Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia
Dissertation (MSc (Environment and Society))--University of Pretoria, 2015.
Saved in:
| Other Authors: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613483853414400 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Haussmann, Natalie |
| author_browse | Haussmann, Natalie |
| author_facet | Haussmann, Natalie |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Dissertation (MSc (Environment and Society))--University of Pretoria, 2015. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/110032 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:52.413Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/110032 Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia Haussmann, Natalie j.n.amukwa@gmail.com Le Roux, Peter C. Amukwa, Julia N. Powerline nesting Power outage Sociable weaver Human wildlife conflict Namibia. Dissertation (MSc (Environment and Society))--University of Pretoria, 2015. In southern Africa, sociable weavers (Philetairus socius) build large communal nests on savannah trees, mainly the camelthorn tree (Vachelia erioloba). Alternative structures, especially electricity poles, are also often used for nesting. In Namibia, sociable weavers cause major power distribution failures when their nests come in contact with live wires on electricity poles. As a preventative measure for nest-caused power outages, nests are removed from power lines twice a week by NamPower, which is a tedious and costly procedure. The aims of this study were 1) to study sociable weaver nest-related outages in relation to all electricity outages in Namibia, 2) to assess nesting site fidelity of the sociable weaver in the Mariental District in southern Namibia and 3) to test the potential of providing alternative nesting sites (dummy power line poles) to reduce weaver-related power outages. A total of 2983 nests were removed from power lines from 1999 to 2010, but bird nests only accounted for 3% of power outages over this period. Nest-related outages follow the annual rainfall pattern in the country, presumably as a result of nests acting as water traps and nest numbers increasing following rainfall. Sociable weavers have a high fidelity to nesting sites, rebuilding nests on the exact same pole after nest removal in more than 90% of cases, even after repeated nest destruction. Dummy power line poles reduced power line pole nesting by 52%, when coupled with regular nest removal. The sociable weavers_ high nest-site fidelity is expected to further contribute to the efficiency of this mitigation measure, as birds are likely to settle permanently on the dummy poles, once they accept them as nesting structures. Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology MSc (Environment and Society) 2026-05-15T17:26:07Z 2026-05-15T17:26:07Z 15/07/21 2015 Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2263/110032 en application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Powerline nesting Power outage Sociable weaver Human wildlife conflict Namibia. Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia |
| title | Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia |
| title_full | Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia |
| title_fullStr | Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia |
| title_short | Documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests : sociable weavers in Namibia |
| title_sort | documenting and addressing power outages caused by bird nests sociable weavers in namibia |
| topic | Powerline nesting Power outage Sociable weaver Human wildlife conflict Namibia. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/110032 |