Movements and corridors of African elephants in relation to protected areas
Movements and corridors of African elephants in relation to protected areas
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DOI：
10.1007/s00114-004-0606-9
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发表时间：
2005-04-01
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Vollrath, F
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Douglas-Hamilton, I;Krink, T;Vollrath, F
了解哺乳动物如何在支离破碎的生态系统中满足其对空间的需求对于生态系统保护至关重要。利用最先进的全球定位系统 (GPS) 技术，我们以 3 小时固定间隔追踪了肯尼亚的 11 头重点非洲象 (Loxodonta africana)，并在每头大象 34 至 406 天之间收集了数据。与之前的研究相比，我们的录音提供了较高的时空分辨率，并为范围使用提供了新的见解。被追踪大象的实际活动范围比通常所显示的要小。此外，我们样本中的范围很复杂，并不局限于官方指定的保护区，除非有围栏。我们样本中所有不受围栏保护的大象都有独特的“家园区域”，并通过“旅行”走廊连接起来。在每个家园区域内，大象都集中在最喜欢的“核心区域”。这些核心区域往往位于保护区内，而走廊通常跨越未受保护的范围。大象沿着走廊的移动速度明显快于其活动范围内的其他地方，这表明大象意识到保护区外的危险。我们的结论是，了解动物活动范围的复杂用途对于旨在平衡动物利益与在其活动范围内共居的人类利益的保护规划至关重要。
Understanding how mammals satisfy their need for space in fragmenting ecosystems is crucial for ecosystem conservation. Using state-of-the-art global positioning system ( GPS) technology we tracked 11 focal African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Kenya at 3-hourly fix intervals and collected between 34 and 406 days per individual. Our recordings gave a high spatio-temporal resolution compared to previous studies and allowed novel insights into range use. The actual ranges of the tracked elephants are smaller than usually represented. Moreover, the ranges in our sample were complex and not confined to officially designated protected areas, except where fenced. All the unfenced elephants in our sample had distinct 'home sectors' linked by 'travel' corridors. Within each home sector the elephants concentrated in favourite 'core zones'. Such core zones tended to lie in protected areas whereas corridors typically crossed unprotected range. Elephants moved significantly faster along corridors than elsewhere in their range, which suggests awareness of danger outside the protected area. We conclude that understanding the complex use of an animal's range is crucial for conservation planning aiming to balance animal interests with those of human beings that co-habit in their range.