Abstract
Interfaces between protected areas and their peripheries in southern Africa are subject to interactions between wildlife and livestock that vary in frequency and intensity. In these areas, the juxtaposition between production and conservation land uses in a context of increasing anthropisation can create issues associated with human-wildlife coexistence and raises concerns for biodiversity conservation, local development and livelihoods. This literature review aimed at addressing the need to consolidate and gather in one article current knowledge on potential uses of satellite remote sensing (SRS) products by movement ecologists to investigate the sympatry of wildlife/domestic ungulates in savanna interface environments. A keyword querying process of peer reviewed scientific paper, thesis and books has been implemented to identify references that (1) characterize the main environmental drivers impacting buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) and cattle (Bos taurus & Bos indicus) movements in southern Africa environments, (2) describe the SRS contribution to discriminate and characterize these drivers. In total, 327 references have been selected and analyzed. Surface water, precipitation, landcover and fire emerged as key drivers impacting the buffalo and cattle movements. These environmental drivers can be efficiently characterized by SRS, mainly through open-access SRS products and standard image processing methods. Applying SRS to better understand buffalo and cattle movements in semi-arid environments provides an operational framework that could be replicated in other type of interface where different wild and domestic species interact. There is, however, a need for animal movement ecologists to reinforce their knowledge of remote sensing and/or to increase pluridisciplinary collaborations.
Highlights
In Africa, human populations living at the edge of protected areas have significantly increased in recent years [1,2]
The literature on the current knowledge on buffalo and cattle movements and their interactions was here linked to an inventory of available and relevant satellite remote sensing (SRS) tools to characterize the environmental drivers of these movements, found in savanna type landscape environment
Surface water, savanna fire and precipitation emerged through this review as environmental drivers defining buffalo and cattle movements at the edge of protected areas in Africa and in southern Africa in particular
Summary
In Africa, human populations living at the edge of protected areas have significantly increased in recent years [1,2]. At the PA-CL interfaces, interactions between wildlife, people and their livestock frequently occur [4,5] even when park or veterinary fences, largely detrimental to wildlife movements, exist [6,7,8] This growing number of interactions potentially increases human/wildlife coexistence related issues [3] such as competition for resources inside/outside protected areas [9], predation of livestock by wild carnivores [10], crop destruction by wildlife [11], and risk of pathogen transmission between wild and domesticated species [12,13,14]. IItt iiss aaddddiinngg aanndd ccoommpplleettiinngg pprreevviioouuss wwoorrkkss tthhaatt ffooccuusseedd oonn tthhee lliinnkk bbeettwweeeenn SSRRSS,, eennvviirroonnmmeennttaall cchhaalllleennggeess aanndd aanniimmaall mmoovveemmeenntt bbuutt iinn aa wwiiddeerr eeccoollooggiiccaall ccoonntteexxtt [[2200,,5599]]
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