Population status of the hippopotamus in Zambia

Chansa, Wilbroad; Milanzi, James

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2010.01242.x

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Aerial surveys conducted by DNPW in 2015 contributed to population trend data for 12 species of large mammals over the time periods 2002-2015in LV and 2006-2015in GKE (DNPW, 2016. Population estimates for 12 key prey species (DNPW, 2016), as well as elephant (IUCN, 2016), and hippopotamus (Chansa & Milanzi, 2010) are provided as Supplemental Information. Because all three carnivore species consume carrion, we augmented estimates of elephant population size with counts of elephant carcasses, where available (CITES Secretariat, 2016).…”

Section: Prey Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relative abundance and density of prey varied between regions and among species (DNPW, 2016) (Data S4). Buffalo (DNPW, 2016), elephant (IUCN, 2016), and hippopotamus (Chansa & Milanzi, 2010) occurred in much higher abundance and density in LV compared with GKE. Data on elephant carcasses were available only from a specified survey area in LV where from 4 to 49 carcasses per year (mean of 19 carcasses/year) were reported from 2002-2012 (CITES Secretariat, 2016) (Data S5).…”

Section: Prey Diversity Abundance and Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data on elephant carcasses were available only from a specified survey area in LV where from 4 to 49 carcasses per year (mean of 19 carcasses/year) were reported from 2002-2012 (CITES Secretariat, 2016) (Data S5). Hippopotamus surveys conducted between 2005-2008 found that LV contained the largest concentration in Zambia, with the Luangwa river accounting for 62% (25,000) of the country's overall hippopotamus population compared to 10% (4,000) in the Kafue river in GKE (Chansa & Milanzi, 2010).…”

Section: Prey Diversity Abundance and Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Naturally-occurring tooth wear, tooth fracture, and cranial injuries in large carnivores from Zambia

Valkenburgh

White

2021

PeerJ

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Determining the incidence and causes of craniodental damage in wild carnivores is often constrained by limited access to specimens with associated ecological data, such as prey type and abundance. We assessed dental condition and cranial injuries in lion, leopard, and spotted hyena in relation to prey and predator populations in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, where large prey are more abundant and lion and leopard more numerous, and the Greater Kafue Ecosystem, where smaller prey species are more prevalent and lion and leopard less common. In Luangwa, lions had significantly higher rates of tooth fracture, and blunt trauma injuries attributable to prey-handling, compared to Kafue lions. In contrast, leopards in both regions had similar rates of tooth wear and breakage. Overall, lions showed a significantly higher tooth fracture rate than leopards on a per tooth basis. Spotted hyenas had the highest rates of tooth wear and fracture among all three carnivores, and greatly exceeded previously recorded rates based on historical samples. Despite larger numbers of lion and leopard in Luangwa, there was no difference in incidence of intraspecific injuries between regions. These results are consistent with a greater abundance of large prey species, especially buffalo, in the diets of Luangwa lions, and previous work showing a reliance on smaller prey species in Kafue throughout the large carnivore guild.

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Section: Prey Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prey Diversity Abundance and Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prey Diversity Abundance and Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Naturally-occurring tooth wear, tooth fracture, and cranial injuries in large carnivores from Zambia

Valkenburgh

White

2021

PeerJ

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“…In their mid‐ and lower reaches, African savanna rivers in conservation areas are inhabited by mega‐herbivores such as hippopotami (hippos, Hippopotamus amphibius , Field, ; Kanga, Ogutu, Olff, & Santema, ; Naiman et al., ; Wilbroad & Milanzi, ). African hippos transfer large amounts of organic matter and nutrients from savanna grasslands into aquatic ecosystems through egestion and excretion (Subalusky, Dutton, Rosi‐Marshall, & Post, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic structure of an African savanna river and organic matter inputs by large terrestrial herbivores: A stable isotope approach

et al. 2018

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Knowledge of trophic structure is important to understand sources and pathways of energy resources in community ecology and to identify determinants of ecosystem changes. Yet, little is known from rivers of African savanna receiving large inputs of terrestrial organic matter and nutrients by large mammalian herbivores. We used Stable Isotope (δ13C and δ15N) Bayesian Ellipses in R (SIBER) and Layman's community‐wide metrics to describe seasonal variation in trophic niches and trophic structures in midorder river reaches in the Mara River (Kenya) that differed in environmental conditions (agricultural vs. forested) and amounts of organic matter and nutrients (low vs. high inputs by livestock and hippopotami, Hippopotamus amphibius). These analyses were supplemented with data on the trophic diversity of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups (FFGs) and fish trophic guilds. The δ13C and δ15N of basal resources and consumers differed between sites and changed with seasons. Sites in agricultural areas that were utilised by livestock and a site with hippopotami had higher δ13C than the forested site due to the presence of C4 carbon from egestion and excretion by the grazers. The forested site recorded the most taxon‐rich and trophic‐diverse invertebrate community, suggesting both autochthonous and allochthonous sources of energy were available. Agricultural sites and the site with hippopotami recorded high abundances of collector taxa in response to large inputs of organic matter. Fish trophic guilds were less diverse and were dominated by insectivores. The food web at the forested site had the widest trophic niche size and highest isotopic trophic diversity compared to sites in areas with large mammalian herbivores. Invertebrate and fish trophic niche sizes changed according to food resources varying with space and time. Invertebrates had higher δ13C values during the dry season. In contrast, fish showed higher δ13C values during the wet season, and trophic niche sizes were constricted and considerably overlapping, suggesting feeding on a narrow range of food sources with high trophic redundancy. This study showed that increased terrestrial organic matter by large mammalian herbivores affected trophic diversity and niche sizes for aquatic consumers in rivers draining the African savanna. Linking the density of terrestrial large mammalian herbivores to aquatic ecosystem structure and function could help manage their populations sustainably.

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“…Aerial surveys have been conducted in the core parts of the Luangwa Valley on behalf of the Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) (Simukonda 2011 ) and as part of the Community Markets for Conservation Programme (COMACO) (Olive et al 2012 ; Frederick 2013 ). The population of hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibious ) has recently been surveyed and extensively studied (Wilbroad and Milanzi 2010 ; Chansa et al 2011a ; Chansa et al 2011b ). However, there is a clear need for more high-resolution data to enable active monitoring of ecosystem health in the valley.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2016

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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.

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Population status of the hippopotamus in Zambia

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Naturally-occurring tooth wear, tooth fracture, and cranial injuries in large carnivores from Zambia

Naturally-occurring tooth wear, tooth fracture, and cranial injuries in large carnivores from Zambia

Trophic structure of an African savanna river and organic matter inputs by large terrestrial herbivores: A stable isotope approach

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

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