Christiaan Winterbach

Tau Consultants (Pty) Ltd · n/a

1. Large carnivores are a critical component of Africa’s biodiversity, and their conservation requires a clear understanding of interactions between large carnivores and people. 2. By reviewing existing literature, we identify 14 key factors that influence large African carnivore conservation, including ecological (biodiversity conservation, inters...

Prey availability and human-carnivore conflict are strong determinants that govern the spatial distribution and abundance of large carnivore species and determine the suitability of areas for their conservation. For wide-ranging large carnivores such as cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), additional conservation areas beyond protected area boundaries are...

Wide-ranging large carnivores often range beyond the boundaries of protected areas into human-dominated areas. Mapping out potentially suitable habitats on a country-wide scale and identifying areas with potentially high levels of threats to large carnivore survival is necessary to develop national conservation action plans. We used a novel approac...

The growing elephant populations in many parts of southern Africa raise concerns of a detrimental loss of trees, resulting in overall reduction of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Elephant distribution and density can be steered through artificial waterpoints (AWPs). However, this leaves resident vegetation no relief during dry seasons. We s...

Wildlife tourism can provide economic incentives for conservation. Due to the abundance of wildlife and the presence of charismatic species some areas are better suited to wildlife tourism. Our first objective was to develop criteria based on wildlife abundance and diversity to evaluate tourism potential in the Northern Conservation Zone of Botswan...

A high-resolution climate archive was reconstructed based on carbon isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating of the Chapman baobab in northeastern Botswana. The Chapman baobab, which exhibited an open ring-shaped structure composed of six stems, collapsed in January 2016 during an intense El Niño event. Two samples belonging to the oldest stems were...

Aim Assessing the distribution and persistence of species across their range is a crucial component of wildlife conservation. It demands data at adequate spatial scales and over extended periods of time, which may only be obtained through collaborative efforts, and the development of methods that integrate heterogeneous datasets. We aimed to combin...

Through progressive conservation management Botswana has earned its reputation as a haven for elephants. It is estimated that the carrying capacity of elephants for the entire country is between 50,000 and 55,000. Botswana’s thriving elephant population in 2016 was estimated to be about 131,626. This explosion in population size was likely due to t...

Habitat loss is one of largest threats to the persistence of large carnivore populations. However, because most large carnivores are long‐lived, cryptic and wide‐ranging, few studies examine the demographic consequences of habitat loss, and the resultant crowding that ensues, on these species. We used long‐term data to examine the demographic respo...

The year 2016 witnessed the fall of a symbol of the botanical world: the historic Chapman baobab of Botswana. This article presents the results of our investigation of the standing and fallen tree. The Chapman baobab had an open ring-shaped structure composed of six partially fused stems. Several wood samples collected from the stems prior and afte...

Carnivores that exhibit fission–fusion social organization can adapt group sizes to prevailing social and ecological conditions. This study focuses on social organization of African lions (Panthera leo) in the Okavango Delta, a seasonally flooded wetland. We used generalized estimating equations and generalized linear mixed models to estimate the e...

Climate records along aridity gradients where manifestations of climate change are most profound are important for testing climate models. The Kalahari Transect spans such a gradient, but instrumental records of climate parameters are limited in the sparsely populated region. We analysed the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O record from a Vachellia erioloba (E.Mey) tr...

The brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) is endemic to southern Africa. The largest population of this near-threatened species occurs in Botswana, but limited data were available to assess distribution and density. Our objectives were to use a stratified approach to collate available data and to collect more data to assess brown hyaena distribution an...

Background The range, population size and trend of large carnivores are important parameters to assess their status globally and to plan conservation strategies. One can use linear models to assess population size and trends of large carnivores from track-based surveys on suitable substrates. The conventional approach of a linear model with interce...

Trophy hunting plays a significant role in wildlife conservation in some contexts in various parts of the world. Yet excessive hunting is contributing to species declines, especially for large carnivores. Simulation models suggest that sustainable hunting of African lions may be achieved by restricting offtakes to males old enough to have reared a...

South-central Africa is characterized by an archipelago of wetlands, which has evolved in time and space since at least the Miocene, providing refugia for animal species during Pleistocene arid episodes. Their importance for biodiversity in the region is reflected in the evolution of a variety of specialist mammal and bird species, adapted to explo...

Prey availability and human-carnivore conflict are strong determinants that govern the spatial distribution and abundance of large carnivore species and determine the suitability of areas for their conservation. For wide-ranging large carnivores such as cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), additional conservation areas beyond protected area boundaries are...

Prey availability and human-carnivore conflict are strong determinants that govern the spatial distribution and abundance of large carnivore species and determine the suitability of areas for their conservation. For wide-ranging large carnivores such as cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ) suitable conservation areas beyond protected area boundaries are c...

Prey availability and human-carnivore conflict are strong determinants that govern the spatial distribution and abundance of large carnivore species and determine the suitability of areas for their conservation. For wide-ranging large carnivores such as cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ) suitable conservation areas beyond protected area boundaries are c...

Conservationists often advocate for landscape approaches to wildlife management while others argue for physical separation between protected species and human communities, but direct empirical comparisons of these alternatives are scarce. We relate African lion population densities and population trends to contrasting management practices across 42...

1. Large carnivores are a critical component of Africa’s biodiversity, and their conservation requires a clear understanding of interactions between large carnivores and people. 2. By reviewing existing literature, we identify 14 key factors that influence large African carnivore conservation, including ecological (biodiversity conservation, inters...

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes AIDS in the domestic cat (Felis catus) but has not been explicitly associated with AIDS pathology in any of the eight free-ranging species of Felidae that are endemic with circulating FIV strains. African lion (Panthera leo) populations are infected with lion-specific FIV strains (FIVple), yet there remain...

The lion Panthera leo is one of the world's most charismatic carnivores and is one of Africa's key predators. Here, we used a large dataset from 357 lions comprehending 1.13 megabases of sequence data and genotypes from 22 microsatellite loci to characterize its recent evolutionary history. Patterns of molecular genetic variation in multiple matern...

Genetic variation of 12S–16S (mtDNA) and ADA and TF (nDNA) genes in lions. (A) Haplotypes and variable sites for the 12S–16S mtDNA region surveyed in lions (total length 1,882 bp). Position 1 corresponds to position 1441 of the domestic cat (Felis catus) mtDNA genome (GenBank U20753). The “-” represents a gap and “.” matches the nucleotide in the f...

Linearized genetic differentiation of host and viral genetic markers with geographic distance. Regression of linearized FST estimates [24] for lion (nDNA and mtDNA) and FIVPle (pol-RT) genetic data plotted both against the geographic distance (model assuming habitat to be arrayed in an infinite one-dimensional lattice; one-dimension isolation-by-di...

Phylogenetic relationships of the 12S–16S mtDNA lion haplotypes. Neighbour-joining tree of the 1,882 bp 12S–16S mtDNA sequences. Bootstrap values are placed at each branchpoint for the minimum evolution/maximum parsimony/maximum likelihood analyses, respectively (ME/MP/ML). Outgroups: Ppa – leopard, Panthera pardus; Pun – snow-leopard, Panthera unc...

Phylogenetic relationships of the FIVPle pol-RT sequences. Neighbour-joining tree of the 301 bp FIVPle pol-RT sequences. The distinct FIVPle subtypes were labelled A to F. Bootstrap (BPS) values are placed at each branchpoint (ME/MP/ML) and in parenthesis are the BPS values obtained for a tree established with 520 bp of FIVPle pol-RT sequence for a...

Primers used to amplify the mtDNA (12S–16S) and nDNA (ADA and TF) portions surveyed in this study. (0.06 MB PDF)

Taxon specific unique nDNA alleles in lion populations (FCA-microsatellites and ADA locus). (0.06 MB PDF)

Summary statistics for FIVPle data. (0.00 MB PDF)

List of the lion samples used in this study. (0.11 MB PDF)

Nested design and summary results of the nested clade phylogeographic analysis (NCPA) for lion mtDNA data. (A) Nested design of the mtDNA haplotype network used for the NCPA. (B) Summary results of the NCPA. RGF/IBD - Restricted gene flow/isolation by distance. LDC/FR – long distance colonization/fragmentation. (0.10 MB PDF)

Structure cluster assignment results of 357 lions based on nDNA (ADA, TF, and 22 microsatellites) and mtDNA markers. Burn-in and replication values set at 30,000 and 1,000,000, respectively. (0.06 MB PDF)

Gene diversity and frequency values in lion populations. (0.07 MB PDF)

Bottleneck analysis in lion populations using the standardized differences test and the stepwise mutation model (SMM). (0.05 MB PDF)

Results of the hierarchical AMOVA in lions for four different geographical scenarios. (0.06 MB PDF)

Lion population pairwise FST estimates. Below the diagonal mtDNA data (12S–16S) and above the diagonal microsatellite data (22 loci). (0.06 MB PDF)

Transcription factors present within FIVPle LTR of lion subtypes B and E. These motifs were identified by the setting a threshold similarity score of 85% for screening against the TRANSFAC database at the website .

Primers for lion FIV amplification. The primers span the entire proviral genome of subtype E (Ple1027) and subtype B (Ple458). Shown are the primer sequence, relative position and orientation.

Parameters used in PAUP* analyses for LTR, each viral gene and combined analyses. These parameters were determined using the program Modeltest (see main text) and were implemented for the maximum likelihood and minimum evolution analyses in PAUP.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) naturally infects multiple species of cat and is related to human immunodeficiency virus in humans. FIV infection causes AIDS-like disease and mortality in the domestic cat (Felis catus) and serves as a natural model for HIV infection in humans. In African lions (Panthera leo) and other exotic felid species, dise...

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects numerous wild and domestic feline species and is closely related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Species-specific strains of FIV have been described for domestic cat (Felis catus), puma (Puma concolor), lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), and Pall...