Ecological Monitoring and Health Research in Luambe National Park, Zambia: Generation of Baseline Data Layers

Abstract

Classifying, describing and understanding the natural environment is an important element of studies of human, animal and ecosystem health, and baseline ecological data are commonly lacking in remote environments of the world. Human African trypanosomiasis is an important constraint on human well-being in sub-Saharan Africa, and spillover transmission occurs from the reservoir community of wild mammals. Here we use robust and repeatable methodology to generate baseline datasets on vegetation and mammal density to investigate the ecology of warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) in the remote Luambe National Park in Zambia, in order to further our understanding of their interactions with tsetse (Glossina spp.) vectors of trypanosomiasis. Fuzzy set theory is used to produce an accurate landcover classification, and distance sampling techniques are applied to obtain species and habitat level density estimates for the most abundant wild mammals. The density of warthog burrows is also estimated and their spatial distribution mapped. The datasets generated provide an accurate baseline to further ecological and epidemiological understanding of disease systems such as trypanosomiasis. This study provides a reliable framework for ecological monitoring of wild mammal densities and vegetation composition in remote, relatively inaccessible environments.

The density of Smith's bush squirrel,Paraxerus cepapi, in Luambe National Park, Zambia

“…A study by Viljoen () focused on feeding habits and provides only sightings data for farm woodland in the Transvaal (now called Gauteng Province) near the Nyl River, and not densities. Most of the sightings in her study (54%) were recorded in Acacia woodland, in contrast to our study where Acacia woodland is rare and the habitat is very different (Anderson et al, ).…”

“…As part of this work, a detailed survey of wild mammals was conducted in Luambe National Park from August to October 2006 (during the dry season) using distance sampling methods (Buckland et al, ). Full details of the methods used can be found in Anderson et al () and are summarised for convenience below. All research activities were approved by the Zambian Wildlife Authority (permit numbers 316295 and 323947).…”

“…All data were recorded in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The vegetation class in which each observation was recorded was extracted from the landcover classification of Luambe National Park previously published (Anderson et al, ). Data were then imported into the specialist distance sampling software program Distance (Thomas et al, ).…”

“…It gains one of its other common names, ‘mopane squirrel’, from the high densities commonly observed in mopane ( Colophospermum mopane ) woodland. This woodland is common in southern Africa in alluvial soils near large rivers and their tributaries (Anderson et al, ; Smith, ). It may exist as tall dominant trees 15–30 m in height (commonly referred to as ‘cathedral’ mopane) or shorter stunted woodland (commonly referred to as mopane scrub).…”

“…Despite its IUCN Red List ‘Least Concern’ status and wide distribution (Cassola, ), there is very little published information about the density of Smith's squirrel in different types of habitat. Here, we present data collected during a detailed investigation into the vegetation and wild mammal density within Luambe National Park as part of a wider research project investigating the ecology of trypanosomiasis in the Luangwa Valley (Anderson et al, ). These data are used to provide an estimate of the density of P. cepapi in Luambe National Park at the vegetation class (habitat) level.…”