Abstract:
South African protected areas account for 8% of the total landmass according to World
Bank indicators. Effective conservation of biodiversity in protected areas requires the development
of specific reserve management objectives addressing species and disease management. The primary
objective of the current study was to identify predictors of carnivore detection in an effort to inform
carnivore species management plans on Andover and Manyeleti nature reserves in South Africa. A
limited number of camera traps were placed randomly using a grid system. Species detection data
were analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression and Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Deterministic
inverse distance weighted distribution maps were used to describe the spatial distribution
of carnivore species. Camera traps identified similar species as traditional call-up surveys during the
study and would be useful as an adjunct census method. Carnivore detection was associated with
several variables, including the presence of specific prey species. The measured intra-and interspecies
interactions suggested the risk of disease transmission among species, and vaccination for prevalent
diseases should be considered to manage this risk.
Description:
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Table S1: Summary of camera traps and census, Table S2: The significant univariate associations between any carnivore group (lion, leopard, serval, cheetah), canine (African wild dog, jackal), other (spotted hyena, civet, and genet) group detection and continuous predictor variables based on camera trap data collected within two protected areas, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa for the years 2015–2017., Table S3: The important univariate associations between lion, leopard, cheetah, serval, African wild dog, jackal, spotted hyena, civet, and genet detection and continuous predictor variables on camera trap data collected within two protected areas, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa for the years 2015–2017, Table S4: The important univariate associations between lion, leopard, serval, and cheetah detection and continuous predictor variables on camera trap data collected within two protected areas, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, for the years 2015–2017, Table S5: The important univariate associations between spotted hyena, genet, and civet detection and continuous predictor variables on camera trap data collected within two protected areas, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, for the years 2015–2017, Table S6: The important univariate associations between spotted hyena, detection, and continuous predictor variables on camera trap data collected within two protected areas, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, for the years 2015–2017.
