Functional connectivity within conservation networks : delineating corridors for African elephants

dc.contributor.authorRoever, Carrie Lynn
dc.contributor.authorVan Aarde, Rudi J.
dc.contributor.authorLeggett, K.
dc.date.accessioned2013-05-20T08:53:08Z
dc.date.available2013-05-20T08:53:08Z
dc.date.issued2013-01
dc.description.abstractManaging multiple parks, reserves, and conservation areas collectively as conservation networks is a recent, yet growing trend. But in order for these networks to be ecologically viable, the functional connectivity of the landscape must be ensured. We assessed the connectivity between six African savanna elephant populations in southern Africa to test whether existing conservation networks were functioning and to identify other areas that could benefit from being managed as conservation networks. We used resource selection function models to create an index of habitat selection by males and female elephants. We employed this habitat use index as a resistance surface, and applied circuit theory to assess connectivity between adjacent elephant populations within six clusters of protected areas across southern Africa. Circuit theory current flow maps predicted a high likelihood of connectivity in the central portion of our study area (i.e. between the Chobe, Kafue, Luangwa, and Zambezi cluster). Main factors limiting connectivity across the study area were high human density in the east and a lack of surface water in the west. These factors effectively isolate elephants in the Etosha cluster in Namibia and Niassa clusters in Mozambique from the central region. Our models further identified two clusters where elephants might benefit from being managed as part of a conservation network, 1) northern Zambia and Malawi and 2) northern Mozambique. We conclude that using habitat selection and circuit theory models to identify conservation networks is a data-based method that can be applied to other focal species to identify and conserve functional connectivity.en
dc.description.librarianhb2013en
dc.description.librarianab2013
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Conservation Foundation Zambia, Conservation International’s southern Africa’s Wildlife Programme, Conservation Lower Zambezi, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Mozal Community Development Trust, the National Research Foundation, the National Postcode Lottery of the Netherlands, the Peace Parks Foundation, the US Fish and Wildlife Services, the University of Pretoria, the World Wildlife Fund (SARPO; Mozambique; SA), the Walt Disney Grant Foundation, and the Wildlifewins Lottery for several years of research funding to RJ van Aarde.en
dc.description.uriwww.elsevier.com/ locate/bioconen
dc.identifier.citationRoever, CL, Van Aarde, RJ & Leggett, K 2013, 'Functional connectivity within conservation networks : delineating corridors for African elephants', Biological Conservation, vol. 157, no. 1, pp. 128-135.en
dc.identifier.issn0006-3207 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1873-2917 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.biocon.2012.06.025
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/21519
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.rights© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Biological Conservation. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Biological Conservation, vol.157, no. 1, 2013. DOI : 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.06.025.en
dc.subjectCircuit theoryen
dc.subjectCorridoren
dc.subjectHabitat selectionen
dc.subjectLoxodonta africanaen
dc.subjectResource selection functionen
dc.subject.lcshAfrican elephanten
dc.subject.lcshConservation biologyen
dc.titleFunctional connectivity within conservation networks : delineating corridors for African elephantsen
dc.typePostprint Articleen

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