Luangwa National Park Research Articles

Institutional rearrangements in the north Luangwa ecosystem: Implications of a shift to community based natural resource management for equity in protected area governance

Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is presented as an equitable approach, particularly relative to strict types of Area-based conservation. In Zambia, traditional and formal, contemporary institutions were combined to leverage CBNRM for natural resource management. We investigate whether and how this shift in conservation approach and interaction between institutions works in practice, and to what extent it produces more equitable governance processes. We identified 30 key informants from NGOs and government departments via snowball sampling. We conducted 20 focus group discussions involving local community participants in three Game Management Areas (GMAs) adjacent to North Luangwa National Park. Focus groups were divided by age and gender to minimize any potential influence of unequal power relations. Data collection included informal discussions with individual community members and participant observation. We found that the customary roles held by chiefs gave them relative power over the Community resources board and made them gatekeepers for NGOs and government institutions. Instead of fostering community participation and empowerment, new CBNRM institutions have had the unintended consequence of increasing the customary chiefs’ power through commercialization and bureaucratization of their positions. Rather than reinforcing local and indigenous institutions CBNRM has become a vehicle through which governments and NGOs centralize power and manufacture consent while weakening traditional institutions and reproducing existing patterns of inequity. This research provides unique insights into the workings of a CBNRM institution that is a hybrid between traditional (socially embedded) and Government (bureaucratic) institutions. We recommend that rather than simply setting up idealized institutions as a means to devolve power and enhance equity, the realisation of effective local participation and representation in CBNRM projects requires careful assessment of cultural contexts, local institutions and power dynamics.

The role of people, parks and precipitation on the frequency and timing of fires in a sub-Saharan savanna ecosystem

Background The Lupande Game Management Area (GMA) and the adjacent South Luangwa National Park (NP) in Zambia allow comparison of fire regimes in African savannas with different human densities. Aims To investigate humans’ effects on fire regimes within a sub-Saharan savanna ecosystem. Methods We delineated burned areas for the Lupande GMA and South Luangwa NP using 156 Landsat images from 1989 to 2017. We performed comparisons of fire regimes between the Lupande GMA and South Luangwa NP using various burned area variables and assessed their association with precipitation. Key results Overall, and compared with the South Luangwa NP, the Lupande GMA had a greater extent of burned area and a higher frequency of repeat burns. The Lupande GMA experienced fires earlier in the fire season, which are typically less damaging to woody vegetation. We observed a significant positive relationship between precipitation and burned area trends in South Luangwa NP but not in the Lupande GMA, suggesting that precipitation increases burned area in South Luangwa NP. Conclusions Results support the theory that human fire management mitigates climate’s effect, particularly rainfall, on interannual burned area variation. Implications This study shows that human-dominated fire regimes in savannas can alter the influence of precipitation.

Microbiological contamination of drinking water sources in tourist accommodations in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Background: Water quality for tourists visiting South Luangwa National Park and other less developed regions is of the utmost importance in order to avoid gastrointestinal infections; one of the most common diseases among tourists. It is also important to the health of the local tourist accommodations and the local tourist economy.Methods: Water quality samples assessing microbiological contamination were taken from the borehole and point of use in 14 tourist lodges and camps. Turbidity was assessed optically with a DelAlgua turbidity tube. For microbiological analysis, samples were incubated in the DelAgua Dual Incubator at 37°C and 44°C. Thermotolerant Escherichia coli (E. coli) was used as theindicator bacterium for fecal pollution. Water samples were classified based of risk levels for pollution determined by the World Health Organization (WHO)Results: Fifty percent of borehole samples showed no contamination. Two were found to be at high risk and the others ranged between low and intermediate risk. At the point of use, 80% of the samples were clean and compliant with WHO guidelines. Water contamination generally improved from the borehole to point of use. Turbidity at borehole samples were clear in 75% ofpossible samples. At the point of use, turbidity was clear in 81% of samples.Conclusion: This study establishes the first baseline water quality data for tourist facilities at South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. While water quality at most sites is clean for human use, a regular monitoring system accompanied by maintenance is recommended.

Evaluating the economics of park-tourism from the ground-up: Leakage, multiplier effects, and the enabling environment at South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Economic impacts from tourism may benefit people living near parks and contribute to national-level economic growth. However, economic evaluations of park-tourism, which could be used to advocate for greater support of management, are rare in developing countries. Local multiplier effects of tourist spending, which can potentially promote business growth even where leakage is high, have also received little attention. We demonstrate an approach for estimating these local economic effects from an iterative set of surveys tracing the flow of tourism money near South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, and synthesize results with qualitative and quantitative analyses of national multiplier effects, park finances, local perceptions, and the park's management history. Despite high leakage, tourism accounts for ~40% of local household income and at least half of business growth in the gateway community. Results also reveal that GDP contributions are an order of magnitude above park management costs. Circumstances promoting the park's economic performance include key access infrastructure and commercial autonomy in management.

Hidden Markov Models reveal a clear human footprint on the movements of highly mobile African wild dogs

Large carnivores have experienced considerable range contraction, increasing the importance of movement across human-altered landscapes between small, isolated populations. African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are exceptionally wide-ranging, and recolonization is an important element of their persistence at broad scales. The competition-movement-connection hypothesis suggests that adaptations to move through areas that are unfavorable due to dominant competitors might promote the ability of subordinate competitors (like wild dogs) to move through areas that are unfavorable due to humans. Here, we used hidden Markov models to test how wild dog movements were affected by the Human Footprint Index in areas inside and outside of South Luangwa National Park. Movements were faster and more directed when outside the National Park, but slowed where the human footprint was stronger. Our results can be directly and quantitatively applied to connectivity planning, and we use them to identify ways to better understand differences between species in recent loss of connectivity.

Notes on black rhino mortalities in North Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Notes on black rhino mortalities in North Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Giraffe taxonomy, geographic distribution and conservation

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Do protection gradients explain patterns in herbivore densities? An example with ungulates in Zambia's Luangwa Valley.

Ungulate populations face declines across the globe, and populations are commonly conserved by using protected areas. However, assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in conserving ungulate populations has remained difficult. Using herd size data from four years of line transect surveys and distance sampling models, we modeled population densities of four important herbivore species across a gradient of protection on the edge of Zambia's South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) while accounting for the role of various ecological and anthropogenic variables. Our goal was to test whether protection was responsible for density dynamics in this protection gradient, and whether a hunting moratorium impacted herbivore densities during the studies. For all four species, we estimated lower densities in partially protected buffer areas adjacent to SLNP (ranging from 4.5-fold to 13.2-fold lower) compared to protected parklands. Density trends through the study period were species-specific, with some species increasing, decreasing, or remaining stable in all or some regions of the protection gradient. Surprisingly, when controlling for other covariates, we found that these observed differences were not always detectably related to the level of protection or year. Our findings highlight the importance of accounting for variables beyond strata of interest in evaluating the effectiveness of a protected area. This study highlights the importance of comprehensively modeling ungulate population density across protection gradients, identifies lands within an important protection gradient for targeted conservation and monitoring, documents prey depletion and expands our understanding on the drivers in a critical buffer area in Zambia.

Integrating Surface-Based Temperature and Vegetation Abundance Estimates into Land Cover Classifications for Conservation Efforts in Savanna Landscapes.

Southern African savannas are an important dryland ecosystem, as they account for up to 54% of the landscape, support a rich variety of biodiversity, and are areas of key landscape change. This paper aims to address the challenges of studying this highly gradient landscape with a grass–shrub–tree continuum. This study takes place in South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) in eastern Zambia. Discretely classifying land cover in savannas is notoriously difficult because vegetation species and structural groups may be very similar, giving off nearly indistinguishable spectral signatures. A support vector machine classification was tested and it produced an accuracy of only 34.48%. Therefore, we took a novel continuous approach in evaluating this change by coupling in situ data with Landsat-level normalized difference vegetation index data (NDVI, as a proxy for vegetation abundance) and blackbody surface temperature (BBST) data into a rule-based classification for November 2015 (wet season) that was 79.31% accurate. The resultant rule-based classification was used to extract mean Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI values by season over time from 2000 to 2016. This showed a distinct separation between each of the classes consistently over time, with woodland having the highest NDVI, followed by shrubland and then grassland, but an overall decrease in NDVI over time in all three classes. These changes may be due to a combination of precipitation, herbivory, fire, and humans. This study highlights the usefulness of a continuous time-series-based approach, which specifically integrates surface temperature and vegetation abundance-based NDVI data into a study of land cover and vegetation health for savanna landscapes, which will be useful for park managers and conservationists globally.

The Nature of Success: The Making of Ecological Citizens Around Zambia's North Luangwa National Park

The Nature of Success: The Making of Ecological Citizens Around Zambia's North Luangwa National Park

Quantifying lion (Panthera leo) demographic response following a three-year moratorium on trophy hunting.

Factors that limit African lion populations are manifold and well-recognized, but their relative demographic effects remain poorly understood, particularly trophy hunting near protected areas. We identified and monitored 386 individual lions within and around South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, for five years (2008–2012) with trophy hunting and for three additional years (2013–2015) during a hunting moratorium. We used these data with mark-resight models to estimate the effects of hunting on lion survival, recruitment, and abundance. The best survival models, accounting for imperfect detection, revealed strong positive effects of the moratorium, with survival increasing by 17.1 and 14.0 percentage points in subadult and adult males, respectively. Smaller effects on adult female survival and positive effects on cub survival were also detected. The sex-ratio of cubs shifted from unbiased during trophy-hunting to female-biased during the moratorium. Closed mark-recapture models revealed a large increase in lion abundance during the hunting moratorium, from 116 lions in 2012 immediately preceding the moratorium to 209 lions in the last year of the moratorium. More cubs were produced each year of the moratorium than in any year with trophy hunting. Lion demographics shifted from a male-depleted population consisting mostly of adult (≥4 years) females to a younger population with more (>29%) adult males. These data show that the three-year moratorium was effective at growing the Luangwa lion population and increasing the number of adult males. The results suggest that moratoria may be an effective tool for improving the sustainability of lion trophy hunting, particularly where systematic monitoring, conservative quotas, and age-based harvesting are difficult to enforce.

River flow availability for environmental flow allocation downstream of hydropower facilities in the Kafue Basin of Zambia

The Government of the Republic Zambia (GRZ) will install a new hydropower station Kafue Gorge Lower downstream of the existing Kafue Gorge Station (KGS) and plans to start operating the Itezhi-Tezhi (ITT) hydropower facility in the Kafue Basin. The Basin has significant biodiversity hot spots such as the Luangwa National park and Kafue Flats. It is described as a Man-Biosphere reserve and the National Park is a designated World Heritage Site hosting a variety of wildlife species. All these natural reserves demand special protection, and environmental flow requirements (e-flows) have been identified as a necessary need to preserve these ecosystems. Implementation of e-flows is therefore a priority as Zambia considers to install more hydropower facilities. However before allocation of e-flows, it is necessary to first assess the river flow available for allocation at existing hydropower stations in the Kafue Basin. The river flow availability in the basin was checked by assessing the variability in low and high flows since the timing, frequency and duration of extreme droughts and floods (caused by low and high flows) are all important hydrological characteristics of a flow regime that affects e-flows. The river flows for a 41 year monthly time series data (1973–2014) were used to extract independent low and high flows using the Water Engineering Time Series Processing Tool (WETSPRO). The low and high flows were used to construct cumulative frequency distribution curves that were compared and analysed to show their variation over a long period. A water balance of each hydropower station was used to check the river flow allocation aspect by comparing the calculated water balance outflow (river flow) with the observed river flow, the hydropower and consumptive water rights downstream of each hydropower station. In drought periods about 50–100 m3/s of riverflow is available or discharged at both ITT and KGS stations while as in extreme flood events about 1300–1500 m3/s of riverflow is available. There is river flow available in the wet and dry seasons for e-flow allocation at ITT. On average per month 25 m3/s is allocated for e-flows at ITT for downstream purposes. On the other hand, it may be impossible to implement e-flows at KGS with the limited available outflow (river flow). The available river flow from ITT plays a very vital role in satisfying the current hydropower generating capacity at KGS. Therefore, the operations of KGS heavily depends on the available outflow (river flow) from ITT.

Habitat Selection by Large Mammals in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

An assessment to determine habitat selection by large mammals was carried out in South Luangwa National Park, eastern Zambia. We divided Habitat types into five groups based on physiognomic classification as: savannah wood-land, back swamp, Combretum thicket, Mopane woodland, and Terminalia-Erythrophleum. Road count method was used to sight animals across the four identified habitat types. Results showed that puku, impala, elephant, and zebra were highly selective of habitat types. Puku occurred mainly in back swamp habitat (86.6%) followed by water buck (75.0%), elephant (72.3%) and zebra (65.7%). Impala were more abundant in Terminalia-Erythrophleum woodland (69.50%) while buffalo was mainly sighted in Mopane-woodland (45.07%). Other species were more cosmopolitan. It was suggested that foraging behaviour, season and security with respect to predation were the factors singularly or collectively that influenced the observed pattern of habitat selection by large mammals.

Effects of a protection gradient on carnivore density and survival: an example with leopards in the Luangwa valley, Zambia.

Human activities on the periphery of protected areas can limit carnivore populations, but measurements of the strength of such effects are limited, largely due to difficulties of obtaining precise data on population density and survival. We measured how density and survival rates of a previously unstudied leopard population varied across a gradient of protection and evaluated which anthropogenic activities accounted for observed patterns. Insights into this generalist's response to human encroachment are likely to identify limiting factors for other sympatric carnivore species. Motion‐sensitive cameras were deployed systematically in adjacent, similarly sized, and ecologically similar study areas inside and outside Zambia's South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) from 2012 to 2014. The sites differed primarily in the degree of human impacts: SLNP is strictly protected, but the adjacent area was subject to human encroachment and bushmeat poaching throughout the study, and trophy hunting of leopards prior to 2012. We used photographic capture histories with robust design capture–recapture models to estimate population size and sex‐specific survival rates for the two areas. Leopard density within SLNP was 67% greater than in the adjacent area, but annual survival rates and sex ratios did not detectably differ between the sites. Prior research indicated that wire‐snare occurrence was 5.2 times greater in the areas adjacent to the park. These results suggest that the low density of leopards on the periphery of SLNP is better explained by prey depletion, rather than by direct anthropogenic mortality. Long‐term spatial data from concurrent lion studies suggested that interspecific competition did not produce the observed patterns. Large carnivore populations are often limited by human activities, but science‐based management policies depend on methods to rigorously and quantitatively assess threats to populations of concern. Using noninvasive robust design capture–recapture methods, we systematically assessed leopard density and survival across a protection gradient and identified bushmeat poaching as the likely limiting factor. This approach is of broad value to evaluate the impacts of anthropogenic activities on carnivore populations that are distributed across gradients of protection.

Developing an environmental‐education programme using Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis in Zambia as a case study

Environmental education is often recognized as a valuable conservation tool; however, programme managers can face many barriers that reduce the potential for success when implementing an environmental‐education programme. Case studies of environmental‐education programmes, from which other projects can learn lessons and use as an evidence base, can aid the development and implementation of future programmes and help managers overcome these barriers. This paper summarizes the development of ‘Lolesha Luangwa’, a Conservation Education Programme based in North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, and outlines the lessons learned from this case study.

Leadership of herd progressions in the Thornicroft's giraffe of Zambia

AbstractIn cohesive social groups, travel progressions are often led by dominant or older individuals, but the leadership traits of individuals residing in flexible social systems are poorly known. Giraffe reside in herds characterized by fission–fusion dynamics frequently mediated by kinship. We analyzed 41 years (1971–2012) of longitudinal data collected from a community of Thornicroft's giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti) living around South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, to assess the characteristics of herd leaders. Movement of giraffe in a single file progression was not associated with either season or time of day, but progressions were significantly more likely to occur when giraffe traveled in open areas. The oldest female in a herd was significantly more likely to be at the front position than expected, occupying the leadership niche on 79% of observations. We reason that matriarchal leadership in giraffe, as in African elephants, Loxodonta africana, is associated with resource learning. Giraffe societies are constructed on a heretofore unrecognized foundation that integrates relatedness and familiarity with matriarchal leadership in herd movement.

Spatial patterns of wire-snare poaching: Implications for community conservation in buffer zones around National Parks

Wire-snare poaching is fueling the rapidly growing illegal bushmeat trade in Africa’s savanna ecosystems given the region’s relatively abundant wildlife, increasing commercial bushmeat demand, and burgeoning human populations; thus understanding snaring dynamics is critical to addressing this crisis. Community conservation areas often border National Parks (NPs) and are intended to serve as buffer zones wherein sustainable, wildlife-based economies exist. Yet their success is poorly-evaluated, partly due to poorly-understood poaching patterns and the impact of human development in these zones. We investigated snaring patterns in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park and adjacent community Game Management Areas (GMAs) using highly-trained four-person teams to conduct 116 snare surveys at stratified random locations across approximately 6661km2 from September 2011 to November 2012. We postulated that snaring would be predicted by land use, crops, roads, and permanent water. Using novel multi-logistic models, we found decisive evidence that snaring only occurred in GMAs and immediately adjacent NP areas. Within these areas, we found substantial evidence that snaring was constrained by road proximity, moderate evidence for water constraints, and equivocal evidence for crop constraints. Snare detection rates in these areas were 60%. Evaluating finer-scale GMA snaring patterns requires more data; however strong correlation between snaring and human development in protected area buffer zones necessitates increased caution and carefully planned community development initiatives, and the adoption and enforcement of well-zoned land-use plans. Incentives aimed at increasing agricultural development in buffer zones should be redirected away from these zones to reduce encroachment and poaching and protect wildlife-based economies.

Rabies, Canine Distemper, and Canine Parvovirus Exposure in Large Carnivore Communities from Two Zambian Ecosystems

Disease transmission within and among wild and domestic carnivores can have significant impacts on populations, particularly for threatened and endangered species. We used serology to evaluate potential exposure to rabies virus, canine distemper virus (CDV), and canine parvovirus (CPV) for populations of African lions (Panthera leo), African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) and Liuwa Plain National Park (LPNP) as well as community lands bordering these areas. In addition, domestic dogs in the study region were evaluated for exposure to CDV and rabies. We provide the first comprehensive disease exposure data for these species in these ecosystems. Twenty-one lions, 20 hyenas, 13 wild dogs, and 38 domestic dogs were sampled across both regions from 2009 to 2011. Laboratory results show 10.5% of domestic dogs, 5.0% of hyenas, and 7.7% of wild dogs sampled were positive for CDV exposure. All lions were negative. Exposure to CPV was 10.0% and 4.8% for hyenas and lions, respectively. All wild dogs were negative, and domestic dogs were not tested due to insufficient serum samples. All species sampled were negative for rabies virus neutralizing antibodies except lions. Forty percent of lions tested positive for rabies virus neutralizing antibodies. Because these lions appeared clinically healthy, this finding is consistent with seroconversion following exposure to rabies antigen. To our knowledge, this finding represents the first ever documentation of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies consistent with rabies exposure that did not lead to clinical disease in free-ranging African lions from this region. With ever-increasing human pressure on these ecosystems, understanding disease transmission dynamics is essential for proper management and conservation of these carnivore species.

Mitochondrial DNA analyses show that Zambia's South Luangwa Valley giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti) are genetically isolated

AbstractThornicroft's giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti, is a geographically isolated subspecies of giraffe found only in north‐east Zambia. The population only occurs in Zambia's South Luangwa Valley, an area which interestingly places it between the current distribution of Masai (G. c. tippelskirchi) giraffe to the north, and the Angolan (G. c. angolensis) and South African (G. c. giraffa) giraffe in the south‐west and south, respectively. Specific studies have been undertaken on the ecology of this subspecies, but their population genetics remains unknown. We studied 34 individuals from the South Luangwa National Park and adjacent Lupande Game Management Area and seven individuals from northern Botswana. The complete cytochrome b and control region sequences of the mitochondrial genome were sequenced and analysed together with database data by maximum likelihood tree reconstruction and maximum parsimony network analyses. The giraffe from Zambia's South Luangwa Valley are most closely related to the subspecies G. c. tippelskirchi and part of their radiation. However, they form a unique population that would benefit from increased research and conservation management.

Preliminary Investigation of Trypanosomosis in Exotic Dog Breeds from Zambia's Luangwa and Zambezi Valleys Using LAMP

Abstract. Canine African trypanosomosis (CAT) is rarely reported in the literature. In this preliminary study, we evaluated the performance of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) against microscopy to detect CAT in six exotic dog breeds naturally infected with trypanosomes from Zambia's South Luangwa National Park and Chiawa Game Management Area. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CAT in Zambia. The patients exhibited a variety of aspecific clinical signs. The LAMP did not only confirm all six parasitologically positive CAT cases detected passively between April 2010 and January 2012, but was also critical in trypanosome speciation. According to LAMP, the majority of the dogs had monolytic infections with either Trypanosoma congolense or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. The LAMP is thus a potential simple and cost-effective tool for trypanosome diagnosis in endemic regions. The rare report of zoonotic trypanosomes in dogs in Zambia has public health implications and justifies further investigations of CAT.