Abstract:
Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) burrows provide shelter to a variety of organisms, making it
important to understand how these engineered environments get utilized in areas that are affected by
agricultural activities. To address this, camera traps were used to record the use of abandoned
aardvark burrows by other species at two sampling sites in the Bronkhorstspruit-Middelburg region in
South Africa: a natural site (Telperion Nature Reserve) and a transformed site (pastoral fields of a
grain farm and grazing paddocks). Data from traps placed in front of 36 burrows over a five-week
period were analysed in R-Studio using generalized Linear Models (GLMs), Generalized Linear
Mixed Models (GLMMs) and Chi-square tests to test whether there were any differences in the
response variables between Telperion and the farm. Response variables included species richness,
encounter frequency, burrow proximity, activity duration and activity times. In total 37 species were
observed throughout the study of which 13 species were found at both sites, specifically nine mammal
and four bird species. Whilst no statistically significant difference in species richness was found,
differences in spatial dispersion between sites were observed for some species, possibly due to habitat
preferences and/or human activities. Furthermore, the results of encounter frequency show that some
species occur more frequently at Telperion, while others occur more frequently at the farm, possibly
due to historical hunting and current poaching at the farm, in combination with habitat sensitivity and
resource availability. Although no notable differences in activity times and duration were found for
any of the species between sites, some species showed slight alterations in how they spent their time
at the burrows which suggests that agricultural activity may have a minimal impact on these aspects
of species behaviour. The results confirm that aardvark burrows may provide shelter, and foraging
opportunities for numerous species living within agricultural environments in this region and
highlight the conservation opportunities that these spaces represent. Efforts and funding to preserve
keystone species, such as aardvark, and the burrows they engineer, should incorporate both farming
and protected settings to be effective.
