Hunting Affects Dry Season Habitat Selection by Several Bovid Species in Northern Benin Author(S): Chabi A
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Hunting affects dry season habitat selection by several bovid species in northern Benin Author(s): Chabi A. M. S. Djagoun, Barthélémy Kassa, Bruno A. Djossa, Tim Coulson, Guy A. Mensah and Brice Sinsin Source: Wildlife Biology, 20(2):83-90. 2014. Published By: Nordic Board for Wildlife Research DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.12082 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2981/wlb.12082 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Wildlife Biology 20: 83–90, 2014 doi: 10.2981/wlb.12082 © 2014 The Authors. This is an Open Access article Subject Editor: John P. Ball. Accepted 19 November 2013 Hunting affects dry season habitat selection by several bovid species in northern Benin Chabi A. M. S. Djagoun, Barthélémy Kassa, Bruno A. Djossa, Tim Coulson, Guy A. Mensah and Brice Sinsin C. A. M. S. Djagoun ([email protected]), B. Kassa, B. A. Djossa, G. A. Mensah and B. Sinsin, Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Univ. of Abomey-calavi, 01BP526 LEA-FSA, Benin. BAD also at: Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences et Techniques Agronomiques (ENSTA) de Kétou. GAM also at: National Inst. of Agricultural Research of Benin (INRAB), 01 BP2359, Cotonou, Benin. – T. Coulson, Div. of Biology, Silwood Park Campus of Imperial College, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK Multiple land uses including tourism, hunting, and agriculture around protected areas can be a serious complication for wildlife management. We calculated habitat selection indices (Manly’s alpha) for 10 bovid species in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin, west Africa, to assess if habitat use differed in each bovid species between hunting and non-hunting zones. Presence/absence data was used in resource-selection functions based on a generalized linear mixed effect model to examine factors that explained bovid species distribution. We observed stronger avoidance of open habitat types in the hunting zone than in the non hunting zone for the hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus, oribi Ourebia ourebi, roan Hippotragus equines, kob Kobus kob, waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa and reedbuck Redunca redunca. In contrast, in grey duiker Sylvicapra grimmia, red-flanked duiker Cephalophus rufilatus, bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus and buffalo Syncerus caffer we found no differences in habitat use between hunted and non-hunted areas. This may indicate that the latter species show more pronounced ecological and behavioural plasticity. Further, resource selection of bovid species on a small scale was influenced by other factors such as habitat structure, landscape characteristics, and human disturbance. This preliminary assessment of bovid habitat relationships in west Africa suggests that human hunting activities may cause species to alter their habitat selection. We therefore suggest habitat models may need to incorporate this source of variation if they are to accurately predict habitat use or distribution of a species. Understanding the process animals follow to select habitat, use of mammal species such as bovids are little understood. rather than just documenting the habitat they use is a central In multiple-use areas in semi-arid landscapes of west Africa, topic in ecology. Over the last two decades, studies about such as those occurring in the north of Benin, it is not known the underlying mechanisms that drive species abundance which factors most shape the distribution of wildlife. and distribution have increased and improved our ability to In this study, we used bovids as model species to investigate predict how the animals use habitat in other locations and if the habitat selection of wildlife populations can be used as how they will respond to changes in habitat (Guisan and indicators of human exploitation (Averbeck et al. 2012). Thuiller 2005). Our study took advantage of a unique opportunity Bovid species are common and widely distributed to analyze several bovid species at the edge of their ranges ungulates throughout the African savanna (Estes 1991). with regard to past and present human pressures and con- The majority of research on African bovid species has been servation management (Kassa et al. 2007). We expected the conducted in east and South Africa. Little empirical data are distribution of bovid species to be influenced by habitat and available from west Africa (Schuette et al. 1998) and thus environmental characteristics, and by human activities (Fritz information for management in that area is lacking. In addi- et al. 2003, Setsaas et al. 2007, Stankowich 2008). In par- tion, bovid species experience a variety of anthropogenic ticular, we hypothesized that bovids would avoid open habi- influences such as hunting, disturbance from other human tat where hunting occurs. We use a strictly protected area activities, and habitat alteration, which have the potential to (i.e. a National Park) as a comparison to partially protected detrimentally affect populations. areas (i.e. two hunting reserves) to analyze bovid occurrence In African wildlife conservation, protected areas play and habitat selection in a semi-arid multiple-use landscape. a major role. Protected areas in west Africa and elsewhere We endeavored to provide managers in west Africa with much- commonly comprise a fully protected core zone surrounded needed information required for a more informed assessment by multiple-use areas. However, the consequences of this of the effects of protected area management practices on those zonation concept and its various human land uses on habitat ecologically and economically important species. 83 Material and methods wildlife tourists and hunters (who visit mostly during the dry season), and avoid the uncontrolled mid and late dry season Study site fires that spread from surrounding villages or that are lit by poachers to mask illegal activities. Bovid species are among The Pendjari Biosphere Reserve (PBR) is situated in north- the most targeted species by sport hunters in the Pendjari western Benin (10o30a to 11o30 N, 0o50a to 2o00aE, Fig. 1). Biosphere Reserve. It was declared a Game Reserve in 1954 and upgraded to the National Park of Pendjari (NPP) in 1961. Today, it is Study species comprised of a strictly protected core area (named ‘National Park’ covering 2660 km²) and two adjacent hunting zones We collected data on eleven bovid species from different named ‘Konkombri’ and ‘Pendjari’ hunting zones, which are feeding categories inhabiting the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve on the eastern and southwestern sides of the National Park, (Sinsin et al. 2002). These included two large bovid species respectively. These two hunting zones together cover 1971 weighing more than 300 kg: African buffalo Syncerus caffer km². The PBR is bordered by the foothills of the Atacora and roan antelope Hippotragus equinus; two medium-sized massif in the east and by the river Pendjari in the north and highly gregarious obligate grazers: topi Damaliscus lunatus the west sides. PBR is located in the Sudanian zone with korrigum and kob Kobus kob; three mixed feeders: waterbuck one rainy season (April/May to October) and one dry sea- Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa, oribi Ourebia ourebi and harte- son (November to March). The total annual rainfall averages beest Alcelaphus buselaphus; reedbuck Redunca redunca, a 1000 mm with 60% falling between July and September. savanna-dwelling small grazing antelope; and three primarily The mean annual daily temperature is 27oC. During the solitary forest-dwelling small browsing antelopes: bushbuck rainy season numerous small ponds in the vicinity of the Tragelaphus scriptus, red-flanked duiker Cephalophus rufilatus large natural ones named Tiabiga, Fogou, Mondri, Diwouni, and grey duiker Sylvicapra grimmia. Yangouali and Bali in the centre of the National park are full of water. During the dry season, the natural ponds attract a Survey design and data collection variety of animal groups, especially large mammals searching for water. The vegetation cover of the PBR is made up of We conducted field work from December 2010 to March a mosaic of shrubs, trees, woodland savannas and grassland 2011 covering four months during the dry season. (Sokpon et al. 2001) which are burned in both National We assigned 1330 quadrats of 30 30 m each for sampling. Park and hunting zones, every year to provide fresh pasture Quadrats were placed every 200 m along 38 transects of to herbivores that dominate the reserve, increase visibility to 7 km each. The 38 transects were randomly distributed and Figure 1. Study area showing the different hunting and non-hunting zones with the distribution of the transects within the study area. 84 all habitat types were represented (Fig. 1). These transects