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Savanna-Woodland Fire Regimes: Ecology, Management and Conservation of African Protected Areas

Fire is an important process that shapes the structure and functioning of African savanna ecosystems, and frequently occurs as either prescribed burns or unintentional wildfires in protected areas. Though the level of understanding of the ecological effects of fires has grown substantially over the past century, comprehensive information on the practical application of fire is still restricted, and management information is scattered. Similarly, an improved understanding of how fire affects African mammals is important for the management of both fire

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The clinico-pathology and mechanisms of trypanosomosis in captive and free-living wild animals: A review

Reports on the clinico-pathology and mechanisms of trypanosomosis in freeliving and captive wild animals showed that clinical disease and outbreaks occur more commonly among captive than free-living wild animals. This is because the free-living wild animals co-exist with the disease until subjected to captivity. In exceptional cases however, draught, starvation and intercurrent diseases often compromised trypanotolerance leading to overt trypanosomosis in free-living wild animals. Meanwhile, in captivity, space restriction, reduced social interactions, change in social herd structure, reduced specie-to-specie specific

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Persistence Of Large Mammal Faunas As Indicators Of Global Human Impacts

Large mammals often play critical roles within ecosystems by affecting either prey populations or the structure and species composition of surrounding vegetation. However, large mammals are highly vulnerable to extirpation by humans and consequently, severe contractions of species ranges result in intact large mammal faunas becoming increasingly rare. We compared historical (AD 1500) range maps of large mammals with their current distributions to determine which areas today retain complete assemblages of large mammals. We estimate that less than 21% of

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State-shifts of lion prey selection in the Kruger National Park

Aims: Indicators of pending state-shifts carry value for policy makers. Predator–prey relations reflect key ecological processes that shape ecosystems. Variance in predator–prey relations may serve as a key indicator of future state-shifts. Methods: Lion (Panthera leo) diet in the Kruger National Park was evaluated as such an indicator. Over the three-decade time span reviewed, variance in diet in relation to rainfall, prey abundance, management strategies and disease emergence were reviewed. Key results: Rainfall patterns, both seasonal and cyclical, were identified

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Wildlife Resources of Ethiopia: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions: From Ecotourism Perspective: A Review Paper

The economy of Ethiopia has prospered for many years on agricultural products but currently, the country expands to industrialization and service providing for additional incomes. However, the wildlife tourism and conservation practices are still at low attention. Therefore, this review paper identifies potential opportunities and wildlife diversity to promote wildlife tourism practices in Ethiopia. Furthermore, it also identifies the challenges and future directions to put into practice for future wildlife tourism industry. Wildlife tourism is one of the best potential

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A ghost fence-gap: surprising wildlife usage of an obsolete fence crossing

Wildlife fencing has become more prevalent throughout Africa, although it has come with a price of increased habitat fragmentation and loss of habitat connectivity. In an effort to increase connectivity, managers of fenced conservancies can place strategic gaps along the fences to allow wildlife access to outside habitat, permitting exploration, dispersal and seasonal migration. Wildlife can become accustomed to certain movement pathways and can show fidelity to these routes over many years, even at the path level. Our study site

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Animal diets in the Waterberg based on stable isotopic composition of faeces

Faecal analysis of diet in free-ranging mammals can provide insight into local habitat conditions by reflecting the resources actually utilized. Here we used stable light isotope analysis of faeces to qualify, as well as quantify, certain aspects of mammal food selection in a recovering, nutrient-poor, savanna habitat in the Waterberg. Stable carbon isotope ratios in faeces reflect proportions of C3 -foods (browse) to C4 -foods (grass) consumed, whereas stable nitrogen isotope ratios reflect a combination of trophic behaviour, protein intake,

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Management Effectiveness and Potential for Tourism of Peri-Urban Lusaka National Park, Zambia: A Preliminary Assessment

Management effectiveness of a park is multi-faceted subject with implications on various aspects of its existence. Determination of the management effectiveness of a protected area is often linked to monitoring processes. Wildlife monitoring is a critical component of wildlife management and integral part of a research programme for Lusaka National Park (49.76 km2 ). A preliminary study was undertaken to determine the protected area management effectiveness, initially by ascertaining the status and distribution of mega-fauna resources. This was followed by

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Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data

Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species. Location:

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Low effective mechanical advantage of giraffes’ limbs during walking reveals trade-off between limb length and locomotor performance

Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) possess specialized locomotor morphology, namely elongate and gracile distal limbs. While this contributes to their overall height and enhances feeding behavior, we propose that the combination of long limb segments and modest muscle lever arms results in low effective mechanical advantage (EMA, the ratio of in-lever to out-lever moment arms), when compared with other cursorial mammals. To test this, we used a combination of experimentally measured kinematics and ground reaction forces (GRFs), musculoskeletal modeling, and inverse dynamics

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