Abstract
Contentious debates surrounding the relationship between peoples’ livelihoods and protected areas in East Africa have largely revolved around claims and counter-claims about the level of competition between pastoral livestock and wildlife. Habitat and dietary overlap are often cited as the primary mechanism by which competition occurs with both overlap and lack of overlap (displacement) used as evidence of competition. Despite the importance of this issue for the economic and environmental futures of the region, there has been little scientific progress for understanding the nature of livestock–wildlife competition in pastoral landscapes. This article seeks to add conceptual clarity to this debate by focusing attention on exploitation competition in ways that are relevant to dryland East Africa. The article begins by briefly reviewing the changing understandings of the concept of competition in ecology. Requirements of competition, as defined in the literature, are then related to the ecological characteristics of East African drylands. By demonstrating that competition necessarily occurs through vegetative responses, we argue that there is the need to clarify competition by differentiating between ‘proximate competition’ and competition that is mediated by vegetation change across seasons. The article concludes by outlining the implications of these clarifications for the management and study of livestock–wildlife interactions.
Highlights
Competition between living organisms is a fundamental concept in ecology (Sommer and Worm 2002)
In this article, we have discussed the importance that wildlife and livestock play in the ecology and economy of East African countries
A review of the scientific literature suggests that the term ‘competition’ has been used to characterize the relationships between wildlife and pastoral livestock and reveals that competition has been perceived as occurring with any degree of habitat or dietary overlap
Summary
Competition between living organisms is a fundamental concept in ecology (Sommer and Worm 2002). Studies of ecological competition date as far back as the 1920s and have been used to understand species interactions and the structuring of ecological communities. These studies include those focused on theory (Connor and Simberloff 1979; Tilman 1977; Wiens 1984), mathematical modeling (Gause 1934; Lotka 1925; Mead 1967; Volterra 1926), empirical laboratory and field studies (Andrewartha and Birch 1954; Elton 1946; Harper 1977; Tilman 1981; Whittaker 1967), and application to conservation and development practices (Kreuter and Workman 1994; Vavra and Sheehy 1996). Habitat and dietary overlap in the distribution of both wildlife and livestock have often been cited as the primary mechanism by which competition occurs (Beck and Peek 2005; Georgiadis et al 2007; Madhusudan 2004; Mishra et al 2004; Prins 1992, Prins 2000; Sitters et al 2009; Zhongqiu et al 2008). Part of the inconsistency associated with characterizing the relationships between wildlife and livestock arises from confusion over the definitions and interpretations associated with the term ‘competition’ (Wiens 1977, 1984)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
