Tanzania - GCF Resource Library

Trypanosome diversity in wildlife species from the Serengeti and Luangwa Valley Ecosystems

The trypanosomes include a number of species that cause disease in livestock. In recent years, several trypanosomes have been identified which do not fit into the classic trypanosome classification system. However, previous work has focused on trypanosomes identified in the tsetse vector, with little information available on trypanosomes found in their natural hosts, wildlife. We studied trypanosome sequences from wildlife in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Luangwa Valley in Zambia and found a number of trypanosome species pathogenic

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From savannah to farmland: effects of land-use on mammal communities in the Tarangire–Manyara ecosystem, Tanzania

Land-use change is considered a major driver of biodiversity loss. In the western part of the Tarangire–Manyara ecosystem, we assessed large mammal species richness along a land-use gradient (national park, uninhabited pastoral area and settled pastoral- and farmland). We found the highest species richness in the national park and in the pastoral area and lowest species richness in the settled and farmed area. There was little evidence of seasonal changes in species diversity. Except for top-order carnivores, all functional feeding

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Are we prepared for emerging and re-emerging diseases? Experience and lessons from epidemics that occurred in Tanzania during the last five decades

This paper reviews preparedness for containing and controlling emerging and re-emerging diseases drawing lessons from disease events that occurred in animal and human populations in the last five decades (1961-2011). A comprehensive analysis based on retrieval and analysis of grey and published literature as well as reported cases was carried out to document type and trend of occurrence of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in different parts of Tanzania. Overall, the majority of diseases reported in the country were viral

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Quantifying the severity of giraffe skin disease via photogrammetry analysis of camera trap data

Developing techniques to quantify the spread and severity of diseases afflicting wildlife populations is important for disease ecology, animal ecology, and conservation. Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) are in the midst of a dramatic decline, but it is not known whether disease is playing an important role in the broad-scale population reductions. A skin disorder referred to as giraffe skin disease (GSD) was recorded in 1995 in one giraffe population in Uganda. Since then, GSD has been detected in 13 populations in

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Season of birth affects juvenile survival of giraffe

Variation in timing of reproduction and subsequent juvenile survival often plays an important role in population dynamics of temperate and boreal ungulates. Tropical ungulates often give birth year round, but survival effects of birth season for tropical ungulate species are unknown. We used a population of giraffe in the Tarangire Ecosystem of northern Tanzania, East Africa to determine whether calf survival varied by season of birth. Variation in juvenile survival according to season of birth was significant, with calves born

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Diurnal Behaviour and Utilization of Shade in Masai Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi)

Observations were carried out in the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya, which is the northern part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem in Kenya and Tanzania. Activity and behaviour of Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) was recorded with one-minute intervals for continuous periods of approximately twelve hours per day for two weeks in February and March 2007. The total observation time was 200 hours in females, 116 hours in males and 99 hours in offspring. The aim of the study was

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Precision, accuracy, and costs of survey methods for giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis

Giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis are megafaunal browsers and keystone species in African savanna ecosystems. Range-wide population declines are suspected, but robust data are lacking. Tanzania holds the largest population of giraffe of any range state, and aerial surveys constitute most of Tanzania’s giraffe population monitoring data, but their accuracy has not yet been assessed. An IUCN status assessment for giraffe is currently underway, and calibrating aerial surveys with ground-based surveys can quantify accuracy of the aerial surveys to ensure more reliable

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Quantifying the ecological success of a community-based wildlife conservation area in Tanzania

In Tanzania, community-based natural resource management of wildlife occurs through the creation of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). WMAs consist of multiple villages designating land for wildlife conservation, and sharing a portion of subsequent tourism revenues. Nineteen WMAs are currently operating, encompassing 7% of Tanzania’s land area, with 19 more WMAs planned. The ecological success or failure of WMAs for wildlife conservation has yet to be quantified. We defined ecological success in this case as significantly greater densities of wildlife and

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Spatial variation in giraffe demography: a test of 2 paradigms

Examination of spatial variation in demography among or within populations of the same species is a topic of growing interest in ecology. We examined whether spatial variation in demography of a tropical megaherbivore followed the “temporal paradigm” or the “adult survival paradigm” of ungulate population dynamics formulated from temperate-zone studies. We quantified spatial variation in demographic rates for giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) at regional and continental scales. Regionally, we used photographic capture-mark-recapture data from 860 adult females and 449 calves to

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Fission–fusion dynamics of a megaherbivore are driven by ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors

Fission–fusion dynamics hypothetically enable animals to exploit dispersed and ephemeral food resources while minimizing predation risk. Disentangling factors affecting group size and composition of fission–fusion species facilitates their management and conservation. We used a 6-year data set of 2888 group formations of Masai giraffes in Tanzania to investigate determinants of social group size and structure. We tested whether ecological (lion density, vegetation structure, and prevalence of primary forage plants), anthropogenic (proximity to human settlements), temporal (rainy or dry season), and

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