Daily activity pattern of the endangered Swayne’s Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei Sclater, 1892) in the Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia

Vymyslická, Pavla Jůnková; Hejcmanová, Pavla; Antonínová, Markéta; Stejskalová, Michaela; Svitálek, Jan

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2010.01243.x

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Moreover, in this study based on the 2013 count, the total population of the endangered Swayne's hartebeest which was considered as a keystone species for the establishment of Nech Sar National Park, was only four (4) individuals, with one adult male and three adult females. According to the historical data as compiled by Kelboro and Stellmacher (2012), the population of Swayne's hartebeest has significantly decreased between the periods of 1970 and 2013 (r 2 = 0.91; p < 0.01) from 130 individuals in 1967 (Blower 1968), to 100 in 1972 (Bolton 1973), to 40 in 1992 (Duckworth et al 1992), to 35 in 2008(Vymyslicka et al 2010Datiko and Bekele 2011), to 12 in 2010 (Mamo et al 2012), to four (4) in 2012 and locally extinct between 2017 and 2018 based on the Nech Sar National Park Office information as there is no record on this species in the past 3 years. Therefore, a significant decline in the trend and inexistent of Swayne's hartebeest from the Nech Sar National Park is an indicator for the serious threat of the habitat and associated degradation of the wildlife due to anthropogenic landscape disturbance in the past couple of years.…”

Section: Impacts Of Anthropogenic Activities On Terrestrial Large Mammentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of anthropogenic landscape change on the abundance and habitat use of terrestrial large mammals of Nech Sar National Park

2019

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Background: Landscape change and disturbance are major challenges of wildlife management worldwide. The purpose of this study is to determine the impacts of anthropogenic landscape disturbances on the abundance and habitat use of terrestrial large mammals of Nech Sar National Park. Disturbance of natural habitats for 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013 was analyzed using descriptive metrics of different landscapes at the class level. Population estimates of large terrestrial mammals were conducted using the line-transect method. Data were collected on the distribution and abundance of human settlement, domestic animals' sightings and livestock Karel using field observation and Google Earth digital image. Result: The results have shown that anthropogenic disturbances lead to changes in the size, number, distance, spatial distribution and configuration of fragments in the natural habitats between 1985 and 2013. The highest anthropogenic impacts are detected on the forest and grassland habitats through fuelwood and construction wood collection, settlement and overgrazing. Large concentrations of settlement with grass-roofed and tin-roofed houses are observed in the grassland and wooded grassland habitats. Out of the recorded 1079 houses built within the park, 867 (80.4%) were mud and wood wall with grass-roofed and 212 (19.6%) were tin-roofed houses. The ratio of tin-roofed and grass-roofed houses is 0.24:1 which suggests the permanency of human settlement and the high intensity of human impact on the wildlife. About 771 cattle Karels were recorded with the ratio of Karel to house as 0.89:1 which indicates that households have at least one Karel near to their residence. These habitat disturbances have resulted in the decline of key wildlife species in Nech Sar National Park. For instance, the population of Grant's zebra (Equus quagga) has decreased from 6500 in 1985 to 2161 in this study based on the 2013 count. The population of Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) has significantly decreased in the past decades from 40 in 1992 to 35 in 2008, to 12 in 2010, to four (4) in 2013 and locally extinct between 2017 and 2018 based on the Nech Sar National Park office information. Conclusions: Human activities in the Nech Sar National Park are the root causes for the decline of key wildlife species particularly for the loss of Swayne's hartebeest in the park over the past three decades. These changes are mainly related to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation due to deforestation, livestock overgrazing and residential expansion (tin-roofed, grass-roofed houses). Therefore, the main priority in Nech Sar National Park should be designing management strategies to restore the park as a fully functioning sustainable ecosystem and ensuring the social and economic sustainability of the local community. This intervention can be addressed by creating other means of livelihood,

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Section: Impacts Of Anthropogenic Activities On Terrestrial Large Mammentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of anthropogenic landscape change on the abundance and habitat use of terrestrial large mammals of Nech Sar National Park

2019

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“…We surveyed each transect 12 times during each season, and to avoid double detections of individuals, all transect lines of a block were surveyed at the same time. The surveys were carried out at early morning from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and late evening from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. when Swayne's hartebeests were active [62].…”

Section: Swayne's Hartebeest Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We summed the number of observed individuals for each surveying days in the burned and unburned grassland areas, separately. Counting was conducted in the morning 6:00-10:00 a.m. and late evening from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. [62].…”

Section: Effect Of Fire On Swayne's Hartebeest Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of season and post-fire on habitat preferences of the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia

et al. 2020

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Background: The availability of preferred habitats determines the spatial and temporal distribution of herbivores in savanna ecosystems. Understanding habitat preference of a targeted wildlife species is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies. Habitat preference of large grazers in connection to grass height and post-fire effect has been debated for the last century. Here, we examined the effects of season, grass height and burning on the habitat preference on Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park. Data for seasonal habitat selection were collected using both direct observation along established transect lines and pellet counting using permanently established plots. Every month, we measured grass height commonly preferred by Swayne's hartebeest in grassland habitat. Starting from the first week of burning, we recorded the abundance of Swayne's hartebeest in both burned and unburned grassland patches.Results: From detected pellets, 94.3% were recorded in the grassland habitat indicating that other habitat types are less used despite their extensive cover > 50% of the Park. During wet and early dry seasons, Swayne's hartebeest exclusively preferred grassland habitat. We found that 85.2% (n = 1079) and 85.3% (n = 593) of individuals observed in areas with a grass height below 30 cm during wet and early-dry seasons, respectively; while 70.9% (n = 2288) preferred grass height below 30 cm during the dry season. The density of Swayne's hartebeest in burned grassland area was higher than unburned grassland areas up to 150 days since burning. However, in unburned grassland areas, the density was initially low but showed increasing trend for consecutive days, reaching similar density with burned areas after 150 days since burning.Conclusion: Swayne's hartebeest exclusively preferred grassland habitat, particularly during wet and early-dry seasons, shortest available grass height in all seasons and were attracted to burned grassland areas. Our results suggested that fire played an important role in maintaining habitat quality in grassland, and that management should continue using controlled burning as a tool for the conservation of Swayne's hartebeest. However, we remain cautious of our findings given the paucity of information regarding other confounding factors and the absence of longterm data on fire disturbance.

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“…We surveyed each transect 12 times during each season, and to avoid double detections of individuals, all transect lines of a block were surveyed at the same time. The surveys were carried out at early morning from 6:00 -10:00 a.m. and late evening from 3:00 -6:00 p.m. when Swayne's hartebeests were active [66].…”

Section: Swayne's Hartebeest Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effect Of Fire On Swayne's Hartebeest Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of season and post-fire on habitat preferences of the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia

Tamrat

Atickem

Tsegaye

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background: The availability of preferred habitats determines the spatial and temporal distribution of herbivores in savanna ecosystems. Understanding habitat preference of a targeted wildlife species is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies. Habitat preference of large grazers in connection to grass height and post-fire effect has been debated for the last century. Here, we examined the effects of season, grass height and burning on the habitat preference on Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park. Data for seasonal habitat selection were collected using both direct observation along established transect lines and pellet counting using permanently established plots. Every month, we measured grass height commonly preferred by Swayne's hartebeest in grassland habitat. Starting from the first week of burning, we recorded the abundance of Swayne's hartebeest in both burned and unburned grassland patches.Results: From detected pellets, 94.3% were recorded in the grassland habitat indicating that other habitat types are less used despite their extensive cover > 50% of the Park. During wet and early dry seasons, Swayne's hartebeest exclusively preferred grassland habitat. We found that 85.2% (n=1,079) and 85.3% (n=593) of individuals observed in areas with a grass height below 30 cm during wet and early dry seasons, respectively; while 70.9% (n=2,288) preferred grass height below 30 cm during the dry season. The density of Swayne's hartebeest in burned grassland area was higher than unburned grassland areas up to 150 days since burning. However, in unburned grassland areas, the density was initially low but showed increasing trend for consecutive days, reaching similar density with burned areas after 150 days since burning. Conclusion: Swayne's hartebeest exclusively preferred grassland habitat, particularly during wet and early dry seasons, shortest available grass height in all seasons and were attracted to burned grassland areas. Our results suggested that fire played an important role in maintaining habitat quality in grassland, and that management should continue using controlled burning as a tool for the conservation of Swayne's hartebeest. However, we remain cautious of our findings given the paucity of information regarding other confounding factors and the absence of long-term data on fire disturbance.

show abstract

Daily activity pattern of the endangered Swayne’s Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei Sclater, 1892) in the Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia

Cited by 14 publications

References 26 publications

The effects of anthropogenic landscape change on the abundance and habitat use of terrestrial large mammals of Nech Sar National Park

The effects of anthropogenic landscape change on the abundance and habitat use of terrestrial large mammals of Nech Sar National Park

The effect of season and post-fire on habitat preferences of the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia

The effect of season and post-fire on habitat preferences of the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia

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