African Journal of Ecology最新文献

{"title":"A Suite of Pathogens Detected in Ticks Sampled From Wildlife Hosts in Central Kenya","authors":"Derek McFarland Jr.,&nbsp;L. Page Fredericks,&nbsp;Tyler Hedlund,&nbsp;Sharon Jones,&nbsp;Felicia Keesing,&nbsp;Mathew Mutinda,&nbsp;Brian F. Allan","doi":"10.1111/aje.13317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13317","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Opportunistic sampling of ticks from animals during veterinary treatment offers important insights about wildlife exposure to pathogens. Here, we report pathogens and other tick-borne organisms detected in ticks sampled from 10 animal species in and near Laikipia County, Kenya, in 2014–2016. Pathogen analysis was performed using a combination of Fluidigm PCR and Illumina sequencing. We detected a suite of important pathogens affecting human and domestic and wild animal health, including <i>Anaplasma marginale</i>, <i>Rickettsia africae</i> and <i>Theileria parva</i>. These findings expand our limited understanding of wildlife exposure to tick-borne pathogens and potential ramifications for animal health and conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aje.13317","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142313380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the Occurrence of Pelusios gabonensis in the Taï National Park (Côte d'Ivoire)","authors":"Drissa Koné,&nbsp;Adboulaye Diarrassouba,&nbsp;Tomas Diagne,&nbsp;Luca Luiselli","doi":"10.1111/aje.13320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13320","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Many species of terrestrial and freshwater chelonians are at risk of extinction, particularly rainforest species due to massive habitat loss. Therefore, the presence of peripheral and isolated populations can have considerable conservation value. This article confirms the presence of <i>Pelusios gabonensis</i> in an area of mature forest in western Côte d'Ivoire for which fragmentary data existed in the literature. It would therefore be important to study the conservation status and the genetics of the Ivorian populations given their huge geographic distance with conspecifics from the Lower Guinean forests.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142273087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predicting the Dry Season Habitat Occupancy of African Savannah Elephant Using Vegetation Indices and Modelling Landscape Variability in a Mesic Protected Area","authors":"Nobert Tafadzwa Mukomberanwa,&nbsp;Phillip Taru,&nbsp;Beaven Utete,&nbsp;Honest Komborero Madamombe","doi":"10.1111/aje.13318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13318","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>African savannah elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) are key ecosystem engineers that migrate over large spatiotemporal scales foraging as they require copious amounts of food and water across habitable landscapes. Therefore a need to understand movement patterns arises in relation to vegetation type and landscape variability, moreso in forage depauparate arid areas such as Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) in Zimbabwe. The objectives of this study were to: (i) assess the performance of vegetation indices in modelling the distribution of African savannah elephants, and (ii) model future landscape variability in Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) in Zimbabwe. Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm was used to explore the relationship between vegetation indices and distribution of African savannah elephants in the GNP. The Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) performs better relative to other indices in modelling the distribution of African savannah elephants across all habitat types in the GNP. Cellular automata-Artificial Neural Network (CA-ANN) showed a significant future decrease (Kruskal Anova; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) in landscape suitable to sustain large populations of African savannah elephants in the GNP by the year 2083. Future remote sensing reveals directional insights into the future consequences of current landscape management for African savannah elephant conservation which is a crucial in the sustainability of climate threatened arid protected areas such as the GNP.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142273088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Freshwater Turtles in an Arid Land: Population Ecology, Habitat and Ecological Niche Modelling of Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea in the Sahel","authors":"Ardjima Lankoande,&nbsp;Sidiki Roland Konate,&nbsp;Djidama Sirima,&nbsp;Wendata Francis Dayama,&nbsp;Emmanuel M. Hema","doi":"10.1111/aje.13321","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13321","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Turtle ecology and conservation have been poorly explored in the West African Sahel regions, and this scarce information has produced a suboptimal management of their populations in the wild. In order to enhance the knowledge on the Sahelian turtle ecology, a field study was carried out in Burkina Faso on the ecology of <i>Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea</i>, a freshwater species inhabiting a wide range of waterbodies throughout West Africa. Reasoned sampling was carried out, resulting in the collection of a total of 196 individuals of <i>Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea</i>. This species shows a relatively balanced distribution of age and sex classes of individuals surveyed in the different study areas. The majority of individuals were observed in specific habitats, confirmed by an aggregative distribution. The potential habitats identified by the MaxEnt model highlight key areas for the conservation of this species in Burkina Faso. Conservation efforts should focus on protecting and restoring temporary and permanent aquatic habitats, and managing human activities to minimize the impact on turtle populations in the West African Sahel.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142275100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Continuous Monitoring of Vegetation and Soil Recovery After Eucalyptus grandis Removal in Dense Trees and Shrubs Areas","authors":"Sheunesu Ruwanza","doi":"10.1111/aje.13324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13324","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Invasion by invasive alien plants is a global challenge and South Africa has invested billions of Rands to manage invaders through the Working for Water programme. However, regular monitoring after alien plant clearing is hardly done, yet it forms the basis for assessing clearing programme effectiveness, particularly ecosystem recovery trajectories. I monitored both vegetation and soil recovery 6 years after <i>Eucalyptus grandis</i> clearing by Working for Water at Zvakanaka Farm in Limpopo Province of South Africa. Vegetation diversity and soil physical properties were surveyed in 2019 and re-surveyed in 2022 on fell-and-removal and fell-and-stackburn cleared treatments and compared to the nearby uninvaded treatment. Results show a significant increase in species richness in 2022 compared to 2019 in the fell-and-removal treatment. Cover of both native trees and shrubs as well as forbs was significantly higher in 2022 compared to 2019 in the fell-and-removal treatment compared to the fell-and-stackburn treatment. Most secondary invaders such as <i>Acacia mearnsii</i>, <i>E. cloeziana</i>, <i>Lantana camara</i> and <i>Rubus rigidus</i> that frequently occurred in 2019 showed decreased occurrence in 2022 on both cleared treatments. Between the two sampling years, soil compaction improved on the fell-and-removal treatment only, whereas hydraulic conductivity increased significantly in 2022 compared to 2019 in both the fell-and-removal and fell-and-stackburn treatments. Soils that were strongly and severely repellent in 2019 in the fell-and-stackburn treatment were becoming slightly repellent in 2022. These results show varied vegetation and soil improvements between 2019 and 2022 in both the fell-and-removal and fell-and-stackburn cleared treatments an indication that recovery is moving towards a positive vegetation and soil recovery trajectory in the direction of the uninvaded treatment. Recommendations for successful passive restoration such as secondary invasion follow-up clearing are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aje.13324","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142245034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Living With Hyraxes: Biogeography and Comparative Ecology of West African Fornasinius Beetles","authors":"Stephanie N. Ajong,&nbsp;Luca Luiselli,&nbsp;Thomas Francis Lado,&nbsp;Gift Simon Demaya,&nbsp;Edem A. Eniang,&nbsp;Gabriel Hoinsoude Segniagbeto,&nbsp;Guillaume Koffivi Ketoh,&nbsp;Olivier Le Duc,&nbsp;Michele De Palma,&nbsp;Giovanni Amori,&nbsp;Julia E. Fa,&nbsp;Mathias Behangana,&nbsp;Emmanuel M. Hema,&nbsp;Daniele Dendi","doi":"10.1111/aje.13325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13325","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Among the flower beetles (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae), the Goliathini comprise several genera of medium- and large-sized beetles widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. In this tribe, the genus <i>Fornasinius</i> Bertoloni, 1853, includes two species found in West Africa: <i>F. higginsi</i> (Westwood) and <i>F. klingbeili</i> Zöller, Fiebig,and Schulze. In this study, we present new data on the comparative ecology and biogeography of these two species, including sex ratio, population structure by size, monthly activity patterns and habitat features at two different spatial scales. These observations were conducted, mostly opportunistically, over a 20-year period in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. Both species exhibited similar overall population structure and morphometrics. They were characterised by a male-skewed adult sex ratio (with possible bias), male-larger sexual size dimorphism and consistent population structure by size; the two species are seemingly parapatric (with the potential contact zone being separated in eastern Ghana by the Volta River and Volta Lake). Both are primarily found in the vicinity of trees that contained middens of hyraxes, such as <i>Dendrohyrax dorsalis</i> (<i>F. higginsi</i>), <i>Dendrohyrax interfluvialis</i> (<i>F. klingbeili</i>) and <i>Procavia capensis</i> (<i>F. klingbeili</i>). <i>F. higginsi</i> has been primarily observed in forest habitat, while <i>F. klingbeili</i> was found in both forests and Guinea savannahs. Occurrence sites of <i>F. higginsi</i> were predominantly characterised by higher tree cover, less bare areas and built-up zones. Although these beetles may be locally abundant within hyrax middens, they typically occur in only a relatively small number of sites within their preferred habitat. Monthly activity patterns differed between the two species. Although adults of both species were observed throughout the year, sightings of <i>F. higginsi</i> were more common during the wet season, whereas <i>F. klingbeili</i> sightings were more frequent in the dry season. The observed differences in monthly activity patterns between these ecologically and morphologically similar species may help to minimise interspecific competition in potential—yet unknown—sites of syntopy. Although some <i>Fornasinius</i> populations might be locally threatened by deforestation or overhunting of hyraxes, the careful management of hyrax populations should adequately ensure the conservation of these two beetle species.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142244919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Same but Different: Intersexual and Age-Related Habitat Use of the Threatened West African Trionyx triunguis Clade—A Four-Country Comparative Study","authors":"Edem A. Eniang,&nbsp;Stephanie N. Ajong,&nbsp;Gabriel Hoinsoudé Segniagbeto,&nbsp;Eniang Inemesit Edem,&nbsp;Sulemana Bawa Gbewaa,&nbsp;Fabio Petrozzi,&nbsp;Julia E. Fa,&nbsp;Daniele Dendi,&nbsp;Mathias Behangana,&nbsp;Andrew D. Walde,&nbsp;Nioking Amadi,&nbsp;Godfrey C. Akani,&nbsp;Sery Gonedele-Bi,&nbsp;Nic Pacini,&nbsp;Pearson McGovern,&nbsp;Luca Luiselli","doi":"10.1111/aje.13323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13323","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Biological communities are structured by a variety of biotic and abiotic relationships, whose understanding forms the basis for effective conservation. Among the myriad factors influencing community dynamics, resource partitioning stands out, potentially enriching ecosystem complexity but also carrying risks for conservation if disregarded. In this study, we investigated intersexual and ontogenetic niche differences among populations of the West African softshell turtle <i>Trionyx triunguis</i> in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. We observed that these distinct populations exhibited similar habitat preferences, favouring large rivers with abundant riverbank and aquatic vegetation, and muddy substrates. Disparities in habitat preferences were evident among populations and across various life stages, indicating the adaptability of the species. We found that the species was active throughout the year, but most of our sightings and captures occurred during the wet season. In light of the species' vulnerability to overhunting, our research findings provide important data on the ecology of this species that can assist in its effective conservation across all life stages.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142245023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Isotopes Complement Morphology: Niche Partitioning Among Greenbuls in the Afrotropical Lowland Forest","authors":"Vojtěch Brlík,&nbsp;Petr Procházka,&nbsp;Elizabeth Yohannes,&nbsp;Ondřej Sedláček,&nbsp;Tomáš Albrecht,&nbsp;David Hořák","doi":"10.1111/aje.13315","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13315","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biodiversity plays a vital role in ecosystem functioning, so understanding how species coexist is a cornerstone of ecology. However, despite decades of research, our current knowledge is incomplete due to methodological limitations and sampling bias, particularly in the species-rich tropics. In this study, we combined bill and body morphological traits with stable isotopes in feathers to quantify niche differentiation among six co-occurring greenbul taxa, a diverse group of frugivorous and insectivorous passerines with remarkable similarities in body shape, in the lowland rainforests of Mount Cameroon, West-Central Africa. Our results showed that the greenbul's niche space was primarily differentiated by variations in body morphology, with yellow-lored bristlebill <i>Bleda notatus</i> and eastern bearded greenbul <i>Criniger chloronotus</i> occupying ecological niches distinct from the remaining four taxa, while bill morphology indicated substantial overlap between the taxa. In addition, isotopic composition of the feathers revealed a separation of western greenbul <i>Arizelocichla tephrolaema</i> from the other taxa. Our results show that the integration of morphological and isotopic data can provide robust estimates of niche overlaps, providing evidence for the differentiation of ecological roles. This highlights the importance of integrating variable traits to improve our understanding of how animals exploit the multidimensional niche space that enables their coexistence.</p>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aje.13315","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142045284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the Effect of Predator Control on Black-Footed Cat Survival in Central South Africa","authors":"Sandra Lai,&nbsp;Chloé Warret Rodrigues,&nbsp;Holly O'Donnell,&nbsp;Martina Küsters,&nbsp;Jason Herrick,&nbsp;Arne Lawrenz,&nbsp;Nadine Lamberski,&nbsp;Michelle Schroeder,&nbsp;Beryl Wilson,&nbsp;Alexander Sliwa","doi":"10.1111/aje.13316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13316","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The black-footed cat, a small felid endemic to southern Africa, is particularly vulnerable to killing by larger carnivores while also being prone to developing renal diseases. Here, we investigated the effect of predator control on black-footed cat populations by comparing adult annual survival between two sites, a nature reserve with little predator management and a sheep and game farm where jackals and caracals were lethally controlled. Although relatively low, survival rates were similar for both sites, suggesting that intraguild killing did not have an additive effect on black-footed cat mortality. Disease was however prevalent and weakened individuals might have a reduced ability to evade predators.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142013473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the dynamics of land use and land cover change in semi-arid savannah: A focus on woody plant encroachment utilising historical satellite data","authors":"Cyncinatia Malapane,&nbsp;Timothy Dube,&nbsp;Tatenda Dalu","doi":"10.1111/aje.13300","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13300","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The encroachment of woody plants into grassland and the conversion of grasslands to woodlands is a worldwide phenomenon and has been regarded as a major global problem for decades. The rate of woody plant encroachment (WPE) varies across biomes and can be influenced by land use activities and climate conditions. As a result, the current study assessed the spatial distribution of woody plants and land use and land cover (LULC) change within the Letaba River catchment in the Limpopo province of South Africa's subtropical region. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite data sets were used to map and quantify WPE and other LULC changes in the Letaba River catchment over a 30-year period (1989–2019). Random forest classifier was used to determine of the rate of change of WPE and LULC within the study area. The results indicated that the Letaba River catchment has undergone a significant change with an increase in woody plant species. The woody plant cover had increased from 36,014 ha in the year 1989 to approximately 561,493 ha by 2019. Meanwhile, grassland has declined by 486,322 ha (33.7%) from 1989 to 2019. The overall classification accuracy (OA) ranged between 91.7% and 95.5%. The study findings will provide critical insights and baseline information about the state of WPE in semi-arid environments, as well as provide catchment managers with the information they need to take the necessary actions to manage the rapid increase in woody plants. However, fire and herbivory are important factors that influences the WPE, and this might have also played an important role in the findings. The study suggests that WPE is an ongoing process and management strategies are required to mitigate and maintain the intensity of woody plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"62 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141994080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}