Analyzing herbivore movements in relation to resource availability in the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti Ecosystem (SMLE) in northern Botswana

Abstract

The size and stability of large herbivore populations is dependent upon the ability to adapt to strong inter-annual and inter-seasonal variation in forage quantity and quality, while minimizing the risk of predation. Thus, understanding seasonal variations in habitat suitability in relation to a species' requirements at different stages in its reproductional cycle is essential to develop strategies for large, trans-national conservation areas and to mitigate conflicts between conservation and human land use. The Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti region has been selected as an area to study seasonal resource utilization by buffalo. GPS collars were deployed to3 buffalo herds between 2011 and 2013 and allowed to track animal movements with ~ 6occurrence points per day. Based on these, an interpretation of field- and laboratory analysis of the movement of buffalo in relation to forage quality and quantity was conducted. Buffalo, moved into thicker woodland habitats where taller leafy grasses were common during the wet season which varied in forage quality and quantity. Buffalo herds used woodlands where visibility was low probably because they can defend themselves against their predators. Both species relied on ephemeral water in the pans during the wet season. When pans dried out during the dry season, buffalo moved to their dry season ranges around permanent water. During the early dry season, the buffalo used a range of woodland habitats and floodplain grasslands around the Selinda Spillway, Linyanti Swamps and Savuti Marsh.