Observations on the Movement Patterns and Daily Home Range Size of Impala, Aepyceros Melampus (Lichtenstein) in the Kruger National Park

Control of introduced predators is critical to both protection and successful reintroduction of threatened prey species. Efficiency of control is improved if it takes into account habitat use, home range and the activity patterns of the predator. These characteristics were studied in feral cats (Felis catus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in arid South Australia, and results are used to suggest improvements in control methods. In addition, mortality and movement patterns of cats before and after a poison-baiting event were compared. Thirteen cats and four foxes were successfully fitted with GPS data-logger radio-collars and tracked 4-hourly for several months. High intra-specific variation in cat home-range size was recorded, with 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) home ranges varying from 0.5 km2 to 132 km2. Cat home-range size was not significantly different from that of foxes, nor was there a significant difference related to sex or age. Cats preferred habitat types that support thicker vegetation cover, including creeklines and sand dunes, whereas foxes preferred sand dunes. Cats used temporary focal points (areas used intensively over short time periods and then vacated) for periods of up to 2 weeks and continually moved throughout their home range. Aerial baiting at a density of 10 baits per km2 was ineffective for cats because similar high mortality rates were recorded for cats in both baited and unbaited areas. Mortality was highest in young male cats. Long-range movements of up to 45 km in 2 days were recorded in male feral cats and movement into the baited zone occurred within 2 days of baiting. Movement patterns of radio-collared animals and inferred bait detection distances were used to suggest optimum baiting densities of ~30 baits per km2 for feral cats and 5 per km2 for foxes. Feral cats exhibited much higher intra-specific variation in activity patterns and home-range size than did foxes, rendering them a potentially difficult species to control by a single method. Control of cats and foxes in arid Australia should target habitats with thick vegetation cover and aerial baiting should ideally occur over areas of several thousand square kilometres because of large home ranges and long-range movements increasing the chance of fast reinvasion. The use of temporary focal points suggested that it may take several days or even weeks for a cat to encounter a fixed trap site within their home range, whereas foxes should encounter them more quickly as they move further each day although they have a similar home-range size. Because of high intra-specific variability in activity patterns and home-range size, control of feral cats in inland Australia may be best achieved through a combination of control techniques.

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Movements and Home Ranges of Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales.

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9960711 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 23 (6) ◽

pp. 711 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

G Saunders ◽

B Kay

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

National Park ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Minimum Convex Polygon ◽

Feral Pigs ◽

South Wales

The movements of a subalpine population of feral pigs were examined at Kosciusko National Park in southeastern New South Wales. Sufficient data were collected to estimate the home-range area of 20 pigs on the basis of 782 telemetry and trap locations. Mean (+/- s.d.) home-range size (minimum convex polygon method) for males (35.0 t 22.2 km*2) was significantly greater than that for females (1 1.1 +/- 5.2 km*2). Use of capture-recapture distances to estimate home-range size was considered inappropriate. A test for nomadism suggests that, although home ranges of pigs in this environment were larger than those reported for other pigs in Australia, the pigs were essentially sedentary. Management implications for this population are discussed.

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Home range sizes of Cape Mountain Zebras Equus Zebra Zebra in the Mountain Zebra National Park

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v25i1.608 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B. L Penzhorn

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

National Park ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Home Ranges ◽

The Mean

The mean home range size of Cape mountain zebra breeding herds was 9,4 km2 (range 3,1 @ 16,0 km2). In two herds which split up, the home ranges of the resultant herds included the original home ranges, but were larger.

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Home Range and Habitat Selection of Female Mountain Nyalas (Tragelaphus Buxtoni) in the Human-Dominated Landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands

10.21203/rs.3.rs-21274/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anagaw Atickem ◽

Matthias Klapproth ◽

Martha Fischer ◽

Dietmar Zinner ◽

Leif Egil Loe

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Home Range ◽

National Park ◽

Resource Selection ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Human Settlement ◽

Night Time ◽

Selection Of

Abstract Background: Human settlement and agricultural activities restrict increasingly the range of large mammals in many cases contributing to declining numbers of ungulates. Here, we studied home range size and habitat selection of female mountain nyalas in the northern end of the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) (31 km2) surrounded by human settlement. We collected data on space use of seven adult female mountain nyalas equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars. Home range size was estimated using fixed kernel density and habitat selection was determined by resource selection functions.Results: We found that female mountain nyalas have much smaller (5.7 km2) home ranges than the 19 km2 home range size predicted for a 170 kg, group-living species living in mixed habitats. Home ranges were 30% larger in night time than daytime. We suggest that the night time extension beyond the park boundaries were caused by both push and pull effects. The presumably high livestock and other ungulates grazing pressure within the protected area may cause forage-driven excursions out of the park, in particular during agricultural crop seasons. In addition, mountain nyalas are probably attracted by humans as shields against hyena predation. Resource selection index indicates bush land and forest habitat are the most preferred habitat types while agriculture and human settlements are least preferred habitats.Conclusions: Given that mountain nyalas are found in high density (24 individuals/km2) and the size of the northern part of the Bale Mountain National Park, which is currently under protection by the park authorities for the mountain nyala conservation, is too small for the predicted home range size of large ungulates, we suggest protecting additional area may be needed for the long-term conservation of the endangered mountain nyala.

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Movement patterns and home range size of tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus) in the Incomati River system, South Africa

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v60i1.1397 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Francois Roux ◽

Gert Steyn ◽

Clinton Hay ◽

Ina Wagenaar

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Home Range ◽

Large Scale ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

River System ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Management Policy ◽

Fish Movement

Historical data suggested that the tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus) of the Incomati River migrates upstream and downstream as part of their life history. It has been suggested that this movement was a prerequisite for successful spawning in inundated floodplains in Mozambique. Recent advances in aquatic radio telemetry provided a reliable mechanism to monitor fish movement and increase knowledge of the ecology of tigerfish. From 04 January 2003 to 22 December 2003, 41 tigerfish in the Incomati River system were fitted with radio transmitters to record movement patterns and estimate home range size. On average, each fish was tracked 72 times, and the total number of fixes was 2971 over the study period, including 1322 summer fixes and 1649 winter fixes. The mean longest distance travelled by tigerfish was 730 m (range = 75 m to 3200 m). The home range size varied between individual fish, but on average fish stayed within a defined home range of 48 846 m2. Tigerfish showed high site fidelity to specific habitats within specific activity zones and movement occurred primarily within these defined zones. Differences in movement pattern, longest distance travelled and home range size could not be attributed to the sex or size of the fish. No large-scale movement patterns associated with specific life history activity were observed; thus, previous reports of large-scale downstream migrations and spawning migrations appear to be invalid. The presence of weirs in the study area impedes free fish movement as these weirs create migration obstructions.Conservation implications: River regulation such as damming, water abstraction, obstructive barriers and channel modification may have a detrimental impact on the survival strategy of this species. Implementation of these results in a management policy will provide a reliable basis for species specific requirements such as upstream reservoir release management; minimum flow volumes required for downstream ecosystem maintenance and management and planning of structures obstructing natural flow.

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Home-range studies in a reintroduced brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) population in the Grampians National Park, Victoria

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am10039 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 128 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jenny Molyneux ◽

David A. Taggart ◽

Anthony Corrigan ◽

Sean Frey

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

National Park ◽

Site Fidelity ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Local Extinction ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Radio Tracking ◽

Western Victoria ◽

Species Ecology

In 2008, after 9 years of presumed local extinction, brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) were reintroduced at Moora Moora Creek in the Grampians National Park, western Victoria. Since little is known about this species in Victoria, the reintroduction presented an important opportunity to gain information on the species’ ecology. Radio-tracking was undertaken and home range determined for three individuals released 11 months before this study and a further five individuals that were released at the commencement of the study in October 2009. Home-range size showed little variation amongst individuals, with a mean overall home range of 26 ha (±1.69, s.e.) and a mean core home range of 2.5 ha (±0.24, s.e.). Newly reintroduced individuals showed higher levels of association with wallabies from the same release and greater site fidelity when known conspecifics were close. Within 5 months of release, newly reintroduced animals showed home ranges similar in both size and distribution to those of animals released 11 months prior.

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Hedgehogs on the move: Testing the effects of land use change on home range size and movement patterns of free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehogs

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0180826 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. e0180826 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Mohammad A. Abu Baker ◽

Nigel Reeve ◽

April A. T. Conkey ◽

David W. Macdonald ◽

Nobuyuki Yamaguchi

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Home Range ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Effects Of Land Use

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Spatial-Organization and Movement Patterns of Adult Male Platypus, Ornithorhynchus-Anatinus (Monotremata, Ornithorhynchidae)

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo9950091 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 91 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

JL Gardner ◽

M Serena

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Adult Male ◽

Spatial Organization ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Activity Period ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Ornithorhynchus Anatinus ◽

Different Parts

Home-range size and overlap and movement patterns of adult male platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, occupying streams in southern Victoria were investigated near the start of the breeding season using radio-tracking techniques. On the basis of a sample of males monitored for four or more complete activity periods, home-range size varied from 2.9 to 7.0 km, with individuals (n = 4) moving a mean net distance of 2.0 +/- 1.4 km per activity period. Longer-range movements were also observed, with one male travelling at least 15 km from one stream catchment to another via an intervening stretch of river. Some home ranges of males were mutually exclusive whereas others overlapped substantially; in the latter case, males largely avoided each other, spending most of their time in different parts of the shared area. All home ranges of males apparently overlapped those of two or more adult females. Three patterns of travel over complete activity periods were recognised, including unidirectional travel (point A to B), return travel (A to B to A) and multidirectional travel with multiple, relatively short-range backtracking. Males occupying overlapping areas often moved multidirectionally and rarely undertook unidirectional travel, whereas the converse applied to males occupying exclusive areas.

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