Habitat Heterogeneity Variably Influences Habitat Selection by Wild Herbivores in a Semi-Arid Tropical Savanna Ecosystem.

Home
Show All
Show Quick Collection
Highlights +
Most Accessed Papers Most Accessed Items Most Accessed Authors Recent Additions
Search History
Clear Session
Library
Help

Change Site View +
GlobalView Institutes and Directorates

Surface water availability.

Home

Faculty of Science

Department of Nature Conservation - Research Articles

Add to Quick Collection

Muposhi, Victor K., Gandiwa, Edson., Chemura, Abel., Bartels, Paul., Makuza, Stanley M., Madiri, Tinaapi H.. Plos One; 28 September 2016. Habitat Heterogeneity Variably Influences Habitat Selection by Wild Herbivores in a Semi-Arid Tropical Savanna Ecosystem..

File	Description	Size	Format
SOURCE1	Muposhi, V.K..pdf	6 MB	Adobe Acrobat PDF	View Details	Download

Title: Habitat Heterogeneity Variably Influences Habitat Selection by Wild Herbivores in a Semi-Arid Tropical Savanna Ecosystem.
Creator: Muposhi, Victor K.
Creator: Gandiwa, Edson.
Creator: Chemura, Abel.
Creator: Bartels, Paul.
Creator: Makuza, Stanley M.
Creator: Madiri, Tinaapi H.
Subject: Ecosystem management.
Subject: Wildlife conservation.
Subject: Surface water availability.
Date: 28 September 2016
Publisher: Plos One
Description: An understanding of the habitat selection patterns by wild herbivores is critical for adaptive management, particularly towards ecosystem management and wildlife conservation in semi arid savanna ecosystems. We tested the following predictions: (i) surface water availability, habitat quality and human presence have a strong influence on the spatial distribution of wild herbivores in the dry season, (ii) habitat suitability for large herbivores would be higher compared to medium-sized herbivores in the dry season, and (iii) spatial extent of suitable habitats for wild herbivores will be different between years, i.e., 2006 and 2010, in Matetsi Safari Area, Zimbabwe. MaxEnt modeling was done to determine the habitat suitability of large herbivores and medium-sized herbivores. MaxEnt modeling of habitat suitability for large herbivores using the environmental variables was successful for the selected species in 2006 and 2010, except for elephant (Loxodonta africana) for the year 2010. Overall, large herbivores probability of occurrence was mostly influenced by distance from rivers. Distance from roads influenced much of the variability in the probability of occurrence of medium-sized herbivores. The overall predicted area for large and mediumsized herbivores was not different. Large herbivores may not necessarily utilize larger habitat patches over medium-sized herbivores due to the habitat homogenizing effect of water provisioning. Effect of surface water availability, proximity to riverine ecosystems and roads on habitat suitability of large and medium-sized herbivores in the dry season was highly variable thus could change from one year to another. We recommend adaptive management initiatives aimed at ensuring dynamic water supply in protected areas through temporal closure and or opening of water points to promote heterogeneity of wildlife habitats.

Relationships: Show Relationship Browser for this Object
collection(s): Department of Nature Conservation - Research Articles
Identifier: tut:4825
Format: PDF
Language: en
RightsHolder: The authors
Type: Text
Full Text

813 Visitors

871 Hits

5 Downloads

Department of Nature Conservation - Research Articles Habitat Heterogeneity Variably Influences Habitat Selection by Wild Herbivores in a Semi-Arid Tropical Savanna Ecosystem.

Vital Repository 7.0