IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Epps, C.W.; Mutayoba, B.; Wasser, S.; Brashares, J. | |
| Past and present connectivity of wildlife populations in Tanzania, East Africa | |
| 2008 Full Book | |
This report summarizes the findings from the two field seasons of our research project. Our goal was to evaluate a possible wildlife corridor between Ruaha, Udzungwa, and Mikumi National Parks. Between September 2006 and November 2007, we conducted 84 walking transects (total length of 680 km) across the corridor region, in most cases randomly located on a 19 km interval. We recorded all large mammal species >1kg that we detected from dung, tracks, and sightings; we also recorded habitat and any human activity. We collected 766 dung samples for population genetic analyses in the parks and in the corridor region, and extracted DNA from 613 of the samples in best condition. Preliminary analyses of our field surveys suggests that (1) elephant movements occur in specific locations throughout this corridor; thus it is likely that the Ruaha population is currently linked to Udzungwa/Mikumi populations; (2) in the corridor regions, elephant activity was correlated with high numbers of other mammal species implying that areas used by elephants are important for other wildlife species; (3) as expected total numbers of mammal species, as well as elephants, were lower or undetected in areas with higher human population and more human activity; (4) areas with many species of large mammals still occur outside of protected areas in the corridor region; and (5) in general, with the exception of elephants, smallerbodied animals have a more continuous distribution across the corridor, while larger-bodied animals are mostly absent. We identified several currently unprotected or partially protected areas that may have high conservation value for the corridor. At Sokoine University, we have optimized DNA extraction procedures from feces and have successfully amplified DNA from fecal samples for eight targeted ungulate species (dik dik, bush duiker, impala, greater kudu, eland, buffalo, giraffe, and elephant). We have initiated comparative analyses of gene flow and species verification at the University of California, Berkeley. Genetic data, to date, have been successfully analyzed for impala and elephant samples across the corridor region. Ongoing analyses of transect and genetic data will address more detailed questions regarding the effects of habitat and human activity on species and groups of species (e.g. carnivores). |
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