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Young TP, Kimuyu DN, LaMalfa EM, Werner CM, Jones C, Masudi P, Ang'ila R, Sensenig RL. Effects of large mammalian herbivory, previous fire, and year of burn on fire behavior in an African savanna. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Truman. P. Young
- Department of Plant Sciences University of California Davis California USA
- Mpala Research Centre Nanyuki Kenya
| | - Duncan N. Kimuyu
- Mpala Research Centre Nanyuki Kenya
- Department of Natural Resources Karatina University Karatina Kenya
| | - Eric M. LaMalfa
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan Utah USA
| | - Chhaya M. Werner
- Department of Botany and Wyoming EPSCoR University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming USA
| | | | - Phyllis Masudi
- Department of Animal Production University of Nairobi Kangemi Kenya
| | - Robert Ang'ila
- Department of Environmental Studies Karatina University Karatina Kenya
| | - Ryan L. Sensenig
- Department of Biological Sciences Goshen College Goshen Indiana USA
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Wigley-Coetsee C, Strydom T, Govender D, Thompson DI, Govender N, Botha J, Simms C, Manganyi A, Kruger L, Venter J, Greaver C, Smit IP. Reflecting on research produced after more than 60 years of exclosures in the Kruger National Park. KOEDOE: AFRICAN PROTECTED AREA CONSERVATION AND SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.4102/koedoe.v64i1.1674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Herbivores are a main driver of ecosystem patterns and processes in semi-arid savannas, with their effects clearly observed when they are excluded from landscapes. Starting in the 1960s, various herbivore exclosures have been erected in the Kruger National Park (KNP), for research and management purposes. These exclosures vary from very small (1 m2) to relatively large (almost 900 ha), from short-term (single growing season) to long-term (e.g. some of the exclosures were erected more than 60 years ago), and are located on different geologies and across a rainfall gradient. We provide a summary of the history and specifications of various exclosures. This is followed by a systematic overview of mostly peer-reviewed literature resulting from using KNP exclosures as research sites. These 75 articles cover research on soils, vegetation dynamics, herbivore exclusion on other faunal groups and disease. We provide general patterns and mechanisms in a synthesis section, and end with recommendations to increase research outputs and productivity for future exclosure experiments.Conservation Implications: Herbivore exclosures in the KNP have become global research platforms, that have helped in the training of ecologists, veterinarians and field biologists, and have provided valuable insights into savanna dynamics that would otherwise have been hard to gain. In an age of dwindling conservation funding, we make the case for the value added by exclosures and make recommendations for their continued use as learning tools in complex African savannas.
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Trisos MO, Parr CL, Davies AB, Leitner M, February EC. Mammalian herbivore movement into drought refugia has cascading effects on savanna insect communities. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1753-1763. [PMID: 33844850 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Global climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of droughts, with major impacts on tropical savannas. It has been suggested that during drought, increased soil moisture and nutrients on termite mounds could benefit plants but it is unclear how such benefits could cascade to affect insect communities. Here, we describe the effects of drought on vegetation structure, the cascading implications for invertebrates and how termite mounds influence such effects. We compared how changes in grass biomass affected grasshopper and ant diversity on and off Macrotermes mounds before (2012) and during a drought (2016) at two locations that experienced large variation in drought severity (Skukuza and Pretoriuskop) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The 2013-2016 drought was not ubiquitous across the study site, with rainfall decreasing at Skukuza and being above average at Pretoriuskop. However, grass biomass declined at both locations. Grasshopper abundance decreased at droughted Skukuza both on and off mounds but decreased on mounds and increased off mounds at non-droughted Pretoriuskop. Ant abundance and species richness increased at Skukuza but remained the same on mounds and decreased off mounds at Pretoriuskop. Our results demonstrate the spatially extensive effects of drought. Despite above average rainfall in 2016 at Pretoriuskop, grass biomass decreased, likely due to an influx of large mammalian herbivores from drought-affected areas. This decrease in grass biomass cascaded to affect grasshoppers and ants, further illustrating the effects of drought on invertebrates in adjoining areas with higher rainfall. Our grasshopper results also suggest that increased drought in savannas will contribute to overall declines in insect abundance. Moreover, our recorded increase in ant abundance was primarily in the form of increases in dominant species, illustrating how drought-induced shifts in relative abundance will likely influence ecosystem structure and function. Our study highlights the phenomenon of spill-over drought effects and suggests rather than mitigating drought, termite mounds can instead become the focus for more intense grazing, with important consequences for insect communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew O Trisos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Catherine L Parr
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.,School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Monica Leitner
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Edmund C February
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Bishop TR, Griffiths HM, Ashton LA, Eggleton P, Woon JS, Parr CL. Clarifying Terrestrial Recycling Pathways. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 36:9-11. [PMID: 33012566 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tom R Bishop
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK; Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
| | - Hannah M Griffiths
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK.
| | - Louise A Ashton
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China
| | - Paul Eggleton
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Joel S Woon
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Catherine L Parr
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK; Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
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Lind BM, Davies AB. A checklist of the termites of Kruger National Park, South Africa. KOEDOE: AFRICAN PROTECTED AREA CONSERVATION AND SCIENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.4102/koedoe.v61i1.1531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
The protection of biodiversity is critical to ecosystem function and is a primary management goal for conservation areas globally. Maintaining a current inventory of known diversity is a central component of achieving this goal and serves as an essential starting point for future research endeavours. Since the first published survey of termites in South Africa’s Kruger National Park (KNP) over 55 years ago, our understanding of termite diversity has expanded sufficiently to merit an update and formal checklist. Here we revise the inventory of termite diversity in KNP and summarise the taxonomic and functional diversity of termites in the park. A thorough review of recent termite research in KNP added 6 new genera and 13 species to what was found in Coaton’s original survey, with one genus, Anenteotermes, recorded for the first time in southern Africa. Based on the updated species checklist, the majority of genera in the park belong to Feeding Group II (39%) and the Termitidae family (75%).Conservation implications: In savannas, termites play crucial roles in nutrient cycling, water redistribution and plant dynamics. Systematically cataloguing termite diversity and assemblage composition in the park provides an essential baseline for scientific research, aids biodiversity conservation efforts and encourages scientists and managers to consider termites in ecosystem functioning and management. Having more detailed descriptions of genera, species and feeding groups allows for more tangible, ecologically relevant attributions of termite influence, facilitates enhanced inquiry and allows for more realistic quantification of termite roles in key ecosystem processes.
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Odadi WO, Charles GK, Young TP. Cattle select African savanna termite mound patches less when sharing habitat with wild herbivores. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:9074-9085. [PMID: 30271567 PMCID: PMC6157688 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Revised: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
African savanna termite mounds function as nutrient-rich foraging hotspots for different herbivore species, but little is known about their effects on the interaction between domestic and wild herbivores. Understanding such effects is important for better management of these herbivore guilds in landscapes where they share habitats. Working in a central Kenyan savanna ecosystem, we compared selection of termite mound patches by cattle between areas cattle accessed exclusively and areas they shared with wild herbivores. Termite mound selection index was significantly lower in the shared areas than in areas cattle accessed exclusively. Furthermore, cattle used termite mounds in proportion to their availability when they were the only herbivores present, but used them less than their availability when they shared foraging areas with wild herbivores. These patterns were associated with reduced herbage cover on termite mounds in the shared foraging areas, partly indicating that cattle and wild herbivores compete for termite mound forage. However, reduced selection of termite mound patches was also reinforced by higher leafiness of Brachiaria lachnantha (the principal cattle diet forage species) off termite mounds in shared than in unshared areas. Taken together, these findings suggest that during wet periods, cattle can overcome competition for termite mounds by taking advantage of wildlife-mediated increased forage leafiness in the matrix surrounding termite mounds. However, this advantage is likely to dissipate during dry periods when forage conditions deteriorate across the landscape and the importance of termite mounds as nutrient hotspots increases for both cattle and wild herbivores. Therefore, we suggest that those managing for both livestock production and wildlife conservation in such savanna landscapes should adopt grazing strategies that could lessen competition for forage on termite mounds, such as strategically decreasing stock numbers during dry periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilfred O. Odadi
- Department of Natural ResourcesEgerton UniversityEgertonKenya
- Mpala Research CentreNanyukiKenya
| | - Grace K. Charles
- Mpala Research CentreNanyukiKenya
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of California, DavisDavisCalifornia
| | - Truman P. Young
- Mpala Research CentreNanyukiKenya
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of California, DavisDavisCalifornia
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Ndlovu M, Pérez-Rodríguez A. Temperature fluctuations inside savanna termite mounds: Do size and plant shade matter? J Therm Biol 2018; 74:23-28. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Revised: 02/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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