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Count me in: Leopard population density in an area of mixed land‐use, Eastern Cape, South Africa

- Bouderka, Safia, Perry, Travis W, Parker, Daniel M, Beukes, Maya, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga

  • Authors: Bouderka, Safia , Perry, Travis W , Parker, Daniel M , Beukes, Maya , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga
  • Date: 2023
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/462591 , vital:76317 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13078"
  • Description: Although the leopard (Panthera pardus) has the widest range of any felid in the world is designated as a vulnerable species, mainly because of human-induced conflict (Jacobson et al., 2016). Our study focuses on a population of leopards on privately owned, mixed-use farmland (Baviaanskloof Hartland–BH hereafter) which is adjacent to the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve (BMR) in the Baviaanskloof UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Given the unique make-up of the region, with sometimes conflicting management objectives, the status of leopards in the broader Baviaanskloof is of particular interest to a range of stakeholders. However, despite the need for management decisions to be based on reliable and regular population monitoring efforts (Elliot et al., 2020), the last formal assessment of the leopard population in the Baviaanskloof was performed in 2011/2012 but published 9 years later (Devens et al., 2018). The only other assessment of the status of leopards in the region was an unpublished Master's project (McManus, 2009). Here, we use photographic captures of leopards and a Spatially Explicit Capture Recapture (SECR) analytical framework in the mixed-use BH region of the Baviaanskloof to generate an up-to-date leopard population density estimate that can inform conservation management of the species in this important World Heritage Site.
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  • Date Issued: 2023

An assessment of the medium-term reproductive success of an extralimital white rhinoceros population

- Truter, Anja, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Truter, Anja , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2022
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/462570 , vital:76315 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2022.2132120"
  • Description: The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is threatened primarily due to continued poaching for its horns. In South Africa, partly to promote the conservation of the species, white rhinos have been introduced into areas where they did not occur historically (i.e. where they are considered extralimital). Few studies have investigated the conservation contribution of extralimital white rhinos to the overall national herd. We aimed to determine whether the white rhinos introduced to a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape province have been successful from a reproductive perspective. We calculated inter-calving intervals, age at first calving, sex ratios of calves, and recruitment rates for white rhinos at a single site between 1992 and 2019. The average net annual population growth rate for the population was 10%, which is higher than the recommended 5% by the Biodiversity Management Plan for white rhinos. Trends in density-dependent parameters such as age at first calving and inter-calving intervals also indicated that the study population is still well below the density at which ecological constraints may manifest. We demonstrate that an extralimital white rhino population in the Eastern Cape can be successful from a reproductive perspective.
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  • Date Issued: 2022

Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa

- MacFadyen, Sandra, Allsopp, Nicky, Altwegg, Res, Archibald, Sally, Botha, Judith, Bradshaw, Karen L, Carruthers, Jane, De Klerk, Helen, de Vos, Alta, Distiller, Greg, Foord, Stefan, Freitag-Ronaldson, Stefanie, Gibbs, Richard, Hamer, Michelle, Landi, Pietro, MacFayden, Duncan, Manuel, Jeffrey, Midgley, Guy, Moncrieff, Glenn, Munch, Zahn, Mutanga, Onisimo, Sershen, Nenguda, Rendani, Ngwenya, Mzabalazo, Parker, Daniel M, Peel, Mike, Power, John, Pretorius, Joachim, Ramdhani, Syd, Robertson, Mark P, Rushworth, Ian, Skowno, Andrew, Slingsby, Jasper, Turner, Andrew, Visser, Vernon, van Wageningen, Gerhard, Hui, Cang

Hybrid approaches to teaching: Re-imagining the teaching of a foundational science course during a global pandemic

- Parker, Daniel M, Vorster, Jo-Anne E, Quinn, Lynn, Blackie, Margaret A L

  • Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Vorster, Jo-Anne E , Quinn, Lynn , Blackie, Margaret A L
  • Date: 2022
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426662 , vital:72377 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cristal/article/view/240803"
  • Description: Access to scientific knowledge, and teaching in the sciences, is believed to be about training because scientific knowledge is, generally, specialised. However, for students to gain full epistemological access in the sciences, they also need to be inducted as scientists and learners of science. We use Bernstein’s regulative and instructional discourse to engage with the notion of epistemological access and effectiveness of a foundational science course. We examine how the course can cultivate scientific identities amongst first year students at a recently established South African university. Our analysis assesses the impact of the forced shift from contact teaching to Emergency Remote Teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that the course was able to begin to facilitate the cultivation of different kinds of knowers in science. However, several gaps remain. Thus, we argue that foundational science lecturers should focus on hybrid teaching approaches to promote enhanced learning amongst students.
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  • Date Issued: 2022

Snapshot Safari: A large-scale collaborative to monitor Africa's remarkable biodiversity

- Pardo, Lain E, Bombaci, Sara, Huebner, Sarah E, Somers, Michael J, Fritz, Herve, Downs, Colleen, Guthmann, Abby, Hetem, Robyn S, Keith, Mark, le Roux, Aliza, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Packer, Craig, Palmer, Meredith S, Parker, Daniel M, Peel, Mike, Slotow, Rob, Strauss, W. Maartin, Swanepoel, Lourens, Tambling, Craig, Tsie, Nairobi, Vermeulen, Mika, Willi, Marco, Jachowski, David S, Venter, Jan A

A leopard's favourite spots: habitat preference and population density of leopards in a semi-arid biodiversity hotspot

- Mann, Gareth K H, O'Riain, M Justin, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Mann, Gareth K H , O'Riain, M Justin , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148584 , vital:38752 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104218
  • Description: Leopards (Panthera pardus) are the only free-ranging large predators to still occur naturally throughout much of Africa, but are vulnerable to habitat loss, ecosystem degradation and persecution. We used a systematic camera trap survey covering an area of ∼3100 km2 in the Little Karoo, a semi-arid biodiversity hotspot in South Africa, to assess the impacts of land use and habitat type on leopard density. Camera data were supplemented by opportunistic scat collection to produce a habitat suitability model. We used a habitat suitability model to inform spatially explicit capture-recapture models used to estimate population density. We recorded 152 independent photographs of 27 individually recognizable leopards at 54 camera stations and collected scats from a further 76 locations. Our habitat suitability model showed that primary productivity and vegetation type were the best predictors of leopard habitat suitability. Our best performing population density model allowed for detection and movement of individuals to vary according to sex, and estimated population density at 1.26 (SE ± 0.25) leopards/100 km2.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Bat species richness and community composition along a mega-transect in the Okavango river basin:

- Weier, Sina M, Keith, Mark, Neef, Götz G, Parker, Daniel M, Taylor, Peter J

  • Authors: Weier, Sina M , Keith, Mark , Neef, Götz G , Parker, Daniel M , Taylor, Peter J
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149264 , vital:38820 , https://doi.org/10.3390/d12050188
  • Description: The Okavango River Basin is a hotspot of bat diversity that requires urgent and adequate protection. To advise future conservation strategies, we investigated the relative importance of a range of potential environmental drivers of bat species richness and functional community composition in the Okavango River Basin. During annual canoe transects along the major rivers, originating in the central Angolan highlands, we recorded more than 25,000 bat echolocation calls from 2015 to 2018. We corrected for possible biases in sampling design and effort.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Battle of the large carnivores: spatial partitioning in a small, enclosed reserve?

- Comley, Jessica, Joubert, Christoffel J, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Comley, Jessica , Joubert, Christoffel J , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/462581 , vital:76316 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-2037326828"
  • Description: Interspecific competition among terrestrial carnivores can have widespread impacts on community structure and can ultimately determine which species are able to coexist. Within the carnivore guild, coexistence can be achieved through either spatial, temporal or dietary partitioning. The most effective method of avoiding competition may be spatial partitioning, as it removes the potential for negative interactions. The ways in which large carnivore species utilize and partition space in small, enclosed reserves in South Africa is currently poorly understood. This knowledge gap weakens our understanding of which mechanisms structure large carnivore communities in these systems. Thus, our aim was to use Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to investigate the spatial dynamics of large carnivores [four lions (Panthera leo), three leopards (Panthera pardus) and three spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta)] on a small, enclosed reserve (Selati Game Reserve). Regarding home ranges, lions had considerable overlap among themselves (especially the females), leopards had minimal overlap, while spotted hyaenas had no home range overlap. Although we found no evidence for spatial partitioning amongst the collared large carnivores, differences in the habitat use patterns of the three large carnivore species is evident. The high prey abundance of Selati, carnivore predation strategies, behavioural adaptations and ecological separation could be facilitating the coexistence of lions, spotted hyaenas and leopards in Selati. We encourage future research to be aimed at investigating the interactions of multiple sympatric carnivores in an attempt to bridge the knowledge gap on which mechanisms structure carnivore communities.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Do spotted hyaenas outcompete the big cats in a small, enclosed system in South Africa?

- Comley, Jessica, Joubert, Christoffel J, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Comley, Jessica , Joubert, Christoffel J , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/462603 , vital:76318 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12772"
  • Description: Carnivores are adapted to kill, meaning sympatric carnivores can have particularly aggressive and harmful competitive interactions. The co‐existence of multiple carnivores in an ecosystem could be restricted by their similarity in ecological niches (e.g. dietary overlap); however, high prey abundances could facilitate their co‐existence. Although the development of small, enclosed reserves (larger than 400 km2) in South Africa has reduced human–carnivore conflict, these systems may increase the likelihood of carnivore intra‐guild competition due to the clumping of competing carnivores into these restricted spaces. Using carnivore scat and kill site analyses, we determined the dietary preferences and overlap of sympatric large carnivores in a small, enclosed reserve, Selati Game Reserve (Selati). Large carnivores in Selati (lions (Panthera leo), spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) and leopards (Panthera pardus)) preferentially selected for varying combinations of prey size classes. Lions selected for large prey, leopards selected for small prey and spotted hyaenas did not prefer any particular prey size. Additionally, lions had the largest dietary breadth and the diet of leopards and spotted hyaenas overlapped considerably. Coupled with high prey densities in Selati, the predation strategies of the large carnivores could be facilitating their co‐existence. On the other hand, the high degree of dietary overlap among large carnivores suggests that there is strong potential for exploitation competition, particularly between spotted hyaenas and leopards as their diet overlapped extensively (91% and 93% for prey species and size class, respectively). Although spotted hyaenas are potentially outcompeting leopards in Selati, lions were the most dominant large carnivore. Our study reiterates the complexity of carnivore guild interactions and emphasizes how these interactions are subject to variation due to site‐specific circumstances (e.g. composition of prey and carnivore populations). We therefore encourage site‐specific, multi‐carnivore research throughout protected areas in southern Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Do spotted hyaenas outcompete the big cats in a small, enclosed system in South Africa?:

- Comley, Jessica, Joubert, Christoffel J, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Comley, Jessica , Joubert, Christoffel J , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150099 , vital:38940 , doi:10.1111/jzo.12772
  • Description: Carnivores are adapted to kill, meaning sympatric carnivores can have particularly aggressive and harmful competitive interactions. The co‐existence of multiple carnivores in an ecosystem could be restricted by their similarity in ecological niches (e.g. dietary overlap); however, high prey abundances could facilitate their co‐existence. Although the development of small, enclosed reserves (over 400 km2) in South Africa has reduced human–carnivore conflict, these systems may increase the likelihood of carnivore intra‐guild competition due to the clumping of competing carnivores into these restricted spaces. Using carnivore scat and kill site analyses, we determined the dietary preferences and overlap of sympatric large carnivores in a small, enclosed reserve, Selati Game Reserve (Selati).
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Lions do not change rivers: complex African savannas preclude top-down forcing by large carnivores

- Comley, Jessica, Joubert, Christoffel J, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Comley, Jessica , Joubert, Christoffel J , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2020
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149215 , vital:38816 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125844
  • Description: Trophic cascade theories such as the ‘behaviourally-mediated trophic cascade hypothesis’ (BMTCH), have mainstreamed as ecological tools for conserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems. The BMTCH relies on indirect negative effects of large carnivores through suppression of mesocarnivore activity and habitat use. Importantly, effects of top carnivores on mesocarnivores varies over time and space, is dependent on the species involved, and local context. In South Africa, there are very few free-ranging carnivores, as populations are often restricted to enclosed reserves. While predator-proof fences reduce human-wildlife conflict, they also influence space use within communities. We used an enclosed reserve with a relatively full complement of carnivores to test the generality of the BMTCH in the African context. Using single-species, multi-season occupancy models we investigated the spatial dynamics of multiple carnivores. We also investigated spatial partitioning by vegetation type and temporal partitioning.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Lions do not change rivers: complex African savannas preclude top-down forcing by large carnivores

- Comley, Jessica, Joubert, Christoffel J, Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Comley, Jessica , Joubert, Christoffel J , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/462634 , vital:76321 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125844"
  • Description: Trophic cascade theories such as the ‘behaviourally-mediated trophic cascade hypothesis’ (BMTCH), have mainstreamed as ecological tools for conserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems. The BMTCH relies on indirect negative effects of large carnivores through suppression of mesocarnivore activity and habitat use. Importantly, effects of top carnivores on mesocarnivores varies over time and space, is dependent on the species involved, and local context. In South Africa, there are very few free-ranging carnivores, as populations are often restricted to enclosed reserves. While predator-proof fences reduce human-wildlife conflict, they also influence space use within communities. We used an enclosed reserve with a relatively full complement of carnivores to test the generality of the BMTCH in the African context. Using single-species, multi-season occupancy models we investigated the spatial dynamics of multiple carnivores. We also investigated spatial partitioning by vegetation type and temporal partitioning. Our results revealed both support for and against the BMTCH. Lions and spotted hyaenas negatively influenced the detection probability of black-backed jackals and African wildcats, while leopards had a positive effect on these two mesocarnivore species. Additionally, lions positively influenced the detection probability of side-striped jackals. Although space use of carnivores in relation to vegetation type showed minimal evidence of spatial partitioning, each carnivore had a unique combination of abiotic and biotic factors influencing their spatial dynamics, which could facilitate co-existence. Temporal partitioning may also be promoting co-existence as activity patterns of smaller carnivores overlapped the least with sympatric carnivores, particularly lions. Extensive activity overlap between large carnivores does not promote co-existence. We suggest that applying the BMTCH as a universal law across ecosystems is unsupported and may lead to inappropriate conservation and management actions, and prevent protection of ecosystems.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

A novel technique for artificial pack formation in African wild dogs using odour familiarity:

- Marneweck, Courtney J, Marchal, Antoine F J, Marneweck, David G, Beverley, Grant, Davies-Mostert, Harriet T, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Marneweck, Courtney J , Marchal, Antoine F J , Marneweck, David G , Beverley, Grant , Davies-Mostert, Harriet T , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150060 , vital:38935 , https://doi.org/10.3957/056.049.0116
  • Description: Reintroductions are recognized tools for species recovery. However, operations are costly, difficult to implement, and failures are common and not always understood. Their success for group-living species depends on the mimicry of natural processes that promote social integration. Due to fragmented landscapes, human mediated (i.e. artificial) group formation is often required.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Factors influencing the spatial patterns of vertebrate roadkill in South Africa: The Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area as a case study

- Collinson, Wendy J, Parker, Daniel M, Bernard, Ric T F, Reilly, Brian K, Davies-Mostert, Harriet T

  • Authors: Collinson, Wendy J , Parker, Daniel M , Bernard, Ric T F , Reilly, Brian K , Davies-Mostert, Harriet T
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158320 , vital:40172 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1111/aje.12628
  • Description: Few studies have investigated the factors that influence roadkill occurrence in developing countries. In 2013, we monitored a 100‐km section of the road (comprising the R572 and R521 regional highways and the D2662) that pass through the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area in South Africa, to assess the possible factors influencing roadkill. Over a period of 120 days, and across the three ecological seasons, we recorded 981 roadkills (rate = 0.08 roadkill/km/day) from four vertebrate taxonomic groups. We generated predictive models of roadkill from one combined data set that considered eight variables identified from the literature as potential correlates of roadkill. The model that included the distance of the fence from the road, habitat type adjacent to the road, and the presence of a hill in the road (i.e., elevation) or a bank on the side of the road best explained roadkill occurrence.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

The elephant in the ‘room’: determinants of songbird assemblages in the Thicket Biome, South Africa

- Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/105134 , vital:32468 , https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2018.1562847
  • Description: When vegetation structure is altered, songbird communities may be affected. Despite speculation that African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) browsing impacts bird communities, existing data are limited. I sampled the bird communities of the Albany Thicket Biome at 10 sites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, half with elephants and half without. Songbird community parameters were best predicted by how long elephants had been present, elephant density and the percentage cover of thicket vegetation. The sites where elephants had been present for longer had more bird species and increased songbird density and diversity. However, bird density also increased with increasing thicket vegetation cover and this is a phenomenon unlikely to be compatible with long-term elephant presence. There was an almost equal split between the number of bird species that appeared to be negatively affected by changes in habitat structure (47%) and those which benefited (53%). Smaller birds were generally more abundant as vegetation structural integrity increased and larger birds were more abundant when vegetation structural integrity declined. The browsing of elephants could be viewed as facilitative for songbirds in the short term. However, this effect may not persist in the long term because all elephant populations (notorious tree-fellers) in the Eastern Cape are found in fenced areas where natural migration is not possible. More broadly, my data provide important insight into how avian communities respond to habitat transformation at the local and regional scales.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Using camera traps to generate a species inventory for medium-sized and large mammals in South West Zimbabwe:

- Welch, Rebecca J, Grant, Tanith, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Welch, Rebecca J , Grant, Tanith , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150267 , vital:38955 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.3957/056.049.0089
  • Description: We investigated the presence of medium-sized and large mammals utilizing by-catch data from a camera trapping survey in the Mangwe District in South West Zimbabwe, an unprotected commercial livestock farming area which is impacted by human encroachment, poaching and trophy hunting. The camera trapping survey was carried out from 23 October to 5 December 2009, covered an area of 200 km2 and was initially intended to estimate the population density of leopards (Panthera pardus). The study area was split into two contiguous subsections, with each section sampled for a total of 20 days using 20 cameras. Camera trap photographs were identified to species level, then compared to a list of species thought to occur in the area according to available literature, as well as sightings from professional hunters and local landowners.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Extended and Continuous Decline in Effective Population Size Results in Low Genomic Diversity in the World’s Rarest Hyena Species, the Brown Hyena

- Westbury, Michael V, Hartmann, Stefanie, Barlow, Axel, Wiesel, Ingrid, Leo, Viyanna, Welch, Rebecca J, Parker, Daniel M, Sicks, Florian, Ludwig, Arne, Dalén, Love, Hofreiter, Michael

  • Authors: Westbury, Michael V , Hartmann, Stefanie , Barlow, Axel , Wiesel, Ingrid , Leo, Viyanna , Welch, Rebecca J , Parker, Daniel M , Sicks, Florian , Ludwig, Arne , Dalén, Love , Hofreiter, Michael
  • Date: 2018
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124482 , vital:35616 , https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy037
  • Description: Hyenas (family Hyaenidae), as the sister group to cats (family Felidae), represent a deeply diverging branch within the cat-like carnivores (Feliformia). With an estimated population size of < 10,000 individuals worldwide, the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) represents the rarest of the four extant hyena species and has been listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Here, we report a high-coverage genome from a captive bred brown hyena and both mitochondrial and low coverage nuclear genomes of 14 wild-caught brown hyena individuals from across southern Africa.We find that brown hyena harbor extremely low genetic diversity on both the mitochondrial and nuclear level, most likely resulting from a continuous and ongoing decline in effective population size that started_1Ma and dramatically accelerated towards the end of the Pleistocene. Despite the strikingly low genetic diversity, we find no evidence of inbreeding within the captive bred individual and reveal phylogeographic structure, suggesting the existence of several potential subpopulations within the species.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

A record of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) diet in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana

- Craig, Christie A, Brassine, Eleanor I, Parker, Daniel M

  • Authors: Craig, Christie A , Brassine, Eleanor I , Parker, Daniel M
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123004 , vital:35395 , https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12374
  • Description: Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) typically prey upon the most available small to medium-sized (23–56 kg) antelope (Hayward et al., 2006). In Botswana, impala (Aepyceros melampus) and springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), followed by steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) and duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), are the prey species most frequently killed by cheetahs (Klein, 2007). Juvenile eland (Tragelaphus oryx), gemsbok (Oryx gazella), hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) are also taken (Klein, 2007). The Northern Tuli Game Reserve (NOTUGRE) in eastern Botswana is naturally delineated by the nonperennial Shashe and Limpopo rivers in the east and south and has relatively porous game fencing along portions of the western and southern boundaries (Fig. 1) (Jackson, McNutt & Apps, 2012). Neither the fences nor the rivers restrict the movement of large carnivores such as cheetahs, lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) onto neighbouring pastoral land (Jackson, McNutt & Apps, 2012). It is thus possible that cheetahs are feeding on livestock outside of the park. However, the diet of the cheetahs in NOTUGRE has not been evaluated. Our study serves to describe the diet of the cheetahs in NOTUGRE using both scats and kill sightings.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Depth and habitat determine assemblage structure of South Africa’s warm-temperate reef fish

- Heyns-Veale, Elodie R, Bernard, Anthony T F, Richoux, Nicole B, Parker, Daniel M, Langlois, T J, Harvey, E S, Götz, Albrecht

  • Authors: Heyns-Veale, Elodie R , Bernard, Anthony T F , Richoux, Nicole B , Parker, Daniel M , Langlois, T J , Harvey, E S , Götz, Albrecht
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/456035 , vital:75477 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2933-8"
  • Description: Depth and habitat are important predictors of fish assemblage structure, yet current no-take marine protected area (MPA) networks are generally limited to providing refuge for fish species that inhabit shallow waters and may exclude deep habitats essential to exploited populations. To ensure MPA efficacy at the design, uptake and management levels, baseline data on fish populations associated with deep nearshore reefs are needed. This study employed baited remote underwater stereo-video systems to investigate fish habitat associations at shallow (11–25 m) and deep (45–75 m) reef sites in the Tsitsikamma National Park MPA, South Africa. The compositions of fish assemblages at shallow and deep reef sites were significantly different. Specifically, rare species, juveniles and low trophic level species dominated the shallow reef, while deep reef assemblages were characterised by large, sexually mature and predatory fish. The body size of abundant species was also correlated with depth, with larger individuals being more abundant on deeper reefs. Habitat types were identified according to a habitat classification system established in a previous study, which resulted in four broad depth separated habitat types (defined by macrobenthos and environmental variables). Canonical analysis of principle coordinates (CAP) indicated that habitat type was a good categorical predictor of the observed fish assemblages. The CAP analysis determined that 86 % of the samples were correctly assigned to the habitat type from which they were collected, indicating that specific fish assemblages were associated with distinct habitat types. This study highlights the importance of protecting both shallow and deep reefs, not only to ensure the conservation of particular fish assemblages, but also to provide protection for all stages of the life cycle of fish species.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

The influence of photoperiod on the reproductive physiology of the greater red musk shrew: Crocidura flavescens

- Hoole, C, McKechnie, Andrew E, Parker, Daniel M, Bennett, Nigel C

  • Authors: Hoole, C , McKechnie, Andrew E , Parker, Daniel M , Bennett, Nigel C
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70136 , vital:29624 , https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2015-0128
  • Description: Photoperiodism involves the use of both absolute measures of day length and the direction in which day length is changing as a cue for regulating seasonal changes in physiology and behaviour so that birth and lactation coincide with optimal resource availability, increasing offspring survival. Induced ovulation and opportunistic breeding is often found in species that are predominantly solitary and territorial. In this study, the photoperiodic reproductive responses of male greater red musk shrews (Crocidura flavescens (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)) were investigated in the laboratory. The presence of spermatozoa regardless of the light cycle, suggest that although the shrews are photoresponsive, they may be capable of breeding throughout the year. Significantly greater testicular volume and eminiferous tubule diameter following exposure to a short day-light cycle suggests that these animals may have breeding peaks that correspond to short days. The presence of epidermal spines on the penis indicates that the shrew is likely also an induced ovulator. Flexible breeding patterns combined with induced ovulation affords this solitary species the greatest chance of reproductive success.
  • Full Text: false
  • Date Issued: 2016
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