Abstract
Restoring large predators to small confined areas (< 400 km2) is inherently complex and therefore any data on the foraging behaviour and top–down influences hold significant value for the conservation and reintroduction planning of the species. Conservation efforts are increasingly applied to small or fragmented landscapes. However, it is unclear what the effect of these small areas have on processes such as foraging behaviour as these spatial constraints may reduce the likelihood of innate predator–prey dynamics. We investigated African wild dog Lycaon pictus foraging patterns on five small fenced protected areas in South Africa. We report on the diet composition, prey preferences and potential influence of pack size and fences on the diet of African wild dogs. Data from 553 kills collected by direct observations at the five sample sites were analysed. Sixteen species of prey were recorded. A narrow dietary niche breadth was determined. Impala Aepyceros melampus and nyala Tragelaphus angasii collectively, form 75% of diet, and 67% of edible biomass. However, only nyala were significantly selected for. The mean wild dog pack sizes in our sample sites were relatively smaller than those frequently encountered in larger systems. We found that larger wild dog pack sizes did not select for larger prey. Contrary to studies investigating the influence of hard boundaries on smaller protected areas, the upward bias caused by fences on prey mass selection was inconsistent across sample sites. By characterising African wild dog diet on smaller protected areas, our results are suggestive of potential top–down influences that should be investigated by future studies. The results add to a growing body of literature that aims to assist in the reintroduction planning of endangered carnivore species.
Highlights
Protected areas are important conduits for the preservation of biodiversity (Le Saout et al 2013, Watson et al 2016)
Conservation efforts are increasingly applied to small or fragmented landscapes. It is unclear what the effect of these small areas have on processes such as foraging behaviour as these spatial constraints may reduce the likelihood of innate predator–prey dynamics
We investigated African wild dog Lycaon pictus foraging patterns on five small fenced protected areas in South Africa
Summary
Protected areas are important conduits for the preservation of biodiversity (Le Saout et al 2013, Watson et al 2016). To halt population declines in South Africa, wild dog have been reintroduced into several small geographically discrete protected areas (Davies-Mostert et al 2015), some of which are often considerably smaller than the estimated home range size (537 km2) in a large South African system (Mills and Gorman 1997). Fences that enclose small areas impede the potential for prey to carry out natural migratory patterns, as often observed in larger open systems (Whyte and Joubert 1988, Harris et al 2009, Løvschal et al 2017). As migratory prey populations are predominantly regulated by bottom–up processes (Mduma et al 1999), the clumping of multi-prey multipredator assemblages in fenced protected areas can modify the trajectory of these associations (Mills and Shenk 1992, Tambling and Du Toit 2005). Destabilisation can occur if the availability of refugia to escape lethal predatory encounters becomes spatially and temporally diluted, increasing the influence of top–down processes (Tambling and Du Toit 2005, Robinson et al 2010)
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