IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v242y2012icp189-197.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Explaining elephant (Loxodonta africana) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) spatial distribution in the Zambezi Valley using maximum entropy modelling

Author

Listed:
  • Matawa, Farai
  • Murwira, Amon
  • Schmidt, Karin S.

Abstract

We used the maximum entropy (MAXENT) technique to explore how anthropogenic and physical factors influence the habitat of elephants and buffalo in a Southern African savanna landscape. Results show that for both species the distance to agricultural fields is the most important factor determining the choice of habitat. Without having used the nature reserves’ and conservancy's boundary as an input in the maximum entropy model, the model was mapping out the high probability of buffalo and elephant presence to coincide within their boundaries. The analysis of the habitat condition show that higher presence of wildlife in the nature reserves compared with cultivated areas is not dependent on the abundance of green biomass, proximity to surface water, or terrain slope, since these do not significantly differ between nature reserves and communal lands. We conclude that the presence of agricultural fields contributes more in shaping the habitats of both buffalo and elephant than other environmental variables. In the communal lands where the agricultural fields are concentrated along the rivers elephants and buffalo are pushed away from the rivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Matawa, Farai & Murwira, Amon & Schmidt, Karin S., 2012. "Explaining elephant (Loxodonta africana) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) spatial distribution in the Zambezi Valley using maximum entropy modelling," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 189-197.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:242:y:2012:i:c:p:189-197
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.05.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438001200230X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.05.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gaikwad, Jitendra & Wilson, Peter D. & Ranganathan, Shoba, 2011. "Ecological niche modeling of customary medicinal plant species used by Australian Aborigines to identify species-rich and culturally valuable areas for conservation," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(18), pages 3437-3443.
    2. Reside, April E. & Watson, Ian & VanDerWal, Jeremy & Kutt, Alex S., 2011. "Incorporating low-resolution historic species location data decreases performance of distribution models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(18), pages 3444-3448.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kaszta, Żaneta & Marino, Jorgelina & Ramoelo, Abel & Wolff, Eléonore, 2016. "Bulk feeder or selective grazer: African buffalo space use patterns based on fine-scale remotely sensed data on forage quality and quantity," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 323(C), pages 115-122.
    2. Keretz, Shay S. & Woolnough, Daelyn A. & Morris, Todd J. & Roseman, Edward F. & Zanatta, David T., 2024. "Habitat modelling of native freshwater mussels distinguishes river specific differences in the Detroit and St. Clair rivers of the Laurentian Great Lakes," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 487(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pie, Marcio R. & Meyer, Andreas L.S. & Firkowski, Carina R. & Ribeiro, Luiz F. & Bornschein, Marcos R., 2013. "Understanding the mechanisms underlying the distribution of microendemic montane frogs (Brachycephalus spp., Terrarana: Brachycephalidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 165-176.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:242:y:2012:i:c:p:189-197. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.