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Status of Nile Crocodile in North Eastern Kwazulu-Natal and Conservation Management Recommendations

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Status of Nile Crocodile in North Eastern Kwazulu-Natal and Conservation Management Recommendations Status of Nile Crocodile in north eastern KwaZulu-Natal and conservation management recommendations Report to the WATER RESEARCH COMMISSION by Colleen T. Downs1, Peter Calverley1, Garreth Champion1, Xander Combrink1, Jan Myburgh2, Mark Summers1 & Jon Warner1 1School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2Onderstepoort Veterinary School, University of Pretoria WRC Report No 2188/1/15 ISBN 978-1-4312-0654-4 April 2015 Obtainable from Water Research Commission Private Bag X03 Gezina, 0031 [email protected] or download from www.wrc.org.za DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. © Water Research Commission ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND Establishing and monitoring population trends is essential for implementing informed and timely management decisions and also in the conservation of threatened species. Distribution patterns reflect the interactions of organisms with their environment. Movement patterns and home range is fundamental in understanding the spatial requirements of individuals and is important in generating information for the conservation and management of threatened species. Crocodilians are increasingly being viewed as "sentinel species" because as top predators they are good models for studying environmental threats to their respective ecosystems and the associated food web therein. Recent Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) deaths in South Africa have revealed the vulnerability of the species – and the aquatic ecosystems they inhabit – and highlighted the need for urgent study of crocodile populations. As a top predator, crocodiles are a valuable ecosystem component but also a source of management concern due their potential threat to humans. Present threats to the major Nile Crocodile populations in South Africa include pollution, habitat alteration/destruction and poaching. This highlights the importance of identification and protection of other viable and unthreatened Nile crocodile populations which are imperative in the conservation of the species in the country. Investigating reproductive ecology is essential in order to access the population dynamics, particularly of unstudied populations. In addition reproductive output can be a measure of population health. Knowledge of the distribution and abundance of crocodile nests and the threats facing them is essential in calculating recruitment and determining population trends. RATIONALE The Nile Crocodiles in KwaZulu-Natal are an important component of the South African population but the effects of the current threats on the separate populations need investigation. The Lake St Lucia estuarine system, Africa’s largest and oldest protected estuary, contains the largest Nile Crocodile population in a single waterbody in South Africa. During the first decade of the 21st century, the St Lucia estuarine lake experienced a prolonged drought, streams ceased flowing and in 2006 more than 90% of the total water area evaporated. Ndumo Game Reserve (NGR), in north eastern KwaZulu-Natal bordering Mozambique, has the third largest Nile Crocodile population in South Africa. Impoundments have negative and positive effects on biodiversity. Pongolapoort Dam is one of South Africa’s largest man-made water bodies, and is surrounded by several game reserves (state, and/or privately owned and managed). Little is known of the effect of the impoundment of the Phongola river on the Nile Crocodile population numbers and status. iii OBJECTIVES AND AIMS Concurrently we investigated the Nile Crocodile’s spatial and reproductive ecology, population status, and health in Lake St Lucia, NGR and Pongolapoort Dam to make management recommendations. The specific aims were to 1. Address the conservation needs of Nile Crocodiles in Zululand, and Southern Mozambique by gathering a suite of ecological, physiological, epidemiological and genetic data. Given recent threats to the species and the global importance of these populations, this research will expand current understanding of crocodilian biology and facilitate long-term Nile Crocodile protection; and 2. Use crocodiles as indicators of ecosystem health. METHODOLOGY From 2009-2014 at Lake St Lucia we conducted 10 aerial surveys of Nile Crocodiles. We examined changes in Nile Crocodile population size and changes in the size-class distribution within the population using aerial and ground survey data from 1971-2009 in NGR and in Pongolapoort Dam from 2009-2014. In addition, crocodiles were caught opportunistically for aging, sexing and tagging. We investigated detailed movements and activity for 18 Nile Crocodiles here using GPS-satellite transmitters from 2009-2013 at Lake St Lucia and radio-transmitters at NGR and Pongolapoort Dam. We determined the distribution and abundance of crocodile nests at Lake St Lucia, NGR and Pongolapoort Dam. We also investigated nest predation, hatchling liberation and nest-guarding activities of nesting Nile Crocodile females using remote camera traps mainly at Lake St Lucia. We investigated homing behaviour and specific movements of a Nile Crocodile in Lake St Lucia using a GPS-satellite transmitter by translocating an adult female (2.7 m), with a known home range, ~50 km north (straight line distance) to the False Bay area of Lake St Lucia. When we captured Nile Crocodiles, morphological measurements were taken. We marked each individual uniquely by scute clipping and fitting of coloured caudal tags. In addition we took urine and blood samples. Analyses of blood, serum and urine from Nile Crocodiles were conducted specifically for crocodile nutritional, environmental contaminant, and epidemiological analyses to construct health/nutrition indexes of wild crocodiles, analyses of bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The concurrent research of Nile Crocodiles in Lake St Lucia, NGR and Pongolapoort Dam showed how these differed in their ecology and human pressures so affecting the Nile Crocodiles in different ways and illustrating that “one shoe does not fit all”. iv Lake St Lucia From 2009-2013 the majority of Nile Crocodiles at Lake St Lucia were recorded in the Narrows, a ~27 km low salinity channel south of the lake. Above average rainfall at the end of 2010 resulted in the refilling of the lake, and most Nile Crocodiles moved north to the lake. We estimated the sub-adult and adult population at 1005 ± 137 individuals. The overall activity level of Lake St Lucia Nile Crocodiles was 41.0%, and it differed significantly throughout the day. There was a significant seasonal effect on activity, peaking during autumn (52.0%), while Nile Crocodiles were most inactive in winter (30.5%). Crocodile size and mobility were positively correlated with mean daily movement (1244 m). Adults moved more at night, but sub-adults were significantly more mobile during the day. There was a considerable seasonal variation in mobility, with the longest movements during autumn and the shortest in winter. About 60% of total daily movements were < 1 km per day, but for sub-adults this calculation was 96%. We recorded complex and varied home range patterns for 14 Nile Crocodiles at Lake St Lucia, resulting from differences in size, sex, reproductive status and habitat. The median home range and core-use area of adults were significantly greater than sub-adults. Three size-related patterns of home range behaviour emerged for adult males; transient, (< 3.0 m TL), topographically confined (3.5-4.0 m TL) and “territorial” (> 4.0 m TL). Adult males revealed an inverse correlation between home range size and crocodile size, while the home range sizes of adult females were generally more homogeneous. All nesting females displayed an explosive increase in mobility and space-use subsequent to the nesting period, and all adults, except one female in the central lake, moved during winter in the drought period to large crocodile congregations south of the lake. Sub-adults occupied significantly smaller home ranges than adults, which were habitat-specific with strict spatial partitioning. They remained in shallow vegetated areas adjacent to deep water, avoiding open deep water altogether. Nile Crocodile nests at Lake St Lucia have been monitored since 1982, with mean nest abundance = 76.19 ± 6.42, range: 29-141. The macro-level heterogeneity of nesting habitats reflects the spatio-temporal diversity of the Lake St Lucia system, and is possibly unique within a single Nile Crocodile population. Changes in nest abundance and distribution were seemingly related to increased human disturbance and habitat transformation in the northern and southern parts of the lake. Hydrological variability, especially during droughts, combined with the state of the estuary mouth (i.e. open or closed), affected prey abundance/availability contributing to large variation (6.9-56.4%) in nest effort from 1982- 2013. All nests were located close to freshwater streams or seepage areas. We confirmed the re-use of the identical nest-site by a female, while other females oviposited in nest-sites occupied by different females during previous years. Despite variable nest effort, the St v Lucia nesting population remains the largest recorded nesting population in South Africa, and least vulnerable to flooding. The mean home range of Lake St Lucia nesting
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