Population status and human impact on the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (<i>Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei</i>) in Nechisar Plains, Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia

Datiko, Demeke; Bekele, Afework

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01266.x

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, habitat disturbance was the major causes identified as HWC in this study. The result was in agreement with different studies in Ethiopia and other countries in the world (Hill et al, 2002;Barnes et al, 2003;Pariela, 2005;Blair, 2008;Datiko and Bekele, 2011;Mwamidi et al, 2012;Edward and Frank, 2012) which reported increased habitat disturbance as the cause of HWC. Jones (2012) reported that habitat destruction and fragmentation was the main cause of human primate conflict in Indonesia.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…This agrees with the studies in other parts of Ethiopia. According to Datiko and Bekele (2011) and Mwamidi et al (2012), the number and type of damage caused by wildlife vary based on the species, the time of year, and the availability of natural prey and crop raiding species. Even though both agricultural damage and livestock depredation were observed in the study area, crop loss due to wildlife was the most serious problem in the study sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The major types of wildlife damage on the human being are predation of domestic animals, crop damage and sometimes killing of humans (Madden, 2008). The number and type of damage caused by wildlife varies according to the species, the time of year, and the availability of natural prey and crop raiding species (Warren, 2008;Datiko and Bekele, 2011;Mwamidi et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of types of damage and causes of human-wildlife conflict in Gera district, south western Ethiopia

Amaja¹,

Feyssa²,

Gutema³

2016

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) exists in different forms all over the world and is experienced more in developing countries. The conflict between human and wildlife ranks among the main threats to biodiversity conservation and has become frequent and severe in different parts of Africa. In the author s' previous study, five species of wildlife were identified as the main crop raiding species in Gera, southwestern Ethiopia. The current study was conducted to assess causes of HWC and types of damage in this area. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussion, direct observation and key informant interview. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the socioeconomic profile of the respondents. One-way ANOVA and Chi-square test were used to analyze causes of HWC. The result showed that 50 and 22% of the respondent reported that the prevalence of HWC is manifested through crop damage and livestock predation, respectively. There was a significant difference between causes of HWC (F=4.2, P=0.000). In this study, habitat disturbance and increase in population of wildlife was the highest and least causes of HWC, respectively. HWC is increasing in both severity and frequency in the study area. Therefore, to minimize the conflict occurring in the whole scope of society in the proper selection of investment site (mainly modern coffee production in the area) is crucial. Furthermore, the wildlife authorities and local institutions are encouraged to address the needs of the local communities or to find the source of alternative livelihood to the society.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of types of damage and causes of human-wildlife conflict in Gera district, south western Ethiopia

Amaja¹,

Feyssa²,

Gutema³

2016

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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“…Maze National Park, Ethiopia, weighing between 100 to 200 kg [47]. It was once widely distributed in Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti [48], but currently its range is confined to Ethiopia [49][50][51] and listed as endangered sub-species by IUCN Red list [52]. In our recent study, we documented the largest…”

Section: Swayne's Hartebeest (Alcelaphus Buselaphus Swaynei) Is One Omentioning

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.

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“…Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) is a large body-sized herbivore weighing between 100 and 200 kg [46]. It was once widely distributed in Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti [47], but currently its range is confined in two protected areas: Senkele Swayne's Hartebeest Sanctuary and Maze National Park in Ethiopia [46,48,49] and listed as endangered sub-species by IUCN Red list [50]. In our recent study, we documented the largest population of Swayne's hartebeests in Maze National Park (Misganaw et al unpublished), which remains unstudied and receives little attention from the scientific community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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Population status and human impact on the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Nechisar Plains, Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia

Cited by 23 publications

References 23 publications

Assessment of types of damage and causes of human-wildlife conflict in Gera district, south western Ethiopia

Assessment of types of damage and causes of human-wildlife conflict in Gera district, south western 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

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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