Impacts of military training on the distribution and abundance of small versus large wildlife herbivores on Mpala Ranch, Laikipia, Kenya

Awuor, Frankline Otiende

doi:10.1111/aje.12210

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…One reason could be exposure of resident elephants to higher levels of human activities in the northern part of Mpala. Earlier, Awuor (2015) observed a negative influence of military activities on the distribution and abundance of wildlife at Mpala. This training, primarily carried out in the north, involves drills and use of fire arms and explosives, which could have resulted in higher FGM concentrations in residents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Differing physiological and behavioral responses to anthropogenic factors between resident and non-resident African elephants at Mpala Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya

Oduor

Brown

Macharia

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Background Heterogeneous landscapes like those of Laikipia County, Kenya consist of a mosaic of land-use types, which may exert differential physiological effects on elephants that occupy and traverse them. Understanding behavioral and physiological states of wild African elephants in response to the challenges of living in human-dominated landscapes is therefore important for conservation managers to evaluate risks imposed by elephants to humans and vice versa. Several conservation physiology tools have been developed to assess how animals respond to both natural and anthropogenic changes, and determine biological impacts. This study investigated how migratory and avoidance behavioral to vehicle presence, and vegetation quality affected fecal glucocorticoid (GC) metabolite (FGM) concentrations in African elephants at Mpala Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya. Methods The study compared adrenal glucocorticoid activity of resident elephants that live within Mpala (n = 57) and non-resident elephants whose space use patterns overlap several ranches (n = 99) in Laikipia County, Kenya. Fecal samples were collected for a 4-month period between April and August for analysis of FGM concentrations. Behavioral reactions to research vehicles and body condition also were assessed. Satellite images from Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging (MODIS MOD13Q1) were downloaded and processed using Google Earth Engine to calculate a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a measure of vegetation quality. Results As expected, there was a positive correlation between avoidance behavior to vehicle presence and FGM concentrations in both resident and non-resident elephants, whereas there was an inverse relationship between FGM concentrations and NDVI values. Our study also found a positive influence of age on the FGM concentrations, but there were no relationships between FGM and sex, social group type, herd size, and body condition. However, contrary to our expectations, resident elephants had higher FGM concentrations than non-residents. Discussion Findings reveal elephants with stronger avoidance responses to research vehicles and resident elephants with relatively smaller home ranges exhibited higher FGM concentrations within the Mpala Ranch, Kenya and surrounding areas. Higher vegetative quality within the ranges occupied by non-resident elephants in Laikipia may be one reason for lower FGM, and an indication that the non-residents are tracking better forage quality to improve energy balance and reduce overall GC output. Additionally, our study found a positive influence of age, but no other demographic variables on FGM concentrations. Finally, adrenal glucocorticoid activity was inversely related to vegetative quality. Our findings can help conservation managers better understand how behavior and environment influences the physiological states of African elephants, and how management intervention might mitigate negative human–elephant interactions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Differing physiological and behavioral responses to anthropogenic factors between resident and non-resident African elephants at Mpala Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya

Oduor

Brown

Macharia

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…The Unit's access to Laikipia land has been key in preparations for neocolonial interventions elsewhere, even as recently as during the ‘War on Terror’ because the scrub bush and aridity approximate conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq. 7 At Mpala, the latest arrangement – according to available information – is that military exercises take place over 9 days in a month for no more than 3 consecutive months, with apparently little effect on wildlife populations (Awuor, 2015). 8 It must be strongly emphasised, however, that for local communities, British Army presence at Mpala and across Laikipia has been devastating.…”

Section: A Concise History Of Mpalamentioning

confidence: 99%

Decolonising spaces of knowledge production: Mpala research centre in Laikipia County, Kenya

Griffiths

Mueni²,

Baker

et al. 2023

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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In this article we discuss Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia County, Kenya as a distinctly colonial space. Drawing on historical materials, fieldwork observations and in-depth interviews, we build an account of British colonial expropriation of land, European and American modes of enclosure, and the development of a prominent site of knowledge production in the fields of ecology, conservation and evolutionary biology. Mpala is product and productive of colonial relations, ones where land use serves mainly Western interests in ways that sustain and entrench categories of coloniser/colonised. We support this claim by identifying three ways in which colonial legacies endure at Mpala in terms of (i) ontology, or the particular ways in which land is made landscape; (ii) race and the organisation of space and labour and (iii) silence (and silencing) as a mechanism that sustains colonial power relations. We further argue that turning to such a nameable site of contemporary academic extraction enables a shift from postcolonial critique to decolonial praxis. By naming Mpala in specific terms, the possibility of politics opens out from critical analysis towards a project of undoing the epistemological and material legacies of colonialism.

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“…Conflicts between training priorities and species protection do occur, but there are now a range of internal military programs, interagency collaborations, and public–private partnerships in place to help balance conservation and military readiness. In short, biodiversity conservation has become a routine planning element for military lands in North America, Europe, and Australia, and awareness is increasing elsewhere, including in Brazil, and on western military bases overseas …”

Section: Preparationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In short, biodiversity conservation has become a routine planning element for military lands in North America, 82,90 Europe, 79,91 and Australia, 92 and awareness is increasing elsewhere, including in Brazil, 76 and on western military bases overseas. 93,94…”

Section: Preparationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity conservation and armed conflict: a warfare ecology perspective

Hanson

2018

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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The activities involved in preparing for, executing, and recovering from armed conflict are globally pervasive and consequential, with significant impacts on natural systems. Effects on biodiversity are predominantly negative, produced by direct and indirect battlefield impacts, as well as the general breakdown of social, economic, and governance systems during wartime. Certain conservation opportunities do occur, however, particularly on lands set aside for training exercises, buffer zones, and peace parks. Here, the relationship between armed conflict and biodiversity is reviewed using the temporal framework of warfare ecology, which defines warfare as an ongoing process of three overlapping stages: preparations, war (armed conflict), and postwar activities. Several themes emerge from recent studies, including a heightened awareness of biodiversity conservation on military lands, the potential for scientific and conservation engagement to mitigate negative biodiversity impacts in war zones, and the importance of the postwar period for incorporating biodiversity priorities into reconstruction and recovery efforts. Research limitations and knowledge gaps are also discussed.

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Impacts of military training on the distribution and abundance of small versus large wildlife herbivores on Mpala Ranch, Laikipia, Kenya

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

Differing physiological and behavioral responses to anthropogenic factors between resident and non-resident African elephants at Mpala Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya

Differing physiological and behavioral responses to anthropogenic factors between resident and non-resident African elephants at Mpala Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya

Decolonising spaces of knowledge production: Mpala research centre in Laikipia County, Kenya

Biodiversity conservation and armed conflict: a warfare ecology perspective

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