Movement ecology of large herbivores in African savannas: current knowledge and gaps

Abstract

1. Nearly 90% of the world's large herbivore diversity occurs in Africa, yet there is a striking dearth of information on the movement ecology of these organisms compared to herbivores living in higher latitude ecosystems. 2. The environmental context for movements of large herbivores in African savanna ecosystems has several distinguishing features. African large herbivores move in landscapes with high spatiotemporal variability, low predictability, seasonal restrictions in surface water as well as food resources, and exposure to a diverse assemblage of competitors, predators, and pathogens. These features influence mobility, diel activity routines, home-range fidelity, and exposure to predation. 3. We review the knowledge that has been gained about the movements of African herbivores from Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry and identify important gaps in knowledge that exist. Topics addressed include seasonal movement patterns, daily activity schedules, space utilisation, water dependency, responses to risks of predation, pathogen transmission, social affiliations, and local population density determination. 4. While the growing number of GPS telemetry studies has addressed a wide range of topics in Africa, they remain fragmentary in terms of places and species represented. Most research has been focussed on three species, and practices for data sharing and analysis should be improved. African landscapes are changing perhaps faster than any other region on Earth, with rapidly expanding human populations, massive infrastructure development projects, and changes in climatic regimes. There is a crucial need to establish relationships between herbivore movements and their changing environments, especially in Africa where most of the world's large herbivore diversity resides.

High-density grazing in southern Africa: Inspiration by nature leads to conservation?

“…The migrations of the ± 1.3 million wildebeests and hundreds of thousands of zebras and Thompson gazelles on the Serengeti-Masai ecosystem in East Africa is the best known and best-studied migration of large grazers in Africa, and is often used as an example linking high-density grazing with the natural situation under which rangelands evolved. The existence of various other larger and smaller migrations of grazers have been documented on the continent, however nowadays these migrations have been severely curtailed or extinguished in many places as a result of human developments and the confinement of game in protected areas (Owen-Smith et al, 2020). The migratory behaviour of grazers does not follow a fixed pattern and is largely opportunistic, driven by the availability of feed and water, linked to highly variable precipitation in the semi-arid to arid regions of the savannahs and grasslands (Owen-Smith et al, 2020).…”

“…The existence of various other larger and smaller migrations of grazers have been documented on the continent, however nowadays these migrations have been severely curtailed or extinguished in many places as a result of human developments and the confinement of game in protected areas (Owen-Smith et al, 2020). The migratory behaviour of grazers does not follow a fixed pattern and is largely opportunistic, driven by the availability of feed and water, linked to highly variable precipitation in the semi-arid to arid regions of the savannahs and grasslands (Owen-Smith et al, 2020). Predatory pressure seems to play only a minor role in migratory patterns.…”

“…In most parts of Africa, large ungulates historically made up an important component of the ecology, particularly in the grasslands and savannahs. Depending on the definition of migration, between 8 and 13 species of large herbivores in Africa have been regarded as having migratory populations (Owen-Smith et al, 2020). The migrations of the ± 1.3 million wildebeests and hundreds of thousands of zebras and Thompson gazelles on the Serengeti-Masai ecosystem in East Africa is the best known and best-studied migration of large grazers in Africa, and is often used as an example linking high-density grazing with the natural situation under which rangelands evolved.…”

Innovations in movement and behavioural ecology from camera traps: Day range as model parameter

“…Besides, populations of many species tend to have low densities, the habitat is difficult to access and survey, and the species are elusive (Kéry et al., 2010). As a consequence, there are still relevant basic gaps in movement ecology (Owen‐Smith et al., 2020). In this respect, non‐invasive methods have the potential to broaden the set of species/situations that can be studied in this way (Kindberg et al., 2009).…”

Review: Plant Eco-Evolutionary Responses to Climate Change: Emerging Directions

“…Studies of plant-herbivore 292 interactions under climate change focus almost exclusively on arthropod herbivores [but see 293 174]. Future studies of mammalian herbivores, especially large ungulates and their movement 294 across landscapes will test how climate change is altering the diversity of herbivorous 295interactions in nature[183].…”