Habitat Heterogeneity Variably Influences Habitat Selection by Wild Herbivores in a Semi-Arid Tropical Savanna Ecosystem

Victor K Muposhi; Edson Gandiwa; Abel Chemura; Paul Bartels; Stanley M Makuza; Tinaapi H Madiri

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163084

Habitat Heterogeneity Variably Influences Habitat Selection by Wild Herbivores in a Semi-Arid Tropical Savanna Ecosystem

PLoS One. 2016 Sep 28;11(9):e0163084. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163084. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Victor K Muposhi¹, Edson Gandiwa¹, Abel Chemura², Paul Bartels³, Stanley M Makuza², Tinaapi H Madiri⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Private Bag 7724, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe.
² School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Private Bag 7724, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe.
³ Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
⁴ Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, P.O. Box CY140, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Abstract

An understanding of the habitat selection patterns by wild herbivores is critical for adaptive management, particularly towards ecosystem management and wildlife conservation in semi arid savanna ecosystems. We tested the following predictions: (i) surface water availability, habitat quality and human presence have a strong influence on the spatial distribution of wild herbivores in the dry season, (ii) habitat suitability for large herbivores would be higher compared to medium-sized herbivores in the dry season, and (iii) spatial extent of suitable habitats for wild herbivores will be different between years, i.e., 2006 and 2010, in Matetsi Safari Area, Zimbabwe. MaxEnt modeling was done to determine the habitat suitability of large herbivores and medium-sized herbivores. MaxEnt modeling of habitat suitability for large herbivores using the environmental variables was successful for the selected species in 2006 and 2010, except for elephant (Loxodonta africana) for the year 2010. Overall, large herbivores probability of occurrence was mostly influenced by distance from rivers. Distance from roads influenced much of the variability in the probability of occurrence of medium-sized herbivores. The overall predicted area for large and medium-sized herbivores was not different. Large herbivores may not necessarily utilize larger habitat patches over medium-sized herbivores due to the habitat homogenizing effect of water provisioning. Effect of surface water availability, proximity to riverine ecosystems and roads on habitat suitability of large and medium-sized herbivores in the dry season was highly variable thus could change from one year to another. We recommend adaptive management initiatives aimed at ensuring dynamic water supply in protected areas through temporal closure and or opening of water points to promote heterogeneity of wildlife habitats.

Grants and funding

The work was supported by Chinhoyi University of Technology PG4122, www.cut.ac.zw, VKM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.