Estimating the distribution and habitat suitability for aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Abstract

Cryptic, nocturnal or rare species pose a conservation challenge. Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) occur across sub-Saharan Africa, but local or regional distribution is frequently unclear. We investigated the habitat relationships of aardvarks within Kruger National Park, South Africa, using non-invasive driving and walking surveys of aardvark sign. We used generalised linear and Maxent models in an exploratory analysis to evaluate our predictions that the distribution of suitable habitat would be influenced by elevation, vegetation productivity, potential termite activity, potential presence of large predators and amount of sand in the soils. We surveyed 1,786 km of roads and conducted 247 short walking surveys, detecting aardvark sign in 601 locations. Relative habitat use by aardvarks was positively correlated with elevation and vegetation productivity and was negatively correlated with surface water occurrence, suggesting that aardvarks avoided areas with high densities of predators, and favoured higher elevations and areas with greener vegetation. Mean annual rainfall, employed as an index of termite activity, was only weakly correlated with habitat suitability, and soil components had little predictive power. We generated predictive maps of aardvark habitat distribution within the Kruger National Park. Our sampling technique could be employed to investigate aardvark distribution and habitat relationships more broadly.

Spatial and temporal niche overlap of aardwolves and aardvarks in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

“…Aardvarks in South Africa avoided areas close to water, potentially to avoid predation (Epps et al, 2021). Little is known about aardwolves and aardvarks as prey species, but they have few defences against large carnivores (Anderson, 2013;Taylor, 2013).…”

“…Many herbivores depend on surface water, thus large carnivores preying on herbivores often hunt in close proximity to water (Constant et al., 2015; De Boer et al., 2010; Tagwireyi et al., 2020). Aardvarks in South Africa avoided areas close to water, potentially to avoid predation (Epps et al., 2021). Little is known about aardwolves and aardvarks as prey species, but they have few defences against large carnivores (Anderson, 2013; Taylor, 2013).…”

“…Termite activity may be higher on slopes, attracting termite predators, so spatial overlap of aardwolves and aardvarks may increase with slope (Freymann et al., 2010; Sarcinelli et al., 2009). Areas with high large carnivore activity could increase spatial overlap between aardwolves and aardvarks in other areas as they have common predators (Anderson, 2013; Mills, 1984; Taylor, 2013), and aardvarks might avoid areas near water to avoid large carnivores (Epps et al., 2021). A commensal relationship has been suggested whereby aardwolves increase spatial overlap with aardvarks during seasons of lower food availability, to benefit from increased termite availability at locations where aardvarks excavate termite mounds (Taylor & Skinner, 2000).…”

Influence of climate and landscape on genetic differentiation of aardvarks (Orycteropus afer)

“…At the local scale, we tested hypotheses about the influences of distance and landscape on gene flow using a locally developed habitat model (Epps et al., 2021). At the regional scale, we tested two sets of model predictors representing hypotheses regarding the effects of landscape on genetic differentiation.…”

Management of Dental Disease in Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) and Potential Use of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

“…Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer ) are large afrotherian mammals and the only extant member of the order Tubulidentata. They are native to sub-Saharan Africa, where they are considered a keystone species [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. While uncommon, small numbers of aardvarks are maintained in zoological facilities, with only 33 individuals housed at American Zoological Association (AZA) accredited institutions across 20 institutions in the United States [ 4 ].…”