Water provision alters wildebeest adaptive habitat selection and resilience in the Central Kalahari
Water provision alters wildebeest adaptive habitat selection and resilience in the Central Kalahari
复制标题
供水改变了喀拉哈里中部角马的适应性栖息地选择和恢复能力
DOI：
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发表时间：
2018
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
R. Fynn
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Moses Selebatso;E. Bennitt;G. Maude;R. Fynn
半干旱地区的野生动物种群需要沿着生态梯度和跨越大片景观进行不受限制的流动，以便能够对季节变化和不均匀的资源做出适应性反应。在博茨瓦纳的卡拉哈里地区，食草动物种群历史上依赖于在雨季进入营养丰富的施韦勒地区和在干旱期从博泰蒂河获取水源。由于围栏以及牲畜和人类的侵占，中央卡拉哈里禁猎区 (CKGR) 的蓝角马 Connochaetes taurinus 已无法进入这些关键栖息地。我们在 CKGR 的 10 只雌性角马身上安装了卫星项圈，以检查季节性运动和栖息地选择与环境条件和支离破碎的生态系统的关系。角马在所有季节都喜欢开放的短草栖息地，这可能是为了更好的草料质量和更低的被捕食风险。旱季期间能够留在平底栖息地是人工供水的结果。在其栖息地没有人工水源的角马群能够在旱季幸存下来，而那些习惯了供水的角马则在旱季缺水时死亡。因此，供水改变了人们的适应行为，降低了人们对干旱环境的适应能力。
Wildlife populations in semi-arid regions require unrestricted mobility along ecological gradients and across large landscapes to enable adaptive responses to seasonal variability and patchy resources. In the Kalahari region of Botswana, herbivore populations historically depended on seasonal access to the nutrient-rich Schwelle area in the wet season and to water from the Boteti River during drought periods. Blue wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) have lost access to these key habitats due to fences and encroachment of livestock and humans. We deployed satellite collars onto 10 female wildebeest in the CKGR to examine seasonal movements and habitat selection in relation to the environmental conditions and fragmented ecosystem. Wildebeest favoured open, short-grass pan habitats in all seasons, probably in response to better forage quality and lower predation risk. The ability to remain in pan habitats during the dry season was a result of artificial water provision. A wildebeest herd that had no artificial water in its home range survived the dry season, whereas those wildebeest that were accustomed to water provision died when their water points failed in the dry season. Thus, water provision altered adaptive behaviour and reduced resilience of the population to the arid environment.