Diversity Of Large Mammals Research Articles

Diversity of medium and large mammals in a submontane scrubland

Diversity of medium and large mammals in a submontane scrubland

Evaluating the Impacts of Human Activities on Diversity, Abundance, and Distribution of Large Mammals in Nimule National Park, South Sudan

Evaluating the Impacts of Human Activities on Diversity, Abundance, and Distribution of Large Mammals in Nimule National Park, South Sudan

Estimating the effects of land abandonment on mammal communities in the Karoo region of South Africa

Small livestock production has significantly transformed natural land within South Africa, but the extent and nature of the impacts of this land use on wildlife remains poorly understood. The establishment of a formal protected area (PA) within a well-established small livestock farming area in the Karoo provided a unique opportunity to investigate the response of mammal communities to both sustained farming impacts and how the cessation of farming activities across a large area may impact the persistence and colonisation of highly mobile species. Through extensive camera trapping and a dynamic multi-species occurrence model within a (Before-After-Control-Intervention) BACI design, we investigated the community diversity and structure of medium and large mammals in addition to changes in their persistence and colonisation following this land use change. Camera traps detected 25 species, from 14 families, within the combined study area. Community-level and species-specific probability of colonisation and persistence did not differ significantly between land that remained in use for commercial livestock farming and that which was abandoned to form a new protected area. Farmer concerns that predators would leave the PA and colonise their farms were not supported. Long term monitoring of these sites will prove important to our understanding of the potential of land, subject to prolonged livestock farming, to recover and support higher levels of species richness and wildlife abundance.

Plio-Pleistocene African megaherbivore losses associated with community biomass restructuring.

Fossil abundance data can reveal ecological dynamics underpinning taxonomic declines. Using fossil dental metrics, we reconstructed body mass and mass-abundance distributions in Late Miocene to recent African large mammal communities. Despite collection biases, fossil and extant mass-abundance distributions are highly similar, with unimodal distributions likely reflecting savanna environments. Above 45 kilograms, abundance decreases exponentially with mass, with slopes close to -0.75, as predicted by metabolic scaling. Furthermore, communities before ~4 million years ago had considerably more large-sized individuals, with a greater proportion of total biomass allocated in larger size categories, than did later communities. Over time, individuals and biomass were redistributed into smaller size categories, reflecting a gradual loss of large-sized individuals from the fossil record paralleling the long-term decline of Plio-Pleistocene large mammal diversity.

The extirpation of medium and large mammal species from the Ehotilé Islands National Park, south-eastern Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract In West Africa, high deforestation rates and poaching have induced dramatic declines of mammal’s populations and local extinctions. Due to their isolation, island species are more vulnerable than mainland species. The premises of that scenario are perceptible in the Ehotilé Islands National Park, south-eastern Côte d’Ivoire, but have not been documented. This study aimed to update the diversity and conservation status of medium and large mammals in that protected area. Several surveys were conducted between 2019 and 2021, using ethno-zoological interviews and individual surveys with local populations, as well as reconnaissance walks and camera trapping to collect data on the presence or absence of mammals. From interviews with local populations and literature review, a list of 27 species of mammals that were potentially present in the park in the past was established. Most “lost” species are large mammals, especially primates that are globally threatened. A total of 11 species were pictorially identified, including two Near threatened species (Aonyx capensis and Hydrictis maculicollis) and one Vulnerable species (Cercopithecus lowei). The study confirms a trend of population decline and the erosion of mammal diversity in the park, hence highlighting the need for urgent conservation actions.

Composition, Relative Abundance, and Diversity of Medium and Large Mammals in Tirba Lake Awi Zone, Ethiopia

Understanding the diversity, abundance, and habitat preferences of the fauna is essential for determining the status and suggesting effective conservation actions. A study was conducted in Tirba Lake Awi zone, Ethiopia, to evaluate the wealth, diversity, and composition of the medium and large mammal communities. It is also important to consider how these parameters differ from one habitat type to another and from one season to another. Researchers collected data using a transect method. As a result of the study, 330 individuals and 11 different species of mammals were identified across four orders and six families. The result shows that globally threatened species like the Leopard (Panthera pardus) were included. In terms of seasonal variation in wild mammal abundance, the difference was statistically significant (P $$\le$$ 0.001). A total of 330 ± 26.2 wild mammals were recorded, of which 180 ± 11 (55%) were observed during the wet season and 150 ± 6.5 (45%) during the dry season. Olive Baboons (Papio Anubis) accounted for 30.61% of the 11 mammalian species with 101 individuals, followed by Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) with 16.67% and 55 individuals, respectively. Mammalian populations were statistically significant among habitat types, with the highest similarity index (SI = 0.8) observed between open forests and shrubland, followed by shrubland adjacent to Cliff sites (SI = 0.7). The shrubland habitat type (Hʹ = 1) supports the greatest diversity of mammalian species, followed by the open forest habitat type (Hʹ = 0.8). In terms of diversity among habitat types, dense forests had the lowest Hʹ value (0.5). Based on the species similarity index, open forest and shrubland shared the most similarity of mammalian species (Sl = 0.8), while shrubland and cliff sites hosted the least similar species (SI = 0.7). To conclude, our findings contribute significantly to the conservation of Ethiopia's mammal populations. As a result of our findings, managers of the area will be able to make effective conservation decisions, and researchers wishing to conduct related studies will be able to use the findings as a baseline for their research. Studies in the study area have revealed that anthropogenic factors interact with the mammals in the area, putting them at risk. It is imperative that these animals are protected through an urgent conservation program.

Effects of the Density of Invasive Lantana camara Plants on the Biodiversity of Large and Small Mammals in the Groenkloof Nature Reserve (GNR) in South Africa

Multi-scale approaches have been used to determine scales at which mammal species are responding to habitat destruction due to invasion, but the impacts of weeds on mammals have not been extensively studied, especially in Africa. Inside the Groenkloof Nature Reserve (GNR), we assessed how mammals are affected by an invasive weed Lantana camara. A series of models were applied to determine the differences in species abundance as well as richness, separated for large and small mammals. When diversity indices were used, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed no statistically significant difference between treatments (F5 = 0.233, p = 0.945) for large mammals. The results of a Generalised Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) showed that vegetation type (Wald χ22 = 120.156; p < 0.01) and foraging guilds (Wald χ23 = 76.771; p < 0.01) were significant predictors of large mammal species richness. However, for small mammals, the results of a GLMM showed that only treatment type (Wald χ25 = 10.62; p = 0.050) was a significant predictor of the number of small mammals trapped. In addition, the ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences in species diversity between treatments (F5 = 0.934; p < 0.001) and by season (F1 = 9.122 p = 0.003) for small mammals. The presence of L. camara coupled with other predictors was associated with differences in large mammal abundances and diversity, and differences in how these large mammals were distributed across the landscape. Furthermore, the highest species diversity was found in the spring for small mammals. Therefore, for all the mammals studied, the presence of L. camara negatively affected species abundance, richness, and diversity, as well as how these species were distributed across the invaded and cleared areas.

Medium- and Large-Sized Mammal Diversity Inside and Outside the Usumacinta Canyon Natural Protected Area

The Natural Protected Areas (NPA) network is one of Mexico's main biodiversity conservation strategies. However, comparisons between the biodiversity observed inside and around this conservation instrument have rarely been performed in the country, not even for groups of fauna such as medium and large mammals (weight > 0.5 kg). Aspects of diversity and abundance of medium and large mammals were determined inside the Cañon del Usumacinta Flora and Fauna Protection Area (inside NPA) and in unprotected areas surrounding the NPA (outside NPA) through 72 camera trap stations (41 stations inside and 31 outside NPA). We obtained 1333 records of medium and large mammals of 23 species inside the NPA, while 663 records of 22 species were obtained outside the NPA. The expected species richness, diversity, and species composition by camera station were similar between interior NPA and exterior NPA. Likewise, the shape of the rank-abundance curves was similar inside and outside the NPA but not in the species order. Also, we found differences among the mean weight of the species registered by the camera station with larger species captured in the interior of the NPA. Our results showed that although the diversity of medium- and large-sized mammals is similar between the interior and exterior of the NPA, the conservation actions carried out in the interior of the NPA allow the larger mammal species (generally exposed to subsistence hunters) to be more detectable within the NPA than outside. It is necessary to determine which programs helped reduce the pressure on the largest mammals in the NPA, to maintain their operation and extend it to other NPAs of the region.

Journal of Large Mammal Species Diversity in Ujung Kulon National Park (A Preliminary Study of Development Research in Vertebrate Sub-Concept)

Journal of Large Mammal Species Diversity in Ujung Kulon National Park (A Preliminary Study of Development Research in Vertebrate Sub-Concept)

Footprint beds record Holocene decline in large mammal diversity on the Irish Sea coast of Britain.

Long-term monitoring along the Irish Sea coast of Britain at Formby has identified hundreds of animal and human footprints in 31 discrete sediment beds. A new programme of radiocarbon dating shows that the Formby footprints span at least 8,000 years of the Holocene Epoch from the Mesolithic period to Medieval times. In a landscape largely devoid of conventional archaeology and faunal records, we show how species data from the footprint stratigraphy document long-term change in both large mammal diversity and human behaviour. The footprint beds record shifting community structure in the native fauna through an era of profound global change. As sea levels rose rapidly in the Early Holocene, men, women and children formed part of rich Mesolithic intertidal ecosystems from ~9,000 to 6,000 cal BP, with aurochs, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, beaver, wolf and lynx. Doggerland was reclaimed by the sea in this period. In the agriculture-based societies that followed, after 5,500 cal BP human footprints dominate the Neolithic period and later beds, alongside a striking fall in large mammal species richness. Stacked footprint beds can form multimillennial records of ecosystem change with precise geographical context that cannot be retrieved from site-based fossil bone assemblages.

Diversity, Abundance, and Habitat Association of Medium and Large-Sized Mammals in Tiski Waterfall, Awi Zone, Ethiopia

The reliable data on faunal diversity, abundance, and habitat preference are essential for proposing and establishing relevant conservation interventions. A survey was done from September 2019 to March 2021 to investigate the diversity, relative abundance, and habitat association of large and medium mammals in Tiski Waterfall, Ethiopia. Data were collected using the line transect survey method in both habitat types. In cliff sites, the point transect was also used. The habitats were populated by large and medium animal species that favor dense forest and shrubland habitats near water sources. During the research, three different habitat categories were evaluated (dense forest, shrubland, and cliff sites). Ten mammalian species were discovered. During the wet season, there were 243 ± 6.6 populations recorded, while during the dry season, there were 204 ± 6.8. Seasonal differences in species abundance were statistically significant p ≤ 0. 001 . The total populations of the three habitat types were 198.2 ± 7.39, 135 ± 5.35, and 114 ± 5.16 for dense forest, shrubland, and cliff site, respectively. All three habitat categories had a great difference in species abundance p ≤ 0. 001 . The olive baboon (Papio anubis) was the most common, accounting for 38 percent of the population, followed by the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops), which accounted for 23 percent. Leopard (Panthera pardus) and common bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) contributed the least to the total, accounting for only 2% each of the total. The highest diversity of mammalian species was found in dense forest (H′ = 0.98), followed by shrubland (H′ = 0.90), and the cliff location has the lowest diversity (H′ = 0.57). The maximum uniformity of the species was found in dense forests (J = 0.51), followed by a shrub region (J = 0.43), and the remaining of the habitat (J = 0.35). Dense forest and shrubland had the highest species similarity (Sl = 0.67), followed by shrubland and cliff site (SI = 0.61). In dense forests with cliff sites, the similarity was lowest (SI = 0.31) in each. To limit the impact of agricultural growth on big and medium mammals, good habitat management is required.

Megafauna restoration as a legal obligation: International biodiversity law and the rehabilitation of large mammals in Europe

AbstractRestoring functional ecosystems in Europe inter alia requires restoring large mammal (megafauna) diversity and densities to levels well above the current downgraded state, which results from a human‐driven wave of megafauna extinctions and extirpations in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Combining law and natural science, we address the question to what degrees international legal instruments support or require such megafauna rewilding efforts. We provide an overview of Europe's current megafauna plus those species that would likely have been present without human interference. We categorize these species and restoration scenarios in ways that make sense from a legal perspective and identify and interpret relevant legal instruments. Our analysis indicates that Article 8(f) of the Convention on Biological Diversity requires restoring the diversity and densities of Europe's megafauna as far as possible—which is indeed quite far. Depending on the circumstances, megafauna rewilding measures can also be required or supported by various other legal instruments at global, pan‐European, European Union and other levels.

Large African herbivore diversity is essential in transformed landscapes for conserving dung beetle diversity

Abstract Mammals are globally in decline, with habitat loss a primary driver. There are also human–wildlife conflicts, such as elephants destroying crops, which results in the ranges of many large mammal species being fenced off. Yet, how this activity affects functional associations of insects with large mammals has received little attention. Previous work suggests a generalised association with large mammals, as well as a strong response to landscape transformation. Here we assess how well dung beetle diversity tracks large African mammal herbivore diversity across a forestry plantation land use gradient by assessing how dung beetle taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional richness compares to large mammal diversity. We also determine how land use intensity affects dung beetle‐to‐mammal interaction networks. Dung beetles responded more intensively to an array of large mammals than to differences in land use intensity. Beetles also showed a strong preference for specific mammalian dung, with elephant dung being the most important factor for maintaining local dung beetle diversity. Large mammal abundance, functional diversity, dung beetle phylogenetic richness and number of realised mammal‐to‐dung beetle interactions were highest in the protected area. Land use intensity categories had distinct mammal and dung beetle assemblages. Transformed areas also have conservation value but provided that there is functional connectivity between remnant vegetation within the modified landscapes. Synthesis and applications. The loss of any native large mammal, especially African elephants, from transformed landscapes is likely to lead to a decline in biodiversity. This suggests that protected areas are essential for the conservation of native biodiversity and its interactions, while well‐designed and managed transformed areas can have additional conservation value. African conservation managers and landowners should be encouraged to maintain a diversity of large mammals on their properties to maintain functional diversity and ultimately ecological resilience.

Factors outside privately protected areas determine mammal assemblages in a global biodiversity hotspot in the Andes

Privately protected areas with voluntary forest protection are promoted as an innovative solution for biodiversity conservation across the globe, particularly in regions where high biological diversity is threatened by agricultural expansion and human disturbance such as the tropical Andes. Colombia alone has over 2000 privately protected areas, but how well private reserves achieve conservation goals is largely unknown. To understand the attributes of reserves that determine success and the types of species conserved, we evaluated regional diversity of medium and large mammals with camera trapping over two years in the western Andes of Colombia. We examined how mammal occupancy was influenced by the size and land use of privately protected areas, landscape-scale variables, and anthropogenic disturbance. We used a multi-species hierarchical framework to assess responses of species and functional groups to environmental covariates. We found that forest in this reserve network retains a diverse mammal assemblage, but low occurrence and restricted species distributions suggest high vulnerability. Forest-restricted species and large species had higher occupancy in larger sites and sites with a higher proportion of forest, regardless of whether a site was designated as a reserve. However, landscape-level measures of connectivity and human disturbance were the strongest predictors of occupancy. Our research indicates that conservation of biodiversity within reserve networks in the Andes will be effective only if these efforts are linked to landscape-level conservation initiatives that conserve large areas of native forest and limit human disturbance across the landscape.

Completeness of rapid assessments of medium and large mammal diversity in the northwestern Amazon in Colombia

ABSTRACT Rapid assessments are the most common information source on biodiversity in the northwestern Amazon in Colombia due to limited resources and logistic constraints. These assessments are essential for decision-making on environmental policies in this region, that has been strongly impacted by the transformation of its natural ecosystems. Several local camera-trapping rapid assessments of medium and large-sized mammals (MLM) have been conducted in the Colombian Amazon, but they are difficult to compare. We analyzed information of 16 of these rapid assessments of MLM to provide the first list of MLM in the northwestern Amazon in Colombia. We also evaluated the accuracy of four estimators (ICE, Chao-2, Jackknife-1, and Jackknife-2), and the minimum sampling effort for the estimation of MLM richness in local surveys in the region. We report 26 species of MLM for the Colombian Amazon (between five and 13 species per locality), which is an underestimation of MLM richness in the region. The best estimator of MLM richness was the Jackknife-1, due to its precision and the lower influence of singletons. We recommend a minimum sampling effort of 350 camera trap-days. Although rapid assessments do not allow a robust estimation of MLM richness, they record the most common species (or core species) per locality and their abundance variation. The evaluation of the effect of habitat transformation on MLM and the estimation of population parameters of rare species require more intensive studies.

A large mammal survey in Koyli Alpha Community Wildlife Reserve and its surroundings in the Great Green Wall extension area in Senegal

Wildlife in the Great Green Wall (GGW) area, northern Senegal, is threatened by the cumulative effects of anthropogenic activities, drought, and climatic changes. To support conservation planning in line with the GGW management objectives, we studied large mammal diversity in the Koyli Alpha Community Wildlife Reserve in the GGW extension area. We interviewed local communities, made reconnaissance &amp; transect walks, placed camera traps, and carried out fixed point surveys to map the distribution of mammals &amp; to estimate their relative abundance. The surveys were conducted between May 2017 and December 2019. We identified the presence of nine mammal species belonging to six families: one lagomorph, Cape Hare Lepus capensis; seven carnivores, Common Jackal Canis aureus, Pale/Sand Fox Vulpes pallida, Wild Cat Felis silvestris, Marsh Mongoose Atilax paludinosus, Honey Badger Mellivora capensis, Zorilla Ictonyx striatus, Common Genet Genetta genetta, and one primate, Patas Monkey Erythrocebus patas. Our results indicate that the most of the observed species range broadly across the Koyli Alpha Reserve. The Wild Cat and the Sand Fox were also found outside the reserve around the village of Koyli Alpha. Camera trapping events of humans and domestic animals were high throughout the survey area, and the majority of the large mammals observed were mainly nocturnal. The diversity of large wild mammals identified during this study points to the urgent need for the implementation of a management plan of the biodiversity in this area of the Ferlo.

Diversity and habitat association of medium and large mammals in Gibe Sheleko National Park, Southern Ethiopia.

Complete documentation on the status of mammals is indispensable for appropriate conservation measures in protected areas. However, there is inadequate information on mammalian resources in the ecosystem of Gibe Sheleko National Park (GSNP). Thus, the study aimed to assess species diversity, abundance, and habitat association of medium‐ and large‐sized mammals in GSNP. We stratified the study area into five dominant habitat types, namely dense forest, wooded grassland, grassland, riverine forest, and farmland habitat types based on land cover and vegetation structures and further employed stratified random sampling technique across each habitat type. The sample transects covered 20% of the study area. Transect width ranged from 50 m to 400 m based on vegetation cover and visibility of mammals. The main data were collected via direct observation. Data were analyzed via chi‐square test and species diversity indexes. We recorded the total of 20 mammals species' those belong to 10 families of which 8 species were large‐sized and 12 species medium‐sized mammals. There were two IUCN vulnerable species, namely Hippopotamus amphibious and Panthera pardus, and two globally near‐threatened species, particularly Litocranius walleri and Caracal caracal in the study area. Dense forest held the highest species diversity of medium‐ and large‐sized mammals (H′ = 2.28) with the highest evenness index (J = 0.84). Riverine forest had the least diversity with uneven population distribution. Papio anubis was the most abundance species, whereas Caracal caracal was the least abundant in the study area. GSNP is home for threatened and spectacular mammals species'; hence, an appropriate conservation measure is mandatory to keep existing mammals species'.

Diversity, distribution and conservation of large mammals in northern Myanmar

Northern Myanmar lies at the intersection of three globally important biodiversity hotspots. However, little information on diversity and the distributions of large mammals (> 1 kg) is available for conservation and management. To fill these data gaps, we established 174 camera stations in protected areas (PAs) and adjacent non-PA in northern Myanmar, with an elevational range from 470 m to 3150 m, to survey the large mammals from December 2015 to June 2019. We recorded 34 large mammal species (29 from PAs and 28 from non-PA), and plus one species Hoolock leuconedys which was documented from vocalisations. By inspecting wildlife body parts of animal found in local houses a further six species were recorded. In total, 41 species belonging to six orders and 18 families with five Endangered and ten Vulnerable species were recorded. Northern Myanmar accounts for 29% of Myanmar’s threatened mammal species (based on the IUCN Red List), including one Evolutionarily Distinct species (based on EDGE score), one keystone, two flagships and two range restricted species. Species richness and diversity showed a clear humped shaped pattern with elevation. However, higher species diversity was found in non-PA (H’ = 2.38) than PAs (H’ = 2.23), and similarity index was 0.81. We conclude that both PAs and non-PA are important to maintain the mammal diversity and enhance the conservation in northern Myanmar. However, shifting cultivation, agricultural expansion, and hunting frequently occurred in non-PA. Therefore, increasing the law enforcement and the establishment of proposed lowland southern extension of non-PA into PA is urgently needed to effectively conserve biodiversity in northern Myanmar.

A fossil terrestrial fauna from Tobène (Senegal) provides a unique early Pliocene window in western Africa

Early Pliocene hominin evolutionary scenarios proposed to date mostly rely on paleontological investigations from eastern Africa. Filling major geographical gaps in the fossil record could potentially invalidate these scenarios and stimulate development of improved theories. Based on published literature, no Pliocene fossil of continental vertebrates have been discovered in Western Africa and the situation is only slightly better in central and northern Africa. Here, we expand the Pliocene vertebrate continental fossil record to western Africa with the description of the Tobène fauna, a new fossiliferous Neogene locality from Senegal. We describe a diversity of large mammals, including at least ten taxa based on fragmentary remains recovered from alluvial channel deposits. Estimation based on weathering events and biochronology suggests an early Pliocene age. Most of these mammalian taxa were widely distributed over the African continent during the early Pliocene. Possible faunal correlations with eastern African localities call for continent-wide paleontological investigations.***************

Restoration of gallery forest patches improves recruitment of motacú palms (Attalea princeps) while diversifying and increasing wildlife populations.

Globally, forest-savanna mosaic landscapes are of significant conservation importance but have been widely impacted by human land-use. We studied how restoration, through cessation of long-term cattle grazing impacts (i) forest regeneration; (ii) forest understory structure and composition; and (iii) populations and diversity of large mammals and nocturnal birds, within naturally patchy gallery forests in the Beni Savannas of Bolivia. Comparing grazed and restored sites, we assessed the abundance and composition of tree functional types at different life stages (seedlings, saplings and adults), with focus on the region’s key palm species Attalea princeps (motacú). Additionally, we surveyed habitat structure and composition in the shrub and ground-layer, and monitored occurrence and encounter rates of large mammals and nocturnal birds along dusk and evening transects. We found evidence of lower recruitment of motacú palms on the grazed site and lower potential for natural motacú regeneration. Principal Components Analysis revealed forests on grazed sites had simpler, more open shrub-layers and altered ground-layer structure and composition including increased bare ground. Mammal species richness was greater on the restored site, and there were more declining, globally threatened and site-unique species. Species richness was similar for nocturnal birds within forests on both the grazed and restored site, but nearly all species tended to be encountered more frequently on the restored site. Our results suggest cattle negatively impact forest regeneration and alter the structure and composition of the shrub and ground layer with potential consequences for the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Our study represents one of only a handful completed in the Beni region of Bolivia to date. The Beni is currently under pressure from widespread, largely unregulated cattle ranching. Our results thus provide vital evidence to support development of restoration and conservation policy, and its integration with rangeland management in this threatened and critically understudied region.