Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T12:35:05.859Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Factors driving the discovery and utilization of a newly available area by African elephants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2020

Anne Pandraud Open the ORCID record for Anne Pandraud [Opens in a new window] ,
Adrian M. Shrader ,
Craig Sholto-Douglas  and
Simon Chamaillé-Jammes Open the ORCID record for Simon Chamaillé-Jammes [Opens in a new window]
Anne Pandraud*
Affiliation:
Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Adrian M. Shrader
Affiliation:
Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Craig Sholto-Douglas
Affiliation:
Beyond, Phinda Private Game Reserve and Mun-Ya-Wana Conservancy, South Africa
Simon Chamaillé-Jammes
Affiliation:
Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
*
Author for correspondence: *Anne Pandraud, Email: pandraudanne@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

For large mammals, area expansion is a key conservation measure to prevent species’ decline and extinction. Yet, its success depends on whether animals discover and later use these areas. Here, using GPS data, we investigated how herds of elephants detected and used an area made available to them after the removal of a fence. We studied the elephants’ behaviour before and after the fence removal, accounting for seasonal changes in movement patterns. In contrast to previous studies, herds visited the newly available area within a month of the fence removal, and the maximum distance they moved into the new area was reached between 5 and 9 months after the fence removal. Yet, elephants did not preferentially visit the new area at night. By the second year, all herds had shifted their seasonal home ranges and incorporated the new area, in contrast to a previous range expansion event. Our analyses show that the regular proximity of elephants to the original fence, and the fact that the new area was generally composed of preferred habitats of the elephants, probably explained the rapid discovery and use of the area. Our study improves our understanding of animal exploration and the role of habitat quality, and thus may improve range expansion and corridor programmes.

Keywords

Discoveryhabitat selectionlandscape explorationLoxodonta africanaprotected area expansion
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , July 2020 , pp. 150 - 158
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature cited

Bangs, EE and Fritts, SH (1996) Reintroducing the gray wolf to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. Wildlife Society Bulletin 24, 402–413.Google Scholar
Bezuidenhout, H (2004) Internal Report on the impact of elephants on the vegetation of the Zwarthoek section, Marakele National Park. Arid Ecosystems Research Unit, Conservation Services.Google Scholar
Biggs, HC, Slotow, R, Scholes, B, Carruthers, J, van Aarde, R, Graham, K, Twine, W, Grobler, D, Berthshinger, H, Grant, R, Lötter, H, Blignaut, J and Hopkinson, L (2008) Towards integrated decision-making for elephant management. In Scholes, RJ and Mennell, KG (eds), Assessment of South African Elephant Management. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, pp. 530–578.Google Scholar
Cardillo, M, Purvis, A, Sechrest, W, Gittleman, JL, Bielby, J and Mace, GM (2004) Human population density and extinction risk in the world’s carnivores. PLoS Biology 2, 909–914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chamaillé-Jammes, S (2019) A reformulation of the selection ratio shed light on resource selection functions and leads to a unified framework for habitat selection studies. bioRxiv 565838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Knegt, HJ, Pretorius, Y, van Langevelde, F, de Boer, WF, Gort, G, Skidmore, AK, Slotow, R, Henley, S, Delsink, A, Grant, CC and Prins, HHT (2010) Visited sites revisited – site fidelity in African elephants. In de Knegt, HJ (ed.), Beyond the Here and Now: Herbivore Ecology in a Spatial-Temporal Context. Wageningen: Wageningen University.Google Scholar
Douglas-Hamilton, I, Krink, T and Vollrath, F (2005) Movements and corridors of African elephants in relation to protected areas. Naturwissenschaften 92, 158–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Druce, HC, Pretorius, K and Slotow, R (2007) The response of an elephant population to conservation area expansion: Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa. Biological Conservation 141, 3127–3138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eastridge, R and Clark, JD (2001) Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: evaluation of 2 soft-release techniques to reintroduce black bears. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973–2006) 29, 1163–1174.Google Scholar
Fryxell, JM and Sinclair, RE (1988) Seasonal migration by white-eared kob in relation to resources. African Journal of Ecology 26, 17–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Getz, WM, Fortmann-roe, S, Cross, PC, Lyons, AJ, Ryan, SJ and Wilmers, CC (2007) LoCoH: Nonparametric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions. PLoS ONE e207(2), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, RC, Bengis, RG, Balfour, D, Peel, MJS, Africa, S and Mostert, W (2008) Controlling the distribution of elephants. In Scholes, RJ and Mennell, KG (ed.), Elephant Management: A Scientific Assessment for South Africa. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, pp. 329–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, G, Thirgood, S, Hopcraft, JGC, Cromsigt, JPGM and Berger, J (2009) Global decline in aggregated migrations of large terrestrial mammals. Endangered Species Research 7, 55–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoch, K and Schulz, A (1957) Precipitation, temperature and sultriness in Africa. In World Atlas of Epidemic Diseases, Vol. 2. Heidelberg: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften.Google Scholar
Larkin, JL, Cox, JJ, Wichrowski, MW, Dzialak, MR and Maehr, DS (2004) Influences on release-site fidelity of translocated elk. Restoration Ecology 12, 97–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linklater, WL, Macdonald, EA, Flamand, JRB and Czekala, NM (2010) Declining and low fecal corticoids are associated with distress, not acclimation to stress, during the translocation of African rhinoceros. Animal Conservation 13, 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manly, BFJ (2002) Estimating a resource selection function with line transect sampling. Journal of Applied Mathematics and Decision Sciences 6, 213–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mettke-Hofmann, C, Winkler, H and Leisler, B (2002) The significance of ecological factors for exploration and neophobia in parrots. Ethology 108, 249–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, T, Olson, KA, Dressler, G, Leimgruber, P, Fuller, TK, Nicolson, C, Novaro, AJ, Bolgeri, MJ, Wattles, D, DeStefano, S, Calabrese, JM and Fagan, WF (2011) How landscape dynamics link individual to population-level movement patterns: a multispecies comparison of ungulate relocation data. Global Ecology and Biography 20, 683–694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naughton-Treves, L, Holland, MB and Brandon, K (2005) The role of protected areas in conserving biodiversity and sustaining local livelihoods. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 30, 219–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborn, FV and Parker, GE (2003) Linking two elephant refuges with a corridor in the communal lands of Zimbabwe. African Journal of Ecology 41, 68–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen-Smith, RN (1988) Megaherbivores: The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, MH, Shuttleworth, A, Ward, D and Shrader, AM (2018) African elephants use plant odours to make foraging decisions across multiple spatial scales. Animal Behaviour 141, 17–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slotow, R and Page, B (2002) Preliminary Report on Elephant Vegetation Utilization at Phinda Resource Reserve. Phinda Elephant Report, 1–16. Unpublished report.Google Scholar
Switzer, PV (1993) Site fidelity in predictable and unpredictable habitats. Evolutionary Ecology 7, 533–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, MA, Böhning-Gaese, K, Fagan, WF, Fryxell, JM, van Moorter, B, Alberts, SCet al. (2018) Moving in the Anthropocene: global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements. Science 359, 466–469.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
UNEP-WCMC (2018) 2018 United Nations List of Protected Areas. Supplement on Protected Area Management Effectiveness. Cambridge: UNEP-WCMC.Google Scholar
van Moorter, B, Bunnefeld, N, Panzacchi, M, Rolandsen, CM, Solberg, EJ and Saether, BE (2013) Understanding scales of movement: animals ride waves and ripples of environmental change. Journal of Animal Ecology 82, 770–780.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: Image

Pandraud et al. supplementary material

Pandraud et al. supplementary material 2

Download Pandraud et al. supplementary material(Image)
Image 60.9 KB
Supplementary material: Image

Pandraud et al. supplementary material

Pandraud et al. supplementary material 3

Download Pandraud et al. supplementary material(Image)
Image 85.9 KB
Supplementary material: Image

Pandraud et al. supplementary material

Pandraud et al. supplementary material 4

Download Pandraud et al. supplementary material(Image)
Image 58.1 KB
Supplementary material: Image

Pandraud et al. supplementary material

Pandraud et al. supplementary material 1

Download Pandraud et al. supplementary material(Image)
Image 50.1 KB