Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) diets in Kruger National Park, South Africa: Spatial and landscape differences

Journal of Mammalogy

Volumn 87, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 27-34

  Codron, Jacqui ^a   Lee Thorp, Julia A ^a,b   Sponheimer, Matt ^a,c   Codron, Daryl ^a   Grant, Rina C ^d   De Ruiter, Darryl J ^e  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN   (South Africa)

^b UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO   (United States)

^d KRUGER NATIONAL PARK   (South Africa)

^e TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Carbon isotopes; Elephants; Feces; Nitrogen

Indexed keywords

CARBON ISOTOPE; DIET; ELEPHANT; FECES; FOOD AVAILABILITY;

AFRICA; KRUGER NATIONAL PARK; SOUTH AFRICA; SOUTHERN AFRICA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA;

AEPYCEROS MELAMPUS; COLOPHOSPERMUM MOPANE; ELEPHANTIDAE; LOXODONTA; LOXODONTA AFRICANA;

EID: 33644588439     PISSN: 00222372     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1644/05-MAMM-A-017R1.1     Document Type: Article

References (53)

1. ACOCKS, J. P. H. 1988. Veld types of South Africa. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa no. 57. 3rd ed. Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
2. BARNES, R. F. W. 1982. Elephant feeding behaviour in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 20:123-136.
3. BEN-SHAHAR, R. 1998. Changes in structure of savanna woodlands in northern Botswana following the impacts of elephants and fire. Plant Ecology 136:189-194.
4. BOWLAND, J. M., AND R. I. YEATON. 1997. Impact of domesticated African elephants Loxodonta africana on Natal bushveld. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 27:31-36.
5. CERLING, T. E., AND J. M. HARRIS. 1999. Carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bioapatite in ungulate mammals and implications for ecological and paleoecological studies. Oecologia 120:347-363.
6. CERLING, T. E., J. M. HARRIS, AND M. G. LEAKEY. 1999. Browsing and grazing in elephants: the isotope record of modern and fossil proboscideans. Oecologia 120:364-374.
7. CERLING, T. E., ET AL. 2004. An orphan's tale: seasonal dietary changes in elephants from Tsavo National Park, Kenya. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 206:367-376.
8. CODRON, D., ET AL. 2005a. Assessing diet in savanna herbivores using stable carbon isotope ratios of feces. Koedoe 48:115-124.
9. CODRON, J., ET AL. 2005b. Taxonomic, anatomical, and spatio-temporal variations in the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of plants from an African savanna. Journal of Archaeological Science 32:1757-1772.
10. COOPER, S. M., AND N. OWEN-SMITH. 1985. Condensed tannins deter feeding by browsing ruminants in a South African savanna. Oecologia 67:142-146.
11. CUMMING, D. H. M., ET AL. 1997. Elephants, woodlands and biodiversity in southern Africa. South African Journal of Science 93:231-236.
12. DUBLIN, H. T. 1995. Vegetation dynamics in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem: the role of elephants, fire, and other factors. Pp. 71-90 in Serengeti II: dynamics, management, and conservation of an ecosystem (A. R. E. Sinclair and P. Arcese, eds.). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
13. ELLERY, W. N., R. J. SCHOLES, AND M. C. SCHOLES. 1995. The distribution of sweetveld and sourveld in South Africa's grassland biome in relation to environmental factors. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 12:38-45.
14. FIELD, C. R., AND I. C. ROSS. 1976. The savanna ecology of Kidepo Valley National Park, II. Feeding ecology of elephant and giraffe. East African Wildlife Journal 14:1-15.
15. FREELAND, W. J., P. H. CALCOTT, AND L. R. ANDERSON. 1985. Tannins and saponin: interaction in herbivore diets. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 13:189-193.
16. GERTENBACH, W. P. D. 1980. Rainfall patterns in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 23:35-44.
17. GERTENBACH, W. P. D. 1983. Landscapes of the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 26:9-122.
18. GORDON, I. J., AND A. W. ILLIUS. 1996. The nutritional ecology of African ruminants: a reinterpretation. Journal of Animal Ecology 65:18-28.
19. GREYLING, M. D. 2004. Sex and age related feeding distinctions in the feeding ecology of the African elephant, Loxodonta africana. Ph.D. dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
20. GUY, P. R. 1976. The feeding behaviour of elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the Sengwa area, Rhodesia. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 6:55-63.
21. HOLECHECK, J. L., M. VAVRE, AND R. D. PIEPER. 1982. Methods for determining the nutritive quality of range ruminant diets: a review. Journal of Animal Science 54:363-376.
22. JACHMANN, H., AND R. H. V. BELL. 1985. Utilization by elephants of the Brachystegia woodlands of the Kasungu National Park, Malawi. African Journal of Ecology 23:245-258.
23. KENNEDY, A. D. 2000. Wildfire reduces elephant herbivory on Colophospermum mopane (Fabaceae). African Journal of Ecology 38:175-177.
24. KOCH, P. L., J. HEISINGER, C. MOSS, R. W. CARLSON, M. L. FOGEL, AND A. K. BEHRENSMEYER. 1995. Isotopic tracking of change in diet and habitat use in African elephants. Science 267:1340-1343.
25. LESLIE, D. M., JR., AND E. E. STARKEY. 1985. Fecal indices to dietary quality of cervids in old-growth forests. Journal of Wildlife Management 49:142-146.
26. NORTON-GRIFFITHS, M. 1979. The influence of grazing, browsing, and fire on the vegetation dynamics of the Serengeti. Pp. 310-352 in Serengeti: dynamics of an ecosystem (A. R. E. Sinclair and M. Norton-Griffiths, eds). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
27. OWEN-SMITH, R. N. 1988. Megaherbivores - the influence of very large body size on ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
28. ROBBINS, C. T., ET AL. 1987. Role of tannins in defending plants against ruminants: Reduction in protein availability. Ecology 68: 98-107.
29. ROBBINS, C. T., D. E. SPALINGER, AND W. VAN HOVEN. 1995. Adaptation of ruminants to browse and grass diets: are anatomical-based browser-grazer interpretations valid? Oecologia 103:208-213.
30. SCHOLES, R. J., W. J. BOND, AND H. C. ECKHARDT. 2003. Vegetation dynamics in the Kruger ecosystem. Pp. 242-262 in The Kruger experience (J. DuToit, K. Rogers, and H. Biggs, eds.). Island Press, Washington, D.C.
31. SEYDACK, A. H. W., C. VERMEULEN, AND J. HUISAMEN. 2000. Habitat quality and the decline of an African elephant population: implications for conservation. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 30:34-42.
32. SHORT, J. 1981. Diet and feeding behaviour of the forest elephant. Mammalia 45:177-185.
33. SKINNER, J. D., AND R. H. N. SMITHERS. 1990. The mammals of the southern African subregion. 2nd ed. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
34. SMALLIE, J. J., AND T. G. O'CONNOR. 2000. Elephant utilization of Colophospermum mopane: possible benefits of hedging. African Journal of Ecology 38:352-359.
35. 12C ratios for higher plants. Plant Physiology 47:380-384.
36. SPONHEIMER, M., C. C. GRANT, D. DE RUITER, J. LEE-THORP, D. CODRON, AND J. CODRON. 2003a. Diets of impala from Kruger National Park: evidence from stable carbon isotopes. Koedoe 46:101-106.
37. SPONHEIMER, M., ET AL. 2003b. An experimental study of carbon-isotope fractionation between diet, hair, and feces of mammalian herbivores. Canadian Journal of Zoology 81:871-876.
38. STYLES, C. V., AND J. D. SKINNER. 2000. The influence of large mammalian herbivores on growth form and utilization of mopane trees, Colophospermum mopane, in Botswana's Northern Tuli Game Reserve. African Journal of Ecology 38:95-101.
39. TAINTON, N. M. 1999. The ecology of the main grazing lands of South Africa: the savanna biome. Pp. 23-36 in Veld management in South Africa (N. M. Tainton, ed.). University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
40. TANGLEY, L. 1997. In search of Africa's forgotten forest elephant. Science 275:1417-1419.
41. TIESZEN, L. L., T. W. BOUTTON, W. K. OTTICHILO, D. E. NELSON, AND D. H. BRANDT. 1989. An assessment of long-term food habits of Tsavo elephants based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen. African Journal of Ecology 27:219-226.
42. 13C values to determine vegetation selectivity in east African herbivores. Oecologia 37:351-359.
43. VAN DER MERWE, N. J., J. A. LEE-THORP, AND R. H. V. BELL. 1988. Carbon isotopes as indicators of elephant diets and African environments. African Journal of Ecology 26:163-172.
44. VENTER, F. J., AND W. P. D. GERTENBACH. 1986. A cursory review of the climate and vegetation of the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 29:139-148.
45. VENTER, F. J., R. J. SCHOLES, AND H. C. ECKHARDT. 2003. The abiotic template and its associated vegetation pattern. Pp. 83-129 in The Kruger experience (J. DuToit, K. Rogers, and H. Biggs, eds.). Island Press, Washington, D.C.
46. VILJOEN, P. J. 1989. Habitat selection and preferred food plants of a desert-dwelling elephant population in the northern Namib Desert, South West Africa/Namibia. African Journal of Ecology 27:227-240.
47. VOGEL, J. C. 1978. Isotopic assessment of the dietary habits of ungulates. South African Journal of Science 74:298-301.
48. VOGEL, J. C., A. FULS, AND R. P. ELLIS. 1978. The geographical distribution of Kranz grasses in South Africa. South African Journal of Science 74:209-215.
49. VOGEL, J. C., A. S. TALMA, A. J. HALL-MARTIN, AND P. J. VILJOEN. 1990. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes in elephants. South African Journal of Science 86:147-150.
50. WHYTE, I. J. 2001. Conservation management of the Kruger National Park elephant population. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
51. WILLIAMSON, B. R. 1975. The condition and nutrition of elephant in Wankie National Park. Arnoldia Rhodesia 7:1-20.
52. WING, L. D., AND I. O. BUSS. 1970. Elephants and forest. Wildlife Monographs 19:1-92.
53. WRENCH, J. M., H. H. MEISSNER, C. C. GRANT, AND N. H. CASEY. 1996. Environmental factors that affect the concentration of P and N in fecal samples collected for the determination of nutritional status. Koedoe 39:1-6.