Boyers, MelindaParrini, FrancescaOwen‑Smith, NormanErasmus, Barend Frederik NelHetem, Robyn S.2022-11-042022-11-042021-02-18Boyers, M., Parrini, F., Owen-Smith, N. et al. Contrasting capabilities of two ungulate species to cope with extremes of aridity. Scientific Reports 11, 4216 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83732-w.2045-2322 (online)10.1038/s41598-021-83732-whttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/88148DATA AVAILABILITY : The data that support the findings of this study are available in AfriMove repository, www.afrimove.org.Southern Africa is expected to experience increased frequency and intensity of droughts through climate change, which will adversely affect mammalian herbivores. Using bio-loggers, we tested the expectation that wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), a grazer with high water-dependence, would be more sensitive to drought conditions than the arid-adapted gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella). The study, conducted in the Kalahari, encompassed two hot-dry seasons with similar ambient temperatures but differing rainfall patterns during the preceding wet season. In the drier year both ungulates selected similar cooler microclimates, but wildebeest travelled larger distances than gemsbok, presumably in search of water. Body temperatures in both species reached lower daily minimums and higher daily maximums in the drier season but daily fluctuations were wider in wildebeest than in gemsbok. Lower daily minimum body temperatures displayed by wildebeest suggest that wildebeest were under greater nutritional stress than gemsbok. Moving large distances when water is scarce may have compromised the energy balance of the water dependent wildebeest, a trade-off likely to be exacerbated with future climate change.en© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.DroughtsClimate changeMammalian herbivoresBehavioural ecologyClimate-change ecologyPhysiologyWildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)Gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella)Article