Yvette C Ehlers Smith

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife - Scientific Services · Ecological Advice

Context: Habitat conversion for agriculture is a major driver of global biodiversity loss, partly because of homogeneity within agri-ecosystems. Anthropogenic landscapes can also increase habitat heterogeneity and primary productivity, however, augmenting regional biodiversity, as species that exploit resources associated with human activities expa...

The Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest is extremely biodiverse but is threatened by anthropogenic land-use change. In South Africa, remnant forest patches are divided into highly restricted but protected indigenous forest (IF) and abundant but unprotected coastal thicket/dense bush (DB), which likely represents secondary/regenerating IF. We tested th...

The Indian Ocean Coastal Belt (IOCB) of South Africa is a natural forestgrassland mosaic, nested within an anthropogenic, mixed land-use matrix. Given the ongoing threat of agricultural expansion and urbanisation, we assessed the value of a buffer habitat (Coastal dense bush) for conserving forest species. We investigated the influence of microhabi...

This Best Practice Guide (BPG) has been created with the aim of assisting ecologists, conservation researchers and Protected Area managers/practitioners in designing, implementing and interpreting Camera-Trap Surveys (CTS), with the overarching goal of standardising survey methods to ensure comparability between surveys across localities in KwaZulu...

Context Conservation planning for biodiversity within anthropogenic landscapes is crucial given the rate of habitat conversion and human population growth. Investigating anthropogenic impacts on the persistence of biodiversity is key to management decision-making. Objectives We investigated the influence of protected areas (PAs), agriculture and u...

Forest transformation has major impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Identifying the influence of forest habitat structure and composition on avian functional communities is important for conserving and managing forest systems. This study investigated the effect of forest structure and composition characteristics on bird species commu...

Microhabitats play a significant role in the persistence of mammalian species and communities. In South Africa, the forest biome is the smallest. It includes the naturally fragmented Southern Mistbelt Forest group, where little is known about contemporary mammalian assemblage dynamics concerning these forest's microhabitats. We determined the micro...

Conservationists speculated on potential benefits to wildlife of lockdown restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic but voiced concern that restrictions impeded nature conservation. We assessed the effects of lockdown restrictions on biodiversity conservation in South Africa, a biodiverse country with economic inequality and reliance on wildlif...

Camera traps have been used increasingly as a research tool to monitor wildlife globally, and have become more advanced, thereby improving their performance and lowering costs. Their use has allowed researchers to study a range of species, including rare and elusive species, particularly in remote areas, in a non-invasive, reliable and cost-effecti...

Understanding changes in the population density of cryptic gamebirds may be useful for land managers when designing or adjusting grassland management regimes to conserve these species and the grasslands. The population density of Red-winged Francolin (Scleroptila levaillantii) indicates the presence of their preferred grassland habitat. Pointing do...

African forests have been negatively affected because of human impacts. The use of forest products is high for lower-income communities. Excessive logging alters the forest patch structure and composition, causing degradation. In addition, increases in bushmeat hunting for sustenance and trade result in increased pressures on forest mammalian speci...

Pointing dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are primarily used to locate cryptic species or evidence thereof and often to establish their abundance. Environmental conditions at the time of search may influence the probability that a dog will detect a target. Here, we aimed to determine the environmental factors that affected the detection rate of a poin...

Context Forest loss and fragmentation are major drivers of biodiversity decline globally. However, with the widely recognised notion that biodiversity is multifaceted, few studies have assessed the responses of different diversity metrics to forest landscape changes. Objectives Here, we used a multifaceted approach to assess the effects of landsca...

Anthropogenic activities have resulted in habitat loss and fragmentation across different landscapes. Anthropogenic land-uses adjacent to forest patches may further influence the movement and occupancy of a species. Therefore, we investigated how dominant land-uses, i.e. grassland, human settlement and commercial exotic timber plantations surroundi...

Changes to natural environments as a consequence of human population growth are a major threat to biodiversity. Natural habitat modifications, changes in vegetation structure and habitat characteristics have resulted in decreased species richness and functional diversity in wildlife populations. Species’ distributions, abundance and persistence are...

Documenting phylogenetic diversity for conservation practice allows elucidation of ecosystem functioning and processes by highlighting the commonality and divergence of species' functional traits within their evolutionary context. Conserving distinct evolutionary histories has intrinsic value, and the conservation of phylogenetically diverse commun...

Anthropogenic land transformation, especially agriculture and urban development, are the leading causes of natural land cover loss and ultimate decline in environmental functionality and connectivity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. However, recent developments in the form of housing estates with conservation and environmental management in...

In the original publication, the figure 2 was processed incorrectly during the typesetting and publication process. The correct figure is provided in this correction. The original article has been corrected.

Urbanisation is rapidly transforming natural landscapes with consequences for biodiversity. Little is documented on the response of African wildlife to urbanisation. We reviewed case studies of vertebrate species’ responses to urbanisation in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to determine trends. Connected habitat mosaics of natural and anthropogenic gre...

South Africa's communal rangelands constitute ~25% of the country's land cover and are largely managed for livestock grazing. These habitats play an important role in rural livelihoods and cultural practices. Using semi-structured interviews, we documented indigenous local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by rural dwellers linked to natural resource...

Establishing the specific habitat requirements of forest specialists in fragmented natural habitats is vital for their conservation. We used camera-trap surveys and microhabitat-scale covariates to assess the habitat requirements, probability of occupancy and detection of two terrestrial forest specialist species, the Orange Ground-thrush Geokichla...

Habitat fragmentation has a multitude of negative effects on biodiversity, including the facilitation of alien plant invasion. Of concern in South Africa is the spread of fleshy-fruited invasive plant species, which in many places are replacing indigenous vegetation in frequently disturbed and fragmented habitats. The availability of dis-persers is...

Loss of habitat area and structural heterogeneity through anthropogenic fragmentation poses a threat to the survival of wildlife, which may be exacerbated by urban pressures. Understanding the underlying ecological processes that influence species’ persistence in fragmented landscapes is vital for conservation. We described the effects of forest fr...

Aim Forested regions are of global importance for a multitude of ecosystem functions and services and are critical for biodiversity. Anthropogenic climate‐change compounds negative effects of land‐use change on forest persistence and forest‐dependent biodiversity. Habitat loss and climate change have an additive effect and drive species’ extinction...

We estimated the influence of habitat fragmentation characteristics (patch size, isolation and number of neighbouring patches), habitat and land management types at the community level, specifically, on species richness, functional-α (alpha), guild-and β (beta) diversity of forest and dense bush habitat patches in southern KwaZulu-Natal Province, S...

We assessed the potential competitive exclusion of southern bushbuck (hereafter bushbuck, Tragela-phus scriptus) by nyala (Tragelaphus angasii), the larger of the two spiral-horned browsing antelopes (members of the Tragelaphine family). It has been suggested that high concentrations of nyala, capable of browsing a greater breadth of food items, ne...

This 381-paged book covers the biology, ecology, impact and management of 34 common alien invasive species, with reviews on the history and context of avian introductions and invasions in five major regions (Oceania, Africa, Europe (including the Middle East, Asia and South America)), as well as management challenges and the potential of citizen sc...

This 381-paged book covers the biology, ecology, impact and management of 34 common alien invasive species, with reviews on the history and context of avian introductions and invasions in five major regions (Oceania, Africa, Europe (including the Middle East, Asia and South America)), as well as management challenges and the potential of citizen sc...

A horizon scan was conducted to identify emerging and intensifying issues for biodiversity conservation in South Africa over the next 5–10 years. South African biodiversity experts submitted 63 issues of which ten were identified as priorities using the Delphi method. These priority issues were then plotted along axes of social agreement and scient...

Global biodiversity is currently under threat from human population expansion and the required land transformation for shelter and resources. Land transformation, in the form of agriculture or urbanisation is believed to reduce habitats and their resources, increase fragmentation of natural habitats, and increase the likelihood of successful invasi...

Connectivity, the degree to which the landscape structure allows movement between resource and habitat patches, is vital for facilitating a wide range of ecological processes across transformed and anthropogenic landscapes. Connectivity is critical for dispersal of individuals from natal sites, colonisation of patches across a landscape by populati...

The ecological impact of forest product harvesting is poorly understood despite the reliance of millions of impoverished households on forest resources. As birds are indicators of environmental change and essential for the function and regeneration of forest ecosystems, this study aimed to assess the response of bird species richness and functional...

Anthropogenic forest disturbance pose a significant threat to the persistence of wildlife. Generally, disturbance of forest environments alters vegetation structure, affecting specialised niche-dependent avian species. We investigated the influence of a comprehensive suite of vegetation structures on the taxonomic and functional diversity of avian...

Population expansion and land transformation reduce biodiversity, potentially reducing environmental func-tionality. These effects are evident globally, and specifically in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, where land cover is being transformed for urbanisation. However, much of the urbanised areas incorporate differing levels of urban greening, w...

Context The effects of changing land use, and especially urbanisation, on species and functional diversity are of global concern. Eco-estates are a form of urban housing development that is suggested to partially negate the effects of landscape development. Objectives We assessed avian functional diversity at four eco-estates (previously sugarcane...

We report the first in-depth evidence of targeted mushroom foraging in an Asian colobine. Using direct observations (2010–2018) and camera traps (2008–2018) in the Sebangau Forest, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, we show how adult female red langurs (Presbytis rubicunda) are regularly descending to the ground to consume mushrooms. We recorde...

Forest-habitat loss and fragmentation reduce connectivity, presenting dispersal challenges for many forest-dependent species with deleterious effects on community structure and diversity. It is expected that avian forest specialists are vulnerable to fragmentation, yet seasonal migrants may be more resilient to isolation effects than sedentary spec...

Understanding the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on species’ behaviour is crucial for conservation planning, considering the extent of habitat loss. We investigated the influence of anthropogenic disturbances including agriculture, urbanisation, protected areas, and the presence of novel predators, on the temporal and spatial behaviour of sym...

This Best Practice Guide (BPG) has been created with the aim of assisting ecologists, conservation researchers and Protected Area managers/practitioners in designing, implementing and interpreting Camera-Trap Surveys (CTS), with the overarching goal of standardising survey methods to ensure comparability between surveys across localities in KwaZulu...

In the original publication of this article, the Table 2 was published incorrectly. The revised Table 2 is given on the following page.

Using direct observations and camera traps at eight sites across Indonesian Borneo we show how red langurs (Presbytis rubicunda) are more terrestrial than previously believed, regularly coming to the ground. This unusual behavior has been found at six of the eight sites surveyed. We find that red langurs come to the ground more frequently in distur...

Aim We investigated habitat heterogeneity and patterns of avian taxonomic and functional diversity change across a decreasing patch‐size gradient in a critically endangered, fragmented forest‐system to elucidate: (1) habitat patch‐size and structural drivers of avian diversity change, (2) potential patch‐size thresholds at which avian diversity and...

The modification of natural habitats requires behavioural plasticity, which may be challenging for ‘specialist’ species. Quantifying habitat requirements and behavioural responses of specialists to landscape transformation is thus a priority for baseline data to inform conservation practices. Using camera-trap surveys of the forest-dependent Lemon...

The Indian Ocean Coastal Belt (IOCB) of South Africa is a natural forest-grassland mosaic, nested within an anthropogenic, mixed land-use matrix. Given the ongoing threat of agricultural expansion and urbanisation, we assessed the value of a buffer habitat (Coastal dense bush) for conserving forest species. We investigated the influence of microhab...

The spotted ground thrush (Zoothera guttata; SGT) is a globally endangered forest specialist whose distribution is poorly understood in the critically endangered Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest (IOCBF) biome on the east coast of southern Africa. More than 70% of the IOCBF has been lost to development, resulting in fragmented forest remnants within...

Over a three-year period, between January 2014 and December 2016, I conducted research within the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt (Coastal Belt) of the Ugu district of south-east KwaZulu-Natal Province, an area that falls within the Pondoland Area of Endemism. The study region consists of a mixed land-use mosaic, where naturally- and anthropogenically-fr...

Assessment Rationale: Considering its relatively widespread distribution, ability to utilise agricultural landscapes, and common occurrence (occurring at 0.3 and 0.5 individuals / km² in Cape forests), the Bushpig is listed as Least Concern within the assessment region. No major threats have been identified that may be causing significant declines...

Assessment Rationale: Listed as Least Concern, as the species is relatively widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, and present in several well managed, protected areas in South Africa. Northern and north-eastern South Africa, however, comprise the southernmost limit of its distribution, within which the species is confined to moist savannah and riverin...

Assessment Rationale: This sub-Saharan African species has a disjunct distribution between the eastern coastal forests of South Africa and the rest of its range. Within the assessment region, the species is inferred to be declining due to forest habitat loss from ongoing development along the coastal belt, illegal sand mining (which may represent...

Assessment rationale: Samango Monkeys are restricted to a variety of forest habitats and comprise three subspecies within the assessment region: Samango Monkey (C. a. labiatus), Stair’s White-collared monkey (C. a. erythrarchus), and Schwarz’s White-collared Monkey (C. a. schwarzi). While C. a. labiatus is endemic to the assessment region, C. a. e...

This species is restricted to forest patches within north-eastern South Africa and Swaziland. They can occur at densities as high as 1 individual / ha. In KZN, there are an estimated 3,046–4,210 individuals in protected areas alone, with the largest subpopulation of 1,666–2,150 individuals occurring in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (2012–2014 counts; E...

In general, land-use change negatively affects biodiversity, so quantifying the ability of species to persist in modified environments is crucial. Birds maintain arguably the most diverse range of functions in ecosystem dynamics; however, forest-bird specialists are sensitive to fragmentation, and are therefore susceptible to being replaced by gene...

The spotted ground thrush (Zoothera guttata; SGT) is an endangered forest specialist whose distribution is poorly understood along the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest (IOCBF) on South Africa’s east coast. More than 70% of the IOCBF has been lost to development, resulting in fragmented forest remnants within a mosaic of different land uses. We cond...

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province contains 16% of South Africa’s remaining indigenous forests, including the Endangered Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest. Coastal development has resulted in a land-use mosaic including agriculture, forestry and urban landscapes. The effects of changing land use on forest mammals remain largely untested in KZN; thus, dete...

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) contains 16% of South Africa’s indigenous forests, including the endangered Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest. Coastal development has resulted in a mosaic of different land uses such as agriculture, forestry and urban landscapes. The effects of changing land use remain largely untested, particularly in southern KZN, a region his...

KwaZulu-Natal contains 16% of South Africa’s indigenous forests, including the endangered Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest (IOCBF). Coastal development has resulted in a mosaic of different land uses such as agriculture, forestry and urban landscapes. Consequently, more than 70% of coastal forest has been lost and are highly fragmented, diminishing...

We provide the first parasite assessment of wild red langurs (Presbytis rubicunda). Seven helminth taxa and 4 protozoa were recovered from faecal samples. We report the details of the death of an adult female red langur with potential association of an elevated parasite infection. There is a paucity of published literature on red langurs and nothin...

Knowledge of a species' ranging patterns is vital for understanding its behav-ioral ecology and vulnerability to extinction. Given the abundance and even distribution of leaves in forested habitats, folivorous primates generally spend less time feeding; more time resting; have shorter day ranges; and require smaller home ranges than frugivorous pri...

Because of the large-scale destruction of Borneo's rainforests on mineral soils, tropical peat-swamp forests (TPSFs) are increasingly essential for conserving remnant biodiversity, particularly in the lowlands where the majority of habitat conversion has occurred. Consequently, effective strategies for biodiversity conservation are required, which...

Southeast Asia's lowland dipterocarp forests experience supra-annual "mast" fruiting and flowering events, in which the majority of trees reproduce simultaneously at irregular intervals, with extensive intervening periods of very low primate food availability. This scarcity of food results in a negative energy balance and a reliance on "fallback fo...