dc.contributor.author |
Robson, Ashley S.
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Van Aarde, Rudi J.
|
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2018-08-30T06:56:39Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2018-08 |
|
dc.description |
Supplementary Material:
Appendix S1. Validating the accuracy of aerial survey location data.
Appendix S2. Justification for the use of a static woody cover layer for assessing temporal variation in habitat selection.
Appendix S3. Comparison of the yearly distribution of randomly chosen available grid‐cells and total availability of distance to rivers and woody cover.
Appendix S4. Assessment of the effect of including distance to waterholes as a covariate in resource selection functions.
Appendix S5. Changes in elephant density from 1998 to 2012 for the Kruger National Park and its three districts.
Appendix S6. Statistical summaries of RSF models.
Appendix S7. Justification for not including the influence of wet season rainfall on habitat selection in our main findings. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.abstract |
In conservation, adaptive management relies on the assessment of past actions to improve conservation efficiencies in the future. Conservation management approaches for African elephants have recently changed, however little has been done to assess the effectiveness of these changes. This is a major shortcoming as elephants (and their management) have a considerable influence on other savanna species. Traditionally, the management of elephants has focused on artificially manipulating numbers through culling, water supplementation and fencing. Lately, and specifically in the Kruger National Park, the focus has progressed to promoting ecological processes that may naturally regulate elephant populations. Density‐dependent habitat selection – suggestive of competition for resources – is fundamental in stimulating the regulatory processes that managers expect to promote. In this paper, we evaluated how effective the changes in Kruger's elephant management approach had been in promoting density‐dependent habitat selection. We used 15 years of helicopter‐based surveys and resource selection functions to test our primary prediction that an increase in population density following the cessation of culling generalized dry‐season habitat selection by female elephants in Kruger (i.e. decreased selection of high‐quality habitat and increased selection of lower quality habitat). We found that as densities increased, female occupancy of the Park rose and dry season selection of highly wooded areas, which provide crucial resources for elephant survival and reproduction, weakened. Conversely, density had little effect on the selection of rivers. Rather, high dry‐season rainfall allowed female elephants to select areas farther from permanent water, potentially alleviating normal dry‐season foraging restrictions. Our novel identification of density‐dependent habitat selection for elephants suggests that the change in conservation management in Kruger was effective in promoting a potential driver of population regulation. We suggest that ecological principles continue to provide an effective framework for scientific evaluation and elephant conservation management in Kruger and beyond. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.department |
Zoology and Entomology |
en_ZA |
dc.description.embargo |
2019-08-01 |
|
dc.description.librarian |
hj2018 |
en_ZA |
dc.description.sponsorship |
SANParks Conservation Services Division, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the University of Pretoria. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.uri |
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14691795 |
en_ZA |
dc.identifier.citation |
Robson, A.S. & Van Aarde, R.J. 2018, 'Changes in elephant conservation management promote density-dependent habitat selection in the Kruger National Park', Animal Conservation, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 302-312. |
en_ZA |
dc.identifier.issn |
1367-9430 (print) |
|
dc.identifier.issn |
1469-1795 (online) |
|
dc.identifier.other |
10.1111/acv.12393 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66370 |
|
dc.language.iso |
en |
en_ZA |
dc.publisher |
Wiley |
en_ZA |
dc.rights |
© 2018 The Zoological Society of London. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article : Changes in elephant conservation management promote density‐dependent habitat selection in the Kruger National Park, Animal Conservation, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 302-312, 2018, doi : 10.1111/acv.12393. The definite version is available at : https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14691795. |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
African elephant (Loxodonta africana) |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Aerial surveys |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Demography |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Effectiveness |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Population regulation |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Scientific evidence |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Kruger National Park (KNP) |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Kruger National Park (South Africa) |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Availability |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Heterogeneity |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Dynamics |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Variability |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Herbivore |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Population |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Elephant conservation management |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Habitat |
en_ZA |
dc.title |
Changes in elephant conservation management promote density-dependent habitat selection in the Kruger National Park |
en_ZA |
dc.type |
Postprint Article |
en_ZA |