Seasonal utilization of habitat by large grazing herbivores in semi-arid Zimbabwe

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dc.contributor.authorTraill L.W.
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-15T15:57:59Z
dc.date.available2011-05-15T15:57:59Z
dc.date.issued2004
dc.description.abstractThe factors determining habitat utilization among a large grazing herbivore community on Malilangwe Estate, southeastern Zimbabwe, were investigated. Gross vegetative structure, herbaceous composition and topographic features thought likely to determine herbivore distribution were measured and analysed using a single multivariate technique. Seasonal variation in resource distribution was considered and research extended over an entire year. Herbivore distribution and niche separation were explained by several environmental variables, and potential interspecific competition inferred. Ungulates showed a large degree of niche overlap in both the hot-wet season and the cool-dry season. Ecological separation between grazers was pronounced in the hot-dry season. Herbivore distribution was associated most closely with distance from water, grass sward height, time since last burn, woody plant density and by the presence of the predominant grasses Urochloa mossambicensis, Panicum maximum, Heteropogon contortus and Digitaria eriantha. Management options are considered. The findings of the study provide a better understanding of ecological separation, and possible competitive interactions, among members of the large grazing herbivore community on Malilangwe Estate.
dc.description.versionArticle
dc.identifier.citationSouth African Journal of Wildlife Research
dc.identifier.citation34
dc.identifier.citation1
dc.identifier.issn3794369
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/10709
dc.subjecthabitat use
dc.subjectherbivore
dc.subjectinterspecific competition
dc.subjectniche overlap
dc.subjectniche partitioning
dc.subjectseasonal variation
dc.subjectwildlife management
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjectSouthern Africa
dc.subjectSub-Saharan Africa
dc.subjectZimbabwe
dc.subjectDigitaria eriantha
dc.subjectHeteropogon contortus
dc.subjectPanicum
dc.subjectPanicum maximum
dc.subjectPaspalum dilatatum
dc.subjectPoaceae
dc.subjectUngulata
dc.subjectUrochloa
dc.titleSeasonal utilization of habitat by large grazing herbivores in semi-arid Zimbabwe
dc.typeArticle
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