Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Multiscale drivers of hippopotamus distribution in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa

Multiscale drivers of hippopotamus distribution in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa This study provides preliminary data on predictors of Hippopotamus amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758; hippo) distribution in St Lucia Estuary, the largest estuarine system in Africa and a key habitat for one of South Africa’s largest hippo populations. We use binary logistic regression models to evaluate selected habitat features as predictors of hippo occurrence at two spatial scales and a negative binomial model with log-link function to evaluate predictors of frequency of use at a fine spatial scale. At the scale of the whole estuary, models indicate that hippos preferentially select diurnal refuge sites that are closer to river inlets and farther from human settlements. At a fine scale (within the Narrows in which more than 50% of the population resides), occurrence and frequency of use models suggested that hippos preferentially settle in sites with water depths between 0.5 and 1.49 m, that are farther from human settlements, closest to natural wetland vegetation and near neighbouring groups. Preliminary data on habitat variables influencing hippo distribution highlights the necessity to manage water levels, restore wetland floodplains, protect wetland vegetation and halt human settlement encroachment in order to ensure the viability of this UNESCO site and its hippo population. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Zoology Taylor & Francis

Multiscale drivers of hippopotamus distribution in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa

Prinsloo, Alexa S; Pillay, Deena; O'Riain, M Justin
African Zoology , Volume 55 (2): 14 – Apr 2, 2020
Download PDF

Multiscale drivers of hippopotamus distribution in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa

Abstract

This study provides preliminary data on predictors of Hippopotamus amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758; hippo) distribution in St Lucia Estuary, the largest estuarine system in Africa and a key habitat for one of South Africa’s largest hippo populations. We use binary logistic regression models to evaluate selected habitat features as predictors of hippo occurrence at two spatial scales and a negative binomial model with log-link function to evaluate predictors of frequency of use at a fine...
Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/multiscale-drivers-of-hippopotamus-distribution-in-the-st-lucia-KkS8YTe7zQ
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2020 Zoological Society of Southern Africa
ISSN
2224-073X
eISSN
1562-7020
DOI
10.1080/15627020.2020.1717377
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This study provides preliminary data on predictors of Hippopotamus amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758; hippo) distribution in St Lucia Estuary, the largest estuarine system in Africa and a key habitat for one of South Africa’s largest hippo populations. We use binary logistic regression models to evaluate selected habitat features as predictors of hippo occurrence at two spatial scales and a negative binomial model with log-link function to evaluate predictors of frequency of use at a fine spatial scale. At the scale of the whole estuary, models indicate that hippos preferentially select diurnal refuge sites that are closer to river inlets and farther from human settlements. At a fine scale (within the Narrows in which more than 50% of the population resides), occurrence and frequency of use models suggested that hippos preferentially settle in sites with water depths between 0.5 and 1.49 m, that are farther from human settlements, closest to natural wetland vegetation and near neighbouring groups. Preliminary data on habitat variables influencing hippo distribution highlights the necessity to manage water levels, restore wetland floodplains, protect wetland vegetation and halt human settlement encroachment in order to ensure the viability of this UNESCO site and its hippo population.

Journal

African Zoology – Taylor & Francis

Published: Apr 2, 2020

Keywords: abstraction; drought; estuarine lake; megaherbivore; spatial analyses

References

  • Species distribution models and ecological theory: A critical assessment and some possible new approaches
  • Effect of human nuisance on the social organisation of large mammals: group sizes and compositions of seven ungulate species in Lake Mburo National Park and adjacent Ankole Ranching Scheme
  • Chapter 5: Habitat fragmentation and landscape change
  • The abundance of Hippopotamus amphibius in the Black Volta River at Bui National Park, Ghana
  • Social behaviors within a group of captive female Hippopotamus amphibius
  • AIC model selection and multimodel inference in behavioural ecology: some background, observations, and comparisons
  • Multimodel inference: Understanding AIC and BIC in model selection
  • Influence of river geomorphologic features on hippopotamus density distribution along the Luangwa River, Zambia
  • The influence of grass biomass production on hippopotamus population density distribution along the Luangwa River in Zambia
  • Factors affecting the Luangwa (Zambia) hippo population dynamics within its carrying capacity band - Insights for better management
  • Network analysis indices reflect extreme hydrodynamic conditions in a shallow estuarine lake (Lake St Lucia), South Africa
  • Hippopotamus underwater locomotion: Reduced gravity movements for a massive mammal
  • Lake St Lucia, Africa’s largest estuarine lake in crisis: Combined effects of mouth closure, low levels and hypersalinity
  • Status of the estuarine fish fauna in the St Lucia Estuarine System, South Africa, after 30 months of mouth closure
  • Declines in benthic macroinvertebrate community metrics and microphytobenthic biomass in an estuarine lake following enrichment by hippo dung
  • Organic matter loading by hippopotami causes subsidy overload resulting in downstream hypoxia and fish kills
  • Chapter 6: The Wetlands
  • The Common Hippopotamus, (Hippopotamus amphibius)
  • Landscapes to Riverscapes: Bridging the gap between research and conservation of stream fishes
  • The distribution of the larger herbivores in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
  • A review of the effects of seismic survey on marine mammals
  • Microalgal dynamics in a shallow estuarine lake: transition from drought to wet conditions
  • Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology
  • The ecology of hippopotamus in Liwonde National Park, Malawi: implications for management
  • Landscape requirements of a primate population in a human- dominated environment
  • Social organization and communication of riverine hippopotami in southwestern Kenya
  • Chapter 8: Groundwater hydrology. (pp 151–168)
  • The spatial and agricultural basis of crop raiding by the Vulnerable common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius around Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
  • Hippopotamus amphibius Common Hippopotamus
  • Daily patterns of activity in the spotted hyena
  • Population responses to natural and human-mediated disturbances: assessing the vulnerability of the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)
  • Current status and distribution of the Vulnerable common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius in Mozambique
  • Factors affecting leopard (Panthera pardus) spatial ecology, with particular reference to Namibian farmlands
  • Diverse effects of the common hippopotamus on plant communities and soil chemistry
  • Some observations on the geomorphological impact of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius L.) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
  • Some behavioural characteristics of common hippopotamus (H. amphibius Linn. 1758) in Nigeria’s Kainji Lake National Park
  • Spatial and temporal scales in habitat selection
  • Evaluating the predictive performance of habitat models developed using logistic regression
  • Biodiversity census of Lake St Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa): Gastropod molluscs
  • Microalgal biomass in the St Lucia Estuary during the 2004 to 2007 drought period
  • Comparing species abundance models
  • An introduction to conservation conflicts
  • Influences of man-made noise and other human actions on cetacean behaviour
  • Relationships between reproductive and environment in hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius in the Kruger National Park
  • Effects of the hippopotamus on the chemistry and ecology of a changing watershed
  • Spatial ecology of male hippopotamus in a changing watershed
  • The effect of reduced water availability in the Great Ruaha River on the vulnerable common hippopotamus in the Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
  • Chapter 7: Catchment Hydrology
  • Primary habitats of the St Lucia Estuarine System, South Africa, and their responses to mouth management
  • Groundwater-dependent ecology of the shoreline of the subtropical Lake St Lucia estuary
  • Chapter18: Hippopotamuses
  • A modelling study of the effects of land management and climate variations on groundwater inflow to Lake St Lucia, South Africa
  • Changes in number and distribution of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) in the Sabie River, Kruger National Park, during the 1992 drought
  • A brief review of known effects of noise on marine mammals
  • Relinkage of the Mfolozi River to the St Lucia estuarine system – urgent imperative for long-term management of a Ramsar and World Heritage Site
  • A review of the importance of freshwater inflow to the future conservation of Lake St Lucia
  • Foreword