Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) social dynamics in a flood-pulsed environment

Bennitt, Emily; Bonyongo, Mpaphi C.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arx138

Cited by 10 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The number of dyads tracked at each site during the common period (from June 2010 and May 2011) was too small, preventing us from testing such an effect. Overall, our results, therefore, point toward similar fission–fusion dynamics across all study populations, which differ strongly from the one observed in a population in the Okavango Delta (Botswana, Bennitt et al., 2018). The authors reported longer periods in the same subgroup than those observed in our study and lower fission and fusion rates: The mean duration of periods when individuals were in the same subgroup varied from 60 to 75 hr according to seasons (except in one rainy season where mean duration was 7.5 hr, our study—from 18 to 88 hr), and the mean number of fusion events per month varied between less than 1 and 3 (from 3 to 12 for the whole season based on dyads spent more than 10% of their total time in the same subgroup, our study—on average, between 5.7 to 10.3 fusion events per month).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…Bennitt et al. (2018) identified fusion events when collared Cape buffalo were within 300 m of each other. Most recorded interindividual distances in our three sites occurred at short distances (0–300 m: 74.27% of all distances between dyads < 1 km apart, Supporting Information ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within these large groups, subgroups of individuals split and merge regularly. The critical characteristics of these so‐called fission–fusion patterns, such as duration of subgroup splitting, and merging remain mostly unknown (but see Bennitt, Bonyongo, & Harris, 2018). The factors which appear to drive group dynamics in Cape buffalo remain unclear with conflicting results from different studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are fission–fusion dynamics consistent among populations? A large‐scale study with Cape buffalo

Wielgus

Cornélis

Garine‐Wichatitsky

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Fission–fusion dynamics allow animals to manage costs and benefits of group living by adjusting group size. The degree of intraspecific variation in fission–fusion dynamics across the geographical range is poorly known. During 2008–2016, 38 adult female Cape buffalo were equipped with GPS collars in three populations located in different protected areas (Gonarezhou National Park and Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe; Kruger National Park, South Africa) to investigate the patterns and environmental drivers of fission–fusion dynamics among populations. We estimated home range overlap and fission and fusion events between Cape buffalo dyads. We investigated the temporal dynamics of both events at daily and seasonal scales and examined the influence of habitat and distance to water on event location. Fission–fusion dynamics were generally consistent across populations: Fission and fusion periods lasted on average between less than one day and three days. However, we found seasonal differences in the underlying patterns of fission and fusion, which point out the likely influence of resource availability and distribution in time on group dynamics: During the wet season, Cape buffalo split and associated more frequently and were in the same or in a different subgroup for shorter periods. Cape buffalo subgroups were more likely to merge than to split in open areas located near water, but overall vegetation and distance to water were very poor predictors of where fission and fusion events occurred. This study is one of the first to quantify fission–fusion dynamics in a single species across several populations with a common methodology, thus robustly questioning the behavioral flexibility of fission–fusion dynamics among environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Are fission–fusion dynamics consistent among populations? A large‐scale study with Cape buffalo

Wielgus

Cornélis

Garine‐Wichatitsky

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Every ephemeral pan in the study area was identified and mapped using Google Earth (Mountainview, CA, USA). Pans have a distinctive darker soil colour and are located within gaps in wooded canopy, so could be readily identified regardless of the time of year of the Google Earth image [ 39 ]. Pan locations were used to generate a pan density layer, with each pixel having a value for the number of pans within a 50 m radius, corresponding to the pixel size (Pans).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible causes of divergent population trends in sympatric African herbivores

et al. 2019

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Sympatric herbivores experience similar environmental conditions but can vary in their population trends. Identifying factors causing these differences could assist conservation efforts aimed at maintaining fully functional ecosystems. From 1996–2013, tsessebe and wildebeest populations in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, declined by 73% and 90%, respectively, whereas zebra populations remained stable. These sympatric, medium sized herbivores are exposed to similar natural and anthropogenic pressures, but apparently differ in their responses to those pressures. To identify factors that could cause these differences, we fitted GPS-enabled collars to six zebra, eight tsessebe and seven wildebeest in the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. We calculated utilisation distributions (UDs) from GPS data, and used 95% isopleths to compare seasonal home range size between species. We calculated utilisation intensity (UI) from the UDs and generated spatial layers representing resources and disturbances, and then used model averaging to identify factors affecting UI for each species. We calculated second and third order habitat selection ratios to determine whether species were habitat specialists or generalists. Zebra occupied larger home ranges than tsessebe and wildebeest, showed weaker responses to spatial variables and displayed no third order habitat selection; zebra social systems are also more fluid, allowing for information exchange between stable harems. Herbivore species that are sedentary, occupy small home ranges, are habitat specialists and exist in relatively isolated groups are likely to be less resistant and resilient to the rapid pace of environmental change forecast by climate change scenarios. Resources contained within existing protected areas are unlikely to maintain populations of such species at sufficiently high levels, potentially leading to functional extinction. Special precautions may be needed to ensure that such species can persist in the wild, such as buffer zones around existing protected areas, which would allow greater potential for adaptive movement should current environmental conditions change.

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“…GPS telemetry has revealed how ungulate herds can be open to transfers of animals between herd ranges, as well as showing splitting and re‐joining among herd members, most notably for buffalo (Winnie et al , Caron et al , Bennitt et al , S. Chamaille‐Jammes, unpublished data). Although the home ranges occupied by buffalo herds in Kruger National Park are largely discrete, individual females may disperse between the distinct herds (Spaan et al ).…”

Section: How Socially Persistent Are Herds?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement ecology of large herbivores in African savannas: current knowledge and gaps

et al. 2020

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1. Nearly 90% of the world's large herbivore diversity occurs in Africa, yet there is a striking dearth of information on the movement ecology of these organisms compared to herbivores living in higher latitude ecosystems. 2. The environmental context for movements of large herbivores in African savanna ecosystems has several distinguishing features. African large herbivores move in landscapes with high spatiotemporal variability, low predictability, seasonal restrictions in surface water as well as food resources, and exposure to a diverse assemblage of competitors, predators, and pathogens. These features influence mobility, diel activity routines, home-range fidelity, and exposure to predation. 3. We review the knowledge that has been gained about the movements of African herbivores from Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry and identify important gaps in knowledge that exist. Topics addressed include seasonal movement patterns, daily activity schedules, space utilisation, water dependency, responses to risks of predation, pathogen transmission, social affiliations, and local population density determination. 4. While the growing number of GPS telemetry studies has addressed a wide range of topics in Africa, they remain fragmentary in terms of places and species represented. Most research has been focussed on three species, and practices for data sharing and analysis should be improved. African landscapes are changing perhaps faster than any other region on Earth, with rapidly expanding human populations, massive infrastructure development projects, and changes in climatic regimes. There is a crucial need to establish relationships between herbivore movements and their changing environments, especially in Africa where most of the world's large herbivore diversity resides.

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Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) social dynamics in a flood-pulsed environment

Cited by 10 publications

References 56 publications

Are fission–fusion dynamics consistent among populations? A large‐scale study with Cape buffalo

Are fission–fusion dynamics consistent among populations? A large‐scale study with Cape buffalo

Possible causes of divergent population trends in sympatric African herbivores

Movement ecology of large herbivores in African savannas: current knowledge and gaps

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