First records of Hyalomma rufipes and Ixodes neitzi (Acari: Ixodidae) found on large carnivores in South Africa

Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are important disease vectors for large carnivores, but the composition of the tick communities that parasitize carnivores is poorly understood. We collected ticks from leopards (Panthera pardus) and brown hyenas (Hyaena brunnea) in the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa, to determine which species feed on these carnivores. We identified a total of eight tick species belonging to six genera, and recorded Ixodes neitzi and Hyalomma rufipes on P. pardus for the first time

Foraging behaviour of wild impala (Aepyceros melampus) and Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli) in relation to sward height

Foraging behaviour plays a key role in the interaction between herbivores and vegetation, their predominant food source. Understanding this interaction is crucial to providing information that is useful for conservation of herbivores. The objective of this study was to determine how sward height influences functional response and movement patterns of free ranging wild impala and zebra at the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute. The study was conducted for 3 months. Sward height is an important parameter that indicates how intensive a sward has been grazed and it influences intake rate through its effect on bite size. Bite size, instantaneous intake rate, specific mass intake rate and feeding station interval for impala and zebra increased with sward height. Sward height in combination with an animal's sex was found to have a profound effect on specific mass intake rate in impala. Zebra had a longer feeding station interval and lower stepping rate in tall swards compared to impala. Despite differences in their specific body mass and digestive strategies, impala and zebra maximized their intake rates in tall swards as a trade-off among the swards. Tall swards are therefore critical in the study area and should be protected from bush encroachment which is a persistent problem. 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Breeding performance of the grasshopper buzzard (<i>Butastur rufipennis</i>) in a natural and a human-modified West African savanna

Few studies have examined raptor reproduction in response to land-use change in sub-Saharan Africa, hampering conservation efforts to address regional declines. To further our understanding of mechanisms underlying the dramatic declines of West African raptors, we examined the relationship between environmental conditions, nest density, and measures of reproduction in the Grasshopper Buzzard (Butastur rufipennis). Analyses were based on 244 nest sites divided between transformed and natural habitat in northern Cameroon. At the landscape scale, nest density increased with the density of preferred nest trees. Nests were more widely spaced in transformed than in natural habitat. Dispersion was adjusted to differences in availability of small mammals, which was negatively associated with distance to nearest neighbor, and in the area under cultivation, which was positively associated with distance to nearest neighbor. Productivity was positively associated with rainfall, canopy shielding the nest, availability of grasshoppers, and the nest's visibility from ground level; canopy shielding, grass cover, rainfall, and distance to nearest neighbor were positively associated with nest success. In natural habitat, losses of eggs and nestlings to natural predators were greater than in transformed habitats, while losses through human predation were small. Productivity and nest success were unaffected by land use because of the opposing effects of greater predation pressure, closer spacing of nests, and more food in natural habitat than in transformed habitat. Thus transformed habitat may provide adequate breeding habitat for the Grasshopper Buzzard, but declining rainfall and intensifying anthropogenic land use are likely to affect future reproductive output

Land use and biodiversity in unprotected landscapes: The case of noncultivated plant use and management by rural communities in Benin and Togo

To contribute to the development of strategies for sustainable agricultural land use and biodiversity conservation in landscapes without formal protection status, we investigated the local use and management of noncultivated plants as important ecosystem functions of inland valleys in south Benin and Togo, and local perceptions on changes in plant biodiversity and causes for these changes. Local users of noncultivated plants perceived agriculture and construction as major factors contributing to the reduction of (noncultivated) plant biodiversity. However, they also collect many useful species from agricultural fields and the village. A small community forest reserve and a 2-ha community garden were the only organized forms of conservation management. Observed ad hoc conservation initiatives were selective harvesting of plant parts, preserving trees during land clearing, and allowing useful weed species in the field. Future development and conservation efforts in unprotected landscapes with multiple ecosystem functions should acknowledge knowledge, interests, and needs of local communities

Relationships of reproductive performance indicators in black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli) with plant available moisture, plant available nutrients and woody cover

Plant available moisture and plant available nutrients in soils influence forage quality and availability and subsequently affect reproductive performance in herbivores. However, the relationship of soil moisture, soil nutrients and woody forage with reproductive performance indicators is not well understood in mega-browsers yet these three are important in selecting suitable areas for conservation of mega-browsers. Here, the eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli), a mega-browser, was studied in seven geographically distinct populations in Kenya to understand the relationships between its reproductive performance indicators and plant available moisture, plant available nutrients and woody cover. Reproductive parameters showed a complex relationship with plant available moisture and plant available nutrients. We found an increase in the predicted yearly percentage of females calving as plant available nutrients decreased in areas of high levels of plant available moisture but no relationship with plant available nutrients in areas of low plant available moisture. Age at first calving was earlier, inter-calving interval was longer and yearly percentage of females calving was higher at higher woody cover. Woody plant cover contributes positively to black rhino reproduction performance indicators, whereas plant available moisture and plant available nutrients add to the selection of conservation areas, in more subtle ways.</p

Supplemental nutrients increase the consumption of chemically defended shrubs by free-ranging herbivores

Large herbivores are purported to continue consuming toxin-containing forages as long as their capacity to neutralize, detoxify and excrete dietary toxins is not exceeded. This capacity depends on the availability of liver enzymes, energy and amino acid precursors. While this may explain increased intake of toxin-rich forages by herbivores supplemented with nutrients, a different effect may emerge in rangelands dominated by forages that are rich in condensed tannins which are not as degradable and readily absorbable as toxins. In a field experiment, we investigated the effects of supplementing animals with a high-energy source (yellow maize grain) and a high-protein source (soybean meal) on browse intake, foraging behaviour and diet composition of goats in a semi-arid savanna. In line with our prediction, nutrient supplementation increased the percentage time spent by goats on browsing and subsequently enhanced browse intake. Supplemented goats consumed more condensed tannins than goats that were not supplemented. Goats from supplemented groups tended to compose different diets from goats that received no supplement. Supplementation may have modified animals’ requirements for nutrients in ways that influenced feeding behaviour. We contend that supplements likely replaced the nutrients that are routinely bound and rendered indigestible by condensed tannins and thus increased the intake of tannin-rich forages through delaying a negative post-ingestive feedback (aversion) from dietary tannins. In conclusion, we showed that nutrient supplementation can be used to increase defoliation of tannin-rich shrubs by mixed feeders which suggests a potential for browsers and mixed-feeders to serve as biological bush control agents. Furthermore, these results have serious implication for herbivores and the environment