Title
Management implications of antelope habitat use in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania
Author(s)
Jenkins R.K.B., Corti G.R., Fanning E., Roettcher K.
Published
2002
Publisher
ORYX
Abstract
High cattle densities, expanding human settlements and the conversion of miombo woodland into farms and teak plantations are threatening wildlife populations in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania, and conservation research on this internationally important wetland is required as part of an integrated approach to its future management. The effect of land-use change on antelopes (family Bovidae) was investigated by survey-ing tracks and dung during three seasons over 1999-2000 in an area of mixed land-use. Use of miombo woodland, grassland and farmland habitats by antelopes was highest during the wet season (April-May), probably representing the movements of animals away from the floodplain. Duiker, puku Kobus vardoni and reedbuck Redunca spp. predominantly used the farmland during the wet season, at which time buffalo Syncerus caffer were more common in the miombo woodland. The findings of this study have three main implications for the conservation of the valley. Firstly, the inadvertent provision of suitable wet season habitats for puku and other small-medium antelopes by rice farmers could lead to higher levels of illegal hunting, and may increase the potential for conflict between agriculture and wildlife. Secondly, the loss of miombo vegetation will most strongly affect the larger species of antelope (sable Hippotragus niger and waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus), which favour open-woodland habitats; future work should therefore determine levels of habitat use by antelopes in and around maturing teak plantations. Thirdly, any management prescriptions to conserve the Kilombero Valley should include the land on the edge of the floodplain. © 2002 FFI.
Keywords
conservation management; habitat use; land use change; plantation; ungulate; wildlife management; woodland; Africa; East Africa; Kilombero Valley; Morogoro [Tanzania]; Sub-Saharan Africa; Tanzania; Animalia; Bos taurus; Bovidae; Hippotragus niger; Kobus ellipsiprymnus; Kobus vardoni; Kobus vardonii; Redunca; Syncerus caffer; Tectona grandis

Access Full Text

A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the WCS Library to request.



Back

PUB12590