War-induced collapse and asymmetric recovery of large-mammal populations in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
War-induced collapse and asymmetric recovery of large-mammal populations in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0212864
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发表时间：
2019-03
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
M. Stalmans;T. Massad;M. Peel;C. Tarnita;R. Pringle
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
M. Stalmans;T. Massad;M. Peel;C. Tarnita;R. Pringle
大型哺乳动物群落在被推到灭绝的边缘后是如何重组的？很少有数据可以回答这个问题，因为几乎不可能记录野生动物种群的下降和恢复。在这里，我们提出了第一个深入的定量帐户的战争引起的崩溃和战后恢复的大型食草动物的不同组合。在莫桑比克的戈龙戈萨国家公园，我们收集了莫桑比克内战（1977-1992）之前（1968-1972）和之后（1994-2018）进行的15次空中野生动物计数的数据。战前总生物量密度超过9，000公斤/平方公里，但在战争期间数量下降了90%以上。自1994年以来，总生物量已大幅度恢复，但物种组成发生了巨大变化。以前占主导地位的大型食草动物，包括大象（Loxodonta africana）、河马（Hippopotamus amphibius）、布法罗（Syncerus caffer）、斑马（Equus quagga）和角马（Connochaustraltaurinus），现在的数量已经超过了水羚（Kobus ellipsiprymnus）和其他中小型羚羊。水羚的丰度增加了一个数量级，2018年超过55，000只，占大型食草动物生物量的74%以上。相比之下，战前占总生物量89%的大象、河马和布法罗现在只占23%。这些趋势主要反映了在戈龙戈萨恢复项目下恢复保护后的自然种群增长;重新引入（7个物种465只动物）在总数量增长中占相对较小的比例。水羚正在后勤增长，显然还没有受到种间竞争或捕食的影响（在整个战后时期，顶端食肉动物的丰度一直很低），这表明一个社区仍在不断变化。大多数其他食草动物的数量在战后有所增加，尽管速度不同。武装冲突仍然是生态变化的一个知之甚少的驱动因素;我们的研究结果表明，考虑到良好的保护区管理，大型食草动物生物量在战后迅速恢复的潜力，但也表明，恢复社区结构需要更长的时间，可能需要积极干预。
How do large-mammal communities reassemble after being pushed to the brink of extinction? Few data are available to answer this question, as it is rarely possible to document both the decline and recovery of wildlife populations. Here we present the first in-depth quantitative account of war-induced collapse and postwar recovery in a diverse assemblage of large herbivores. In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, we assembled data from 15 aerial wildlife counts conducted before (1968–1972) and after (1994–2018) the Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992). Pre-war total biomass density exceeded 9,000 kg km-2, but populations declined by >90% during the war. Since 1994, total biomass has substantially recovered, but species composition has shifted dramatically. Formerly dominant large herbivores—including elephant (Loxodonta africana), hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius), buffalo (Syncerus caffer), zebra (Equus quagga), and wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)—are now outnumbered by waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) and other small to mid-sized antelopes. Waterbuck abundance has increased by an order of magnitude, with >55,000 individuals accounting for >74% of large-herbivore biomass in 2018. By contrast, elephant, hippo, and buffalo, which totaled 89% of pre-war biomass, now comprise just 23%. These trends mostly reflect natural population growth following the resumption of protection under the Gorongosa Restoration Project; reintroductions (465 animals of 7 species) accounted for a comparatively small fraction of the total numerical increase. Waterbuck are growing logistically, apparently as-yet unchecked by interspecific competition or predation (apex-carnivore abundance has been low throughout the post-war interval), suggesting a community still in flux. Most other herbivore populations have increased post-war, albeit at differing rates. Armed conflict remains a poorly understood driver of ecological change; our results demonstrate the potential for rapid post-war recovery of large-herbivore biomass, given sound protected-area management, but also suggest that restoration of community structure takes longer and may require active intervention.