Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T10:11:22.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of large herbivores on murid rodents in a South African savanna

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

Nicole Hagenah ,
Herbert H.T. Prins  and
Han Olff
Nicole Hagenah*
Affiliation:
Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, the Netherlands Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Droevendaalsesteeg 3 a, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands
Herbert H.T. Prins
Affiliation:
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Droevendaalsesteeg 3 a, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands
Han Olff
Affiliation:
Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, the Netherlands
*
1Corresponding author. Present address: School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa. Email: Hagenah@ukzn.ac.za
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Our study presents experimentally based results on how large herbivore species affect savanna vegetation and thus murid rodents in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We permanently excluded groups of large herbivore guilds of various body sizes (ranging from white rhino to hares) from sixteen 40 × 40-m plots of vegetation by using different fence types. We determined grass species composition and vegetation height and collected capture–mark–recapture data on murid rodents. Nutrient concentrations of the dominant grass species and rodent diet compositions were analysed. We found that herbivore species of different body sizes had different effects on murid rodents. The exclusion of medium-sized herbivores, such as warthog, impala and nyala increased the abundance of high-quality grass species, especially Panicum maximum. However, the dominant rodent species Lemniscomys rosalia preferred the most abundant grass species, rather than high-quality grasses. The absence of large bulk feeders, such as zebra, buffalo and white rhino led to an increase in vegetation height. In response, tall vegetation promoted both rodent abundance and species diversity and altered rodent species composition. Ultimately, our results indicate that the greatest effect on murid rodents came from the reduction of vegetation cover by large bulk feeders, which likely increased rodent predation risk.

Keywords

African savannacommunity interactionsherbivore exclusionlarge herbivorespredation risksavanna rodentsSouth Africa
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , September 2009 , pp. 483 - 492
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ALIPAYO, D., VALDEZ, R., HOLECHECK, J. L. & CARDENAS, M. 1992. Evaluation of microhistological analysis for determining ruminant diet botanical composition. Journal of Range Management 45:148–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ANTHONY, R. G. & SMITH, N. S. 1974. Comparison of rumen and faecal analysis to describe deer diets. Journal of Wildlife Management 38:535–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ARSENAULT, R. & OWEN-SMITH, N. 2002. Facilitation versus competition in grazing herbivore assemblages. Oikos 97:313–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BIRNEY, E. C., GRANT, W. E. & BAIRD, D. D. 1976. Importance of vegetative cover to cycles of Microtus populations. Ecology 57:1043–1051.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOCK, C. E., BOCK, J. H., KENNEY, W. R. & HAWTHORNE, V. M. 1984. Responses of birds, rodents, and vegetation to livestock exclosure in a semi desert grassland site. Journal of Range Management 37:239–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOWLAND, A. E. & PERRIN, M. R. 1989. The effect of overgrazing on the small mammals in Umfolozi Game Reserve. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde 54:251–260.Google Scholar
BRANCH, B. 1998. Field guide to snakes and other reptiles of southern Africa. Struik publishers. 368 pp.Google Scholar
BROOKS, P. M. & MCDONALD, I. A. W. 1983. The Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve: an ecological case history. Pp. 51–57 in Owen-Smith, N. (ed.), Management of large mammals in African conservation areas. Haum Educational Publishers, Pretoria.Google Scholar
CID, M. S. & BRIZUELA, M. A. 1990. Grass blade and sheath quantification by microhistological analysis. Journal of Wildlife Management 54:349–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
COOK, S. F. 1959. The effects of fire on a population of small rodents. Ecology 40:102–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CROMSIGT, J. P. G. M. & OLFF, H. 2006. Resource partitioning amongst large grazers mediated by local heterogeneity: an experimental approach. Ecology 87:1532–1541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DE JONG, C. B., GILL, R. M. A., VAN WIEREN, S. E. & BURLTON, F. W. E. 1995. Diet selection in Kielder Forest by roe deer Capreolus capreolus in relation to plant cover. Forest Ecology and Management 79:91–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DEMMENT, M. W. & VAN SOEST, P. J. 1985. A nutritional explanation for body-size patterns of ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores. American Naturalist 125:641–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EDGE, W. D., WOLFF, J. O. & CAREY, R. L. 1995. Density-dependent responses of gray-tailed voles to moving. Journal of Wildlife Management 59:245–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FARNSWORTH, K. D., FOCARDI, S. & BEECHAM, J. A. 2002. Grassland-herbivore interactions: how do grazers coexist? American Naturalist 159:24–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
GOHEEN, J. R., KEESING, F., ALLAN, B. F., OGADA, D. L. & OSTFELD, R. S. 2004. Net effects of large mammals on Acacia seedling survival in an African savanna. Ecology 85:1555–1561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GRANT, W. E., BIRNEY, E. C., FRENCH, N. R. & SWIFT, D. M. 1982. Structure and productivity of grassland small mammal communities related to grazing-induced changes in vegetation cover. Journal of Mammalogy 63:248–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HESKE, E. J. & CAMPBELL, M. 1991. Effects of an 11-year livestock exclosure on rodent and ant numbers in the Chihuahuan Desert, south-eastern Arizona. Southwestern Naturalist 36:89–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HOMOLKA, M. & HEROLDOVÁ, M. 1992. Similarity of the results of stomach and faecal contents analyses in studies of the ungulate diet. Folia Zoologica 41:193–208.Google Scholar
KEESING, F. 1997. Ecological interactions between small mammals, large mammals, and vegetation in a tropical savanna of central Kenya. PhD thesis, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
KEESING, F. 1998a. Impacts of ungulates on the demography and diversity of small mammals in central Kenya. Oecologia 116:381–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
KEESING, F. 1998b. Ecology and behaviour of the pouched mouse (Saccostomus mearnsi) in central Kenya. Journal of Mammalogy 73:919–931.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KEESING, F. 2000. Cryptic consumers and the ecology of an African savanna. BioScience 50:205–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOTLER, B. P. 1984. Risk of predation and the structure of desert rodent communities. Ecology 65:689–701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOTLER, B. P. & BLAUSTEIN, L. 1995. Titrating food and safety in a heterogeneous environment: when are risky and safe patches of equal value? Oikos 74:251–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MACLEAN, G. L. 1985. Robert's birds of Southern Africa. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. 848 pp.Google Scholar
MEESTER, J., LLOYD, C. N. V. & ROWE-ROWE, D. T. 1979. A note on the ecological role of Praomys natalensis. South African Journal of Science 75:183–184.Google Scholar
MONADJEM, A. 1997a. Stomach contents of 19 species of small mammals in Swaziland. South African Journal of Zoology 32:23–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MONADJEM, A. 1997b. Habitat preferences and biomasses of small mammals in Swaziland. African Journal of Ecology 35:64–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OLFF, H., RITCHIE, M. & PRINS, H. H. T. 2002. Global environmental control of diversity in large herbivores. Nature 415:901–904.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OWEN-SMITH, N. 1988. Megaherbivores. The influence of very large body size on ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 369 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OWEN-SMITH, N. 2004. Functional heterogeneity in resources within landscapes and herbivore population dynamics. Landscape Ecology 19:761–771.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PELES, J. D. & BARRETT, G. W. 1996. Effects of vegetation cover on the population dynamics of meadow voles. Journal of Mammalogy 77:857–869.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRINS, H. H. T. & DOUGLAS-HAMILTON, I. 1990. Stability in a multi-species assemblage of large herbivores in East Africa. Oecologia 83:392–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRINS, H. H. T. & OLFF, H. 1997. Species richness of African grazer assemblages: towards a functional explanation. Pp. 448–490 in Newbery, D., Prins, H. H. T. & Brown, N. D. (eds.). Dynamics of tropical communities. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.Google Scholar
RITCHIE, M. E. & OLFF, H. 1999. Spatial scaling laws yield a synthetic theory of biodiversity. Nature 400:557–560.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ROQUES, K. G., O'CONNOR, T. G. & WATKINSON, A. R. 2001. Dynamics of shrub encroachment in an African savanna: relative influences of fire, herbivory, rainfall and density dependence. Journal of Applied Ecology 38:268–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SKINNER, J. D. & CHIMIMBA, C. T. 2005. Mammals of the Southern African subregion. (Third edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 814 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SMIT, R., BOKDAM, J., DEN OUDEN, J., OLFF, H., SCHOT-OPSCHOOR, H. & SCHRIJVERS, M. 2001. Effects of introduction and exclusion of large herbivores on small rodent communities. Plant Ecology 155:119–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SPARKS, D. R. & MALECHEK, J. C. 1968. Estimating percentage dry weight in diets using a microscopic technique. Journal of Range Management 21:264–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STEWART, D. R. M. 1967. Analysis of plant epidermis in faeces: a technique for studying the food preferences of grazing herbivores. Journal of Applied Ecology 4:83–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STEWART, K. E. J., BOURN, N. A. D. & THOMAS, J. A. 2001. An evaluation of three quick methods commonly used to assess sward height in ecology. Journal of Applied Ecology 38:1148–1154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TAYLOR, P. 1998. The smaller mammals of KwaZulu-Natal. University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg. 139 pp.Google Scholar
VAN OUDTSHOORN, F. P. 1992. Guide to grasses of Southern Africa. Briza Publications, South Africa. 218 pp.Google Scholar
VAN SOEST, P. J. 1994. Nutritional ecology of the ruminant. (Second edition). Cornell University Press. 476 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VESEY-FITZGERALD, D. F. 1969. Utilization of the habitat of the buffalo in Lake Manyara National Park. East African Wildlife Journal 7:131–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VESEY-FITZGERALD, D. F. 1972. Fire and animal impact on vegetation in Tanzania National Parks. Proceeding of Tall Timbers Fire Ecological Conference 11:297–317.Google Scholar