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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 51(9)

Habitat use strategies of African elephants under different seasonal and ecological constraints

Scott Y. S. Chui https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2442-4898 A B C * , Wayne M. Getz B D , Michelle Henley E F G , Dana P. Seidel B , Mark Keith https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7179-9989 H , Francesca Parrini I and Leszek Karczmarski https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9712-1172 A C *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Division of Animal Behaviour, Cetacea Research Institute, Lantau, Hong Kong, China.

B Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.

C School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.

D School of Mathematical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

E Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.

F Department of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa.

G Elephants Alive, Hoedspruit, South Africa.

H Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa.

I Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

* Correspondence to: syschui@cetacea-institute.org, leszek@cetacea-institute.org

Handling Editor: Pablo Ferreras

Wildlife Research 51, WR23139 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR23139
Submitted: 1 November 2023  Accepted: 15 August 2024  Published: 13 September 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

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.

Aims

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.

Methods

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.

Key results

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.

Conclusions

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.

Implications

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.

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