High carnivore population density highlights the conservation value of industrialised sites

Abstract

As the environment becomes increasingly altered by human development, the importance of understanding the ways in which wildlife interact with modified landscapes is becoming clear. Areas such as industrial sites are sometimes presumed to have little conservation value, but many of these sites have areas of less disturbed habitats around their core infrastructure, which could provide ideal conditions to support some species, such as mesocarnivores. We conducted the first assessments of the density of serval (Leptailurus serval) at the Secunda Synfuels Operations plant, South Africa. We ran three camera trap surveys to estimate serval density using a spatially explicit capture recapture framework. Servals occurred at densities of 76.20-101.21 animals per 100 km2, which are the highest recorded densities for this species, presumably due to high abundance of prey and the absence of persecution and/or competitor species. Our findings highlight the significant conservation potential of industrialised sites, and we suggest that such sites could help contribute towards meeting conservation goals.

Using road patrol data to identify factors associated with carnivore roadkill counts

“…Despite declining numbers throughout their range (Ramesh & Downs, 2013), servals are listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Thiel, 2015) and Near Threatened on the South African Red List (Ramesh et al, 2016). Home ranges are estimated to be between 8 and 38 km 2 (Geertsema, 1985; Ramesh, Kalle & Downs, 2015), and population densities can vary from approximately 6–100 individuals per 100 km 2 (Ramesh & Downs, 2013; Loock et al, 2018). Servals display largely crepuscular and nocturnal activity patterns (Thiel, 2011; Ramesh & Downs, 2013), but they can also be active during the day (Geertsema, 1985).…”

Using road patrol data to identify factors associated with carnivore roadkill counts

“…The species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of threatened species (Thiel, 2015), and Near Threatened on the South African Red List , although serval numbers have declined throughout their range (Ramesh & Downs, 2013). Home ranges can be between 8 and 38 km² (Geertsema, 1985;Ramesh, Kalle & Downs, 2015), and population densities can vary from approximately 6-100 individuals per 100 km² (Ramesh & Downs, 2013;Loock et al, 2018). Servals display largely crepuscular and nocturnal activity patterns (Thiel, 2011;Ramesh & Downs, 2013), but they can also be active during the day (Geertsema, 1985).…”