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Brown MB, Fennessy JT, Crego RD, Fleming CH, Alves J, Brandlová K, Fennessy S, Ferguson S, Hauptfleisch M, Hejcmanova P, Hoffman R, Leimgruber P, Masiaine S, McQualter K, Mueller T, Muller B, Muneza A, O'Connor D, Olivier AJ, Rabeil T, Seager S, Stacy-Dawes J, van Schalkwyk L, Stabach J. Ranging behaviours across ecological and anthropogenic disturbance gradients: a pan-African perspective of giraffe ( Giraffa spp .) space use. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230912. [PMID: 37357852 PMCID: PMC10291724 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal movement behaviours are shaped by diverse factors, including resource availability and human impacts on the landscape. We generated home range estimates and daily movement rate estimates for 149 giraffe (Giraffa spp.) from all four species across Africa to evaluate the effects of environmental productivity and anthropogenic disturbance on space use. Using the continuous time movement modelling framework and a novel application of mixed effects meta-regression, we summarized overall giraffe space use and tested for the effects of resource availability and human impact on 95% autocorrelated kernel density estimate (AKDE) size and daily movement. The mean 95% AKDE was 359.9 km2 and the mean daily movement was 14.2 km, both with marginally significant differences across species. We found significant negative effects of resource availability, and significant positive effects of resource heterogeneity and protected area overlap on 95% AKDE size. There were significant negative effects of overall anthropogenic disturbance and positive effects of the heterogeneity of anthropogenic disturbance on daily movements and 95% AKDE size. Our results provide unique insights into the interactive effects of resource availability and anthropogenic development on the movements of a large-bodied browser and highlight the potential impacts of rapidly changing landscapes on animal space-use patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Butler Brown
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, PO Box 86099, Eros, Windhoek, Namibia
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | | | - Ramiro D. Crego
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | - Christen H. Fleming
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Joel Alves
- Wildscapes Veterinary & Conservation Services, Hoedspruit, South Africa
| | - Karolina Brandlová
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 16500 Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Sara Ferguson
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, PO Box 86099, Eros, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Morgan Hauptfleisch
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Namibia University of Science and Technology, 8 Johann Albrecht Street, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Pavla Hejcmanova
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 16500 Prague, Czechia
| | - Rigardt Hoffman
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, PO Box 86099, Eros, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Peter Leimgruber
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | - Symon Masiaine
- Conservation Science & Wildlife Health, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Kylie McQualter
- Centre for Ecosystem Studies, School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Department of Biological Science, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Ben Muller
- Wildscapes Veterinary & Conservation Services, Hoedspruit, South Africa
| | - Arthur Muneza
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, PO Box 86099, Eros, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - David O'Connor
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Department of Biological Science, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Adriaan Jacobus Olivier
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
| | | | | | - Jenna Stacy-Dawes
- Conservation Science & Wildlife Health, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Louis van Schalkwyk
- Office of the State Veterinarian, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Kruger National Park, Skukuza, South Africa
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jared Stabach
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
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Irob K, Blaum N, Weiss‐Aparicio A, Hauptfleisch M, Hering R, Uiseb K, Tietjen B. Savanna resilience to droughts increases with the proportion of browsing wild herbivores and plant functional diversity. J Appl Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Katja Irob
- Freie Universität Berlin, Theoretical Ecology Institute of Biology Berlin Germany
| | - Niels Blaum
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Alex Weiss‐Aparicio
- Freie Universität Berlin, Theoretical Ecology Institute of Biology Berlin Germany
| | - Morgan Hauptfleisch
- Biodiversity Research Centre Namibia University of Science and Technology Windhoek Namibia
| | - Robert Hering
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Kenneth Uiseb
- Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Windhoek Namibia
| | - Britta Tietjen
- Freie Universität Berlin, Theoretical Ecology Institute of Biology Berlin Germany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
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Hering R, Hauptfleisch M, Kramer-Schadt S, Stiegler J, Blaum N. Effects of fences and fence gaps on the movement behavior of three southern African antelope species. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.959423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Globally, migratory ungulates are affected by fences. While field observational studies reveal the amount of animal–fence interactions across taxa, GPS tracking-based studies uncover fence effects on movement patterns and habitat selection. However, studies on the direct effects of fences and fence gaps on movement behavior, especially based on high-frequency tracking data, are scarce. We used GPS tracking on three common African antelopes (Tragelaphus strepsiceros, Antidorcas marsupialis, and T. oryx) with movement strategies ranging from range residency to nomadism in a semi-arid, Namibian savanna traversed by wildlife-proof fences that elephants have regularly breached. We classified major forms of ungulate–fence interaction types on a seasonal and a daily scale. Furthermore, we recorded the distances and times spent at fences regarding the total individual space use. Based on this, we analyzed the direct effects of fences and fence gaps on the animals’ movement behavior for the previously defined types of animal–fence interactions. Antelope-fence interactions peaked during the early hours of the day and during seasonal transitions when the limiting resource changed between water and forage. Major types of ungulate–fence interactions were quick, trace-like, or marked by halts. We found that the amount of time spent at fences was highest for nomadic eland. Migratory springbok adjusted their space use concerning fence gap positions. If the small home ranges of sedentary kudu included a fence, they frequently interacted with this fence. For springbok and eland, distance traveled along a fence declined with increasing utilization of a fence gap. All species reduced their speed in the proximity of a fence but often increased their speed when encountering the fence. Crossing a fence led to increased speeds for all species. We demonstrate that fence effects mainly occur during crucial foraging times (seasonal scale) and during times of directed movements (daily scale). Importantly, we provide evidence that fences directly alter antelope movement behaviors with negative implications for energy budgets and that persistent fence gaps can reduce the intensity of such alterations. Our findings help to guide future animal–fence studies and provide insights for wildlife fencing and fence gap planning.
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