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Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Extralimital giraffe introductions in the south-western region of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa, may result in changes to the vegetation structure for the region through overutilization of two keystone tree species in the area. In the areas where giraffe density was highest, I determine...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Biological Sciences
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613395486769152 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Viljoen, Storme |
| author2 | February, Edmund C |
| author_browse | February, Edmund C Viljoen, Storme |
| author_facet | February, Edmund C Viljoen, Storme |
| author_sort | Viljoen, Storme |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Extralimital giraffe introductions in the south-western region of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa, may result in changes to the vegetation structure for the region through overutilization of two keystone tree species in the area. In the areas where giraffe density was highest, I determine the relative abundance of giraffe; their diet preference and the potential reasons for this preference. Using both spoor and dung counts as indicators of giraffe presence, transects were carried out over approximately 20 km of the Auob River. Percentage occurrence was plotted onto a map of the river, along with the location of boreholes that supply the only surface water. Little trend could be seen, although occurrence appeared slightly higher near boreholes. The two trees that most commonly occur in the Auob duneveld, Acacia erioloba and Acacia haematoxylon, were examined for nutritional content, and both chemical and physical defences - all of which are thought to affect herbivore selection. Stable isotope analysis and linear mixing model were used to determine the proportion of each species in the diet of giraffe using the leaves of both species and giraffe dung. The majority of the giraffe's diet consists of A. haematoxylon (mean = 79 %, s.d. = 20.5 %) despite having less crude protein and similar condensed tannin content. Relative lack of physical defences appears to encourage giraffes to exploit A. haematoxylon, which has shorter, weaker thorns. Without management intervention, A. haematoxylon could suffer selective mortality through the impacts of giraffe browsing, resulting in a loss of species and structural diversity of the landscape. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/14013 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:35:28.252Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Biological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Biological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/14013 Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Viljoen, Storme February, Edmund C Biological Sciences Extralimital giraffe introductions in the south-western region of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa, may result in changes to the vegetation structure for the region through overutilization of two keystone tree species in the area. In the areas where giraffe density was highest, I determine the relative abundance of giraffe; their diet preference and the potential reasons for this preference. Using both spoor and dung counts as indicators of giraffe presence, transects were carried out over approximately 20 km of the Auob River. Percentage occurrence was plotted onto a map of the river, along with the location of boreholes that supply the only surface water. Little trend could be seen, although occurrence appeared slightly higher near boreholes. The two trees that most commonly occur in the Auob duneveld, Acacia erioloba and Acacia haematoxylon, were examined for nutritional content, and both chemical and physical defences - all of which are thought to affect herbivore selection. Stable isotope analysis and linear mixing model were used to determine the proportion of each species in the diet of giraffe using the leaves of both species and giraffe dung. The majority of the giraffe's diet consists of A. haematoxylon (mean = 79 %, s.d. = 20.5 %) despite having less crude protein and similar condensed tannin content. Relative lack of physical defences appears to encourage giraffes to exploit A. haematoxylon, which has shorter, weaker thorns. Without management intervention, A. haematoxylon could suffer selective mortality through the impacts of giraffe browsing, resulting in a loss of species and structural diversity of the landscape. 2015-09-15T10:32:46Z 2015-09-15T10:32:46Z 2013 Bachelor Thesis Honours BSc (Hons) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14013 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Biological Sciences Viljoen, Storme Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park |
| thesis_degree_str | Bachelor's / Honours |
| title | Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park |
| title_full | Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park |
| title_fullStr | Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park |
| title_full_unstemmed | Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park |
| title_short | Habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park |
| title_sort | habitat use and diet preference of extralimital giraffes in the kgalagadi transfrontier park |
| topic | Biological Sciences |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14013 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT viljoenstorme habitatuseanddietpreferenceofextralimitalgiraffesinthekgalagaditransfrontierpark |