IntroductionAs urban and rural land development become widespread features of the global landscape so an understanding of the landscape requirements of displaced and isolated wildlife species becomes increasingly important for conservation planning. In the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, rapid human population growth, and the associated urban and rural land transformation, threatens the sustainability of the local chacma baboon population. Here we analyse spatial data collected from nine of the 12 extant troops to determine their population-level landscape requirements. We use hurdle models to ascertain the key landscape features influencing baboon occurrence and abundance patterns on two hierarchical spatial scales.ResultsBoth spatial scales produced similar results that were ecologically reliable and interpretable. The models indicated that baboons were more likely to occur, and be more abundant, at low altitudes, on steep slopes and in human-modified habitats. The combination of these landscape variables provides baboons with access to the best quality natural and anthropogenic food sources in close proximity to one another and suitable sleeping sites. Surface water did not emerge as an influential landscape feature presumably as the area is not water stressed.ConclusionsThe model results indicate that land development in the Cape Peninsula has pushed baboons into increasingly marginal natural habitat while simultaneously providing them with predictable and easily accessible food sources in human-modified habitats. The resultant spatial competition between humans and baboons explains the high levels of human-baboon conflict and further erosion of the remaining land fragments is predicted to exacerbate competition. This study demonstrates how the quantification of animal landscape requirements can provide a mechanism for identifying priority conservation areas at the human-wildlife interface.
Anthropogenic habitat alteration can have a dramatic effect on the spatial distribution and ranging patterns of primates. We characterized the spatial ecology of a free-living troop of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in a humanmodified environment in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. We used GPS and behavioral observations collected over 1 yr to quantify the troop's home range size, habitat selection, choice of sleeping site, and foraging patterns. The troop comprised 115 individuals living in a home range of 9.50 km 2 , giving a density of 12.1 baboons/km 2 . Area use correlates positively with exotic vegetation and negatively with indigenous vegetation and altitude. The troop spent significantly more time in low-lying human-modified environments, i.e., plantations, vineyards, and urban habitat, than in indigenous vegetation that was largely restricted to steeper slopes at higher elevations. The troop slept exclusively in exotic trees, 94% of which were located in the plantation, 3% in urban habitat, and 3% in vineyards. The most consumed food items were exotic grasses, subterranean food items, and exotic pine nuts. The survival and persistence of the focal troop in close proximity to the urban edge while ≥3 neighboring troops were previously extirpated suggests that access to low-lying land in conjunction with a land-use practice that does not preclude baboon presence has been fundamental to both their survival and persistence at such a high density. The almost exclusive use of exotic vegetation both as a food source and as a safe refuge for sleeping highlights the ecological flexibility of baboons, but the systematic loss of low-lying productive land poses the single greatest threat to their continued persistence on the Cape Peninsula.
ABSTRACT. Conflict with humans poses one of the greatest threats to the persistence and survival of all wildlife. In the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, human-baboon conflict levels remain high despite substantial investment by conservation authorities in a variety of mitigation measures. Here we explore how spatial ecology can inform wildlife managers on the extent and severity of both current and projected human-baboon conflict. We apply conservative and generous densities-2.3 and 5.9 baboons/km 2 -to hypothetical landscape management scenarios to estimate whether the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) population in the Cape Peninsula is currently overabundant. We correlate conflict indices with spatial variables to explain intertroop differences in conflict levels. We investigate how an understanding of key elements of baboon ecology, including sleeping-site characteristics and intertroop territoriality, can direct management efforts and mitigate conflict. Our findings suggest that the current population of 475 baboons is below even the most conservative density estimate and that the area could potentially sustain up to 799 baboons. Conflict levels correlated positively with the loss of access to low-lying land through habitat transformation (Pearson r = 0.77, p = 0.015, n = 9 troops), and negatively with the distance of sleeping sites from the urban edge (Pearson r = 0.81, p = 0.001, n = 9 troops). Despite the availability of suitable sleeping sites elsewhere, more than half of all troops slept <500 m from the urban edge, resulting in increased spatial overlap and conflict with residents. Evidence for intertroop territoriality suggested that troop removal to mitigate human-baboon conflict would only be a short-term solution because neighboring troops are predicted to usurp the vacated home range and thus perpetuate the cycle of conflict. Together these findings suggest that an understanding of wildlife spatial ecology in a semi-urban context can be used to identify current and predicted landscape-level causes of human-baboon conflict. This information can be used to formulate sustainable long-term landscape management and conservation plans so that less costly and controversial direct wildlife management is required, and so ultimately fewer animals and humans suffer the costs of conflict.
Differences in group size and habitat use are frequently used to explain the extensive variability in ranging patterns found across the primate order. However, with few exceptions, our understanding of primate ranging patterns stems from studies of single groups and both intra- and inter-specific meta-analyses. Studies with many groups and those that incorporate whole populations are rare but important for testing socioecological theory in primates. We quantify the ranging patterns of nine chacma baboon troops in a single population and use Spearman rank correlations and generalized linear mixed models to analyze the effects of troop size and human-modified habitat (a proxy for good quality habitat) on home range size, density (individuals/km(2) ), and daily path length. Intrapopulation variation in home range sizes (1.5-37.7 km(2) ), densities (1.3-12.1 baboons/km(2) ), and daily path lengths (1.80-6.61 km) was so vast that values were comparable to those of baboons inhabiting the climatic extremes of their current distribution. Both troop size and human-modified habitat had an effect on ranging patterns. Larger troops had larger home ranges and longer daily path lengths, while troops that spent more time in human-modified habitat had shorter daily path lengths. We found no effect of human-modified habitat on home range size or density. These results held when we controlled for the effects of both a single large outlier troop living exclusively in human-modified habitat and baboon monitors on our spatial variables. Our findings confirm the ability of baboons, as behaviorally adaptable dietary generalists, to not only survive but also to thrive in human-modified habitats with adjustments to their ranging patterns in accordance with current theory. Our findings also caution that studies focused on only a small sample of groups within a population of adaptable and generalist primate species may underestimate the variability in their respective localities.
A multitude of interconnected socio-economic and environmental impacts are emerging across Africa as a result of escalating anthropogenic drivers of global and local change [...]
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