Impacts of traditional land uses on biodiversity outside conservation areas: Effects on dung beetle communities of Vaalbos National Park

African Journal of Ecology

Volumn 48, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 490-501

  Simelane, Thokozani S ^a,b  

^a SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS   (South Africa)

^b NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Biodiversity; Dung beetles; Grazing; Land use

Indexed keywords

ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECT; BEETLE; BIODIVERSITY; BIOINDICATOR; DOMESTIC SPECIES; FUNCTIONAL GROUP; GRAZING; HABITAT CONSERVATION; LAND USE; NATIONAL PARK; UNGULATE;

NORTHERN CAPE; SOUTH AFRICA; VAALBOS NATIONAL PARK;

ANIMALIA; COLEOPTERA; UNGULATA;

EID: 77953708160     PISSN: 01416707     EISSN: 13652028     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2009.01138.x     Document Type: Article

References (128)

1. Albon SD, Brewer MJ, O'brien S, Nolah AJ, Cope D. Quantifying the grazing impacts associated with different herbivores on rangelands. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:1176-1187.
2. Alley TR. Competition theory, evolution and the concept of an ecological niche. Acta Biotheor. 1982, 31:165-176.
3. Allison G. The influence of species diversity and stress intensity on community resistance and resilience. Ecol. Monogr. 2004, 74(1):117-134.
4. Ali R. The effect of introduced herbivores on vegetation in the Andaman Islands. Curr. Sci. 2004, 86(8):1103-1112.
5. Anderson GD, Walker BH. Vegetation composition and elephant damage in the Sengwa wildlife research area, Rhodesia. J. South Afr. Wildl. Manage. Assoc. 1974, 4:1-14.
6. Anderson AN, Hoffman BJ, Müller WJ, Griffiths AD. Using ants as bio-indicators in land management: simplifying the assessment of ant community responses. J Appl. Ecol. 2002, 39:8-17.
7. Aucamp AJ. The role of the browser in the bushveld of the Eastern Cape. Proc. Grassl. Soc. S. Afr. 1976, 11:135-138.
8. Araujo MB, Cabeza M, Thuiller W, Hannah L, Williams PH. Would climate change drive species out of reserves? An assessment of existing reserve-selection methods. Global Change Biol. 2004, 10:1618-1626.
9. Baker JP, Bunyarejchewin S, Oliver CP, Ashton PS. Disturbance history and historical stand dynamics of seasonal tropical forest in western disturbance history and historical stands dynamics of seasonal tropical forest in western Thailand. Ecol. Monogr. 2005, 75(3):317-343.
10. Barnes RFW. Effects of elephant browsing on woodlands in a Tanzanian national park: measurements, models and management. J. Appl. Ecol. 1983, 20:521-540.
11. Baskin Y. Ecosystem function and biodiversity. BioScience 1994, 44:657-660.
12. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals 1996, Beillie JGroombridge B. Eds, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
13. Ben-Shahar R. Woodland dynamics under the influence of elephants and fire in northern Botswana. Vegetation 1996, 123:153-163.
14. Ben-Shahar R. Changes in structure of savanna woodlands in northern Botswana following the impacts of elephant and fire. Plant Ecol. 1998, 136:189-194.
15. Beinart W. The politics of colonial conservation. J. S. Afr. Stud. 1989, 15:145-161.
16. Bernard E, Fenton MB. Species diversity of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in forest fragments, primary forest and savannas in central Amazonia, Brazil. Can. J. Zool. 2002, 80:1124-1140.
17. Birkett A. The impact of giraffe, rhino and elephant on the habitat of a black rhino sanctuary in Kenya. Afr. J. Ecol. 2002, 40:276-282.
18. Bilyeu D, Cooper DJ, Hobbs T. Assessing impacts of large herbivores on shrubs: tests of scaling for utilisation rates from shoot-level measurements. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:168-175.
19. Bond WJ, Loffell D. Introduction of giraffe changes acacia distribution in a South African savanna. Afr. J. Ecol. 2001, 39:286-295.
20. Boshoff AF, Kerley GIH, Cowling RM. Estimated spatial requirements of medium to large mammals, according to broad habitat units, in the Cape Floristic Region. Afr. J. Range Forage Sci. 2002, 19:29-44.
21. Brown M, Wyckoff-Baird B. Designing integrated conservation and development projects 1995, Biodiversity support programme (WWF), Washington DC
22. Brown JH, Ernest SKM, Parody JM, Haskell JP. Regulation of diversity: maintenance of species richness in changing environment. Oecologia 2001, 126:321-332.
23. Brys R, Jacquemyn H, Endels P, de Blust G, Hermy M. The effects of grassland management on plant performance and demography in perennial herb Prinula. J. Appl. Ecol. 2001, 41:1080-1091.
24. Buckland SM, Thompson K, Hodgson JG, Grime JP. Grassland invasions effects of manipulations of climate and management. J. Appl. Ecol. 2001, 38:301-309.
25. Buttolph LP, Coppock DL. Influence of deferred grazing on vegetation dynamics and livestock productivity in an Andean pastoral system. J. Appl. Ecol. 2004, 41:664-674.
26. Cambefort Y. Body size, abundance and geographical distribution of apotropical dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Acta Oecol. 1994, 15:165-179.
27. Carruthers J. Creating a National Park, 1910 to 1926. J. S. Afr. Stud. 1989, 15:188-216.
28. Caro TM, O'Doherty G. On the use of surrogate species in conservation biology. Conserv. Biol. 1999, 13:805-814.
29. Caro TM. Species richness and abundance of small mammal inside and outside and African national Park. Biol. Conserv. 2001, 98:251-257.
30. Cebrian J, Lartigue J. Patterns of herbivory and decomposition in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Ecol. Monogr. 2004, 74(2):237-259.
31. Chapin FS, Schulze ED, Mooney HA. Biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Ecol. Evo. 1992, 7:107-108.
32. Chapin FS, Sala OE, Burke IR. Ecosystem consequence of changing biodiversity. BioScience 1998, 48:45-55.
33. Chew RM. Consumers as regulators of ecosystems: an alternative to energetics. Ohio J. Sci. 1974, 74(6):359-370.
34. Collingham YC, Huntley B. Impacts of habitat fragmentation and path size upon migration rates. Ecol. Appl. 2000, 10:131-144.
35. Cousins SH. Species diversity measurement: choosing the right index. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1991, 6:190-192.
36. Cowling RM, Gibbs-Russel GE, Hofman MT, Hilton-Taylor C. Patterns of plant diversity in southern Africa. Biotic Diversity in Southern Africa: Concepts and Conservation 1989, Huntley BJ, In, Ed, Oxford University Press, Cape Town
37. Cowling RM, Mustart PJ, Laurie H, Richards MB. Species diversity; functional diversity and functional redundancy in fynbos communities. S. Afr. J. Arid Enviro. 1994, 90:333-337.
38. Cowling RM, Hilton-Taylor C. Patterns of plant diversity and endemism in South Africa: an overview. Botanical Diversity in Southern Africa. Strelitzia 1994, 1:31-52. Huntley BJ, In, Ed, National Botanical Institute, Pretoria
39. Cowling RM, Kerley GIH. Impacts of elephants on the flora and vegetation of subtropical thicket in the Eastern Cape. Elephant Conservation and Management in the Eastern Cape: Terrestrial Ecology Research Unit Report 2002, 35. Kerley GIH, Wilson SLMassey A. In, Eds, University of Port Elizabeth
40. Cricotta RP, Wiskewski J, Engleman R. Human population in biodiversity hotspots. Nature 2000, 404:990-992.
41. Danks HV. How to Assess Insect Biodiversity Without Wasting Your Time 1996, 1-32. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods) Document Series
42. Davies G. Bushmeat and International Development. Conserv. Biol. 2002, 16(3):587-589.
43. Davis ALV, Dewhurst CF. Climate and biogeographic associations of Kenyan and northern Tanzanian dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Afr. J. Ecol. 1993, 31:290-305.
44. Davis ALV. Community organization in a South African winter rainfall dung beetle assemblage (Cleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Acta Oecol. 1994, 15:727-738.
45. Davis ALV. Daily weather variation and temporal dynamics in an afrotropical dung beetle community (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Acta Oecol. 1995, 16:641-656.
46. Davis ALV. Climate and biogeographical associates of southern African dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Afr. J. Ecol. 1997, 35:10-38.
47. Davis AJ. Does reduced impact logging help preserve biodiversity in tropical rainforests? A case study from Borneo using dung beetles as indicators. Environ. Entomol. 2000, 29(3):467-475.
48. Davis AJ, Holloway JD, Huijbregts H, Kirk-Spriggs AH, Sutton SL. Dung beetles as indicators of change in the forests of northern Borneo. J. Appl. Ecol. 2001a, 38:593-161.
49. Davis AJ, Holloway JD, Huijbregts H, Krikken J, Kirk-Spriggs AH, Sutton SL. Dung beetles as indicators of change in the forests of northern Borneo. J. Appl. Ecol. 2001b, 38:593-616.
50. Davis ALV. Dung beetle diversity in South Africa: influential factors, conservation status, data inadequacies and survey design. Afr. Entomol. 2002, 10(1):53-65.
51. Davis ALV, van Aarde JR, Scholtz CH, Delport JH. Increasing representation of localised dung beetles across a chronosequence of regenerating vegetation and natural dune forest in South Africa. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 2002, 11:191-209.
52. Davis ALV, van Aarde JR, Scholtz CH, Delport JH. Convergence between dung beetle assemblages of a post-mining vegetational chronosequence and un-mined dune forest. Restoration Ecol. 2003, 11(1):29-42.
53. Dean WRJ, MacDonald I. Historical changes in stocking rates of domestic livestock as a measure of semi-arid and arid rangeland degradation in the Cape Province, South Africa. J. Arid Environ. 1993, 26:281-298.
54. Debinski DM, Holt RD. A survey and overview of habitat fragmentation experiments. Conserv. Biol. 2000, 14:342-355.
55. Dennis RHL, Sparks TH, Hardy PB. Bias in butterfly distribution maps: the effects of sampling effort. J. Insect Conserv. 1999, 3:33-42.
56. Desender K. On the relation between abundance and flight in Carabid beetles from a heavily grazed pasture. J. Appl. Entomol. 1986, 102:225-231.
57. Du Toit JT, Bryant JP, Frisby K. Regrowth and palatability of Acacia shoots following pruning by African savanna browsers. Ecology 1990, 71:149-154.
58. Doube BM. Dung beetles of southern Africa. Dung Beetle Ecology 1991, Hanski ICambefort Y. In, Eds, Princeton University Press, Princeton
59. Doube BM. The habitat preference of some bovine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Hluhluwe Game Reserve South Africa. Bull. Entomol. Res. 1993, 73:357-371.
60. Duffy KJ, Bajic VB, Page BR. Analysis and dynamics of elephant free ecosystem having abundant and rare tree species. Syst. Anal. Modell. Simul. 2000, 38:663-676.
61. Eckhardt HC, van Wilgen BW, Biggs HC. Trends in woody vegetation cover in the Kruger National Park, South Africa between 1940 and 1988. Afr. J. Ecol. 2000, 38:108-115.
62. Evans DM, Redpath SM, Elston DA, Evans SA, Mitchell RJ, Dennis P. To graze or not to graze? Sheep, voles, forestry and nature conservation in the British uplands. J. Appl. Ecol. 2006, 43:499-505.
63. Ehrenfeld JG. Defining the limits of restoration: the need for realistic goals. Restoration Ecol. 2000, 8:2-9.
64. Enslin BW, Potgieter ALF, Biggs HC, Biggs R. Longterm effects of fire frequency and season on the woody vegetation dynamics of the Sclerocarya birrea/Acacia nigrescous savanna of the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 2000, 43:27-37.
65. Estrada A, Coates-Estrada R, Auzures A, Cammarano P. Dung and carrion beetle in tropical forest fragments and agricultural habitats at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. J. Trop. Ecol. 1998, 14:577-593.
66. Ewers RM, Didham RK. Continuous response functions for quantifying the strength of edge effects. J. Appl. Ecol. 2006, 43:527-536.
67. Fabricius C. The Impact of Land Use on Biodiversity in Xeric Succulent Thicket, South Africa 1997, PhD thesis, University of Cape Town, Cape Town
68. Fager EW. The community of invertebrates in decaying oak wood. J. Anim. Ecol. 1968, 37:121-142.
69. Favila ME, Halffter G. The use of indicator groups for measuring biodiversity as related to community structure and function. Acta Zool. Mexico 1997, 72:1-25.
70. The Road to Extinction 1987, Fitter RFitter M. eds, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
71. Gardner SM. Ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) communities on upland health and their association with health and flora. J. Biogeogr. 1991, 18:281-289.
72. Gitay H, Wilson B, Lee WG. Species redundancy: a redundant concept? J. Ecol. 1996, 84:121-124.
73. Graham SA. The felled tree trunk as an ecological unit. Ecology 1925, 6(4):397-411.
74. Habeeb RL, Trebilco J, Wotherspoon S, Johnson C. Determining natural scales of ecological systems. Ecol. Monogr. 2005, 75(4):467-487.
75. Hannah L, Midgley GF, Andelman S, Aranjo M, hughes G, Martinez-Meter E, Pearson R, Williams P. Protected area needs in changing climate. Frontiers Ecol. Environ. 2007, 5:131-138.
76. Hackel JD. Community conservation and the future of Africa's wildlife. Conserv. Biol. 1999, 13:726-734.
77. Haynes JS. Involving communities in managing protected areas: contrasting initiatives in Nepal and Britain. Parks 1998, 8:54-61.
78. Hanski I, Tianen J. Population and communities in changing agroecosystems in Finland. Ecol. Bull. 1988, 39:159-168.
79. Harvey CA, Gonzalez J, Somarriba E. Gund beetle and terrestrial diversity in forests, indigenous agroforestry systems and plantain monoculture in Talamana, Costa Rica. Biodiv. Conserv. 2006, 15:555-585.
80. Hiscocks K. The impact of an increasing elephant population on the woody vegetation in southern Sabi Sand Wildtuin, South Africa. Koedoe 1999, 42:47-55.
81. Hoffman MT, Ashwell A. Nature divided land degradation in South Africa 2001, University of Cape Town press, Cape Town, South Africa
82. Holling CS. Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1973, 4:1-23.
83. Howden HF, Nealis VG. Effects of clearing in tropical rainforest in the composition of the coprophagous scarab beetle fauna (Coleoptera). Biotropica 1975, 7:77-83.
84. Hurbet SH. Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecol. Monogr. 1984, 54(2):187-211.
85. Illins AW, O'Connor TG. Resource heterogeneity and ungulate population dynamics. Oikos 2000, 89:283-294.
86. Klemperer HG. The evaluation of parental behaviour in Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) an experimental approach. Ecol. Entomol. 1983, 8:49-59.
87. Knight MH, Kshatriya M, van Jaarsveld AS, Nicholls AO, Hall-Martin AJ. Evaluating herbivore extinction probabilities in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Afr. Zool. 2001, 36(1):13-22.
88. Koh Lian P. Impacts of land use change on South-east Asian forest butterflies: a review. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:703-713.
89. Koster SH, Hart JA. Methods of estimating ungulate populations in tropical forest. Afr. J. Ecol. 1988, 26:117-126.
90. Klein BC. Effects of forest fragmentation on dung and carrion beetle communities in central Amazonia. Ecology 1989, 70:1715-1725.
91. Laws RM. Elephants as agents of habitat and landscape change in East Africa. Oikos 1970, 21:1-15.
92. Larsen TH, Forsyth A. Trap spacing and transect design for dung beetle biodiversity studies. Biotropica 2005, 37(2):322-325.
93. Lombard AT, Johnson CF, Cowling RM, Pressey RL. Protecting plants from elephant: botanical scenarios within the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Biol. Conserv. 2001, 102:191-203.
94. Lockwood JA. The moral standing of insects and the ethics of extinction. Florida Entomol. 1987, 70:70-89.
95. Loehle C. Control theory and the management of ecosystems. J. Appl. Ecol. 2006, 43:957-966.
96. Lloyd PA. The cape mountain zebra. Afr. Wildlife 1984, 38:144-147.
97. Luff ML. Use of carabids as environmental indicators in grasslands and cereals. Ann. Zool. Fennici 1996, 33:185-195.
98. Mohr CO. Cattle droppings as ecological units. Ecol. Monogr. 1943, 13:275-298.
99. Magurran AE. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement 1988, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
100. Macdonald IAW. Vertebrate populations as indicators of environmental change in South Africa. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 1992, 48:87-122.
101. McGeoch MA, van Rensburg B, Botes A. The verification and application of bio- indicators: a case study of dung beetles in a savanna ecosystem. J. Appl. Ecol. 2002, 39:661-672.
102. Moolman HJ, Cowling RM. The impact of elephant and goat grazing on endemic flora of South African succulent thicket. Biol. Conserv. 1994, 68:53-61.
103. Morellet N, Gaillard J, Hewison AJM, Bellon P, Boscardin V, Duncan P, Kleins F, Maisllards D. Indicators of ecological change: new tools for managing populations of large herbivores. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:634-643.
104. Nelson F. Are large mammal decline in Africa inevitable? Afr. J. Ecol. 2007, 46:3-4.
105. Neumann RP. Primitive ideas: protected area buffer zones and the politics of land in Africa. Dev. Change 1997, 28:559-582.
106. Noss RF. Indicators for monitoring biodiversity: a hierarchical approach. Conserv. Biol. 1990, 4:335-364.
107. O'Connor TG. Influence of land use on plant community composition and diversity in highland sourveld grassland in the southern Drakensburg, South Africa. J. Appl. Ecol. 2005, 42(5):975-988.
108. Orr DW. Four challenges of sustainability. Conserv. Biol. 2002, 16(6):1457-1460.
109. Parr C, Robertson HG, Biggs HC, Chown SC. Response of African savanna ants to long term fire regimes. J. Appl. Ecol. 2004, 41:630-642.
110. Pimm S. The complexity and stability of ecosystems. Nature 1984, 307:321-326.
111. Roberts A. The Mammals of South Africa 1951, Mammals of South Africa Fund, Pretoria
112. Sabu TK, Vinod KV, Vineesh PJ. Succession of dung beetles (Scarabaeinae: Coleoptera) in the dung pats of gaur, Bos gaurus H. Smith (Artiodactyla: bovidae) from the moist deciduous forests of Southern Western Ghats. Biosystematica 2007, 1(1):59-69.
113. Samways MJ. Insect conservation and the distribution landscape. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 1989, 27:183-194.
114. Salfsky N, Margoluis R, Redford KH, Robinson JG. Improving the practice of conservation: a conceptual framework and research agenda for conservation Science. Conserv. Biol. 2002, 16(6):1469-1479.
115. Shackleton CM. Comparison of plant diversity in protected and communal lands in the Bushbuckridge lowveld savanna, South Africa. Biol. Conserv. 2000, 94:273-285.
116. Smithers R. South African Red Data Book: Terrestrial Mammals 1986, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Foundation for Research Development, Pretoria
117. Spotswood E, Bradley KL, Knops JMH. Effects of Herbivory on the Reproductive Effort of 4 Prairie Perennials 2002, http://www.biomedcentral.com/472-6785/2/2, BMC Ecology 2:2 Internet URL:
118. Stringham TK, Krueger WC, Shaver PL. State and transition modelling: an ecological process approach. J. Range Mange 2003, 56(2):106-113.
119. Tadey M, Farji-Brener AG. Indirect effects of exotic grazers: livestock decreases the nutrient content of refuse dumps of leaf-cutting ants through vegetation impoverishment. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:1209-1218.
120. Tremblay J-P, Jean H, Potoin F. Density-related effects of deer browsing on the regeneration dynamics of boreal forests. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:552-562.
121. Tilman D. Biodiversity: population versus ecosystem stability. Ecology 1996, 77(2):350-363.
122. Townley S, Carslake D, Kellie-Smith O, McCarthy D, Hudgson D. Predicting transient amplification in perturbed ecological systems. J. Appl. Ecol. 2007, 44:1243-1251.
123. Verdú JR, Moreno CE, Sánchez-Rojas G, Numa C, Galante E, Halffer G. Grazing promotes dung beetle diversity in Xeric landscape of Mexican Biosphere Reserve. Biol. Conserv. 2007, 140(3-4):308-317.
124. Wallin KF, Raffa KF. Feedback between individual host selection behaviour and population dynamics in an eruptive herbivore. Ecol. Monogr. 2004, 74(1):101-116.
125. Wardle DA, Baker GM, Yeates GW, Bonner KI, Ghani A. Introduced browsing mammals in New Zealand natural forests: Aboveground and belowground consequences. Ecol. Monogr. 2001, 71(4):587-614.
126. Wiens JA, Milne BT. Scaling of 'landscapes' in landscape ecology, or landscape ecology from a beetle's perspectives. Landscape Ecol. 1989, 3:87-96.
127. Yates CJ, Hopper SD, Brown A, van Leeuwen S. Impact of two wild fires on endemic granite outcrop vegetation in western Australia. J. Vegetation Sci. 2003, 14:185-194.
128. Zar JH. Biostatistical Analysis 1984, 2nd edn, Prentice Hall, New Jersey