The location of African buffalo used in this study.

<p>The enclosure is located in the central portion of KNP near Satara and experiences only 500mm of rain per year, with the majority occurring during the summer months. Total size of the enclosure is 900 hectares, and is enclosed in a double fence to exclude large predators. The buffalo captured as part of the free-ranging herd were initially located in the south-eastern portion of the park centered around Lower Sabie, which experiences similar rainfall to the managed herd. The free-ranging herd was allowed to disperse as normal over the 4 years of the study which resulted in individuals being re-captured throughout the southern portion of the park, as far north as Olifants and spanning the geographic area the managed herd is maintained in [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0176830#pone.0176830.ref025" target="_blank">25</a>].</p

General linear mixed model results comparing wild and managed herds, and mean serum biochemistry values for wild, managed, and captive African buffalo (+/- standard error of the mean).

<p>The captive values are from Species360 and are listed in italics as the data was not collected during this project, but is listed for comparison as the only prior information on these values in African buffalo. Asterisks indicate level of significance (* ≤0.05, **≤0.01, ***≤0.001) and parameters with statistically significant differences between managed and wild are bolded.</p

Managed African buffalo serum biochemistry parameters across seasons.

<p>Within each parameter, shared letters indicate no significant difference across seasons. The heat map shows the percent difference between seasonal average value and overall average for each parameter, with red being very high concentration and white being very low concentration. All parameters were centered and transformed so that color varies on the same scale for each parameter.</p

Sample collection details.

<p>The number of samples collected from each age group across four seasons in a herd of managed buffalo contained in a 900 hectare enclosure within KNP.</p

Effects of age on serum biochemistry parameters.

<p>Serum biochemistry parameters are only shown here if age or age squared are significant model parameters. The line represents the fitted line from the model while the points are each individual data point. CK is shown on a separate graph due to scale. Age has been rescaled (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0176830#sec002" target="_blank">Methods</a>).</p

Effects of demographics and season in general linear mixed models for serum biochemistry values in managed buffalo.

<p>Effects of demographics and season in general linear mixed models for serum biochemistry values in managed buffalo.</p

Reference intervals for serum biochemistry parameters of managed adult buffalo.

<p>Reference intervals for serum biochemistry parameters of managed adult buffalo.</p

Serum biochemistry parameters.

<p>Eleven biochemistry parameters commonly used in diagnostics were measured in this study and used to generate reference intervals.</p