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Proportion of grass, sedge and bull rush species recorded in the diet of buffalo in each season in Doornkloof Nature Reserve.
Source publication
Here we studied the the diet and habitat use of buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) on Doornkloof Nature Reserve (DNR) in the Nama-Karoo, South Africa. The buffalo were predominantly grazers. Only seven grass species formed the bulk of their diet and marked seasonal shifts were observed in the contribution of these species to the diet of buffalo. Erag...
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Citations
... This same movement pattern can be observed at a local landscape-scale with non-migratory large herbivores on productivity gradients determined by increasing soil depth down the catena in western Serengeti (Bell, 1970). Use of T. triandra as a reserve forage during the dry season is widespread across Africa for many species, including warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus, impala Aepyceros melampus, gazelles, wildebeest, zebra Equus quagga, buffalo and white rhino Ceratotherium simum (Maddock, 1979;McNaughton, 1985;Owen-Smith, 1988;Venter and Watson, 2008;Kleynhans et al., 2011). Reserves of forage as standing hay during the dry season (a dry reserve resource) would be the major food source for large herbivores in semi-arid savannas of PAs or cattle ranches, where wetlands or high-rainfall regions (>1000mm annual rainfall) are absent. ...
The viability of large herbivore populations in the face of climate change, environmental variability, disease and predation will be determined by their freedom to assess and respond to these factors through access to a range of functional seasonal resources and habitats. Their responses will be contingent upon various organismal traits, such as body size, mouth and digestive anatomy, which also facilitate coexistence among sympatric species. In this paper we develop a functional adaptive forage resource framework based on plant biomass, quality and phenology responses on ecological productivity gradients. We show how large herbivores coexist and respond to environmental variability, disease and predation by their foraging responses in relation to functional adaptive resources, as mediated by their anatomical traits. Below a critical body size, where predation limits population size, large herbivores adopt a variety of predation avoidance strategies, which are linked to their anatomical traits and foraging strategies. Mouth anatomy, and its interaction with body size, appears to be the major anatomical trait determining large herbivore selection for grass height. Body size is the major trait determining vulnerability to predators. Ecological productivity gradients underlain by variation in soil moisture availability over the annual cycle support high quality forage in the least productive (driest) regions, which promote growth and reproduction (a fecundity resource). Reserves of adequate quality forage in moderate productivity regions and buffers of low-quality forage in wetter and more productive regions of the gradient prevent loss of body stores over the dry season and starvation during droughts. Fire and grazing contribute towards providing high quality forage by removing old, low-quality material and preventing forage maturation. Consuming a high diversity of plant species distributed across ecological gradients promotes phytochemical diversity in the diet, which functions as medicinal resources to promote health while combating disease and parasites. Large herbivores are becoming increasingly restricted by ecosystem fragmentation in their access to the full range of these functional resource classes. The negative consequences for large herbivore populations of reduced access to these resource classes is compounded by climate change, where conditions are hotter and drought frequency and intensity is expected to be higher.
... Across their extensive distributional range, which spans dense rainforests and open savannah habitats, African buffalo (Syncerus caffer; hereafter referred to as buffalo) predominantly feed on grasses (Poaceae) and sedges (Cyperaceae; Erena et al., 2019;Prins & Beekman, 1989;van der Hoek et al., 2013). The relative proportion of these families of monocotyledons in the buffalo diet varies across regions and even seasons (Tshabalala et al., 2009) but, overall, grasses seem to be consumed at higher quantities than sedges (Venter & Watson, 2008). Whether this is due to dietary preference or resource availability is still unclear (Sinclair & Gwynne, 1972). ...
... With these classifications of buffalo diet, which we compared with the availability of various plant families in representative buffalo habitat, we aimed to provide a first estimate of the relative consumption of various food items by buffalo along an elevation gradient in upper montane habitat (2500-3400 m). Given the preferences of buffalo elsewhere (Halley & Minagawa, 2005; van der Hoek et al., 2013;Venter & Watson, 2008), we hypothesised that buffalo in this region consume mainly grasses (Poaceae), followed by sedges (Cyperaceae), rushes (Juncaceae) and other species (in that order). We refrained from a priori predictions on the relative consumption of C 3 and C 4 plants overall, but note that buffalo mainly consume C 4 grasses at lower elevations (Halley & Minagawa, 2005) while the high elevations at our study site likely provide relatively high availability of C 3 plants (Tieszen et al., 1979;Young & Young, 1983). ...
... It was assumed that all of these plant species had an equal chance of being foraged (Tshabalala et al., 2009). For each plant species foraged by the common warthog, dietary contribution, and acceptability were determined (Wentzel et al., 1991;Venter and Watson, 2008;Muposhi et al., 2014). Acceptability of forage species was categorized as high (>0.5), ...
... The relative occurrences of microscopic fragments counted were analyzed by dividing the number of identified fragments of each plant to the total number of identified fragments of all plant species and multiplied by 100 (Sparks and Malechek, 1968;Mclntire and Carey, 1989). Seasonal dietary contribution was computed as the ratio of each forage species consumed by common warthog to the total number of all forage species (Venter and Watson, 2008). The ratio of the number of quadrats in which common warthog fed to the total number of quadrats in which a common warthog was recorded used to compute acceptability (Owen-Smith and Cooper, 1987; Muposhi et al., 2014). ...
To assess feeding ecology and diet preferences of common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, 1788), the study was conducted in Gassi Controlled Area (GCHA) and in Haro Aba Diko Controlled Hunting Area (HADCHA) from May 2017 to June 2018. Diet composition of common warthog was determined using feeding quadrat and microhistological methods. From the leaf cuticle fragments observed of feces, 41 and 45 plant species were recognized as annual dietary components of common warthog in GCHA and HADCHA, respectively. Uncertainty of epidermal fragments and fine digestion, led certain forage species consumed by warthogs to be unidentified. In Gassi Controlled Hunting Area, Cynodon nlemfuensis (75.5%), Cynodon dactylon (69%), and Cyperus fischerianus (47%) had the higher relative frequency occurrence (RFO) in the feces of the animal during the wet season. In Haro Aba Diko Controlled Hunting Area, C. nlemfuensis (76.5%), C. dactylon (73.5%) and H. rufa (57.5%) were the top three forage species with higher RFO in the feces of the warthog during the dry season. During the wet season in GCHA, C. fischerianus, D. abyssinica, C. dactylon, C. nlemfuensis, Hyparrhenia rufa, A. abyssinicus, Sesbania sesban and Diplolophium africanum were identified as the staple forage species of common warthogs. In HADCHA, C. fischerianus, D. abyssinica, C. dactylon, C. nlemfuensis, H. rufa, H. hirta, S. poiretiana, A. abyssinicus, and S. sesban were identified as the staple forage species of warthogs during the wet season. In GCHAC. dactylon, C. nlemfuensis and A. abyssinicus were the top three species which showed high acceptability during the wet and dry seasons. Hyparrhenia hirta, was high acceptability during the wet season which was less acceptability during the dry season but the difference was not significant. In HADCHA C. fischerianus, D. abyssinica, C. dactylon, and C. nlemfuensis, showed high acceptability during both seasons. Therefore, common warthogs foraged on wide range of food resources of graminoids, forbs, and shrubs in the study areas. Certain staple forage species were frequently preferred, because of their compatibility with the physiology of warthogs.
... Human infrastructures including fences, human settlements and agricultural areas also represent potential barriers to animal movement. For example, movement rates of buffalos living near fences appear to be low [317] and large migratory movements are limited by fences [146] when they are not damaged by elephants [6]. SRS can play a fundamental role to characterize the human factors (infrastructures, activities) into the buffalo and cattle movement processes. ...
Interfaces between protected areas and their peripheries in southern Africa are subject to interactions between wildlife and livestock that vary in frequency and intensity. In these areas, the juxtaposition between production and conservation land uses in a context of increasing anthropisation can create issues associated with human-wildlife coexistence and raises concerns for biodiversity conservation, local development and livelihoods. This literature review aimed at addressing the need to consolidate and gather in one article current knowledge on potential uses of satellite remote sensing (SRS) products by movement ecologists to investigate the sympatry of wildlife/domestic ungulates in savanna interface environments. A keyword querying process of peer reviewed scientific paper, thesis and books has been implemented to identify references that 1) characterize the main environmental drivers impacting buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) and cattle (Bos taurus & Bos indicus) movements in southern Africa environments, 2) describe the SRS contribution to discriminate and characterize these drivers. 327 references have been selected and analyzed. Surface water, precipitation, landcover and fire emerged as key drivers impacting the buffalo and cattle movements. These environmental drivers can be efficiently characterized by SRS, mainly through open-access SRS products and standard image processing methods. Applying SRS to better understand buffalo and cattle movements in semi-arid environments provides an operational framework that could be replicated in other type of interface where different wild and domestic species interact. There is, however, a need for animal movement ecologists to reinforce their knowledge of remote sensing and/or to increase pluridisciplinary collaborations.
... The following environmental variables were taken on each plot at each data collection period to measure forage quantity and quality: grass biomass using a disc pasture metre (Trollope and Potgieter 1986), for which the measurement value was used as a proxy for biomass; grass quality using 'vigorous grass cover' as a proxy (Venter and Watson 2008) estimated by the Walker eight-point scale (Walker 1976); and grass species were identified and a percentage cover within the plot estimated using Braun-Blanquet measure (Westhoff and Van Der Maarel 1978). Grass quality and percentage cover were estimated in a 1 m 2 grid, each of which was dropped at ten random points in the plot. ...
Large herbivores form an essential component in the ecosystem, because of the impact that they have on their surrounding habitat. In this study, we aimed to evaluate some of the mechanisms behind how herbivores select forage at a patch scale. Thirty-six experimental plots were established and fitted with camera traps in Kruger National Park to test forage selectivity by grazers. Plots were manipulated by clearing with a brush cutter and the application of fertiliser. We used generalised linear models to detect trends in probability of occurrence by seven grazing herbivore species using camera trap data. Our results showed that season was a major determinant of species distribution, especially those that are not obligate grazers or feed exclusively in the 0.5 km to 2 km zone from water. We found that most selective feeding occurred in the late wet season when water would be more evenly distributed across the landscape and forage resources close to water would have had the chance to recover from depletion, as a result of dry season use. This has implications for the distribution of artificial water points across the landscape, because areas of reserve forage must be maintained to alleviate grazing pressure close to water.
... Similar observations have been reported in other locations; e.g. in the Caprivi strip of Namibia buffaloes moved to the flood plain near the rivers and adjacent woodland in the dry season and moved away from rivers into areas with ephemeral water in distant woodland in the wet season [7]. However, in studies from the Doornkloof Nature Reserve in the Nama-Karoo in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, and Klaserie Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, buffaloes ranged farther and wider in the dry season than in the wet season in order to find adequate forage [4,29]. Similar observations were made in Kruger National Park, South Africa, where buffaloes ranged farther in dry years than in wet years [12]. ...
Background:
Assessing wildlife movements and habitat use is important for species conservation and management and can be informative for understanding population dynamics. The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population of Ruaha National Park, Tanzania has been declining, and little was known about the movement, habitat selection, and space use of the population, which is important for understanding possible reasons behind the decline. A total of 12 African buffalo cows from four different herds were collared with satellite transmitters. Movements were assessed over 2 years from 11 animals.
Results:
The space use of the individual collared buffaloes as an approximation of the 95% home range size estimated using Brownian bridge models, ranged from 73 to 601 km2. The estimated home ranges were larger in the wet season than in the dry season. With the exception of one buffalo all collared animals completed a wet season migration of varying distances. A consistent pattern of seasonal movement was observed with one herd, whereas the other herds did not behave the same way in the two wet seasons that they were tracked. Herd splitting and herd switching occurred on multiple occasions. Buffaloes strongly associated with habitats near the Great Ruaha River in the dry season and had little association to permanent water sources in the wet season. Daily movements averaged 4.6 km (standard deviation, SD = 2.6 km), with the longest distances traveled during November (mean 6.9 km, SD = 3.6 km) at the end of the dry season and beginning of the wet season. The shortest daily distances traveled occurred in the wet season in April-June (mean 3.6 km, SD = 1.6-1.8 km).
Conclusion:
The Great Ruaha River has experienced significant drying in the last decades due to water diversions upstream, which likely has reduced the suitable range for buffaloes. The loss of dry season habitat due to water scarcity has likely contributed to the population decline of the Ruaha buffaloes.
... The availability and quality of diet is insufficient for various groups of ungulates leading to the death of herbivores in savanna ecosystems (Sinclair 1977). Diet composition of savanna buffalo in savanna and savanna wooded habitats has been relatively well understood (Leuthold 1972, Sinclair 1977, Prins 1996, Venter and Watson 2008, Tshabalala et al. 2009). However, studies about diet composition of Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer Sparrman, 1779) in forested habitats are limited. ...
... Feeding quadrat method was chosen to determine the diet composition of African buffalo as suggested by various authors (Grobler 1983, Macandza et al. 2004, Venter and Watson 2008, Magome et al. 2008). The feeding quadrat method was supplemented by faecal analysis (Landman and Kerley 2001, Macandza et al. 2004, Paola et al. 2005 to examine forage species, which could be consumed out of areas covered by feeding quadrat survey. ...
... However, they were not safely approached because they usually fled to avoid danger. When fresh buffalo tracks were located, grasses and herbs were quantified using 1 × 1 m quadrats laid at feeding station (Bullock 2006) along the foraging path of African buffalo (Magome et al. 2008, Venter andWatson 2008). This was done for five effective days four times per year over a period of two years encompassing the wet and dry seasons. ...
This study investigated the diet composition of Cape buffalo in Jorgo-Wato Protected Forest. Diet composition was determined through feeding quadrat survey method. Grass as a mode of diet contributed 82.6%, whereas browse contributed 17.4% to the annual diet of Cape buffalo. Graminoids (Poaceae and Cyperaceae) formed the bulk of food available and eaten by Cape buffalo in both seasons (dry and wet season). However, the contributions of graminoids were higher in the dry season than the wet season, whereas the contribution of browse was high in the wet than the dry seasons. Panicum hochstetteri and Setaria poiretiana have the highest availability, acceptability and dietary contribution in the diet of Cape buffalo in Jorgo-Wato Protected Forest. Faecal nitrogen and phosphorus content analysis indicated mean nitrogen of 18.4±0.53g/kg in the wet and 17.7±0.71g/kg in the dry seasons. It also revealed mean faecal phosphorus content of 4.3±0.39g/kg in the wet and 3.9±0.36g/kg in the dry seasons. The mean faecal nitrogen and phosphorus content of Jorgo-Wato buffalo were above the minimum threshold level in both seasons. Though Cape buffalo inhabit pure forested habitat, they found replacement in the forest to find adequate shade tolerant grass species that produce sprouts and green foliage throughout the year. Faecal nitrogen and phosphorus analysis also revealed that forest inhabited Cape buffalo obtain more quality diet than those dwelling in open savanna habitats especially in the dry season where forages dieback over the course of the dry season. Despite the pure forested habitats of Jorgo-Wato Protected Forest, Cape buffalo has confirmed that they remain grazers even in forested habitats of limited grass diversity.
... Based on their characteristic grazing-type digestive system (Hofmann 1989 et al. 2009;93.1% -Watermeyer et al. 2015) and support all previous work on their food resources (e.g. Cerling et al. 2003;Codron et al. 2007;Jarman 1971;Lamprey 1963;Perrin & Brereton-Stiles 1999;Prins 1996;Sinclair 1977), including that from other grass-limited habitats (Venter & Watson 2008) considered marginal to buffalo (i.e. Nama-Karoo, Boshoff, Landman & Kerley 2016). ...
... Although the diet might include browse in varying quantity between seasons, depending on the availability and quality of grass, browse species are seldom dominant foods and many are probably incidentally utilised as parts of larger mouthfuls. Thus, with the exception of the findings of De Graaff et al. (1973), there is no empirical evidence to support the notion that buffalo switch their diet to browse when grass availability is low (Cerling et al. 2003;Codron et al. 2007;Jarman 1971;Lamprey 1963;Perrin & Brereton-Stiles 1999;Prins 1996;Sinclair 1977;Venter & Watson 2008). Instead, De Graaff's work generated confusion in our understanding of buffalo foraging in thicket through poor experimental design. ...
Despite extensive evidence that African buffalo Syncerus caffer are grazers, De Graaff et al. using rumen content analysis of animals that had starved to death proposed that buffalo in grass-limited Eastern Cape thicket should be considered browsers. Although these anomalous findings were initially accepted, but later challenged, the browse-dominated diet continues to be used as a foundation for hypotheses on the diet of healthy animals. Consequently, the debate around buffalo as browsers or grazers in thicket has not yet been settled. We describe the diet of buffalo in the Addo Elephant National Park and include data from other published work from the region to test the importance of grass in buffalo diet. We show that the diet is dominated by grasses, even in grass-limited thicket, and that browse species are seldom dominant foods. Thus, there is no empirical evidence to corroborate the notion that buffalo switch their diet to browse when grass availability is low. In an attempt to advance our understanding of buffalo foraging in thicket, we reiterate that De Graaff’s work is not a valid measure of buffalo diet in succulent thicket and that additional testing of the browser–grazer hypothesis is not needed.
Conservation implications: Our results confirm that buffalo are grazers, rather than browsers, in grass-limited Eastern Cape thicket. Thus, additional testing of the browser–grazer hypothesis for buffalo in the region is not needed.
... wet-and dry season ranges (Macandza et al. 2012;Ryan 2006;Ryan, Knechtel & Getz 2006;Venter & Watson 2008). Many studies, however, were conducted in small reserves (Landman & Kerley 2001;Ryan et al. 2006;Tshabalala, Dube & Lent 2009) where opportunity for large seasonal movements are limited or in larger reserves where functional heterogeneity of resources may be well developed at the landscape (catena) scale (Bell 1970;Macandza et al. 2012;Perrin & Brereton-Stiles 1999;Sinclair 1979), thereby reducing the need for large seasonal movements (Hopcraft, Olff & Sinclair 2010). ...
This study aimed to establish seasonal movement and habitat selection patterns of African buffalo Syncerus caffer in relation to a detailed habitat map and according to seasonal changes in forage quality and quantity in the Savuti–Mababe–Linyanti ecosystem (Botswana). Two buffalo were collared in November 2011 and another in October 2012. All three buffalo had greater activities in the mopane–sandveld woodland mosaic during the wet season, which provided high-quality leafy grasses and ephemeral water for drinking, but moved to permanent water and reliable forage of various wetlands (swamps and floodplains) and riverine woodlands during the dry season. Wetlands had higher grass greenness, height and biomass than woodlands during the dry season. Buffalo had similar wet season concentration areas in the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 wet seasons and similar dry season concentration areas over the 2012 and 2013 dry seasons. However, their dry season location of collaring in 2011 differed dramatically from their 2012 and 2013 dry season concentration areas, possibly because of the exceptionally high flood levels in 2011, which reduced accessibility to their usual dry season concentration areas. The study demonstrates that extremely large and heterogeneous landscapes are needed to conserve buffalo in sandy, dystrophic ecosystems with variable rainfall.
Conservation implications: This study emphasises the importance of large spatial scale available for movement, which enables adaptation to changing conditions between years and seasons.
... This might help them to get dispersed forage in all available habitats including those of marginal areas. These strategies of buffalo may alleviate malnutrition problems during the dry season, as many of the large herbivore populations in the tropics (Venter & Watson, 2008;Bercovitch & Berry, 2010). Adult male buffalo leave the herd and form their groups during the dry season. ...
An investigation into the population status and distribution of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) in Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia, was carried out during the wet and dry seasons of 2012-2015. This study tested the hypothesis that buffalo would demonstrate seasonal habitat preferences and changes in population density. Sample counts were carried out in an area of 1215 km². The estimated buffalo population was 5193 individuals, with the population density of 4.3/km². The population showed an increase from 2617 to 5194 individuals during 2006-2015. Males comprised 42.6%, while females 46.7% of the population. Age structure was dominated by adults, which constituted 52.5% of the total population. Subadults comprised 24.3% and young 12.4% of the population. Larger herds of up to 30 individuals were observed during the wet season, and smaller herds of a minimum of four individuals were seen during the dry season. The mean herd sizes during the wet and dry seasons were 29.59 and 16.95, respectively. They were observed more in the riverine vegetation types during the dry season. Of the total, 57.6% utilized riverine habitat during the dry season, whereas 39.8% used this habitat during the wet season. Relative abundance of food sources, green vegetation cover and availability of water were the major factors governing their distribution in the present study area. 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
