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Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
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University of Pretoria
2013
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| _version_ | 1867613622590504960 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Bothma, Jacobus du P. |
| author_browse | Bothma, Jacobus du P. |
| author_facet | Bothma, Jacobus du P. |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/23392 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:04.809Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/23392 Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Bothma, Jacobus du P. dvaneeden@ca2000.co.za Van Eeden, Daniel Greyling Natural resources conservation areas Herbivores population environmental aspects Wildlife management tembe elephant park Habitat selection tembe elephant park Herbivores habitat Habitat selection south africa kwazulu-natal Wildlife management south africa kwazulu-natal UCTD Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. The present study compared Sand Forest bird assemblages found in a communal land area with that of the Tembe Elephant Park, and determined the habitat preference and status of selected herbivore species within the park. The study forms part of the Maputaland Conservation-based and Integrated Rural Development Programme of the Centre for Wildlife Management from the University of Pretoria and is linked to the activities of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area (LTFCA). The main purpose of the study was to compare Sand Forest bird assemblages found in the Tshanini Community Conservation Area, which is characterised by low levels of human utilisation, with that of the Tembe Elephant Park, which is characterised by wildlife utilisation. This approach was used to determine the biological importance of this communal land area in contributing towards the conservation of the rare Sand Forest habitat. Visual and auditory bird surveys revealed that the communal land area contains unique Sand Forest bird assemblages, which demonstrated the biological importance of the communal land for Sand Forest conservation, especially from an avian perspective. The second purpose of the study was to identify possible competition between selected herbivore species within the Tembe Elephant Park and/or a decrease in numbers of rare species. Herbivores that might be adversely affected by the destruction of the Sand Forest, or who may themselves have a destructive effect on the Sand Forest were also identified. Target herbivores included the nyala Tragelaphus angasii, impala Aepyceros melampus, Burchell’s zebra Equus burchellii, greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, red duiker Cephalophus natalensis and suni Neotragus moschatus. Road transects were used to record the spatial distribution of the target herbivores, and the vegetation types that were used more or less often than expected were subsequently determined. None of the target herbivores showed a preference for the Sand Forest or appeared to have a destructive effect on the Sand Forest. The suni, however, reached its highest density within the Sand Forest and the destruction of this habitat will therefore negatively affect the suni population. In several parks and reserves that aim to conserve a variety of species, it has been necessary to control the populations of highly competitive species. Both the nyala and the impala are highly competitive and occur in relatively high numbers within the Tembe Elephant Park, and consequently their population numbers should be kept sufficiently low in order not to have a negative influence on the vegetation or the survival of less competitive ungulates. Total aerial counts and transect distance sampling counts indicated an increase in the numbers of all the target herbivores. It is important to protect a viable portion of the preferred habitat of every target species within a reserve, and to keep competition with rare species to a minimum for the long-term survival of the regional biodiversity. Key aspects of wildlife and their habitat should be monitored so that trends are noted in time, and management adjustments can be made accordingly. Centre for Wildlife Management unrestricted 2013-09-06T15:15:16Z 2007-03-23 2013-09-06T15:15:16Z 2006-09-07 2007-03-23 2007-03-23 Dissertation Van Eeden, D 2006, Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, MSc dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23392 > http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23392 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03232007-095314/ © 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Natural resources conservation areas Herbivores population environmental aspects Wildlife management tembe elephant park Habitat selection tembe elephant park Herbivores habitat Habitat selection south africa kwazulu-natal Wildlife management south africa kwazulu-natal UCTD Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| title | Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| title_full | Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| title_short | Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| title_sort | aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around tembe elephant park kwazulu natal south africa |
| topic | Natural resources conservation areas Herbivores population environmental aspects Wildlife management tembe elephant park Habitat selection tembe elephant park Herbivores habitat Habitat selection south africa kwazulu-natal Wildlife management south africa kwazulu-natal UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23392 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03232007-095314/ |