Tragelaphine antelopes were often considered to lack territoriality. A recent study, however, has suggested that male bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus use the inner core of their home ranges exclusively. In this study, we examined whether males demarcate this area with an oily secretion emanating at their horn bases and cheeks (front rubbing). Furthermore, we studied aggressive interactions between adult males relative to home-range dimension. We found that the distribution pattern of the nearest-neighbour distances between front-rubbing marking sites significantly differed from random distribution and was shifted towards shorter distances. This is a typical pattern for territorial marking. Further support for the idea that front rubbing serves to demarcate male territories comes from the finding that the polygons obtained from nearest-neighbour mapping of front-rubbing sites match best the 70% minimum convex polygon (MCP) obtained from random location fixes. The exclusively used core of male home ranges was previously found to be the area inside the 50% MCP. Furthermore, males tended to defend the area inside the 70% core most intensely; that is, won aggressive interactions prevailed in number, whereas lost interactions prevailed further outside.
A study was performed in and around Lake Mburo National Park (LMNP) to identifycommon helminths that parasitize both game and livestock. Various techniques including £oatation, Baerman and sedimentation tests, faecal culturing and post-mortem were used to identify helminths recovered during the survey. Identi¢cation was based on egg, larval and adult helminth developmental stages. Results showed that 22 species of parasitic nematodes, lungworms, ascaris, trematodes and tapeworms occur in both wild game and livestock found in and around the national park.The signi¢cance of the ¢nd-ings to helminth cross-infection among game, livestock and man is discussed.
The study was done in Lake Mburo area, Uganda, consisting of Lake Mburo National Park and surrounding ranches. The study involved monitoring changes of output of helminth eggs per gram (e.p.g.) by impala for 12 months. Fresh faecal samples, 178 in total, were collected from the rangeland and subjected to floatation and culture tests. There was a peak faecal e.p.g. output from March to April and from October to November. This period coincided with time of high rainfall and calving peak of impala. There was no faecal e.p.g. observed during the dry spell from June to July.
SummaryA population estimate of fruit bats was carried out in the Kampala Bat Valley roost. The model used was a single‐stage systematic sampling of unequal primary units (trees). The trees were first listed in a ‘serpentine manner’ with neighbouring trees having contiguous serial numbers. After a random start, every seventeenth tree was selected so that a sample of fourteen out of a total of 238 trees were counted. The exercise was carried out over 3 months, January, February and March, in 1979.Information was gathered on the number of branches with bats, the number of bat clusters and cluster size. From the analysis of the data, the following monthly averages were obtained: total number of bats in the colony = 70,388; average number of bats on each tree = 310; average number of clusters per branch=4; average cluster size = 7.8. Measures of reliability of the estimates were made. The implications of these results and the conservation of the habitat are adjusted.RésuméUne estimation de la population de chauve‐souris frugivores a été menée dans les dortoirs devla ‘Kampala Bat Valley’. Le rnodile utilisé est un échantillonnage systématique en un temps d'unités primaires inégales (les arbres). La liste des arbres fut d'abord établie suivant un trajet en zig‐zag. Après un point de départ aléatoire, on a sélectionné chaque Dix‐septiéme arbre de telle façion qu'un échantillon de quatorze sur un total de 238 arbres fut compté. Ce travail fut entrepris pendant trois mois: de janvier à mars 1979. Des informations furent récoltées sur le nombre de branches portant des chauve‐souris, le nombre de grappes et la taille des grappes. Les moyennes mensuelles suivantes ont pu être obtenues par l'analyse de ces données: nombre total de chauve‐souris dans la colonie: 70.388, nombre moyen de chauve‐souris sur chaque arbre: 310, nombre moyen de grappes par branche: 4, taille moyenne d'une grappe: 7.8. Les implications de ces resultats sur la conservation de l'habitat sont discutéês.
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