Diversity and abundance of wild mammals between different accommodation facilities in the Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor, Tanzania

Abstract

Most of the wildlife corridors in Tanzania have been threatened by extensive human activities, including the establishment of tourist's facilities. However, less attention has been paid to the degree at which tourist accommodation affects the abundance and diversity of wild mammals in wildlife corridors. This study assessed the changes in abundance and diversity of wild mammals in relation to proximity to tourist lodges and tented camps in Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor. All wild mammals around four randomly selected accommodation facilities that include two lodges and two tented camps in the Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor were counted. In order to count animals, four 2-km transects were laid in each of the selected accommodation facilities and all wild mammals observed within 500 m width were recorded. The total number of each individual species recorded in all four transects was used to determine abundance of mammals in each accommodation facility. After that, we used Shannon-Wiener diversity index to determine species diversity. Generalized linear models were used to assess the variation in abundance and diversity between the two types of tourist accommodation facilities. We found a higher abundance of mammals around tented camps than lodges, while diversity decreased when moving away from those tourist accommodation facilities (for both lodges and tented camps). With the current efforts of the Tanzanian government to revive the vanishing wildlife corridors, understanding how different types of tourist accommodations affect mammalian populations is crucial to inform the sustainable and environmentally sound tourism investments in wildlife corridors and other biodiversity areas.