Will reconnecting ecosystems allow long-distance mammal migrations to resume? A case study of a zebra<i>Equus burchelli</i>migration in Botswana

Bartlam‐Brooks, Hattie L. A.; Bonyongo, Mpaphi C.; Harris, Stephen

doi:10.1017/s0030605310000414

Cited by 84 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The timing of the migration from the Chobe River appeared to coincide with heavy, episodic rainfall events early in the wet season at Nxai Pan. Other migratory ungulate species (Sinclair & Norton-Griffiths, 1979), as well as zebras in the recently re-established migration from the Okavango Delta to the Makgadikgadi Pans (Bartlam-Brooks et al, 2011), also appear to time migration to rainfall events, and zebras are able to orient long-range movements to environmental conditions outside their perceptory range (Brooks & Harris, 2008). However, as we have only observed two southward migration onsets we are unable to assess statistically the nature of the relationship between timing of rainfall and migration without a substantially longer time series.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A newly discovered wildlife migration in Namibia and Botswana is the longest in Africa

Naidoo

Chase²,

Beytell

et al. 2014

Oryx

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Migrations of most animal taxa are declining as a result of anthropogenic pressures and land-use transformation. Here, we document and characterize a previously unknown multi-country migration of Burchell's zebra Equus quagga that is the longest of all recorded large mammal migrations in Africa. Our data from eight adult female zebras collared on the border of Namibia and Botswana show that in December 2012 all individuals crossed the Chobe River and moved due south to Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana, where they spent a mean duration of 10 weeks before returning, less directly, to their dry season floodplain habitat. The same southward movements were also observed in December 2013. Nxai Pan appeared to have similar environmental conditions to several possible alternative wet season destinations that were closer to the dry season habitat on the Chobe River, and water availability, but not habitat or vegetation biomass, was associated with higher-use areas along the migratory pathway. These results suggest a genetic and/or cultural basis for the choice of migration destination, rather than an environmental one. Regardless of the cause, the round-trip, straight-line migration distance of 500 km is greater than that covered by wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus during their well-known seasonal journey in the Serengeti ecosystem. It merits conservation attention, given the decline of large-scale ecological processes such as animal migrations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A newly discovered wildlife migration in Namibia and Botswana is the longest in Africa

Naidoo

Chase²,

Beytell

et al. 2014

Oryx

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“…Elephants are known to have long memories [41,42] and may remember old migration routes many years after being denied access to them. Medium-sized ungulates can also resume long-distance migrations if connectivity is restored within a few years [43]. Thus the blocking of these corridors should not be considered irreversible.…”

Section: Vanishing Corridorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vanishing Wildlife Corridors and Options for Restoration: A Case Study from Tanzania

Jones

Bamford²,

Ferrol-Schulte

et al. 2012

Tropical Conservation Science

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Conserving wildlife corridors is increasingly important for maintaining ecological and genetic connectivity in times of unprecedented habitat fragmentation. Documenting connectivity loss, assessing root causes, and exploring restoration options are therefore priority conservation goals. A 2009 nationwide assessment in Tanzania documented 31 major remaining corridors, the majority of which were described as threatened. The corridor between the Udzungwa Mountains and the Selous Game Reserve in south-central Tanzania, a major link between western and southern wildlife communities, especially for the African elephant Loxodonta africana, provides an illuminating case study. A preliminary assessment in 2005 found that connectivity was barely persisting via two remaining routes. Here we present assessments of these two corridors conducted from 2007-2010, using a combination of dung surveys, habitat mapping and questionnaires. We found that both corridor routes have become closed over the last five years. Increased farming and livestock keeping, associated with both local immigration and population growth, were the main reasons for corridor blockage. However, continued attempts by elephants to cross by both routes suggest that connectivity can be restored. This entails a process of harmonizing differing land owners and uses towards a common goal. We provide recommendations for restoring lost connectivity and discuss the prospects for preventing further loss of corridors across the country.

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“…Fencing entire protected areas confines animals that often require very large home ranges, and so while smaller protected areas can be fenced more economically, smaller protected areas are more likely to disrupt ecological function if they are fenced [91]. Because most ungulates are at least partly migratory, large herbivore populations may be further impacted by any fencing that essentially fragments their habitat [92].…”

Section: Impacts On Population and Ecosystemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Large Herbivores in Protected Areas

Found¹

2016

Glob J Ecol

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By nature of their size, grouping behaviour, and central position within most trophic webs, large terrestrial herbivores --namely ungulates and elephants --tend to be both keystone and umbrella species. Their proportionately large impacts on ecosystems extend both top-down (i.e. regulation of vegetation), but also bottom up (regulated their predators). For these reasons, as well as their cultural and economic importance to humans around the world, large herbivores are among the most heavily managed species in any region. Large herbivores have historically been managed by the fact that hunting by humans -or an intentional or forced reduction in that hunting -effectively plays its own top-down role of regulating herbivores. Managing large herbivores in protected areas presents a different set of challenges, however, because where human can no longer hunt large herbivores, the role of humans in the ecosystem is changed dramatically. The necessity of regulating both over and underabundant large herbivore populations remains, however, but we are now challenged to affect this management from outside of our former predator-prey relationships. I reviewed the major approaches to managing large herbivores in protected areas, from a historical perspective, through the development of protected areas and conservation ethics, to more modern methods such as wildlife contraception and behavioural modification. I examine each of these methods from a broader perspective that give further consideration to the impacts on species other than the target species. I synthesize these approaches them from the perspective of holistic ecosystem management, where each method acts to replace a part of ecosystem function that has otherwise been lost by the very fact the herbivore population is in a protected area. As the amount of undisturbed habitat for large herbivores decreases worldwide, these iconic species are increasingly confined only to protected areas, making specific strategies for managing their populations even more important.the consequences of inadequate management. Ironically, because of past human interference, maintaining balanced and "natural" ecosystem function within protected areas often requires further human interference. The objective of this review was to examine the different methods humans have employed to manage large herbivore populations, but synthesize them as reactive approaches to replace natural ecosystem process that have been lost. Protected areas have changed our relationship with what essentially is our former prey, but I argue that sustainable management of large herbivores can only be achieved by restoring intactness to ecosystems in which humans are an active part. Historical large herbivore managementPre-industrial attitudes and actions: The goal of wildlife management is to decide how best to manipulate ecosystems towards specific ecological but also human goals within that protected area. Humans have managed large herbivores for thousands of years, namely as a continuous and important food s...

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Will reconnecting ecosystems allow long-distance mammal migrations to resume? A case study of a zebraEquus burchellimigration in Botswana

Cited by 84 publications

References 27 publications

A newly discovered wildlife migration in Namibia and Botswana is the longest in Africa

A newly discovered wildlife migration in Namibia and Botswana is the longest in Africa

Vanishing Wildlife Corridors and Options for Restoration: A Case Study from Tanzania

Managing Large Herbivores in Protected Areas

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