South African Journal of Wildlife Research最新文献

{"title":"Bat Activity Across South Africa: Implications for Wind Energy Development","authors":"Kate L. MacEwan, Trevor W. Morgan, C. Lötter, A. Tredennick","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0212","url":null,"abstract":"We provide a comparison of bat activity levels recorded during long-term acoustic monitoring through 188 microphones at pre-construction wind energy facility (WEF) sites in 12 South African ecoregions, and discuss the implications of the results for wind energy development. We summed all bat passes and detector hours over microphones, sites and years for each month, and fitted a negative binomial regression model with total bat passes as the response and ecoregion as the predictor. Overall, there was a significant effect of ecoregion on the number of bat passes per detector hour recorded near ground level, and in the turbine rotor sweep. Pairwise comparisons revealed that the sites in Maputaland coastal forests and woodlands, and KwaZulu-Natal-Cape coastal forests, were most distinct due to exceptionally high levels of recorded activity. As such, we strongly advise against WEF development in these ecoregions. In lowland fynbos and renosterveld, Limpopo lowveld, and Albany thickets, where intermediate to high bat activity was recorded, we recommend that the conditions of WEF-authorizations must include rigorous bat impact mitigation measures. For operational WEFs, our results provided valuable benchmark information for devising bat fatality thresholds that reflect the variation in bat activity across South Africa's diverse landscape.","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45725603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bats of southern and central Africa: a biogeographic and taxonomic synthesis – 2nd Edition","authors":"D. Parker","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0223","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41876313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improved Automated Recognition of Leopards from Photographs","authors":"Jacobie Mouton, Lynette van Zijl, M. Schurch","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0197","url":null,"abstract":"Two improvements on the automated image recognition of individual leopards (Panthera pardus) are presented. Firstly, a new method of automated segmentation on images, with a guaranteed side view of the animal, allows for a region of interest to be calculated automatically, reducing the manual effort of the image processing substantially. Secondly, improvements on the automated recognition of citizen science images with extreme viewpoints are detailed.","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48634127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ansorge'S Cusimanse, Crossarchus ansorgei, in Angola: Range Extension and Phylogenetic Context","authors":"P. Pinto, R. Godinho, Luis M. Verissimo, F. M. Gonçalves, M. Mills","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0206","url":null,"abstract":"Pedro Vaz Pinto ( ), Raquel Godinho ( ), Luis M. Verissimo, Francisco M.P. Gonçalves ( ) & Michael S.L. Mills ( ) Fundação Kissama, Rua 60 Casa 560, Lar do Patriota, Luanda, Angola CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal TwinLab CIBIO/ISCED-Instituto de Ciências da Educação da Huíla, Rua Sarmento Rodrigues No. 2, C.P. 230 Lubango, Angola Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006 South Africa Herbário do Lubango, ISCED-Huíla, Rua Sarmento Rodrigues No. 2, C.P. 230 Lubango, Angola A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, University of Jos, P.O. Box 13404, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41410650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial Distribution of Leopards on Farmland and Namaqua National Park, South Africa","authors":"B. Cristescu, K. Teichman, Sam Puls, C. Jansen, M. O’Riain","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0190","url":null,"abstract":"Bogdan Cristescu* ( ), Kristine J. Teichman, Sam Puls ( ), Corlé Jansen ( ) & M. Justin O’Riain ( ) Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild), Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa The Cape Leopard Trust, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa Biology Department, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41550574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Battle of the Large Carnivores: Spatial Partitioning in a Small, Enclosed Reserve?","authors":"J. Comley, C. Joubert, N. Mgqatsa, D. Parker","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0176","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0176","url":null,"abstract":"Interspecific competition among terrestrial carnivores can have widespread impacts on community structure and can ultimately determine which species are able to coexist. Within the carnivore guild, coexistence can be achieved through either spatial, temporal or dietary partitioning. The most effective method of avoiding competition may be spatial partitioning, as it removes the potential for negative interactions. The ways in which large carnivore species utilize and partition space in small, enclosed reserves in South Africa is currently poorly understood. This knowledge gap weakens our understanding of which mechanisms structure large carnivore communities in these systems. Thus, our aim was to use Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to investigate the spatial dynamics of large carnivores [four lions (Panthera leo), three leopards (Panthera pardus) and three spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta)] on a small, enclosed reserve (Selati Game Reserve). Regarding home ranges, lions had considerable overlap among themselves (especially the females), leopards had minimal overlap, while spotted hyaenas had no home range overlap. Although we found no evidence for spatial partitioning amongst the collared large carnivores, differences in the habitat use patterns of the three large carnivore species is evident. The high prey abundance of Selati, carnivore predation strategies, behavioural adaptations and ecological separation could be facilitating the coexistence of lions, spotted hyaenas and leopards in Selati. We encourage future research to be aimed at investigating the interactions of multiple sympatric carnivores in an attempt to bridge the knowledge gap on which mechanisms structure carnivore communities.","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41768129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of Mark-Recapture and Block-Count-Based Estimation of Black Rhinoceros Populations","authors":"Sam M. Ferreira, N. le Roex, Cathy Greaver, C. Dreyer","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0167","url":null,"abstract":"The impact of global wildlife trafficking on biological diversity imposes pressures on authorities to respond. Reliable estimates of population sizes of keystone species such as rhinoceroses (rhinos) are often a key requirement to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis ) are cryptic and targeted by poachers for their horns. Several interventions aim to curb the effects of poaching and achieve black rhino conservation targets in the short to medium term. We used black rhinos to evaluate the survey requirements that will allow the detection of 1% annual change in population size over a five-year period, a key short-term target for black rhinos in Kruger National Park, South Africa. We found that a mark-recapture technique provided the most precise estimates, but authorities need to mark 94% of all black rhinos. This is logistically challenging and costly. Development of inclusive conservation plans need to consider realistic measures to report outcomes and achieve effective conservation evaluation.","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46664634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental Correlates of Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Space-Use in a Savanna Landscape","authors":"P. Tagwireyi, Terence Wenga, Henry Ndaimani, K. Mpakairi","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0157","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the environmental drivers that influence the spatial distribution of wildlife is paramount to the conservation of endangered carnivore species. However, presence data on most carnivore species (e.g. cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus) are not readily available to assist conservation efforts. In this study, we used MaxEnt to tease out the key determinants of the spatial distribution of cheetahs using presence-only data of cheetah against five environmental variables, i.e. distance to water (a proxy for prey density), elevation, slope, terrain ruggedness, and soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI; a proxy for vegetation quality and condition). Our MaxEnt model was successful (AUC = 0.98) in predicting the potential distribution of cheetahs in Gonarezhou National Park. We observed that amongst the five environmental variables, elevation and distance to water contributed most (88%) to the potential distribution of cheetahs. The contribution of SAVI, slope and terrain ruggedness (12%) was negligible. We also estimated that the potential predicted habitat of cheetahs was 2572.9 km2 (51.2% of Gonarezhou National Park). In addition to providing baseline information, these findings are both novel and specific to Gonarezhou National Park, and provide important insights into cheetah conservation and management.","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47610496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mass Die-Off of African Elephants in Botswana: Pathogen, Poison or a Perfect Storm?","authors":"S. Azeem, R. Bengis, R. van Aarde, A. Bastos","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0149","url":null,"abstract":"Reports of a mass die-off of ∼350 elephants (Loxodonta africana) in northern Botswana over a period of two months (May–June 2020), has fuelled speculation and concern regarding the cause. Although the area in which these mortalities occurred is not protected and is considered a hotspot for human–elephant conflict and poaching, both malicious poisoning and poaching are unlikely to have played a role as other species were not affected, and elephant carcasses were found with tusks intact. In the absence of a confirmed cause we sought to identify the lines of enquiry that are most likely to lead to a definitive answer. In particular, we consider viral and bacterial agents that could precipitate species-specific mortalities on this scale, potential environmental sources of poisoning and the samples and tests that would assist in excluding/ confirming these candidate causes. Whilst it may be argued that these mortalities are unlikely to negatively impact the broader elephant population of ∼130 000 individuals in Botswana, the same cannot be said of the many vulnerable population pockets in other parts of Africa. For this reason, it is essential that the cause of the current die-off is identified as it is the only way to prevent similar losses of susceptible elephants elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43834442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managing Nuisance Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) on Golf Courses in Cape Town, South Africa","authors":"R. Little","doi":"10.3957/056.050.0144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3957/056.050.0144","url":null,"abstract":"Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) are indigenous to South Africa and their numbers have increased in the Western Cape province of South Africa during the past 40 years due to an increase in the number of farm dams, the expansion of agricultural crops and the introduction of large areas of urban green space (Davies & Allan, 2005). These increases have had negative impacts on crops in rural areas (Mangnall & Crowe, 2001, 2002) and the fouling of gardens and golfing greens with goose faeces is a common complaint in urban landscapes (Little & Sutton, 2013). Public and private gardens, golf courses and sports fields meet the habitat requirements of Egyptian Geese (MacKay, Little, Amar & Hockey, 2014; Fox & Hockey, 2007), attracting large aggregations particularly during the non-breeding season (Little & Sutton, 2013). Golf courses are particularly attractive gathering areas for the geese because large expanses of irrigated grazing lawns are interspersed with artificial water bodies and predators are largely absent. Control measures previously used by golf course managers in the Western Cape province have included displaying imitation owls, chasing the geese with dogs and motor vehicles, culling by shooting, destroying eggs and nests, and relocating geese (Little & Sutton, 2013). Passive harassment measures with no real threat to the survival of the geese were generally least effective in the long term. Culling or relocating the geese and chasing the geese with dogs were considered the most successful long-term control measures (Cunningham & Hockey, 2010). However, public opposition to culling in urban areas exerted pressure on managers to consider non-lethal alternatives. Research funders increasingly encourage the involvement of science communication and science engagement activities related to funded projects and expect research outputs to include impacts which are adopted by civil society. During 2012–2015 staff and students at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, investigated the perceived problem of geese on golf courses in Cape Town (Little & Sutton, 2013), assessed management options to alter the golf course habitats (Mackay et al., 2014), experimentally tested altering the landscape of fear using trained raptors (Atkins, Little & Amar, 2017) and observed related changes in the vigilance behaviour of the geese (Atkins, Little, Redpath & Amar, 2019). The aim of these four research projects was to understand the factors underlying the nuisance phenomenon of the geese on golf courses and to offer effective ways to resolve the negative impacts. The findings of these projects are synthesized here as a localized case study synthesis and considered to give a coherent account of the testing of approaches to resolve the issue and to present a concise set of recommended options to manage Egyptian Goose numbers and spatial distribution on golf courses. The ultimate aims of this study are to gather an","PeriodicalId":49492,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Wildlife Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45378882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}