scholarly journals Temporal Non-stationarity of Path-Selection Movement Models and Connectivity: An Example of African Elephants in Kruger National Park

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Żaneta Kaszta ◽  
Samuel A. Cushman ◽  
Rob Slotow
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Population Distribution ◽  
Path Selection ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Small Rivers ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Ecological Relationships ◽  
Movement Models

Effective conservation and land management require robust understanding of how landscape features spatially and temporally affect population distribution, abundance and connectivity. This is especially important for keystone species known to shape ecosystems, such as the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). This work investigates monthly patterns of elephant movement and connectivity in Kruger National Park (KNP; South Africa), and their temporal relationship with landscape features over a 12-month period associated with the occurrence of a severe drought. Based on elephant locations from GPS collars with a short acquisition interval, we explored the monthly patterns of spatial-autocorrelation of elephant movement using Mantel correlograms, and we developed scale-optimized monthly path-selection movement and resistant kernel connectivity models. Our results showed high variability in patterns of autocorrelation in elephant movements across individuals and months, with a preponderance of directional movement, which we believe is related to drought induced range shifts. We also found high non-stationarity of monthly movement and connectivity models; most models exhibited qualitative similarity in the general nature of the predicted ecological relationships, but large quantitative differences in predicted landscape resistance and connectivity across the year. This suggests high variation in space-utilization and temporal shifts of core habitat areas for elephants in KNP. Even during extreme drought, rainfall itself was not a strong driver of elephant movement; elephant movements, instead, were strongly driven by selection for green vegetation and areas near waterholes and small rivers. Our findings highlight a potentially serious problem in using movement models from a particular temporal snapshot to infer general landscape effects on movement. Conservation and management strategies focusing only on certain areas identified by temporarily idiosyncratic models might not be appropriate or efficient as a guide for allocating scarce resources for management or for understanding general ecological relationships.

scholarly journals The effect of severe drought on the abundance of ticks on vegetation and on scrub hares in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Spickett ◽  
I.G. Horak ◽  
Heloise Heyne ◽  
L.E.O. Braack
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Ixodid Ticks ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
The South ◽  
Free Living ◽  
South West ◽  
Landscape Zone

Free-living ixodid ticks were collected monthly from August 1988 to July 1993 from the vegetation of landscape zones 17 (Sclerocarya caffra/Acacia nigrescens Savanna) and 4 (Thickets of the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers) in the south-east and south-west of the Kruger National Park respectively, and parasitic ticks from scrub hares in the latter landscape zone. Total tick collections from the vegetation of both landscape zones were lowest in the year following the drought year of August 1991 to July 1992, while the tick burdens of the scrub hares were lowest during the drought year itself.

scholarly journals Seasonal activity of savanna termites during and after severe drought

Koedoe ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L.E.O. Braack
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Hodotermes Mossambicus

As part of a broad programme to record the influence of severe drought on selected target populations, two taxa of termite were monitored over a 24-month period in the southern Kruger National Park, South Africa. Activity of harvester termites Hodotermes mossambicus reached highest levels during the drought, while macrotermitine Allodontermes rhodesiensis and Microtermes sp appear to favour less extreme levels of rainfall. The general impact of termites in the KNP is discussed and related to studies elsewhere in Africa.

scholarly journals Juvenile survival and population structure of blue wildebeest and warthogs in the Central Region of the Kruger National Park during the mid-summer drought of 1988/89

Koedoe ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Central Region ◽  
National Park ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Monitoring Programme ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Sharp Decline

The survey was undertaken to investigate juvenile survival and population structure of blue wildebeest and warthogs during a mid-summer drought, and to gain sup- plementary data for a longer-term population monitoring programme. The per- centage of adult wildebeest cows with juveniles was lower than normal for the time, but was not commensurate with a sharp decline in the population. Warthogs did not tolerate the drought as well as wildebeest and experienced a larger reduction in juvenile recruitment, albeit much less than the 80-90 losses of piglets recorded in the more severe drought of late 1982.

Managing rivers for conservation and ecotourism in the Kruger National Park

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 227-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Venter ◽  
A. R. Deacon
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Three Rivers

Six major rivers flow through the Kruger National Park (KNP). All these rivers originate outside and to the west of the KNP and are highly utilized. They are crucially important for the conservation of the unique natural environments of the KNP. The human population growth in the Lowveld during the past two decades brought with it the rapid expansion of irrigation farming, exotic afforestation and land grazed by domestic stock, as well as the establishment of large towns, mines, dams and industries. Along with these developments came overgrazing, erosion, over-utilization and pollution of rivers, as well as clearing of indigenous forests from large areas outside the borders of the KNP. Over-utilization of the rivers which ultimately flow through the KNP poses one of the most serious challenges to the KNP's management. This paper gives the background to the development in the catchments and highlights the problems which these have caused for the KNP. Management actions which have been taken as well as their results are discussed and solutions to certain problems proposed. Three rivers, namely the Letaba, Olifants and Sabie are respectively described as examples of an over-utilized river, a polluted river and a river which is still in a fairly good condition.

scholarly journals Biodiversity baselines: Tracking insects in Kruger National Park with DNA barcodes

2021 ◽  
Vol 256 ◽  
pp. 109034
Author(s):  
Michelle L. D'Souza ◽  
Michelle van der Bank ◽  
Zandisile Shongwe ◽  
Ryan D. Rattray ◽  
Ross Stewart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Dna Barcodes

scholarly journals A re-evaluation of the occurrence of freshwater molluscs in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K.N. De Kock ◽  
C.T. Wolmarans
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Freshwater Molluscs ◽  
Freshwater Mollusc ◽  
Mollusc Species ◽  
Trematode Parasites

Most of the previous records of the freshwater molluscs from the Kruger National Park date back prior to and up to 1966. On account of several droughts between 1966 and 1995 it was decided to do a survey of the freshwater mollusc population in 1995 to evaluate the effect of these droughts. The traditional mollusc intermediate hosts were also screened for trematode parasites to establish whether or not they were infected. No infected molluscs were found. Eight of the 19 species reported up to 1966 were not found during the 1995 survey. Three new mollusc species were collected in 1995. The consequences of the drought are clearly visible when the species diversity found in the dams in the 1995 survey, is compared to what was previously recorded.

The Kruger National Park: Tales of Life within Its Borders

1935 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 471
Author(s):  
W. L. S. ◽  
C. A. Yates
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park
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