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Impala are medium-sized antelopes, widely distributed throughout East and Southern Africa. They consume grasses in the wet season, switching to browsing in the dry season. African savannas are classified into arid-eutrophic and moist-dystrophic. The arid-eutrophic savannas have fertile soils which support plant biomass of high nutritive value, util...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... The wet season data were collected from mid-April to midMay in Serengeti and mid-May to mid-June in Mikumi while the dry season data were collected from mid-August to mid-September in Serengeti and mid-September to mid-October in Mikumi. An observational method was used to collect the data, where a car was driven through the Park's road network (Fig. 2). The car was stopped for recording once a group of impala was sighted browsing within 50 m from the road transect. The variables recorded were plant species browsed, number of bites taken per tree, browsing height, and habitat type. Habitats that had few scattered trees and/or shrubs were considered open while those with continuous ...
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Citations
... Likewise, medium-sized antelopes such as Impala (Aepyceros melampus) can also be reintroduced in UDOM rewilding area to further rewild the site. Impala are intermediate feeders; grazers-browsers that graze during the wet season and shift to browsing during the dry season (Mramba, 2021). They graze on a variety of species including Cynodon dactylon, Panicum maximum, Urochloa spp., Eragrostis spp., Themeda triandra and Digitaria eriantha (Mandinyenya et al., 2018;Pieterse, 2018). ...
Backgroundand research aim
In the anthropogenic landscapes where historically wildlife existed, there can be a potential for rewilding to reverse extinction. However, there is limited literature providing approaches to achieve successful rewilding. The current study aimed at providing empirical based methodological procedures for successful rewilding of the University of Dodoma (UDOM) and nearby degraded landscape by assessing past and current vegetation and large mammal species’ occurrence.
Methodology
The past occurrence of mega-herbivores and their habitat was assessed using systematic literature survey, past vegetation maps and key informant interviews. EBSCOhost database and Google Scholar search engine were used for literature searching. A survey was conducted at UDOM area which is one of the remaining habitat patches in central Tanzania to examine present plant diversity.
Results
The baseline vegetation map of 1960 indicated that the study area was mainly Savanna woodland. Literature suggested that anthropogenic activities resulted into Land-Use Land-Cover Changes (LULCC) leading into wild animals’ extirpation leaving remnant populations in the surrounding protected areas. While the key informant interviews verified local loss of mega-herbivores, field data collected at UDOM campus in 2022 indicated the vegetation transformation to bushland dominated by Dichrostachys cinerea. The area’s past vegetation composition was 33% grasses, 29% herbs, 21% shrubs and 17% trees while the current was 18% grasses, 42% herbs, 30% shrubs and 10% trees.
Conclusion
The study revealed that central Tanzania hosted spectacular large mammal populations that interacted with the savanna which has recently been transformed to bushland. However, observed evidence on past existence of large mammals and recent elephants’ sightings at UDOM area indicate great potential for rewilding.
Implication for conservation
Reconstructing historical information of ecosystems is crucial for successful rewilding. Such information can guide conservation efforts aiming at reversing extinction and reestablishing connectivity of large herbivore population across ecosystems.
The common impala ( Aepyceros melampus melampus ), a medium‐sized herbivore in Eastern and Southern African savannahs, faces challenges from climate change. Using a species distribution model, we found temperature of the driest quarter (30.32%) and wettest month precipitation (20.36%) as the most influential factors. Surprisingly, land cover change had less impact (0.25%). Projections suggest a significant habitat reduction for impalas by 2050, with estimated losses of 18.12% (SSP‐126) and 25.62% (SSP‐585). These findings highlight climate change and land cover alterations as potential threats to impala survival, impacting crucial resources like forage and water. This research guides conservation efforts for common impala.
The restoration of ecosystems through trophic rewilding has become increasingly common worldwide, but the effects on predator–prey and ecosystem dynamics remain poorly understood. For example, predation pressure may impose spatiotemporal behavioural adjustments in prey individuals, affecting herbivory and predation success, and therefore potentially impinging on the long-term success of trophic rewilding through apex predator reintroduction. Predation risk might have detrimental effects on prey through displacement from water or other vital resources. We investigated how five species of African ungulates responded behaviourally to changes in predation risk, following cheetah releases in the system. We grouped ungulates by body size to represent preferred prey weight ranges of the cheetah and examined changes in visitation rates, duration of stay, and activity patterns at waterholes with and without cheetah presence. During cheetah presence, visitation rates of ungulates were low for medium-sized species but high for large-sized species, suggesting that the species within the cheetah’s preferred prey weight range adjusted behaviourally to minimize waterhole visits. Visits to waterholes were longer for small- and large-sized ungulates with cheetah presence, possibly indicating increased vigilance, or a strategy to maximize water intake per visit while minimizing visits. We did not detect significant differences in circadian or seasonal activity in waterhole visits, which may be attributable to the need of ungulates to access water year-round in our semi-arid study system and where migration was impeded due to physical barriers (fencing). We recommend further research into the long-term behavioural consequences of trophic rewilding on prey populations and trophic cascades to assist the success of recovery programs and to minimize potential detrimental effects at target sites.
