Abstract
Assessing the spatial and temporal variations of elephant impacts in the Addo Elephant National Park using a 30-year long term survey
2008 Southern African Wildlife Management Association (SAWMA) Symposium Paper Abstracts, p.22
Southern African Wildlife Management Association (SAWMA) Symposium: Biodiversity Conservation: The Science Management Interface, 2008 (Port Alfred, South Africa, 16-Sep-2008–19-Sep-2008)
2008
Abstract
Elephants are responsible for extensive habitat change within fenced conservation areas, primarily due to their ability to affect plant communities. In subtropical thicket, elephants reduce plant species richness, density and biomass and have the potential to reduce the foraging opportunities of co-occurring herbivores. These impacts are compounded by the tendency to manage these megaherbivores in relatively small areas at high densities. The development of appropriate measures to detect spatial and temporal shifts in ecosystems caused by elephants is a priority for the management of the species and its impacts. Long-term data sets that address these variations of elephant impacts, specifically in subtropical thicket, are currently lacking. Using 30 years of data on shrub/tree structure in the Addo Elephant National Park, we show that vegetation structure, a measure of landscape heterogeneity and ecological function, decreases over time and with increasing elephant density. The change, a shift from thicket to grassland, is associated with a collapse in the functionality of the landscape. These impacts are particularly pronounced amongst the large woody and succulent shrubs and trees (e.g. Euclea undulata, Portulacaria afra, Sideroxylon inerme and Schotia afra). The observed patterns are, however, confounded by the provisioning of artificial water which reduces landscape heterogeneity. These findings emphasise the need to manage the spatial and temporal resource use (e.g. water provisioning) by elephant to maintain landscape heterogeneity, and hence opportunities for the persistence of biodiversity in the presence of elephants.
Details
- Title
- Assessing the spatial and temporal variations of elephant impacts in the Addo Elephant National Park using a 30-year long term survey
- Authors
- M Landman (Author) - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South AfricaG I H Kerley (Author) - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South AfricaA J Hall-Martin (Author) - Hall-Martin Consulting, South AfricaM K Knight (Author) - South African National Parks, South AfricaDavid S Schoeman (Author) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Publication details
- 2008 Southern African Wildlife Management Association (SAWMA) Symposium Paper Abstracts, p.22
- Conference details
- Southern African Wildlife Management Association (SAWMA) Symposium: Biodiversity Conservation: The Science Management Interface, 2008 (Port Alfred, South Africa, 16-Sep-2008–19-Sep-2008)
- Date published
- 2008
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450274602621
- Output Type
- Abstract
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