Dung fungi as indicators of past herbivore abundance, Kruger and Limpopo National Park

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

Volumn 296, Issue 1-2, 2010, Pages 14-27

  Ekblom, A ^a   Gillson, L ^b  

^a UPPSALA UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Coprophilous fungi; Grazing; Herbivory; Pollen; Savanna dynamics; Spores

Indexed keywords

ABUNDANCE; BIOINDICATOR; CATTLE; DISTURBANCE; FLOODPLAIN; FUNGUS; GRAZING; HERBIVORE; HERBIVORY; HISTORICAL RECORD; LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY; NATIONAL PARK; PALEOECOLOGY; PALYNOLOGY; POPULATION DENSITY; SAVANNA; SEDIMENT CORE; SPORE; TREELINE; TWENTIETH CENTURY; VEGETATION DYNAMICS; WILD POPULATION; WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT;

GAZA; KRUGER NATIONAL PARK; LIMPOPO NATIONAL PARK; MOZAMBIQUE; SOUTH AFRICA;

BACTERIA (MICROORGANISMS); BOS; BOS TAURUS; CONIOCHAETA; COPROPHILOUS; FUNGI; SORDARIACEAE;

EID: 77956057931     PISSN: 00310182     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.06.009     Document Type: Article

References (76)

1. Aaby B., Digerfeldt B. Sampling techniques for lakes bogs. Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology 1986, 181-194. John Wiley and sons Ltd, Chichester. B.E. Berglund (Ed.).
2. Archibald S., Bond W.J., Stock W.D., Fairbanks D.H.K. Shaping the landscape: fire-grazer interactions in an African savanna. Ecol. Appl. 2005, 15:96-109.
3. Bell R.H.V. The effect of soil nutrient availability on the community structure in African ecosystems. Ecology of tropical savannas 1982, 193-216. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. B.J. Huntley, B.H. Walker (Eds.).
4. Belsky A.J. Role of small browsing mammals in preventing woodland regeneration in the Seregenti National Park, Tanzania. Afr. J. Ecol. 1984, 22:271-279.
5. Bennett K.D. Psimpoll 4.25 http://www.chrono.qub.ac.uk/.
6. Bennett K.D., Willis K.J. Pollen. Tracking Environmental Change Using Lake Sediments 2001, 5-32. Kluwer, Dordrecht. J.P. Smol, H.J.B. Birks, W.M. Last (Eds.).
7. Bronk Ramsey C. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 2009, 51:337-360.
8. Buck C.E., Christen J.A., James G.N. BCal: an on-line Bayesian radiocarbon calibration tool. Internet Archaeology 7 http://bcal.sheffield.ac.uk.
9. Burney D.A., Robinson G.S., Pigott Burney L. Sporormiella and the late Holocene extinctions in Madagascar. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2003, 19:10800-10805.
10. Carruthers J. The Kruger National Park: a Social and Political History 1995, University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg.
11. Carruthers J., Boshoff A., Slotow R., Biggs H.C., Avery G., Matthews W. The elephant in South Africa. History and distribution. Elephant Management. A Scientific Assessment for South Africa 2008, 23-83. Wits University Press, Johannesburg. R.J. Scholes, K.G. Mennell (Eds.).
12. Carrion J.S., Scott L., Huffman T., Dreyer C. Pollen analysis of Iron Age cow dung in southern Africa. Veg. Hist. Archaeobot. 2000, 9:239-249.
13. Davis O.K. Spores of the dung fungus Sporormiella: increased abundance in historic sediments and before Pleistocene megafaunal extinction. Quat. Res. 1987, 28:290-294.
14. Davis O.K., Shafer D.S. Sporormiella fungal spores, a palynological means of detecting herbivore density. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 2006, 237:40-50.
15. Dublin H., Sinclair A., McGlade J. Elephants and fire as causes of multiple stable states in the Serengeti-Mara woodlands. J. Anim. Ecol. 1990, 59:1147-1164.
16. Ebersohn C., Eicker A. Coprophilous fungal species composition and species diversity on various dung substrates of African game animals. Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 1992, 33:85-95.
17. Ebersohn C., Eicker A. Coprophilous fungal species composition and species diversity on various dung substrates of African game animals. Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 1997, 38:183-190.
18. Eckhardt H.C., van Wilgen B.W., Biggs H.C. Trends in woody vegetation cover in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, between 1940 and 1998. African Journal of Ecology 2000, 38:108-115.
19. Elton F. Journal of an exploration of the Limpopo River. J. Roy. Geograph. Soc. 1873, 42:1-49.
20. Ekblom, A., Gillson, L., in press a. Fire history and fire ecology of Northern Kruger (KNP) and Limpopo National park (PNL), Southern Africa. Holocene. doi:10.1177/0959683610369499.
21. Ekblom, A., Gillson, L., in press b. Hierarchy and scale: testing the role of water, grazing and nitrogen in the savanna landscape of Limpopo National Park (Mozambique). Landscape Ecol. doi:10.1007/s10980-010-9522-x.
22. FAO Drought Impact Mitigation and Prevention in the Limpopo River Basin. A Situation Analysis 2004, FAO Subregional Office for Southern and East Africa, Harare.
23. Gertenbach W.P.D. Landscapes of the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 1983, 26:9-21.
24. Gillson L. Testing non-equilibrium theories in savannas: 1400years of vegetation change in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. Ecol. Complex. 2004, 1:281-298.
25. Gillson L., Duffin K.I. Thresholds of potential concern as benchmarks in the management of African savannahs. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B 2007, 362:309-319.
26. Gillson L., Ekblom A. Untangling anthropogenic and climatic influence on riverine forest in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Veg. Hist. Archaeobot. 2009, 18:171-185.
27. Gillson L., Ekblom A. Resilience and thresholds in Savannas: nitrogen and fire as drivers and responders of vegetation transition. Ecosystems 2009, 12:1189-1203.
28. Graf M., Chmura G.L. Development of modern analogues for natural, mowed and grazed grasslands using pollen assemblages and coprophilous fungi. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 2006, 141:139-149.
29. Higgins S.I., Bond W.J., Trollope W.S. Fire, resprouting and variability: a recipe for grass-tree coexistence in savanna. J. Ecol. 2000, 88:213-229.
30. Huffman T.N. Snakes and Crocodiles: Power and Symbolism in Ancient Zimbabwe 1996, Witwatersrand University press, Johannesburg.
31. Huffman T.N. Archaeological evidence for climate change during the last 2000years in Southern Africa. Quatern. Int. 1996, 33:55-60.
32. Huffman T.N. Mapungubwe and the origins of the Zimbabwe culture. S. Afr. Archaeol. Soc. Goodwin Ser. 2000, 8:14-29.
33. Jacobsen G.L., Bradshaw R.H.W. The selection of sites for paleovegetational studies. Quatern. Res. 1981, 16:80-96.
34. Jeltsch F., Weber G.E., Grimm V. Ecological buffering mechanisms in savannas: a unifying theory of long-term tree-grass coexistence. Plant Ecol. 2000, 161:161-171.
35. Jarzen D.M., Elsik W.C. Fungal palynomorphs recovered from recent river deposits, Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Palynology 1986, 10:35-60.
36. Klapwijk M., Huffman T. Excavations at Silver Leaves: a final report. S. Afr. Archaeolog. Bull. 1996, 51:84-93.
37. Lejju B.J., Taylor D., Robertshaw P. Late-Holocene environmental variability at Munsa archeological site, Uganda. A multicore, multiproxy approach. Holocene 2005, 15:1044-1061.
38. Mabunda D., Pienar D.J., Verhoef J. The Kruger National Park: a century of management and research. The Kruger Experience. Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity 2003, 4-21. Island Press, Washington. J.T. du Toit, K.H. Rogers, H.C. Biggs (Eds.).
39. Manyanga M. Resilient Landscapes, Socioenvironmental Dynamics in the Shashi-Limpopo Basin, Southern Zimbabwe c. AD 800 to Present. African and Comparative Archaeology, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History 2006, Uppsala University, Uppsala.
40. Mauquoy D., Blaauw M., van Geel B., Borromei A., Quattrocchio M., Chambers F.M., Possnert G. Late Holocene climatic changes in Tierra del Fuego based on multiproxy analyses of peat deposits. Quat. Res. 2004, 61:148-158.
41. Marinova E., Atanassova J. Anthropogenic impact on vegetation and environment during the Bronze Age in the area of Lake Durankulak, NE Bulgaria: pollen, microscopic charcoal, non-pollen palynomorphs and plant macrofossils. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 2006, 141:165-178.
42. McCormack F.G., Hogg A.G., Blackwell P.G., Buck C.E., Higham T.F.G., Reimer P.J. SHCal04 Southern Hemisphere calibration 0-1000cal BP. Radiocarbon 2004, 46:1087-1092.
43. Meyer A. A profile of the iron age in the Kruger national park. Frontiers, African Archaeology Today 1984, 215-227. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford. M. Hall, G. Avery, D.M. Avery, M.L. Wilson, A.J.B. Humphreys (Eds.).
44. Mitchell P. The Archaeology of Southern Africa 2003, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
45. Milgroom J., Spierenburg M. Induced volition: resettlement from the Limpopo National Park, Mozambique. J. Contemp. Afr. Stud. 2009, 26:435-448.
46. Mills A.J., Fey M.V. Interactive response of herbivores, soils and vegetation to annual burning in a South African savanna. Aust. Ecol. 2005, 30:435-444.
47. Moore P.D., Collinson M.E., Webb J.A. Pollen Analysis (second edition) 1991, Blackwell Science, Oxford.
48. Owen-Smith N., Ogutu J. Rainfall influence on ungulate population dynamics. The Kruger Experience. Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity 2003, 310-331. Island Press, Washington. J.T. du Toit, K.H. Rogers, H.C. Biggs (Eds.).
49. Plug I. Iron age subsistence strategies in the Kruger national park, South Africa. Archaeozoologia 1987, 1:117-125.
50. Plug I. Aspects of life in the Kruger national park during the early iron age. S. Afr. Archaeol. Soc. Goodwin Ser. 1989, 6:62-68.
51. Plug I. Overview of Iron Age fauna from the Limpopo valley. S. Afr. Archaeol. Soc. Goodwin Ser. 2000, 8:117-126.
52. Prager A., Barthelmes A., Theuerkauf M., Joosten H. Non-pollen palynomorphs from modern Alder carrs and their potential for interpreting microfossil data from peat. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 2006, 141:7-31.
53. Raper D., Bush M. A test of Sporormiella representation as a predictor of megaherbivore presence and abundance. Quat. Res. 2009, 71:490-496.
54. 210Pb dating of sediments. Verhand. Limnol. 1993, 25:217-222.
55. Robinson G.S., Burney L.P., Burney D.A. Landscape paleoecology and megafaunal extinction in southeastern New York State. Ecol. Monogr. 2005, 75:295-315.
56. Sankaran M., Hanan N.P., Scholes R.J., Ratnam J., Augustine D.J., Cade B.S., Gignoux J., Higgins 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., Zambatis N. Determinants of woody cover in African savannas. Nature 2005, 438:846-849.
57. Sankaran M., Ratnam J., Hanan N.P. Tree grass coexistence in savannas revisited: insights from an examination of assumptions and mechanisms invoked in existing models. Ecol. Lett. 2004, 7:480-490.
58. Scholes R.J., Archer R.S. Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 1997, 28:517-544.
59. Scholes R.J., Bond W.J., Eckhardt H.C. Vegetation dynamics in the Kruger ecosystem. The Kruger Experience. Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity 2003, 242-262. Island Press, Washington. J.T. du Toit, K.H. Rogers, H.C. Biggs (Eds.).
60. Simons J. Field ecology of freshwater macroalgae in pools and ditches, with special attention to Eutrophication. Netherlands J. of Aquat. Ecol. 1994, 28:25-33.
61. Sugita S., Gaillard M.-J., Broström A. Landscape openness and pollen records: a simulation approach. Holocene 1999, 9:409-421.
62. Tomlinson R.W. The Inyanga Area, an Essay in Regional Biogeography 1973, University of Rhodesia, Salisbury.
63. Tyson P.D., Preston-Whyte R.A. The Weather and Climate of Southern Africa 2000, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
64. van Geel B., Aptroot A. Fossil ascomycetes in Quaternary deposits. Nova Hedwig. 2006, 82:313-329.
65. van Geel B., Hallewas D.P., Pals J.P. A Late Holocene deposit under the Westfriese Zeedijk near Enkhuizen (Prov. of N-Holland, The Netherlands): palaeoecological and archaeological aspects. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 1983, 38:269-335.
66. van Geel B., Klink A.G., Pals J.P., Wiegers J. An Upper Eemian lake deposit from Twente, eastern Netherlands. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 1986, 47:31-61.
67. van Geel B., Coope G.R., van der Hammen T. Palaeoecology and stratigraphy of the Lateglacial type section at Usselo (The Netherlands). Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 1989, 60:25-129.
68. van Geel B., Buurman J., Brinkkemper O., Schelvis J., Aptroot A., van Reenen G., Hakbijl T. Environmental reconstruction of a Roman Period settlement site in Uitgeest (The Netherlands), with special reference to coprophilous fungi. J. Archaeolog. Sci. 2003, 30:873-883.
69. van Langevelde F., van de Vijver C.A.D.M., Kumar L., van de Koppel J., de Ridder N., van Andel J., Skidmore A.K., Hearne J.W., Stroosnejder L., Bond W.J., Prins H.T., Rietkerk M. Effects of fire and herbivory on the stability of savanna ecosystems. Ecology 2003, 84:337-350.
70. van Wilgen B.W., Trollope W.S.W., Biggs H.C., Potgeiter A.L.F., Brocket B.H. Fire as a driver of ecosystem variability. The Kruger Experience. Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity 2003, 149-170. Island Press, Washington. J.T. du Toit, K.H. Rogers, H.C. Biggs (Eds.).
71. Venter F.J., Scholes R.J., Eckhardt H.C. The abiotic template and its associated vegetation pattern. The Kruger Experience. Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity 2003, 83-129. Island Press, Washington. J.T. du Toit, K.H. Rogers, H.C. Biggs (Eds.).
72. Whyte I.J., Swanepoel W. An aerial census of the Limpopo Basin area of the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique 16th-21st October, 2006. Paper presented at the 5th Science Networking Meeting, South African National parks, Skukuza, 16th-20th April 2007 http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/conservation/scientific/noticeboard/science_network_meeting_2007/Monday/whyte.pd.
73. Whyte I.J., van Aarde R., Pimm S.T. Kruger's elephant population: its size and consequences for ecosystem heterogeneity. The Kruger Experience. Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity 2003, 332-348. Island Press, Washington. J.T. du Toit, K.H. Rogers, H.C. Biggs (Eds.).
74. Wild H., Fernandes A. Vegetation map of the flora Zambesiaca area, supplement. Flora Zambesiaca 1968, The Government Printer. H. Wild, A. Fernandes (Eds.).
75. Wolf F.A. Fungus spores in East African lake sediments. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 1977, 93:104-113.
76. Young S. Fertility and famine. Womens agricultural history in southern Mozambique. The Roots of Rural Poverty in Central and Southern Africa 1977, Heinemann, London. R. Palmer, R. Parsons (Eds.).