Habitat utilisation and home range size of helmeted guineafowl ( Numida meleagris) in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

Abstract

Helmeted guineafowl ( Numida meleagris) populations have declined significantly in the South African provinces of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and especially KwaZulu-Natal. Within the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, data were collected on home range size and compositional habitat use by 15 radio-tracked helmeted guineafowl representing stable, declining and near extinct populations during the non-breeding, winter months (April–September) of 1997. This was done in order to identify environmental factors that may be responsible for these declines over the past two decades. Mean home range size increased from stable (11.4 ha) through to near extinct (252.7 ha) populations. Habitat use by helmeted guineafowl appeared to be strongly influenced by diet, with small maize fields, waste grain and fallow lands forming important components. Grassland habitats were avoided. Thriving populations were associated with fragmented habitats providing a mosaic of resources in a relatively small area, whereas declining and near extinct populations were more dispersed within areas of extensive grazing or grassland habitats. Large increases in crop agriculture, coupled with the indirect effects of pesticides, have eroded high quality habitats with a mosaic of vegetation types, resulting in the excessive fragmentation of helmeted guineafowl sub-populations. Resuscitating populations requires the creation of moderately fragmented habitats on a landscape scale.