Do artificial waterholes influence the way herbivores use the landscape? Herbivore distribution patterns around rivers and artificial surface water sources in a large African savanna park

Abstract

It has been argued that the wide-scale provision of artificial surface water in semi-arid savannas may result in homogenisation of foraging regimes, compromising biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. This is the first landscape-scale study investigating to what degree artificial waterholes and natural rivers influence the distribution of large herbivores, and hence foraging patterns, in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. This is explored by examining consistencies within and differences between distribution patterns of herbivore feeding groups on different geologies. Seven years of dry season aerial census data of thirteen large herbivores were analysed in a GIS. It was found that different herbivores exhibit different distribution patterns around rivers and waterholes. It was found that most grazer species were associated with artificial waterholes, whereas browsers and mixed feeders were indifferent to waterholes and were associated with the main rivers. This has important management implications for artificial water provision in the KNP and potentially for other semi-arid African savanna conservation areas. Man-made waterholes are therefore features in the landscape that can change the distribution of herbivores, even in a landscape where natural water is available, transforming patterns of landscape use. Furthermore, it was also found that the underlying geology interacts with water distribution in shaping herbivore distributions, with artificial waterholes and rivers acting as stronger nodes of herbivore activity on nutrient-rich basaltic soils than nutrient-poor granitic soils. The results from this paper may be useful for designing surface water policies and management plans for Kruger and other savanna reserves in Africa in order to maximise biodiversity conservation.