Abstract
Water is a scarce resource in semi-arid savannas where over half of the African elephants (Loxodonta africana) populations occur and may therefore influence their movement pattern. A random search is expected for an animal with no information on the location of the target resource, else, a direction-oriented walk is expected. We hypothesized that elephants movement patterns show a stronger directional orientation towards water sources in the dry season compared to the wet season. We investigated the movement paths of four male and four female elephants with hourly GPS fixes in Tsavo National Park, Kenya in 2012-2013. Consistent with our predictions, the movement paths of elephants had longer step lengths, longer squared net displacements, and were directed towards water sources in the dry season as compared to the wet season. We argue that African elephants know the location of dispersed water resources, enabling them to survive with scarce resources in dry savannas. These results can be used in conservation and management of wildlife, through for instance, protection of preferred water sources.
Highlights
The movement paths of animals represent behavioral and ecological processes, such as navigation, migration, dispersal, and food searching (Benhamou, 2004) and the distribution of the resources (de Jager et al, 2014)
We analyse the movement paths of four male and four female elephants to address the hypothesis that elephant movement patterns show a stronger directional orientation toward water sources in the dry season compared to the wet season
We examined the role of water distribution on the movement pattern of elephants
Summary
The movement paths of animals represent behavioral and ecological processes, such as navigation, migration, dispersal, and food searching (Benhamou, 2004) and the distribution of the resources (de Jager et al, 2014). It is generally hypothesized that animals increase tortuosity of their movement paths in areas with high resource density (Bartumeus et al, 2005; Hengeveld, 2007; Bartumeus, 2009). The squared net displacement of the animal decreases and the time spent in utilizing these resources increases, leading to efficient resource use (Turchin, 1991). Straight and less tortuous movement paths with high net displacement are more efficient in landscapes with dispersed resources (Turchin, 1998; De Knegt et al, 2007; Roshier et al, 2008). Analysis of the movement paths of animals could give an understanding of the relationship between the resource distribution and foraging efficiency
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