The relationship between wildlife and livestock associated with aardvark (Orycteropus afer) burrows in pasturelands

Abstract

Across the world, grasslands provide open space and resources to many wildlife species, but are under severe threat of transformation by agriculture and land-use change. Although the grassland biome of South Africa is utilized by many wildlife species, 65% is used for the grazing of livestock and game, and only approximately 2% of the biome is conserved in protected areas. In line with the increasing focus on sustainability and concepts such as land sharing within agriculture, this study used aardvark burrows as focal points to determine the utilization of pasturelands by wildlife in the Free State Province, South Africa. Camera traps were used to study wildlife presence at aardvark burrows across five livestock (sheep and/or cattle) farms in a single season. I looked at which wildlife species were associated with the burrows, as well as for how long and when (in the diel cycle), in response to livestock presence. The relationship between wildlife and livestock was considered on both a spatial and a temporal scale. The aardvark burrows attracted many species of wildlife, supporting previous studies proposing that the aardvark is an ecosystem engineer. Wildlife species observed on the farms overlapped with assemblages found in natural sites, indicating similar wildlife burrow associations on farms and in natural sites. Some species found in natural areas were absent from this study, indicating that land sparing may be necessary for the conservation of these species. Certain groups of mammals were not observed on the pasturelands, such as livestock predators, suggesting that they are hunted or have been hunted previously on the farms. Wildlife species richness was independent of livestock presence, and only a few mammalian species showed any significant relationships with livestock presence. More specifically, aardvark and Cape porcupine presence at burrows were positively, albeit weakly, related to sheep and cattle presence respectively. There were some unexpected findings, such as sightings of black-footed cat where they have not been recorded before and surprisingly few black-backed jackal sightings, given their reputation as agricultural pests. There were no visible changes to diel patterns of the mammals using the burrows, nor any significant impact of livestock presence on time spent at the burrows, despite other studies having shown changes in diel and behavioural patterns in other types of anthropogenic areas. The lack of a response of most observed wildlife to sheep and cattle presence supports the idea of land sharing management schemes for pasturelands in the Free State, South Africa, to aid in the conservation of certain grassland species.