Shrub encroachment affects mammalian carnivore abundance and species richness in semiarid rangelands

Acta Oecologica

Volumn 31, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 86-92

  Blaum, Niels ^a   Rossmanith, Eva ^a   Popp, Alexander ^a   Jeltsch, Florian ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF POTSDAM   (Germany)

Author keywords

Mammalian carnivores; Rangeland degradation; Shrub encroachment; Southern Kalahari; Species richness

Indexed keywords

ABUNDANCE; BIOLOGICAL INVASION; BIOMONITORING; CARNIVORE; HABITAT FRAGMENTATION; MAMMAL; NATIVE SPECIES; RANGELAND; SAVANNA; SEMIARID REGION; SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS; SHRUB; SPECIES RICHNESS;

AFRICA; KALAHARI DESERT; SOUTHERN AFRICA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA;

CANIS MESOMELAS; CARNIVORA; CYNICTIS PENICILLATA; FELIS SILVESTRIS; GALERELLA SANGUINEA; GENETTA GENETTA; ICTONYX STRIATUS; MAMMALIA; OTOCYON MEGALOTIS; VULPES CHAMA;

EID: 33847306913     PISSN: 1146609X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2006.10.004     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Archer S., Schimel D.S., and Holland E.A. Mechanisms of shrubland expansion - land use, Climate or Co-2. Climatic Change 29 (1995) 91-99
2. Avenant N.L., and Nel J.A.J. Comparison of the diet of the yellow mogoose in a costal and a Karoo area. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 22 (1992) 89-93
3. Blaum, N., 2004. Anthropogenic land use in southern Kalahari rangelands: a loss of small carnivore diversity? Ph.D. dissertation, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
4. Blaum, N., Rossmanith, E., Fleissner, G., Jeltsch, F. The conflicting importance of shrubby landscape structures for the reproductive success of the yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata). Journal of Mammalogy 88, in press-a.
5. Blaum, N., Rossmantih, E., Jeltsch, F. Land use affects rodent communities in Kalahari savannah rangelands. African Journal of Ecology, in press-b. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2006.00696.x.
6. Bolger D.T., Suarez A.V., Crooks K.R., Morrison S.A., and Case T.J. Arthropods in urban habitat fragments in southern California, Area, age, and edge effects. Ecological Applications 10 (2000) 1230-1248
7. Bowland A.E., and Perrin M.R. The effect of overgrazing on the small mammals in Umfolozi Game Reserve. Journal of Mammalian Biology 54 (1989) 251-260
8. Cabral A.C., De Miguel J.M., Rescia A.J., Schmitz M.F., and Pineda F.D. Shrub encroachment in Argentinean savannas. Journal of Vegetation Science 14 (2003) 145-152
9. Cingolani A.M., Noy-Meir I., and Diaz S. Grazing effects on rangeland diversity, a synthesis of contemporary models. Ecological Applications 15 (2005) 757-773
10. Clutton-Brock T.H., Maccoll A., Chadwick P., Gaynor D., Kansky R., and Skinner J.D. Reproduction and survival of suricates, (Suricata suricatta) in the southern Kalahari. African Journal of Ecology 37 (1999) 69-80
11. Conner M.C., Labisky R.F., and Progulske D.R. Scent-station indices as measures of population abundance for bobcats, raccoons, gray foxes, and oppossums. Wildlife Society Bulletin 11 (1983) 146-152
12. Crooks K.R. Relative sensitivities of mammalian carnivores to habitat fragmentation. Conservation Biology 16 (2002) 488-502
13. Crooks K.R., and Soule M.E. Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature 400 (1999) 563-566
14. Dean W.R.J., and Macdonald I.A.W. Historical changes in stocking rates of domestic livestock as a measure of semi-arid and arid rangeland degradation in the Cape Province, South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 26 (1994) 281-298
15. Dean W.R.J., Milton S.J., and Jeltsch F. Large trees, fertile islands, and birds in an arid savanna. Journal of Arid Environments 41 (1999) 61-78
16. Doolan S.P., and MacDonald D.W. Diet and foraging behavior of group-living meerkats, Suricata suricatta, in the southern Kalahari. Journal of Zoology, London 239 (1996) 697-716
17. Earlé R.A. Aspects of the social and feeding behavior of the yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata, G. Cuvier. Mammalia 45 (1981) 143-152
18. Eccard J.A., Meyer J., and Sundell J. Space use, circadian activity pattern, and mating system of the nocturnal tree rat Thallomys nigricauda. Journal of Mammalogy 85 (2004) 440-445
19. Engeman R.M. Indexing principles and a widely applicable paradigm for indexing animal populations. Wildlife Research 32 (2005) 203-210
20. Ernest S.K.M., Brown J.H., and Parmenter R. Rodents, plants and precipitation, spatial and temporal dynamics of consumers and resources. Oikos 88 (2000) 470-482
21. Gutiérrez J.R., Meserve P.L., Herrera S., Contreras L.C., and Jaksic F.M. Effects of small mammals and vertebrate predators on vegetation in the Chilean semiarid zone. Oecologia 109 (1997) 398-406
22. Hayward B., Heske E.J., and Painter C.W. Effects of livestock grazing on small mammals at a desert cienaga. Journal of Wildlife Management 61 (1997) 123-129
23. IPCC. Climate Change 2001. The scientific basis. In: Houghton J.P., Ding Y., Noguer M., van der Linden P.J., Dai X., Maskell K., and Johnson C.A. (Eds). Contribution of the Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York 2001 (2001), IPCC, Cambridge
24. Jeltsch F., Milton S.J., Dean W.R.J., and Van Rooyen N. Analysing shrub encroachment in the southern Kalahari, a grid-based modelling approach. Journal of Applied Ecology 34 (1997) 1497-1508
25. Leistner O.A. The plant ecology of the southern Kalahari. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 38 (1967) 1-171
26. Meik J.M., Jeo R.M., Mendelson J.R., and Jenks K.E. Effects of bush encroachment on an assemblage of diurnal lizard species in central Namibia. Biological Conservation 106 (2002) 29-36
27. Milton S.J., and Dean W.R.J. South Africa's arid and semiarid rangelands, why are they changing and can they be restored?. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 37 (1995) 245-264
28. Moleele N.M., and Perkins J.S. Encroaching woody plant species and boreholes, is cattle density the main driving factor in the Olifants Drift communal grazing lands, south-eastern Botswana?. Journal of Arid Environments 40 (1998) 245-253
29. Norrdahl K., Klemola T., Korpimäki E., and Koivula M. Strong seasonality may attenuate trophic cascades, vertebrate predator exclusion in boreal grassland. Oikos 99 (2002) 419-430
30. Parmenter R.R., and Macmahon J.A. Factors determining the abundance and distribution of rodents in a shrub-steppe ecosystem - the role of shrubs. Oecologia 59 (1983) 145-156
31. Price M.V. Role of microhabitat in structuring desert rodent communities. Ecology 59 (1978) 910-921
32. Rasa O.A.E., Wenhold B.A., Howard P., Marais A., and Pallett J. Reproduction in the yellow mongoose revisited. South African Journal of Zoology 27 (1992) 192-195
33. Rosenzweig M.L., and Winakur J. Population ecology of desert rodent communities - habitats and environmental complexity. Ecology 50 (1969) 558-572
34. Rowe-Rowe D.T. Comparative prey capture and food studies of South African mustilines. Mammalia 42 (1978) 175-196
35. Sankaran M., Hanan N.P., Scholes R.J., Ratnam J., Augustine D.J., Cade B.S., Gignoux J., Higgings S.I., Le Roux X., Ludwig F., Ardo J., Banyikwa F., Bronn A., Bucini G., Caylor K.K., Coughenour M.B., Diouf A., Ekaya W., Feral C.J., February E.C., Frost P.G.H., Hiernaux P., Hrabar H., Metzger K.L., Prins H.H.T., Ringrose S., Sea W., Tews J., Worden J., and Zambatis N. Determinants of woody cover in African savannas. Nature 438 (2005) 846-849
36. Scholes R.J., and Walker B.H. An African Savanna, Synthesis of the Nylsvley Study (1993), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
37. Seymour C.L., and Dean W.R.J. Effects of heavy grazing on invertebrate assemblages in the Succulent Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Arid Environment 43 (1999) 267-286
38. Sinclair A.R.E., Mduma S., and Brashares J.S. Patterns of predation in a diverse predator-prey system. Nature 425 (2003) 288-290
39. Skarpe C. Spatial patterns and dynamics of woody vegetation in an arid Savanna. Journal of Vegetation Science 2 (1991) 565-572
40. Skinner J.D., and Chimimba C. The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion (2005), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
41. Soule M.E., and Terborgh J. Continental Conservation, Scientific Foundations of Regional Reserve Networks (1999), Island Press, Washington, DC
42. Tews J., Blaum N., and Jeltsch F. Structural and animal species diversity in arid and semi-arid savannas of the southern Kalahari. Annals of Arid Zone 43 (2004) 413-425
43. Tews J., Milton S.J., Esther A., and Jeltsch F. Linking a population model with a landscape model: assessing the impact of land use and climate change on savanna shrub cover dynamics. Ecological Modeling 195 (2006) 219-228
44. Thompson S.D. Structure and species composition of desert heteromyid rodents species assemblages, effects of a simple habitat manipulation. Ecology 63 (1982) 1313-1321
45. Van Rooyen N., Bezuidenhout D., Theron G.K., and Bothma J.D.P. Monitoring of the vegetation around artificial water points, windmills, in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Koedoe 33 (1990) 63-87
46. Weltzin J.F., Loik M.E., Schwinning S., Williams D.G., Fay P.A., Haddad B.M., Harte J., Huxman T.E., Knapp A.K., Lin G.H., Pockman W.T., Shaw M.R., Small E.E., Smith M.D., Smith S.D., Tissue D.T., and Zak J.C. Assessing the response of terrestrial ecosystems to potential changes in precipitation. Bioscience 53 (2003) 941-952
47. Whitford W.G. Ecology of Desert Systems (2002), Elsevier, Science Ltd., Bodmin
48. Wilson G.J., and Delahay R.J. A review of methods to estimate the abundance of terrestrial carnivores using field signs and observation. Wildlife Research 28 (2001) 151-164
49. Woodroffe R., and Ginsberg J.R. Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas. Science 280 (1998) 2126-2128
50. Zar J.H. Biostatistical Analysis. fourth edn. (1998), Prentice-Hall, Inc, Upper Saddle River, NJ