviewed who stood out the most was that of Daniel Stiles, who looked at the situation of ivory trade from an economic perspective.  He argued that a flat-out ban would increase the demand for ivory, since its availability would be cut.  Stiles proposed a tightly regulated legal trade of raw ivory in China, with the ivory taken only from “problem elephants.”  Another important part of the article was pointing out the complexity of the issue, and how each organization involved is responsible for difference aspects.  Russo argued that conservation groups should stick to reducing the amount of poaching, and not worry about the corruption occurring in ivory trade.  Corruption is common, and makes illegal trade easier, and hard to track.  However, corruption, Russo says, is a problem for CITES to worry about, not conservation groups.  It’s hard to separate one the economics of trade from the poaching itself, because it all seems linked.  However, conservation experts are generally not trade experts, and might not understand the full economics of the market and bans.  This article is helpful because of the different viewpoints I mentioned (the pro-trade stance, and the specialization argument), and also because it gives good background information on the ivory trade issue. 


Seiler S, Page B, Vanak A, Slotow R. Sustainability of Elephant Hunting Across International Borders in Southern Africa: A Case Study of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area. The Journal of Wildlife Management [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2015 September 5]; 78(1): 122-132. JSTOR. Hoboken (NJ): Wiley. Available from: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/stable/43188433. 

This article discusses how elephant hunting rates exceed natural birth rates, which means the overall elephant population is on the decline.  Given how many elephants are poached annually in the recent years, elephants are in danger of going extinct; and because there is no easy way to increase the amount of natural elephant births in the wild, the change is going to have to come from the hunting side.  Data was collected from field research, which consisted of aerial surveys to acquire data on elephant populations.  The research team calculated birth rates by surveying the amount of elephants that had reached mating age over a ten year period.  The amount of bulls hunted not only affects elephant population by the removal of those bulls, but it also affects birth rates, since many bulls killed are at mating age (15-35 years old).  The study was conducted in the Mapungubwe area, which is in southern Africa.  This article is a very valuable source, because it gives scientific evidence to support the claim elephant populations are declining due to poaching, which has been made by other sources, including the National Geographic article I reviewed, and the Guardian article.


REFLECTION

I noticed the main difference between the bibliographies I read and the one I wrote was the length of the annotations.  My annotations were generally a few sentences longer than Alex’s and Bailey’s.  I know that my annotated bibliography took me a substantial time to write – probably too long.  I could be putting to many details into my annotations than necessary.  However, I think that will the details I’ve included, it will be easier for me to remember what the different sources were saying.  Hopefully I can save time later by not having to go back and reread articles, since I took thorough notes on them already.