The Distribution of the Larger Herbivores in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Field, Christopher R.; Laws, R. M.

doi:10.2307/2401380

Cited by 82 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The major physical factors affecting the distribution of animals in any habitat are the availability of water, effect of fire, topography, temperature variability and relative humidity (Odum, 1971). In areas where artificial permanent waters such as dams and bore holes have been established, the distribution of ungulates that require water for drinking and wallowing is directly influenced by their presence (Field, 1970). Thus, water becomes an important ecological factor affecting the distribution of animals in such areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution, abundance and population status of Burchells zebra (Equus quagga) in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia

Regassa¹

2013

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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A study on the distribution, abundance and population status of Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga, Gray 1824) was carried out in the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia from October, 2009 to March, 2010 including wet and dry seasons. Distance sampling line-transect counting method was used to estimate the population status. A total of 5151 individuals were estimated with a population density of 6.5 km 2 . The population was female biased. The sex ratio of adult male to adult female was 1.0:1.27 and adult to young ratio was 2.9:0.6. Age composition of Burchell's zebra comprised 78.2% adult, 13.0% subadult, 5.3% juvenile and 3.5% foal. Group size changed seasonally and the mean group size was 12.5. The average herd sizes of one male harem and bachelor stallion herds were 7.8 and 5.3, respectively. Distribution and vegetation utilization of the animal showed a marked preference for open grassland habitat. However, there was a seasonal change in the preference of habitat. Increase in human and livestock population was observed in the study area. Overgrazing by cattle and encroachment are the primary factors that affect the population status of Burchell's zebra by reducing the grass quality in the Sanctuary. The study recommends an effective and realistic management policy to control illegal human settlement and encroachment in the sanctuary.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution, abundance and population status of Burchells zebra (Equus quagga) in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia

Regassa¹

2013

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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“…The figure derived from the densities given by Field & Laws (1970) comes to 31 090 which is certainly much too high and results from their study areas including most of the regions with high kob numbers. Also, the standard error of the May 1971 mean was inadbertently repeated in the October 1971 data.…”

Section: Population S I Xmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Field & Laws (1970) counted all the large mammals in ten study areas within the park at monthly intervals over a 4-year period. Field & Laws (1970) counted all the large mammals in ten study areas within the park at monthly intervals over a 4-year period.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of the population size of some ungulate species in the Rwenzori National Park, Uganda

Eltringham¹,

Din

1977

African Journal of Ecology

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Summary Random sample counts were made from the air of kob, topi, warthog and waterbuck in the Rwenzori National Park, Uganda in 1971 and 1972. Estimates of the total populations varied widely and the means for each species were 12 301 (kob), 4932 (topi), 1530 (warthog) and 3563 (waterbuck). The kob and topi figures are considered as fair approximations to the true totals. The warthog total is thought to be much too low but the degree of inaccuracy could not be assessed. The waterbuck total is also considered to be too low and the application of a groundlair correction factor gives a total of 4454. The distribution of the animals over the park was unequal and the most heavily populated areas are identified for each species. There were significant differences between the species in their distribution over the various sectors of the park. A relationship between the rainfall and the number of animals counted was not established except in the case of the waterbuck which showed a positive correlation with rain falling in the month prior to the count. The densities determined from these surveys fell within the range of those found by other workers from ground counts. Résumé En 1971 et 1972, des comptages aériens, échantillons au hasard, se sont effectués au Parc national Rwenzori (Ouganda) des cobes de Buffon, damalisques, phacochéres et cobes defassa. Les estimations ont varié mais les moyennes pour chaque espéce ont été 12 301 cobes de Buffon, 4932 damalisques, 1503 phacochéres et 3563 cobes defassa. On croit que les nombres totals des cobes de Buffon et des damalisques sont corrects approximativement. Cependant le chiffre pour les phacochkres êst certainement trop bas mais on ne peut pas evaluer I'erreur. Le chiffre 4500 peut etre une juste estimation des damalisques. La distribution des animaux dans le parc n'ont pas été uniforme et les régions les plus préferées sont indiquées pour chaque espéce. Les differences entre la préférence des espèces divers pour les habitats favoris sont significatives. Une corrélation entre la quantité de la pluie et les nombres des animaux n'ont ktabli que pour les damalisques où on peut déterminer une correlation positive avec la pluie pendant le mois qui précède le recensement. Les densités déter‐minées dans ces dknombrenients aCriens se confornient assez bien avec les resullals des comptages terrestres des autres chercheurs.

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“…The boundaries of the sampled area were clearly defined in the GIS by the repeated occurrence, due to the frequently repeated transects and resulting large data set (n = 8742), of data points at the same limits of visibility. As community or habitat type has extensively been shown to be the principal influence on the distribution of large mammalian herbivores (Vesey-FitzGerald 1960;Lamprey 1963;Keast 1968;Field & Laws 1970;Blankenship & Field 1972;Ferrar & Walker 1974;Pienaar 1974;Dekker et al 1996), a habitat selection approach to determining herbivores' densities was used. Using the 'Geoprocessing Tool' ('Clip'), the habitat GIS theme as the 'input theme' and the sampled area polygon as the 'clip theme', the 'resultant theme' demarcated the area sampled by habitat type.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting animal censuses amongst abrupt topography; aGIS‐based alternative toDistance

2014

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Management often bases decisions on estimates of animal density and population size. Aerial sampling is expensive whilst current ground methods, noticeably Distance sampling, assume a single detection function for each habitat and that visibility in a given habitat type declines in a smooth, increasing manner with distance from the observer. If the visibility within a habitat varies widely or is suddenly cut off, as amongst abrupt topography, these assumptions are invalidated. We present an affordable, accessible and accurate method for conducting repeated annual censuses on large herbivores in such terrain.We used a GIS habitat-based approach. Monthly, over a two year period, we conducted repeated road transects in Ithala Game Reserve, South Africa, using GPS to record the geographic position of each sighting.These records (n = 8742) were then imported into a GIS and overlaid onto an existing habitat-type GIS layer.With the sampled area thus defined as an irregular polygon in the GIS encompassing all records, we calculated densities of each herbivore species by habitat type and extrapolated total population size estimates. Estimates of maximum population size for wildebeest and zebra correlated (±15%) with management's estimates based on aerial surveys, walked transects and experience.White rhino are individually counted in the reserve and our estimates (year 1: 52; year 2: 57) matched these known numbers (year 1: 50; year 2: 53). Our method also yielded realistic numbers for impala, but unrealistic numbers for kudu and warthog. Our GIS-based census technique produced realistic maximum population estimates for abundant grazing and mixed-feeder mesoherbivores and for scarce, but highly visible, megaherbivores, but not for cryptic species.With the increasing availability of GIS data, the technique is recommended to those working in abrupt terrain frustrated by the inability of current ground census techniques, principally Distance sampling, to produce realistic population estimates.

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The Distribution of the Larger Herbivores in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Cited by 82 publications

References 3 publications

Distribution, abundance and population status of Burchells zebra (Equus quagga) in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia

Distribution, abundance and population status of Burchells zebra (Equus quagga) in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia

Estimates of the population size of some ungulate species in the Rwenzori National Park, Uganda

Conducting animal censuses amongst abrupt topography; aGIS‐based alternative toDistance

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