Resource partitioning within a browsing guild in a key habitat, the Chobe Riverfront, Botswana

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 641-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimane W. Makhabu

Resource partitioning between elephant, giraffe, kudu and impala was assessed. This was to address concerns that elephant population increase adversely affects other species through depleting their food in key areas close to permanent water. Resources considered were woody species browsed, height browsed and plant parts browsed. Animals were observed as they browsed and the plant species, browsing heights and plant parts browsed were recorded. Observations were made over 1 y and the data were divided between wet and dry season. Schoener's index of resource use overlap was calculated for plant species, browsing heights and plant parts eaten and differences in overlap between wet and dry season were tested. Levin's measure of niche breadth in plant species utilized by the different browsers was calculated. Woody species identity was the main separator between food resources that elephant used and those giraffe, impala and kudu used. Giraffe, kudu and impala mainly browsed the same species and plant parts but browsed at different heights. There was no difference in resource use overlap between seasons with different resource availability. Since elephant browsed different woody species from those browsed by the others, it is unlikely that the increasing elephant population will deplete food resources for the other browsers.

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamo Kebede ◽  
Eshetu Yirdaw ◽  
Olavi Luukkanen ◽  
Mulugeta Lemenih

Abstract Floristic diversity and the composition of vascular plants are described for the moist Afromontane forest (MAF) of Wondo Genet, south-central Ethiopia. A total of 75 (20 x 20 m) quadrats were sampled and data on species identity, abundance, elevation, slope and aspect were recorded. Different diversity indices and ordination techniques were used to analyze the data. A total of 240 plant species including seven endemic plant species were found representing 94 families and 210 genera, of which trees constitute 23.8%, shrubs 25%, herbs 35%, lianas 11.3% and ferns 5%. Cluster and indicator species analyses revealed five plant communities described as: Teclea nobilis-Calpurnia aurea, Erythrococca trichogyne-Millettia ferruginea, Croton macrostachyus-Vernonia hochstetteri, Protea gaguedi-Rhus retinorrhoea and Dodonaea angustifolia-Hypericum quartinianum. Elevation (R2=0.48, P<0.001), slope (R2=0.14, P<0.001) and aspect (R2=0.04, P<0.01) correlated significantly and negatively with species richness, whereas only elevation (R2=0.30, P<0.001) and slope (R2=0.13, P<0.001) related significantly and negatively with abundance. Sørensen’s similarity coefficient indicates that the forest of Wondo Genet is similar to moist montane forests of southwestern and southeastern Ethiopia. Given the high diversity, coupled with the existence of endemic species, ecosystem conservation and restoration strategies with further research are warranted.


1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. A. Butler ◽  
Brian E. Marshall

ABSTRACTCape clawless otters Aonyx capensis and African mottled eels Anguilla bengalensis were suspected of reducing numbers of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in the upper Kairezi River, Zimbabwe, by preying on them and competing for the river crab Potamon perlatus. The analysis of otter, eel and trout diets showed that this is unlikely. Trout was an unimportant prey item for otters, none were found in the stomachs of 13 large eels, and any predation was probably minimised by the low densities of these predators. Some competition was probably present because crabs occurred in the diets of otters (relative occurrence 41.9%), eels (63.2%) and trout (7.4%), but it was impossible to quantify. Since these predators shared the crab food resource, the guild concept provided the basis for an analysis of their potential competitive relationships. Comparisons between the sizes of crabs selected and those available suggested that resource partitioning was occurring. Trout selected small crabs from the invertebrate drift, and because they were restricted by their mouth gapes. Otters and large eels ate larger, more abundant crab sizes; it is proposed that they instead partition resources spatially by feeding in separate micro-habitats. Intraguild predation by otters on eels may benefit trout by reducing competition for aquatic insects. Competition within the guild probably recedes in the dry season, when eels become inactive.


2000 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. BATALHA ◽  
W. MANTOVANI

A natural vegetation area, with 1269 ha, composed mainly by cerrado, located at Santa Rita do Passa Quatro Municipality, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil (21°36-39'S, 47°36-38'W), was studied. From September 1995 to February 1997, a floristic survey was carried out, when all vascular plant species at reproductive stage were collected. The flowering and fruiting patterns of the community were studied, comparing the herbaceous and the woody species. In the herbaceous component, 239 species were found and, in the woody one, 108 species. The woody species flowered mainly at the beginning of the rainy season, while the herbaceous ones produced flowers generally at the end of that season. The proportion of anemo and autochorous species was greater in the herbaceous component. The zoochorous ones, on the contrary, were more frequent in the woody component. At the dry season, when their dispersion is more efficient, the proportion of anemo and autochorous species producing fruits was higher. During the rainy season, when their fruits become attractive for longer time, the zoochorous species fruited more intensely.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 1127-1140
Author(s):  
Qinqin Du ◽  
Mingjun Zhang ◽  
Shengjie Wang ◽  
Athanassios A. Argiriou ◽  
Cunwei Che ◽  
...  

Abstract Lanzhou lies at the western Loess Plateau, China, and has a typical semi-arid temperate continental climate. Plants in this area are exposed to a prolonged dry season. In this study, we measured the stable isotopes of hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ18O) of the local precipitation, river water, soil water, plant xylem water, and leaf water at four sampling sites during the 2016 growing season. Our results showed that plants relied mostly on wet season precipitation at sites N1, N2, and N3 because this recharged the soil after the long dry season. Leaf phenology had a significant effect on evaporation distance (ED) value, and evergreen plants have adapted to water tapping from deep soil water sources during the dry season. The ED values of trees and shrubs were quite different in the dry season, indicating water competition among different plant species was mitigated due to water resource partitioning. Moreover, plants at site N4 relied on a water source admixed with river water throughout the whole growing season. The mean value of xylem-to-leaf water deuterium enrichment (ɛl/x) was −0.91 ± 0.36‰ over all plant species, seasons, and sampling sites. Plant species, leaf phenology, and seasons were found to be the primary factors influencing the ɛl/x, while growth form and elevation had negligible effects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (03) ◽  
pp. 249-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. J. O'Kane ◽  
Kevin J. Duffy ◽  
Bruce R. Page ◽  
David W. Macdonald

Abstract:To clarify the potential influence of different browsers in the same guild on woody vegetation, dietary overlap and separation between elephant, giraffe, kudu, nyala and impala was assessed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. Woody species browsed, browsing heights, plant-parts browsed and browsing versus grazing were recorded over 2 y by direct observation. We obtained 3068 browse records. Niche breadth (Levins' measure) and overlap (Schoener's index) in species browsed and browsing heights were calculated. Annual and seasonal differences in these measurements, plant-part use and browsing versus grazing were assessed. Elephant utilized the largest number (n = 78) of different woody plant species. Overlap in species browsed was lower between elephant and other browsers than amongst the latter. Seasonal rainfall influenced the range of woody plants utilized, niche breadth in terms of species browsed and browsing versus grazing. Marked resource depletion caused elephant, contrary to theoretical predictions, to narrow niche breadth in terms of species browsed. However, resource depletion rarely had a significant effect on interspecific overlap in species browsed or overlap in browsing heights, on actual browsing heights or plant-parts utilized. A small suite (n = 8) of woody species formed the core diet of all guild members, implying the potential for synergistic impacts by guild members on these species and for competition between populations of different guild members.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (06) ◽  
pp. 4589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vardan Singh Rawat

The present study was conducted in the Thalisain block of Pauri Garhwal to document the medicinal plants used by the local communities. 53 plant species distributed in 38 families were documented. Of the total plant species 49% were herbs, 26% trees, 23% shrubs and 2% climbers. 16 different plant parts were used by local communities for different ailments. Medicinal plants were widely used by major sections of the community against common colds, cough, skin diseases, snake bite, fever, joint pains, bronchitis etc. Women and local healers called vaids have a vital role in environmental management due to traditional knowledge and use of plants as medicine with undocumented knowledge. It has been observed as one of the best option of sustainable livelihoods for the residents of the area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Lennartz ◽  
Joel Kurucar ◽  
Stephen Coppola ◽  
Janice Crager ◽  
Johanna Bobrow ◽  
...  

AbstractInformation obtained from the analysis of dust, particularly biological particles such as pollen, plant parts, and fungal spores, has great utility in forensic geolocation. As an alternative to manual microscopic analysis of dust components, we developed a pipeline that utilizes the airborne plant environmental DNA (eDNA) in settled dust to estimate geographic origin. Metabarcoding of settled airborne eDNA was used to identify plant species whose geographic distributions were then derived from occurrence records in the USGS Biodiversity in Service of Our Nation (BISON) database. The distributions for all plant species identified in a sample were used to generate a probabilistic estimate of the sample source. With settled dust collected at four U.S. sites over a 15-month period, we demonstrated positive regional geolocation (within 600 km2 of the collection point) with 47.6% (20 of 42) of the samples analyzed. Attribution accuracy and resolution was dependent on the number of plant species identified in a dust sample, which was greatly affected by the season of collection. In dust samples that yielded a minimum of 20 identified plant species, positive regional attribution was achieved with 66.7% (16 of 24 samples). For broader demonstration, citizen-collected dust samples collected from 31 diverse U.S. sites were analyzed, and trace plant eDNA provided relevant regional attribution information on provenance in 32.2% of samples. This showed that analysis of airborne plant eDNA in settled dust can provide an accurate estimate regional provenance within the U.S., and relevant forensic information, for a substantial fraction of samples analyzed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 80 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 267-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.G Papachristou ◽  
P.D Platis ◽  
V.P Papanastasis ◽  
C.N Tsiouvaras

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1478-1486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole D. Benda ◽  
Cavell Brownie ◽  
Coby Schal ◽  
Fred Gould

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Acharya Balkrishna ◽  
◽  
Anupam Srivastava ◽  
B.K. Shukla ◽  
Rajesh Kumar Mishra ◽  
...  

During plant exploration and survey of Morni Hills, Panchkula, Haryana (2017-2018) the authors collected about 2200 field numbers from different localities. Out of them, 323 species belonging to 251 genera and 92 families are medicinal plants. The information about medicinal properties of these plants has been gathered during field trips of Morni Hills from local vaidyas and local people of remote localities. The enumeration is alphabetically arranged, followed by their family names, local/common names, plant parts used for curing diseases and medicinal uses. These plant species are utilized by local people against various diseases in Morni Hills area.


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