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Termite mounds may not be foraging hotspots for mega-herbivores in a nutrient-rich matrix

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2013

Justice Muvengwi ,
Monicah Mbiba  and
Tatenda Nyenda
Justice Muvengwi*
Affiliation:
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe
Monicah Mbiba
Affiliation:
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe
Tatenda Nyenda
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe
*
1Corresponding author. Email: justicemuvengwi@yahoo.co.uk
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Abstract:

Our study investigated the influence of termitaria on vegetation utilization by elephants in Chewore North, Zimbabwe. Ten termite mounds and ten similar sized control plots were surveyed for soil nutrients, tree species diversity and plant biomass removal by elephants. Termite mounds had higher mean (± SE) concentrations of P, Ca, Mg and Na (0.15 ± 0.01, 48.8 ± 9.32, 5.78 ± 1.59 and 0.47 ± 0.12 meq per 100 g respectively) than control plots (0.05 ± 0.01, 3.33 ± 0.56, 1.53 ± 0.22 and 0.19 ± 0.02 meq per 100 g). However, Shannon Wiener index of tree diversity did not vary significantly between termite mounds (1.13 ± 0.280) and their control plots (0.827 ± 0.469). Contrary to most studies investigating patterns of vegetation utilization by large mammalian herbivores on termitaria, biomass removal was five times more on control plots than termite mounds. No difference in biomass removal was noted for Colophospermum mopane which had enough replicates for statistical analysis both on termite mounds and control plots. Our study negates the hypothesis that nutrient-rich soil patches will act as feeding hotspots for large mammalian herbivores. We concluded that vegetation utilization by elephants may be tree species specific, particularly in nutrient-rich environments.

Keywords

biomass removaldiversityelephantstermite moundvegetationZimbabwe
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 29 , Issue 6 , November 2013 , pp. 551 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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