Habitat use strategies of African elephants under different seasonal and ecological constraints
Scott Y. S. Chui
A B C * , Wayne M. Getz B D , Michelle Henley E F G , Dana P. Seidel B , Mark Keith H , Francesca Parrini I and Leszek Karczmarski A C *
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Handling Editor: Pablo Ferreras
Abstract
Habitat selection is a fundamental process that shapes animal spatial ecology. Species with wide geographic distribution that occupy diverse habitats have to adapt their resource acquisition strategies to maximise their effectiveness under local ecological constraints, leading to intraspecific behavioural variability. Identifying environmental determinants of habitat use pattern and regional intraspecific differences advances our understanding of the ecological underpinnings of animal behaviour and is important in strategising effective conservation and management of free-ranging populations.
The aim of this study was to assess individual heterogeneity of habitat selection and use by African elephants under different seasonal and ecological constraints, in order to better understand the processes underlying their spatial behaviour.
We investigated the habitat selection pattern of 19 African elephants equipped with satellite-linked GPS-collars in two different ecosystems, resource-rich bushveld bordering Kruger National Park, South Africa (six individuals) and arid savannah of Etosha National Park, Namibia (13 individuals). By constructing individual-specific and population-level resource selection functions (RSFs), we examined seasonal differences of elephant habitat use pattern to identify the underlying ecological mechanisms.
Elephants were attracted to surface water in both study areas; but when water availability decreased in arid environment, they showed individual-specific preference in using natural vs artificial water sources. Road networks enabled efficient travel among resource patches, but its use differed between individuals. Areas with higher and more predictable vegetation productivity were generally preferred by elephants in dry season, but in more competitive arid savannah system there were individual/group-specific seasonal differences in resource selection patterns, likely reflecting the social dynamics among individuals. At population-level, the habitat selection pattern was less apparent due to considerable intra-population variability.
The substantial differences in model coefficients within and between our study populations demonstrate the spatio-behavioural plasticity of elephants under various environmental conditions and suggest that population-level RSFs may over-simplify elephants’ socio-ecological complexity.
Within the resource competition paradigm, individual-specific habitat selection may be as essential in maintaining population resilience as is the population-level pattern of resource use. Consequently, spatio-behavioural heterogeneity within and between populations should be accounted for in resource selection studies and all subsequent conservation management policies.
Keywords: behavioural plasticity, habitat use strategy, individual heterogeneity, Loxodonta africana, resource selection function (RSF), southern Africa, surface water, vegetation productivity.
References
Akbaripasand A, Krkosek M, Lokman PM, Closs GP (2014) Does social status within a dominance hierarchy mediate individual growth, residency and relocation? Oecologia 176(3), 771-779.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Allen CRB, Brent LJN, Motsentwa T, Weiss MN, Croft DP (2020) Importance of old bulls: leaders and followers in collective movements of all-male groups in African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana). Scientific Reports 10(1), 13996.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Archibald S, Scholes RJ (2007) Leaf green-up in a semi-arid African savanna: separating tree and grass responses to environmental cues. Journal of Vegetation Science 18(4), 583-594.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Bartoń K (2009) MuMIn: multi-model inference (Version 1.43.17). Available at http://r-forge.r-project.org/projects/mumin/
Bastille-Rousseau G, Wittemyer G (2019) Leveraging multidimensional heterogeneity in resource selection to define movement tactics of animals. Ecology Letters 22(9), 1417-1427.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Bastille-Rousseau G, Wittemyer G (2022) Simple metrics to characterize inter-individual and temporal variation in habitat selection behaviour. Journal of Animal Ecology 91(8), 1693-1706.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Bastille-Rousseau G, Wall J, Douglas-Hamilton I, Lesowapir B, Loloju B, Mwangi N, Wittemyer G (2020) Landscape-scale habitat response of African elephants shows strong selection for foraging opportunities in a human dominated ecosystem. Ecography 43(1), 149-160.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Bates D, Mächler M, Bolker B, Walker S (2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67(1), 1-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Baxter PWJ, Getz WM (2005) A model-framed evaluation of elephant effects on tree and fire dynamics in African savannas. Ecological Applications 15(4), 1331-1341.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Baxter PWJ, Getz WM (2008) Development and parameterization of a rain- and fire-driven model for exploring elephant effects in African savannas. Environmental Modeling & Assessment 13(2), 221-242.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Beirne C, Meier AC, Brumagin G, Jasperse-Sjolander L, Lewis M, Masseloux J, Myers K, Fay M, Okouyi J, White LJT, Poulsen JR (2020) Climatic and resource determinants of forest elephant movements. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8(96), 96.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Beirne C, Houslay TM, Morkel P, Clark CJ, Fay M, Okouyi J, White LJT, Poulsen JR (2021) African forest elephant movements depend on time scale and individual behavior. Scientific Reports 11(1), 12634.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Bennitt E, Bonyongo MC, Harris S (2014) Habitat selection by African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in response to landscape-level fluctuations in water availability on two temporal scales. PLoS ONE 9(7), e101346.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Beuchat CA (1990) Metabolism and the scaling of urine concentrating ability in mammals: resolution of a paradox? Journal of Theoretical Biology 143(1), 113-122.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Blake S, Deem SL, Strindberg S, Maisels F, Momont L, Isia I-B, Douglas-Hamilton I, Karesh WB, Kock MD (2008) Roadless wilderness area determines forest elephant movements in the Congo Basin. PLoS ONE 3(10), e3546.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Bolnick DI, Amarasekare P, Araújo MS, Bürger R, Levine JM, Novak M, Rudolf VHW, Schreiber SJ, Urban MC, Vasseur DA (2011) Why intraspecific trait variation matters in community ecology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 26(4), 183-192.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Boyce MS, Vernier PR, Nielsen SE, Schmiegelow FKA (2002) Evaluating resource selection functions. Ecological Modelling 157(2–3), 281-300.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Buckland ST, Burnham KP, Augustin NH (1997) Model selection: an integral part of inference. Biometrics 53(2), 603-618.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Chamaillé-Jammes S, Mtare G, Makuwe E, Fritz H (2013) African elephants adjust speed in response to surface-water constraint on foraging during the dry-season. PLoS ONE 8(3), e59164.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Chibeya D, Wood H, Cousins S, Carter K, Nyirenda MA, Maseka H (2021) How do African elephants utilize the landscape during wet season? A habitat connectivity analysis for Sioma Ngwezi landscape in Zambia. Ecology and Evolution 11(21), 14916-14931.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Codron J, Lee-Thorp JA, Sponheimer M, Codron D, Grant RC, de Ruiter DJ (2006) Elephant (Loxodonta africana) diets in Kruger National Park, South Africa: spatial and landscape differences. Journal of Mammalogy 87(1), 27-34.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Codron J, Codron D, Sponheimer M, Kirkman K, Duffy KJ, Raubenheimer EJ, Mélice J-L, Grant R, Clauss M, Lee-Thorp JA (2012) Stable isotope series from elephant ivory reveal lifetime histories of a true dietary generalist. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279(1737), 2433-2441.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Cransac N, Gerard J-F, Maublanc M-L, Pépin D (1998) An example of segregation between age and sex classes only weakly related to habitat use in mouflon sheep (Ovis gmelini). Journal of Zoology 244(3), 371-378.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Dall SRX, Bell AM, Bolnick DI, Ratnieks FLW (2012) An evolutionary ecology of individual differences. Ecology Letters 15(10), 1189-1198.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Dammhahn M, Almeling L (2012) Is risk taking during foraging a personality trait? A field test for cross-context consistency in boldness. Animal Behaviour 84(5), 1131-1139.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
de Beer Y, van Aarde RJ (2008) Do landscape heterogeneity and water distribution explain aspects of elephant home range in southern Africa’s arid savannas? Journal of Arid Environments 72(11), 2017-2025.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
de Boer WF, van Langevelde F, Prins HHT, de Ruiter PC, Blanc J, Vis MJP, Gaston KJ, Hamilton ID (2013) Understanding spatial differences in African elephant densities and occurrence, a continent-wide analysis. Biological Conservation 159, 468-476.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
de la Torre JA, Cheah C, Lechner AM, Wong EP, Tuuga A, Saaban S, Goossens B, Campos-Arceiz A (2022) Sundaic elephants prefer habitats on the periphery of protected areas. Journal of Applied Ecology 59, 2947-2958.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
du Plessis WP (1999) Linear regression relationships between NDVI, vegetation and rainfall in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Journal of Arid Environments 42(4), 235-260.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Dussault C, Pinard V, Ouellet J-P, Courtois R, Fortin D (2012) Avoidance of roads and selection for recent cutovers by threatened caribou: fitness-rewarding or maladaptive behaviour? Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279(1746), 4481-4488.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Evans KE, Harris S (2012) Sex differences in habitat use by African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana: is size really the deciding factor? African Journal of Ecology 50(3), 277-284.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fattebert J, Michel V, Scherler P, Naef-Daenzer B, Milanesi P, Grüebler MU (2018) Little owls in big landscapes: informing conservation using multi-level resource selection functions. Biological Conservation 228, 1-9.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Ferry N, Dray S, Fritz H, Valeix M (2016) Interspecific interference competition at the resource patch scale: do large herbivores spatially avoid elephants while accessing water? Journal of Animal Ecology 85(6), 1574-1585.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Fieberg J, Signer J, Smith B, Avgar T (2021) A ‘how to’ guide for interpreting parameters in habitat-selection analyses. Journal of Animal Ecology 90(5), 1027-1043.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Fishlock V, Caldwell C, Lee PC (2016) Elephant resource-use traditions. Animal Cognition 19(2), 429-433.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Gaynor KM, Branco PS, Long RA, Gonçalves DD, Granli PK, Poole JH (2018) Effects of human settlement and roads on diel activity patterns of elephants (Loxodonta africana). African Journal of Ecology 56(4), 872-881.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Gedir JV, Cain JW, III, Swetnam TL, Krausman PR, Morgart JR (2020) Extreme drought and adaptive resource selection by a desert mammal. Ecosphere 11(7), e03175.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Getz WM (2022) A hierarchical path-segmentation movement ecology framework. Ecological Processes 11(1), 56.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Getz WM, Fortmann-Roe S, Cross PC, Lyons AJ, Ryan SJ, Wilmers CC (2007) LoCoH: nonparameteric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions. PLoS ONE 2(2), e207.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Getz WM, Salter R, Lyons AJ, Sippl-Swezey N (2015) Panmictic and clonal evolution on a single patchy resource produces polymorphic foraging guilds. PLoS ONE 10(8), e0133732.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Getz WM, Salter R, Seidel DP, van Hooft P (2016) Sympatric speciation in structureless environments. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16(1), 50.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Graham MH (2003) Confronting multicollinearity in ecological multiple regression. Ecology 84(11), 2809-2815.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Guldemond RAR, Purdon A, van Aarde RJ (2017) A systematic review of elephant impact across Africa. PLoS ONE 12(6), e0178935.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Heithaus MR, Frid A, Wirsing AJ, Dill LM, Fourqurean JW, Burkholder D, Thomson J, Bejder L (2007) State-dependent risk-taking by green sea turtles mediates top-down effects of tiger shark intimidation in a marine ecosystem. Journal of Animal Ecology 76(5), 837-844.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Hertel AG, Niemelä PT, Dingemanse NJ, Mueller T (2020) A guide for studying among-individual behavioral variation from movement data in the wild. Movement Ecology 8(1), 30.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Hertel AG, Royauté R, Zedrosser A, Mueller T (2021) Biologging reveals individual variation in behavioural predictability in the wild. Journal of Animal Ecology 90(3), 723-737.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Jacobs OS, Biggs R (2002) The impact of the African elephant on marula trees in the Kruger National Park. African Journal of Wildlife Research 32(1), 13-22.
| Google Scholar |
James FC (1970) Geographic size variation in birds and its relationship to climate. Ecology 51(3), 365-390.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Johnson DH (1980) The comparison of usage and availability measurements for evaluating resource preference. Ecology 61(1), 65-71.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Johnson CJ, Seip DR, Boyce MS (2004) A quantitative approach to conservation planning: using resource selection functions to map the distribution of mountain caribou at multiple spatial scales. Journal of Applied Ecology 41(2), 238-251.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kanagaraj R, Araujo MB, Barman R, Davidar P, De R, Digal DK, Gopi GV, Johnsingh AJT, Kakati K, Kramer-Schadt S, Lamichhane BR, Lyngdoh S, Madhusudan MD, Ul Islam Najar M, Parida J, Pradhan NMB, Puyravaud J-P, Raghunath R, Rahim PPA, Muthamizh Selvan K, Subedi N, Trabucco A, Udayraj S, Wiegand T, Williams AC, Goyal SP (2019) Predicting range shifts of Asian elephants under global change. Diversity and Distributions 25(5), 822-838.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kaszta Ż, Cushman SA, Slotow R (2021) Temporal non-stationarity of path-selection movement models and connectivity: an example of African elephants in Kruger National Park. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9(207), 553263.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Karczmarski L, Cockcroft VG, McLachlan A (2000) Habitat use and preferences of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins Sousa chinensis in Algoa Bay, South Africa. Marine Mammal Science 16(1), 65-79.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kinahan AA, Inge-Moller R, Bateman PW, Kotze A, Scantlebury M (2007) Body temperature daily rhythm adaptations in African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). Physiology & Behavior 92(4), 560-565.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Kos M, Hoetmer AJ, Pretorius Y, de Boer WF, de Knegt H, Grant CC, Kohi E, Page B, Peel M, Slotow R, van der Waal C, van Wieren SE, Prins HHT, van Langevelde F (2012) Seasonal diet changes in elephant and impala in mopane woodland. European Journal of Wildlife Research 58(1), 279-287.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Leclerc M, Vander Wal E, Zedrosser A, Swenson JE, Kindberg J, Pelletier F (2016) Quantifying consistent individual differences in habitat selection. Oecologia 180(3), 697-705.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Lee PC, Poole JH, Njiraini N, Sayialel CN, Moss CJ (2011) Male social dynamics: Independence and beyond. In ‘The Amboseli elephants: a long-term perspective on a long-lived mammal’. (Eds CJ Moss, H Croze, PC Lee) pp. 260–271. (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, USA) https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226542263.003.0017
Leggett KEA (2006) Effect of artificial water points on the movement and behaviour of desert-dwelling elephants of north-western Namibia. Pachyderm 40, 24-34.
| Google Scholar |
Lesmerises R, St-Laurent M-H (2017) Not accounting for interindividual variability can mask habitat selection patterns: a case study on black bears. Oecologia 185(3), 415-425.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Loarie SR, van Aarde RJ, Pimm SL (2009) Elephant seasonal vegetation preferences across dry and wet savannas. Biological Conservation 142(12), 3099-3107.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Lombard AT, Johnson CF, Cowling RM, Pressey RL (2001) Protecting plants from elephants: botanical reserve scenarios within the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. Biological Conservation 102(2), 191-203.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Long RA, Kie JG, Terry Bowyer R, Hurley MA (2009) Resource selection and movements by female mule deer Odocoileus hemionus: effects of reproductive stage. Wildlife Biology 15(3), 288-298.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Luisa Vissat L, Cain S, Toledo S, Spiegel O, Getz WM (2023) Categorizing the geometry of animal diel movement patterns with examples from high-resolution barn owl tracking. Movement Ecology 11(1), 15.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Lyons AJ, Turner WC, Getz WM (2013) Home range plus: a space-time characterization of movement over real landscapes. Movement Ecology 1(1), 1.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Melzheimer J, Streif S, Wasiolka B, Fischer M, Thalwitzer S, Heinrich SK, Weigold A, Hofer H, Wachter B (2018) Queuing, takeovers, and becoming a fat cat: long-term data reveal two distinct male spatial tactics at different life-history stages in Namibian cheetahs. Ecosphere 9(6), e02308.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Menzel MA, Owen SF, Ford WM, Edwards JW, Wood PB, Chapman BR, Miller KV (2002) Roost tree selection by northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) maternity colonies in an industrial forest of the central Appalachian mountains. Forest Ecology and Management 155(1), 107-114.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Moncrieff GR, Kruger LM, Midgley JJ (2008) Stem mortality of Acacia nigrescens induced by the synergistic effects of elephants and fire in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24(6), 655-662.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Moss CJ, Lee PC (2011) Female social dynamics: fidelity and flexibility. In ‘The Amboseli elephants: a long-term perspective on a long-lived mammal’. (Eds CJ Moss, H Croze, PC Lee) pp. 205–223. (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, USA) https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226542263.003.0013
Mramba RP, Andreassen HP, Skarpe C (2017) Browsing and plant traits in nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor savannas in Tanzania. Journal of Tropical Ecology 33(5), 327-336.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Mramba RP, Andreassen HP, Mlingi V, Skarpe C (2019) Activity patterns of African elephants in nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor savannas. Mammalian Biology 94, 18-24.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Muff S, Signer J, Fieberg J (2020) Accounting for individual-specific variation in habitat-selection studies: efficient estimation of mixed-effects models using Bayesian or frequentist computation. Journal of Animal Ecology 89(1), 80-92.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Muposhi VK, Gandiwa E, Makuza SM, Bartels P (2016) Trophy hunting and perceived risk in closed ecosystems: flight behaviour of three gregarious African ungulates in a semi-arid tropical savanna. Austral Ecology 41(7), 809-818.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Murray CM, Mane SV, Pusey AE (2007) Dominance rank influences female space use in wild chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes: towards an ideal despotic distribution. Animal Behaviour 74(6), 1795-1804.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Murtaugh PA (2007) Simplicity and complexity in ecological data analysis. Ecology 88(1), 56-62.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Nasseri NA, McBrayer LD, Schulte BA (2011) The impact of tree modification by African elephant (Loxodonta africana) on herpetofaunal species richness in northern Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 49(2), 133-140.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Ntumi CP, van Aarde RJ, Fairall N, de Boer WF (2005) Use of space and habitat use by elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 35(2), 139-146 Available at https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC117219.
| Google Scholar |
O’Connell-Rodwell CE, Wood JD, Kinzley C, Rodwell TC, Alarcon C, Wasser SK, Sapolsky R (2011) Male African elephants (Loxodonta africana) queue when the stakes are high. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 23(4), 388-397.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
O’Connor TG, Goodman PS, Clegg B (2007) A functional hypothesis of the threat of local extirpation of woody plant species by elephant in Africa. Biological Conservation 136(3), 329-345.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Okello MM, Stephen JN, Kiringe JW, James I (2015) Habitat use and preference by the African elephant outside of the protected area, and management implications in the Amboseli landscape, Kenya. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation 7(3), 211-226.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Peterson AT (2001) Predicting species’ geographic distributions based on ecological niche modeling. The Condor 103(3), 599-605.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Polansky L, Kilian W, Wittemyer G (2015) Elucidating the significance of spatial memory on movement decisions by African savannah elephants using state–space models. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282(1805), 20143042.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Pretorius Y, Stigter JD, de Boer WF, van Wieren SE, de Jong CB, de Knegt HJ, Grant CC, Heitkönig I, Knox N, Kohi E, Mwakiwa E, Peel MJS, Skidmore AK, Slotow R, van der Waal C, van Langevelde F, Prins HHT (2012) Diet selection of African elephant over time shows changing optimization currency. Oikos 121(12), 2110-2120.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Pringle RM (2008) Elephants as agents of habitat creation for small vertebrates at the patch scale. Ecology 89(1), 26-33.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Prokopenko CM, Boyce MS, Avgar T (2017) Characterizing wildlife behavioural responses to roads using integrated step selection analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology 54(2), 470-479.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Purdon A, van Aarde RJ (2017) Water provisioning in Kruger National Park alters elephant spatial utilisation patterns. Journal of Arid Environments 141, 45-51.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Ranglack DH, du Toit JT (2015) Habitat selection by free-ranging bison in a mixed grazing system on public land. Rangeland Ecology & Management 68(4), 349-353.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
R Core Team (2018) ‘R: a language and environment for statistical computing (Version 3.5.2).’ (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria) Available at https://www.R-project.org/
Reddell CD, Roemer GW, Delaney DK, Karish T, Cain JW, III (2023) Anthropogenic subsidies influence resource use during a mange epizootic in a desert coyote population. Oecologia 201(2), 435-447.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Richards SA (2005) Testing ecological theory using the information-theoretic approach: examples and cautionary results. Ecology 86(10), 2805-2814.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Roffler GH, Gregovich DP, Larson KR (2018) Resource selection by coastal wolves reveals the seasonal importance of seral forest and suitable prey habitat. Forest Ecology and Management 409, 190-201.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Rotenberry JT, Preston KL, Knick ST (2006) GIS-based niche modeling for mapping species’ habitat. Ecology 87(6), 1458-1464.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schielzeth H (2010) Simple means to improve the interpretability of regression coefficients. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1(2), 103-113.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schirmer A, Herde A, Eccard JA, Dammhahn M (2019) Individuals in space: personality-dependent space use, movement and microhabitat use facilitate individual spatial niche specialization. Oecologia 189(3), 647-660.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Shannon G, Page BR, Duffy KJ, Slotow R (2006) The role of foraging behaviour in the sexual segregation of the African elephant. Oecologia 150(2), 344-354.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Shannon G, Page BR, Mackey RL, Duffy KJ, Slotow R (2008a) Activity budgets and sexual segregation in African elephants (Loxodonta africana). Journal of Mammalogy 89(2), 467-476.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Shannon G, Druce DJ, Page BR, Eckhardt HC, Grant R, Slotow R (2008b) The utilization of large savanna trees by elephant in southern Kruger National Park. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24(03), 281-289.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Shannon G, Mackey RL, Slotow R (2013) Diet selection and seasonal dietary switch of a large sexually dimorphic herbivore. Acta Oecologica 46, 48-55.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Smit IPJ, Grant CC, Whyte IJ (2007a) Landscape-scale sexual segregation in the dry season distribution and resource utilization of elephants in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Diversity and Distributions 13(2), 225-236.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Smit IPJ, Grant CC, Devereux BJ (2007b) Do artificial waterholes influence the way herbivores use the landscape? Herbivore distribution patterns around rivers and artificial surface water sources in a large African savanna park. Biological Conservation 136(1), 85-99.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Squires JR, DeCesare NJ, Olson LE, Kolbe JA, Hebblewhite M, Parks SA (2013) Combining resource selection and movement behavior to predict corridors for Canada lynx at their southern range periphery. Biological Conservation 157, 187-195.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Stokes EJ, Strindberg S, Bakabana PC, Elkan PW, Iyenguet FC, Madzoké B, Malanda GAF, Mowawa BS, Moukoumbou C, Ouakabadio FK, Rainey HJ (2010) Monitoring great ape and elephant abundance at large spatial scales: measuring effectiveness of a conservation landscape. PLoS ONE 5(4), e10294.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Stokke S, Du Toit JT (2002) Sexual segregation in habitat use by elephants in Chobe National Park, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology 40(4), 360-371.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Symonds MRE, Moussalli A (2011) A brief guide to model selection, multimodel inference and model averaging in behavioural ecology using Akaike’s information criterion. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65(1), 13-21.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Szott ID, Pretorius Y, Koyama NF (2019) Behavioural changes in African elephants in response to wildlife tourism. Journal of Zoology 308(3), 164-174.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Tsalyuk M, Kilian W, Reineking B, Getz WM (2019) Temporal variation in resource selection of African elephants follows long-term variability in resource availability. Ecological Monographs 89(2), e01348.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Valls-Fox H, De Garine-Wichatitsky M, Fritz H, Chamaillé-Jammes S (2018) Resource depletion versus landscape complementation: habitat selection by a multiple central place forager. Landscape Ecology 33, 127-140.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
van der Waal C, Kool A, Meijer SS, Kohi E, Heitkönig IMA, de Boer WF, van Langevelde F, Grant RC, Peel MJS, Slotow R, de Knegt HJ, Prins HHT, de Kroon H (2011) Large herbivores may alter vegetation structure of semi-arid savannas through soil nutrient mediation. Oecologia 165(4), 1095-1107.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Vanderwel MC, Malcolm JR, Caspersen JP (2012) Using a data-constrained model of home range establishment to predict abundance in spatially heterogeneous habitats. PLoS ONE 7(7), e40599.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Wall J, Hahn N, Carroll S, Mwiu S, Goss M, Sairowua W, Tiedeman K, Kiambi S, Omondi P, Douglas-Hamilton I, Wittemyer G (2024) Land use drives differential resource selection by African elephants in the greater Mara ecosystem, Kenya. Movement Ecology 12(1), 11.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Weibull A-C, Eriksson H (1998) Short-term gland secretion in the African elephant: tourist disturbance or social interactions as source for secretion? African Journal of Ecology 36(4), 360-367.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Willems EP, Barton RA, Hill RA (2009) Remotely sensed productivity, regional home range selection, and local range use by an omnivorous primate. Behavioral Ecology 20(5), 985-992.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wilson LJ, Hoffman MT, Ferguson AJ, Cumming DHM (2021) Elephant browsing impacts in a Zambezian Baikiaea woodland with a high density of pumped waterholes. Global Ecology and Conservation 31, e01854.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wittemyer G, Getz WM (2007) Hierarchical dominance structure and social organization in African elephants, Loxodonta africana. Animal Behaviour 73(4), 671-681.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wittemyer G, Getz WM, Vollrath F, Douglas-Hamilton I (2007) Social dominance, seasonal movements, and spatial segregation in African elephants: a contribution to conservation behavior. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61(12), 1919-1931.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wittemyer G, Polansky L, Douglas-Hamilton I, Getz WM (2008) Disentangling the effects of forage, social rank, and risk on movement autocorrelation of elephants using Fourier and wavelet analyses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(49), 19108-19113.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wittemyer G, Northrup JM, Blanc J, Douglas-Hamilton I, Omondi P, Burnham KP (2014) Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(36), 13117-13121.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Yiu S-W, Parrini F, Karczmarski L, Keith M (2017) Home range establishment and utilization by reintroduced lions (Panthera leo) in a small South African wildlife reserve. Integrative Zoology 12(4), 318-332.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Young KD, Ferreira SM, van Aarde RJ (2009) Elephant spatial use in wet and dry savannas of southern Africa. Journal of Zoology 278(3), 189-205.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Zalewski A (1997) Factors affecting selection of resting site type by pine marten in primeval deciduous forests (Białowieża National Park, Poland). Acta Theriologica 42(3), 271-288.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Zeller KA, Vickers TW, Ernest HB, Boyce WM (2017) Multi-level, multi-scale resource selection functions and resistance surfaces for conservation planning: pumas as a case study. PLoS ONE 12(6), e0179570.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
