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March 2016
SAWMA MATTERS Electronic newsletter of the Southern African Wildlife Management Association
In this issue:
General SAWMA announcements
SAWMA Symposium 2016
New Members
SAWMA Membership fees.
New initiatives
African Journal of Wildlife research
Upcoming Events
Contentious Matters
Featured Projects
Featured published articles
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2016! Hopefully the worst summer
heat waves have left us all in the southern parts of Africa and some cooler
weather and rain will soon be bringing relief to most.
I am sure most of you are already settled in the new year but I hope you
are still feeling energised and motivated for the challenges of 2016 and
and that you are all well on the way with your studies, projects or
conservation work. By sending your news to this e-publication, submitting
articles for publication in African Journal of Wildlife Research, and
supporting our annual symposium your important work and research will
be shared in a huge network of other colleagues.
Thank you for your contributions to this publication. – Editor
SAWMA Symposium 2016
Enquiries: Elma Marais ([email protected]
Normally by this time we have a first announcement ready for the SAWMA symposium. Unfortunately this year, the process is a little delayed, but we should have more information and good news soon. For now, it is safe to say that you should tentatively block out the dates:
18-22 September 2016
for our annual symposium. This happens to be in the week following the International Wildlife Ranching Symposium in Windhoek, Namibia. We are still waiting for our potential host to confirm their hosting of the symposium, but we are crossing all fingers that the event will be hosted somewhere in Limpopo Province. Those interested in more information, about the next SAWMA Symposium who are not currently members of SAWMA, should please forward their names to [email protected]
.
SAWMA Updates Page 2 SAWMA Matters
Last call for payment of outstanding membership fees for 2015 Members with outstanding fees were sent reminders during December. Thanks to those members whose membership fees are now up to date. Unfortunately we will have to summarily suspend memberships with outstanding fees of more than one year. Remember that your membership automatically continues until you officially cancel it by sending us a cancellation note. Outstanding fees can be settled until then end of March this year. Invoices for 2016 will be issued in April. Please remember to use your surname or invoice number as reference or email proof of the payment to [email protected]. This helps us tracking payments and avoids further costs and time for the association.
Membership rates for 2016 Local individual members: R390-00/year Fulltime Student members (Local): R200-00/year (preferring a printed copy of AJWR) Fulltime Student members (Foreign): R390-00/year (preferring a printed copy of AJWR) Pensioners: R200-00/year Foreign individual members: USD 110-00/year Local Institutional Subscribers: R680-00/year Foreign Institutional Subscribers: USD 205-00/year
Our bank details: Standard Bank, Tyger Manor Branch 050410, Cheque account number: 270805575. Please use your surname as reference and email proof of payment to [email protected]. Feel free to contact Elma Marais ([email protected]) for any membership enquiries
Previously registered free student members should please provide proof of student registration at a university in order to continue with the free student option and in order to get free access codes to AJWR.
Welcome new SAWMA members!
Welcome to all the new members who joined SAWMA recently:
Mr Neo Heyns: Kuruman. Prof Armanda Bastos: Wildlife disease epidemiologist and molecular taxonomist at University of Pretoria. Dr James Barasa: Lecturer at University of Eldoret, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Dr Haemish Melville: Senior Lecturer at Dept. of Nature Conservation, University of South Africa. Dr Thabiso Mokotjomela: Ecologist at Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Board. Mr Kenneth Collins Magojane: Busy with BTech in Nature Conservation. Mr Sifiso Keswa: Senior General Manager: People and Conservation at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Ms Monica Leitner: MSc graduate based at Rustenburg. Mr Colin Tucker: Ecologist at Presence Learning Village, Patensie. Mr Jacobus Martins Campher: Sunningdale, Cape Town. Ms Caroline Kruger: Currently student, Gauteng. Students who recently joined under the free student member group: Oluwagbenga Ogidan, Karin Ralph, Kingstone Chipfupa.
Full-time Students
(excluding post-docs)
are welcome to
register as free
student members of
SAWMA again this
year. Note that this
option is only for
those who prefer
electronic access to
the African Journal of
Wildlife Research and
not the hard copy.
Students preferring
printed copies of the
journal will pay the full
student fee.
Note that proof of
registration at a
university is required.
SAWMA Matters Page 3 New inisiatives for 2016
To recognise individual members of the association within southern Africa who have made a significant contribution to wildlife management within the region SAWMA has established our own special award which will be presented for the first time in 2016. Contributions to wildlife management in southern Africa include contributions through: advocacy, teaching, research, applied wildlife management, or a combination of these fields. The prestigious SAWMA WILDLIFE EXCELLENCE AWARD will be based on the quality of nominations received from members and will be presented during the gala dinner of the SAWMA symposium. The SAWMA council will review all nominations received by the specified closing date (end of May) for the award nominations, and will vote to determine the recipients of the award for the given year. Guidelines and a nomination form will be available early in 2016, but members are invited and encouraged to start identifying individuals who should qualify for this award.
To acknowledge student achievements it was agreed that student members of SAWMA will in future be eligible for annual special student awards. The process, value of the award and selection criteria still needs to be established but the general idea is that an application form will be posted to the SAWMA website for students to complete by June each year (with signed approval by their supervisors). The applications will be assessed by the SAWMA council according to a list of criteria and the winners will be announced at the SAWMA symposium. The award(s) will be structured to ensure that the student’s research is brought to the attention of the broader SAWMA membership, and that the student is encouraged to maintain ongoing active involvement with the association.
This year SAWMA is also planning to run a T-Shirt (Design) Competition within our student component. More information / guidelines will be available in the near future, but the idea is that the T-shirt should emphasise SAWMA’s main objectives. This will be linked to our annual symposium.
Volume 46/1 is almost
ready for printing and
should reach all paying
SAWMA members by
April. Along with the new
issue the passwords for
access to the full text will
change.
Articles for possible publication in the next 2
issues of AJWR are welcome and can be
submitted at the following link:
http://www.editorialmanager.com/sawma/default.a
spx You are invited to submit
original full-length papers, short
communications, book reviews as well as
reviews on science-based research and
management in the field of renewable natural
resources to our journal. Unless by invitation, only
work done on African, Arabian and Malagasy
species, either in situ or ex situ, will be considered for
publication.
Page charges are currently: R200/page for SAWMA members and
R300/page for non-SAWMA members.
Join our facebook group, Southern African Wildlife Manangement Association at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/88830115458/?ref=bookmarks
Interesting news, jobs, projects, research papers on wildlife management
SAWMA Matters
Upcoming Events 2016
The 9th International Wildlife Ranching Symposium will be hosted at the Safari Hotel in Windhoek, Namibia from 12-16 September 2016. The 9th IWRS will incorporate a plenary session and four elective specialist streams, as well as site visits to game ranching establishments in Namibia. Various sessions are planned and excellent speakers are invited from all over the world to share practical knowledge, skills and attitudes with private and communal sectors.
The timing of this Symposium precedes the CITES COP 17 meeting, which will be held in South Africa from 24 September 2016 – 5 October 2016. Attendance of the 9th IWRS will benefit discerning delegates and national stakeholders, to network for the upcoming discussions at CITES CoP 17, such as the global Rhino Imperative.
Visit the conference website for more information: http://www.iwrs.co.za/the-conference/
Note: SAWMA symposium provisionally from 18 – 22
September 2016!
ILTER Open Science Meeting 2016 ILTER, as a global network of national networks of scientists engaged in site-based ecosystem and socio-ecological research, has a dual purpose of providing a forum for collection of continuous, long-term ecological data, and supporting question- and problem-driven scientific research to help solve known and unknown environmental problems (http://www.ilternet.edu/). This mission paves the way for jointly addressing important societal and environmental challenges at a global scale. DATES: 3 to 8 July 2016 VENUE: Skukuza, Kruger National Parks More information: http://www.ilternet.edu/content/ilter-open-science-meeting-2016-first-announcement
Page 4
19th Indigenous
Plant Use Forum
DATES: 4-6 July 2016 THEME: Indigenous
Plant Products: The Reality VENUE: Port St. Johns,
Eastern Cape Province CONTACT:
51st Annual GSSA
Congress
DATES: 3 to 8 July 2016 VENUE: The Wilderness
Hotel Resort and Spa, Wilderness, Western Cape, South Africa
The Congress will be incorporating the highly
acclaimed Research Skills Workshop to be held from 3 to 4 July
2016.
An Invasive Species Workshop will be held on
8 July 2016.
All abstracts and proposal submissions should be done via the
open conference systems website. The
link address is: http://gssa.co.za/index.ph
p/gssa/2016/schedConf/cfp
ENQUIRIES:
SAWMA Matters Upcoming Events 2016
The 8th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology
Theme: Response and Adaptation of Animals to Rapid Global Change Date: 25 July – 5 August 2016, Country: Xilinhaote, Inner Mongolia, China Please register at: www.globalzoology.org
43rd Annual Research Symposium on the Management of Biological Invasions in S.A. The Invasive Species Programme (SANBI) and in conjunction with the Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (Stellenbosch University) are currently co-ordinating the 43rd Annual Research Symposium on the Management of Biological Invasions in South Africa. The event this year will be taking place at Goudini Spa, near Worcester, Western Cape from 18 to 20 May 2016. Keynote Speakers at the Symposium: Prof. Bob Scholes Prof. Melodie McGeoch Prof. Reuben Keller Please see the event details and invitation to the 43rd Annual Research Symposium on the Management of Biological Invasions on the website http://academic.sun.ac.za/cib/workshops/2016MAY/index.asp For more information and any enquiries, please contact Ruqaya Adams at: Email: [email protected]; Phone: 021 799 8403
Wild Shots 2016 October 2016 is time for Wild Shots, Africa’s annual wildlife photography symposium bringing together amateurs and professionals, to learn from and be inspired by the best in the business. This year’s event in Cape Town will be on Saturday the 22nd October 2016, and then in Johannesburg the following Saturday, the 29th of October, 2016. The symposium has a limited amount of seats and bookings are first come first served! A wildlife photography event that is not to be missed. To register and for more information on this year’s WildShots event, check out their website: www.wildshotsevent.com
CITES CoP7
The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 24 September to 5 October 2016 at the Sandton Convention Center. A dedicated portal for # CITESCop17 had been launched to provide access to all documents and relevant information concerning the meeting via one webpage.
How many plants & animals can you spot in the
#CITESCop17 logo?
….
Page 5
Page 6 SAWMA Matters Contentious matters
The role of the wildlife ranching industry in South Africa’s Green Economy
The Endangered Wildlife Trust has recently completed an 18 month national study on the wildlife ranching sector of South Africa, a form of land use that has become increasingly prevalent over the last 40 years. The study assessed the social, economic and conservation benefits provided by wildlife ranching and was conducted with the intention of addressing a lack of information about the extent and value of the sector. Such gaps in knowledge made it difficult to ascertain the circumstances under which the benefits from the sector are greatest and for the government to support the sustainable development of the wildlife ranching industry as part of the green economy agenda in South Africa. Further reasons for the study were to help develop best practice and incentives to promote the industry as a means of helping South Africa achieve commitments to international conservation targets and to develop appropriate legislation to regulate the industry. For the purposes of the study, a wildlife ranch was broadly defined as a privately owned wildlife enterprise that generates some form of commercial benefit from wildlife. A range of property types were thus included, from small intensive game farms to large extensive private game reserves. Mixed livestock/game farms were included, but properties generating no revenue from wildlife were excluded. Wildlife ranching is being conducted on a large scale in South Africa, with an estimated 9 000 wildlife properties covering an area approximately 17 million hectares, which is 2.2 times greater than the state protected area network of the country. The majority of such ranches have been converted from livestock farms after it became more economically viable to keep and use wildlife for commercial purposes. Wildlife ranching covers four main subsectors, often referred to as ‘pillars’, including live game sales, hunting, game meat production and ecotourism. Most ranchers conduct more than one land use practice in order to diversify and make their operations more profitable. Information was gathered widely from the literature, and stakeholders with expert knowledge were interviewed to gather further insights. Possibly the most important aspect of the study involved surveying 251 wildlife ranchers across South Africa, whose properties cover an area of 1.4 million hectares. The results from these surveys were then used to extrapolate up to all wildlife ranches across the country. Participants were asked about many different aspects of their operations including types and scale of land use practiced; species and numbers of each species kept; numbers of people employed; and incomes generated from different enterprises. The main findings of the study were: Conservation findings include:
The total number of large herbivores on all private wildlife ranches across South Africa was estimated to be approximately 6 million animals during 2014. This number excluded animals on private properties that may have wildlife but that do not obtain any commercial benefit from it, such as those conducting more traditional forms of agriculture. It also excludes animals on state protected areas. Small uncommon herbivore species such as Suni, Red and Blue Duiker and grysbok species were not counted and neither were Warthogs or Bushpigs;
This number is lower than previous estimates of approximately 18 million wild animals across the country, and the disparity has inadvertently created some controversy due to perceived negative implications if our estimate is correct. We do not see the need for a controversy, however, for two reasons:
o Firstly, 6 million large herbivores is a very large number and represents a ten-fold increase since the boom in private wildlife ranching started in South Africa. This makes South Africa unusual among African countries, where wildlife numbers have either remained the same or have decreased (Namibia being an exception). This increase in wildlife numbers, along with other environmental improvements that often go hand in hand with converting livestock farms to wildlife ranches, represents a net positive contribution to biodiversity conservation.
o Secondly, not only were the methods of calculation for the two outcomes different, but they were made for different areas, with the figure of 18 million animals representing the whole country;
Not all wildlife on wildlife ranches can be considered to be ‘wild’ however, because they are generally kept in breeding camps, fed supplemental food to stay alive, protected from predators and given veterinary care. Although ‘wild’ is difficult to define precisely, it implies an animal that has to fend for itself. The study estimated that around 6% of the area used by wildlife ranching comprises intensive breeding camps for high value species such as buffalo, roan, sable and colour variants of plains game. This statistic does not necessarily present a problem for conservation on private land if the remaining 94% of wildlife ranching areas are managed extensively and in line with biodiversity conservation principles.
Next page…
SAWMA Matters
However, an issue of concern is that the area under intensive management is increasing and we cannot say that the remaining land is indeed being managed for biodiversity conservation. This may lead to increasing amounts of fencing, which fragments the landscape further, and may also result in breeding management practices that select animals according to human preferred characteristics rather than naturally selected traits. Economic findings include: • Live sales generated R4.3 billion during 2014, of which R2.5 billion was generated by private game sales between ranchers (these figures only represented the value of the animals and exclude multiplier effects); • Hunting generated R2.6 billion during 2014 (this figure only represents the value of the animals and excludes money spent by hunters on lodging, food and professional hunting fees); • Game meat production generated around R610 million; and • No estimate has yet been made for ecotourism. Social findings include:
• Overall, 65 170 permanent jobs were supported during 2014. This figure excludes temporary employees and people working in wildlife ranching who were not employed by the ranchers themselves. Such industries include wildlife translocators, fencing businesses, and taxidermists; and • Game meat production generated approximately 21 million kilograms of meat during 2014 (21 000 tonnes), excluding the meat obtained for personal use by biltong hunters. Main recommendations include: • Provincial nature conservation departments need to create centralised, electronic permitting systems to monitor and manage all permitting requirements; • There is a need to ground-truth the impacts of wildlife ranching management practises on biodiversity; and • National and provincial legislation need to be brought into alignment to ease the burden of permitting requirements for wildlife ranchers According to Dr. Andrew Taylor, “Our study reiterates earlier findings that wildlife ranching is a thriving industry in South Africa and that the sustainable use of our wildlife resources can contribute important conservation, economic and social benefits to the biodiversity economy when it is practiced responsibly.” This study was funded by the Green Fund, but all findings and opinions are those of the EWT and do not represent the official view of the Green Fund. Contact Dr.Andrew Taylor, Wildlife Trade and Ranching Project Manager, Endangered Wildlife Trust Tel: +27 11 372 3600 ; [email protected]
The full report can be downloaded from the EWT website: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CONSERVATION VALUE OF THE WILDLIFE RANCHING INDUSTRY AND ITS POTENTIAL TO SUPPORT THE GREEN ECONOMY IN SOUTH AFRICA. Taylor, W.A., Lindsey, P.A. & Davies-Mostert, H. 2015. The Endangered Wildlife Trust, Johannesburg.
Page 7
2nd SOUTH AFRICAN STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP ON INTENSIVE AND SELECTIVE BREEDING
On 2 December 2015 the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) held the 2nd workshop on the intensive and selective breeding of color variants in game in Pretoria. Various presentations were made. Lizanne Nel, Conservation Manager of the South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association, published a report of the discussions on the SAHGCA website. African Indaba published the report in their newsletter of February 2016 and annotated the article to provide direct links to the various presentations given. This annotated article can be found at the following link: http://africanindaba.com/2016/03/2nd-south-african-stakeholder-workshop-on-intensive-and-selective-breeding-february-2016-volume-14-1/. By studying the presentations linked to this report you should get a good understanding of the various inputs and views of the various groups and individuals presenting.
SAWMA Matters Page 8 Featured projects
Capacity Building and Training Programme in the Eastern Communal area Dr. Louisa Richmond-Coggan, Matti Nghikembua and Dr. Laurie Marker
The past 12 months, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) has continued its involvement in a project contributing to alleviating poverty in the eastern communal areas of Namibia known as the Greater Waterberg Complex. The eastern communal area consists of four communal conservancies (Ozonahi, Otjituuo, Africa Wild Dog and Okamatapati) that form the natural dividers/areas of project activity. The communal conservancies are heavily reliant on subsistence livestock, and the area is devoid of wild game species, this leads to substantial human-carnivore conflict as there is no natural prey base to support the resident carnivore population (cheetah, wild dog, and leopard). CCF integrated wildlife and livestock management programme through farmer training aimed to address these issues by enhancing livelihoods through improved land management and a heightened culture of ecological protection. Two villages were chosen per conservancy through a consultative process with the relevant stakeholders of each conservancy. The project actively encouraged women to attend the farmer training workshops to build capacity for both genders. The information was disseminated in a workshop format, a combination of presentation and theory and practical demonstrations. Supplementary information of training materials, translated into the Herero language, was designed to complement the information given out on a weekly basis at the workshops. This ensured that the attendees had long-term reference material to use post project. Key members of the local communities, such as the conservancy committee chairman, were contracted by the project to distribute the training schedule throughout their communities and to actively encourage participation by their conservancy members and through radio programmes. Every week two farmer training workshops took place in villages across one conservancy totaling 8 days a month. CCF staff along with a Local Mentor, taught livestock, wildlife and rangeland management as well as business planning. A total of 82 integrated livestock and rangeland management training workshops were conducted during the year, averaging 27 participants per workshop of which 26% of them had not attended a farmer training workshop before. Therefore, we reached a new audience as well as re-connecting with prior participants. Within the 1,783 participants 1,260 were males and 523 were females. All participants to the integrated livestock and rangeland management training workshops where taught topics that spanned ecology, conservation, economics, animal health, human hygiene and many more. Using questionnaires, the year’s project was evaluated to determine whether the integrated livestock and rangeland management training workshops had led to any behavioural or attitudinal changes in participants. A total of 90 questionnaires were completed from across the four conservancies. Participants from both the focal villages and surrounding area were asked to determine if the lessons learnt had spread further than just the original villages. The participants indicated that they had all gained knowledge in multiple areas, as well as recognizing areas in which they could increase their income and alleviate poverty within the community which, was the overall objective of the project. The majority of participants said that they now see the need to vaccinate, feed, and provide supplements, treatments and licks to their livestock. In addition they said they will now put this knowledge into practice as they recognised that it will lead to healthier and fatter livestock that will bring a higher price per kg at the auctions. In conjunction with creating a better sale price they will also practice good record keeping and financial planning as they now see the direct link between this and their potential income increase now and in the future. Overall the survey provided valuable insights into the behaviour and attitude changes before and after the workshops. Integrating economics, ecology, conservation, animal health, feeding, treatments and many other topics meant that each participants gained knowledge across a number of fields. All these fields were recognised by CCF as being critically important in order for the communities to develop their livelihoods and businesses whilst living and working alongside wildlife including carnivores. After attending the workshops one participants stated that he had ‘Gained knowledge on how to treat livestock well and keep them healthy’ and other stated that ‘In addition to livestock management I learned about financial management, birthing and teething problems with livestock.’ Participants who attended 5 workshops or more received a certificate indicating their achievement, 130 certificates were given out across the four conservancies as attendance throughout the 82 workshops was consistently high. This is a reflection on the value and need that the communities placed on these workshops which is indicated in some of their responses as to why has your knowledge increased, one stated that ‘I had no access to training workshops’ after the workshops the general feeling was that ‘My knowledge has increased from these workshops, we want more.’ The majority of participants labelled themselves as low in knowledge at the start and then after the workshops that they had moved to either a medium or high level across the different topics covered. The reasons for livestock loss ranged from disease to birthing problems and poisonous plants if the participants can use their knowledge gained and reduce or even stop fatalities in these areas they would reduce their losses by 64% which would directly impact on their income. Of the questioned participants a vast majority felt that their knowledge on carnivore ecology had increased from information given out during the workshop. Of all the participants nearly half felt that cheetahs and wild dogs could bring economic value to the area if they were viewed as a tourist attraction and could bring in alternative revenue into the community. It was determined that nearly all of the participants questioned had experienced livestock loss in the last 12 months however, it is very important to note that this does not just relate to predation. In fact it was determined that on average participants loose more livestock per year to poisonous plants than predation by carnivores.
Next page…
Featured projects
From previous page… Over the last 6 months just fewer than 300 animals were lost to predation of that the majority were predated by jackals. Wild dogs, cheetah, leopard and brown hyaena were all found to be responsible for a very small proportion of loss. Even after these losses nearly all of the participants stated that they have not killed a carnivore in retaliation for livestock loss however wild dogs were listed as a species that had been killed which as they are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List is a concern. Overall this project was a success as it built upon and enhanced our past knowledge base as well as highlighting several key issues of livestock health and human-wildlife conflict that has led to CCF to develop new projects in these two areas that are starting in 2016.
Density and human-carnivore conflict assessment across the Greater Waterberg Landscape,
Namibia Dr. Louisa Richmond-Coggan, Tarik Bodasing and Dr. Laurie Marker
The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) recently launched a three year project, supported by the Go Green Fund and Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz (AGA). The goal of the project is to determine the density and human-carnivore conflict areas for cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and other key large carnivores across the Greater Waterberg Landscape (GWL), Namibia. The GWL is comprised of five conservancies, one commercial (Waterberg) and four communal (Ozonahi, Okamatapati, Otjituuo, African Wild Dog). The project aims to find out where the carnivores are distributed across the GWL, determine relative density using presence, map the human-wildlife conflict (HWC) hot spot areas and in turn run targeted livestock and wildlife integrated training workshops to teach mitigation methods to reduce loss. The project will be using a mixture of methods; camera traps, questionnaires, HWC reports to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and other sources to determine presence of the key carnivores resident in the area, namely African wild dog, cheetah and leopard. Camera trapping has begun at 40 sites in the Waterberg Conservancy. The camera trapping will be covering both wet and dry seasons to determine if these variables affect carnivore distribution over the landscape. The wet season also ties into calving season within the farming community that may again influence carnivore distribution and abundance. CCF believes that this is a key project not only as it relates to the further understand of the ‘Critically Endangered’ wild dog and the ‘Vulnerable’ cheetah in the region but as the landscape is a mixture of communal and commercial farms it’s possible to get a deeper insight as to how these large carnivores are surviving across the mixed farmland.
SAWMA Matters Page 9
Featured research publications
Trapping Elusive Cats: Using Intensive Camera Trapping to Estimate the Density of a Rare African Felid Eléanor Brassine & Daniel Parker (PLOS One, December 2015)
Abstract: Camera trapping studies have become increasingly popular to produce population estimates of individually recognisable mammals. Yet, monitoring techniques for rare species which occur at extremely low densities are lacking. Additionally, species which have unpredictable movements may make obtaining reliable population estimates challenging due to low detectability. Our study explores the effectiveness of intensive camera trapping for estimating cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) numbers. Using both a more traditional, systematic grid approach and pre-determined, targeted sites for camera placement, the cheetah population of the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana was sampled between December 2012 and October 2013. Placement of cameras in a regular grid pattern yielded very few (n = 9) cheetah images and these were insufficient to estimate cheetah density. However, pre-selected cheetah scent-marking posts provided 53 images of seven adult cheetahs (0.61 ± 0.18 cheetahs/100km²). While increasing the length of the camera trapping survey from 90 to 130 days increased the total number of cheetah images obtained (from 53 to 200), no new individuals were recorded and the estimated population density remained stable. Thus, our study demonstrates that targeted camera placement (irrespective of survey duration) is necessary for reliably assessing cheetah densities where populations are naturally very low or dominated by transient individuals. Significantly our approach can easily be applied to other rare predator species. Download the article at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0142508
SAWMA members: Please remember to send links to your recent publications to the editor for featuring in this newsletter!
Page 10 SAWMA Matters Featured research publications
Evaluating habitat connectivity methodologies: a case study with endangered African wild dogs in South Africa
Craig R. Jackson , Kelly Marnewick, Peter A. Lindsey, Eivin Røskaft, Mark P. Robertson (Springer, February 2016)
Abstract Context In fragmented landscapes, connectivity between subpopulations is vital for species’ persistence. Various techniques are used to assess the degree of connectivity between habitat patches, yet their performance is seldom evaluated. Models are regularly based on habitat selection by individuals in resident populations, yet dispersers may not require habitat which supports permanent residence. Objectives and methods Using a database of African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) occurrence records in north-eastern South Africa (n = 576), we developed and compared ecological niche models (ENM) for wild dogs packs and dispersers. Additionally, we used least cost path (LCP) and current flow models to assess connectivity. Results were further validated using occurrence records (n = 339) for cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Results and conclusions
The ENM for wild dog packs identified large but isolated patches of suitable habitat, while the disperser ENM had greater suitability values for areas in between highly suitable patches. Without disperser-specific data, models omitted large areas which were confirmed to have provided connectivity. Although models derived from a potentially subjective cost layer have been criticised, the current flow model outperformed the other connectivity techniques and provided the most meaningful predictions for conservation planning. We identified five priority conservation areas for wild dogs, two of which had a greater feasibility for recolonisation. The scarcity of disperser-specific data promotes models using habitat data for resident individuals but here we illustrate the pitfalls thereof. Our study provides insights into the performance of these frequently employed techniques and how they may affect conservation management decisions. Download the article at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-016-0342-5
Net Effects of Ecotourism on Threatened Species Survival
Ralf C. Buckley , Clare Morrison , J. Guy Castley (PLOS One, February, 2016)
Abstract
Many threatened species rely on ecotourism for conservation funding, but simultaneously suffer direct ecological impacts from ecotourism. For a range of IUCN-Redlisted terrestrial and marine bird and mammal species worldwide, we use population viability analyses to calculate the net effects of ecotourism on expected time to extinction, in the presence of other anthropogenic threats such as poaching, primary industries and habitat loss. Species for which these calculations are currently possible, for one or more subpopulations, include: orangutan, hoolock gibbon, golden lion tamarin, cheetah, African wild dog, New Zealand sealion, great green macaw, Egyptian vulture, and African penguin. For some but not all of these species, tourism can extend expected survival time, i.e., benefits outweigh impacts. Precise outcomes depend strongly on population parameters and starting sizes, predation, and ecotourism scale and mechanisms. Tourism does not currently overcome other major conservation threats associated with natural resource extractive industries. Similar calculations for other threatened species are currently limited by lack of basic population data. Download the article at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0147988
Life after Cecil: channelling global outrage into funding for conservation in Africa Peter A. Lindsey, Guy A. Balme, Paul J. Funston, Philipp H. Henschel and Luke T.B. Hunter
(Wiley Online Library: JAN 2016)
Abstract Trophy hunting is widely used in Africa to generate funding for wildlife areas. In 2015, a global media frenzy resulted from the illegal killing of a radio-collared lion, “Cecil,” by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe. Trophy hunting is contentious and much of the media discourse is emotional and polarized, focusing on animal welfare and debating the value of hunting as a conservation tool. We use the Cecil incident to urge a change in the focus of discussion and make a call for global action. We highlight the dual challenge to African governments posed by the need to fund vast wildlife estates and provide incentives for conservation by communities in the context of growing human populations and competing priorities. With or without trophy hunting, Africa's wildlife areas require much more funding to prevent serious biodiversity loss. Next page…
SAWMA Matters Featured research publications
In light of this, we urge a shift away from perpetual debates over trophy hunting to the more pressing question of “How do we fund Africa's wildlife areas adequately?” We urge the international community to greatly increase funding and technical support for Africa's wildlife estate. Concurrently, we encourage African governments and hunters to take decisive steps to reform hunting industries and address challenges associated with that revenue generating option. Download article at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12224/full
Bayesian estimates of male and female African lion mortality for future use in population management Julia A. Barthold, Andrew J. Loveridge, David W. Macdonald, Craig Packer and Fernando Colchero.
(Journal of Applied Eology, Vol 53/2; April 2016)
Summary 1. The global population size of African lions is plummeting, and many small fragmented populations face local extinction. Extinction risks are amplified through the common practice of trophy hunting for males, which makes setting sustainable hunting quotas a vital task. 2. Various demographic models evaluate consequences of hunting on lion population growth. However, none of the models use unbiased estimates of male age-specific mortality because such estimates do not exist. Until now, estimating mortality from resighting records of marked males has been impossible due to the uncertain fates of disappeared individuals: dispersal or death. 3. We develop a new method and infer mortality for male and female lions from two populations that are typical with respect to their experienced levels of human impact. 4. We found that mortality of both sexes differed between the populations and that males had higher mortality across all ages in both populations. We discuss the role that different drivers of lion mortality may play in explaining these differences and whether their effects need to be included in lion demographic models. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our mortality estimates can be used to improve lion population management and, in addition, the mortality model itself has potential applications in demographically informed approaches to the conservation of species with sex-biased dispersal. Download article at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12594/full
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Elephant Sense and Sensibility AUTHOR:Michael Garstang ISBN:9780128022177 (softcover) PUBLISHER: Academic Press, London; USD42.46 PUBLISHED:2015
Read a review of this book:
What separates them from us? Slotow R. South African Journal of
Science (2016;112(1/2), Art. #a0140)
http://dx.doi. org/10.17159/sajs.2016/a0140