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1
Chase, Michael J., Scott Schlossberg, Curtice R. Griffin, Philippe J. C. Bouché, Sintayehu W. Djene, Paul W. Elkan, Sam Ferreira, et al. "Continent-wide survey reveals massive decline in African savannah elephants." PeerJ 4 (August 31, 2016): e2354. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2354.
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African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are imperiled by poaching and habitat loss. Despite global attention to the plight of elephants, their population sizes and trends are uncertain or unknown over much of Africa. To conserve this iconic species, conservationists need timely, accurate data on elephant populations. Here, we report the results of the Great Elephant Census (GEC), the first continent-wide, standardized survey of African savannah elephants. We also provide the first quantitative model of elephant population trends across Africa. We estimated a population of 352,271 savannah elephants on study sites in 18 countries, representing approximately 93% of all savannah elephants in those countries. Elephant populations in survey areas with historical data decreased by an estimated 144,000 from 2007 to 2014, and populations are currently shrinking by 8% per year continent-wide, primarily due to poaching. Though 84% of elephants occurred in protected areas, many protected areas had carcass ratios that indicated high levels of elephant mortality. Results of the GEC show the necessity of action to end the African elephants’ downward trajectory by preventing poaching and protecting habitat.
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Pretorius, Yolanda, Marion E. Garaï, and Lucy A. Bates. "The status of African elephant Loxodonta africana populations in South Africa." Oryx 53, no. 4 (April 15, 2018): 757–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605317001454.
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AbstractWith an increase in poaching of elephants Loxodonta africana across Africa, it is vital to know exactly how many elephants remain and where they occur, to ensure that protection and management are planned appropriately. From a nationwide survey we provide current population and distribution data for elephants in South Africa. We consider the viability of elephant populations in the country, as well as some of the management techniques implemented and how effective these are in controlling elephant numbers. According to our surveys there were 28,168 elephants in South Africa as of December 2015, with 78% of these occurring in Kruger National Park and reserves bordering and open to the Park. Of the country's 78 discrete reserves that host elephants, 77% have populations of < 100 elephants, which could mean they are not genetically viable. We discuss our findings in terms of the conservation value of South Africa's elephant reserves, and the animal welfare implications. We recommend that the fragmentation of elephant habitat in the country be addressed through a national elephant management strategy that promotes wildlife corridors between existing, neighbouring elephant reserves.
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Huang, Ryan M., Rudi J. van Aarde, Stuart L. Pimm, Michael J. Chase, and Keith Leggett. "Mapping potential connections between Southern Africa’s elephant populations." PLOS ONE 17, no. 10 (October 11, 2022): e0275791. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275791.
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Southern Africa spans nearly 7 million km2 and contains approximately 80% of the world’s savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) mostly living in isolated protected areas. Here we ask what are the prospects for improving the connections between these populations? We combine 1.2 million telemetry observations from 254 elephants with spatial data on environmental factors and human land use across eight southern African countries. Telemetry data show what natural features limit elephant movement and what human factors, including fencing, further prevent or restrict dispersal. The resulting intersection of geospatial data and elephant presences provides a map of suitable landscapes that are environmentally appropriate for elephants and where humans allow elephants to occupy. We explore the environmental and anthropogenic constraints in detail using five case studies. Lastly, we review all the major potential connections that may remain to connect a fragmented elephant metapopulation and document connections that are no longer feasible.
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Hoare, Richard. "African elephants and humans in conflict: the outlook for co-existence." Oryx 34, no. 1 (January 2000): 34–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.2000.00092.x.
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AbstractThe future persistence of African elephants over the 80 per cent of the species's range that remains outside protected areas is increasingly uncertain in many parts of the continent. Conflict between elephants and agriculturalists is already widespread and can lead to displacement or elimination of elephants, causing a further decline in their range and numbers. ‘Protectionist’ conservation groups have recently attempted to play down the importance of human–elephant conflict, contending that it has been greatly exaggerated by those advocating sustainable use of wildlife. The future of elephants in ecosystems over much of the continent will depend largely upon the attitudes and activities of humans. The realities of survival faced by rural Africans may mean that little attention will be paid to a debate taking place on conservation philosophy in the developed world. Therefore, the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) is investigating how human land use can be integrated with the needs of elephant populations in Africa's biogeographical regions. Findings from these studies will be used in attempts to benefit elephant conservation and management in the 37 African elephant range states.
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Barnes, R. F. W., M. Agnagna, M. P. T. Alers, A. Blom, G. Doungoube, M. Fay, T. Masunda, J. C. Ndo Nkoumou, C. Sikubwabo Kiyengo, and M. Tchamba. "Elephants and ivory poaching in the forests of equatorial Africa." Oryx 27, no. 1 (January 1993): 27–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300023929.
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Reconnaissance surveys were made of the forests of four central African countries to establish, for the first time, the status of forest-dwelling elephants. The results, when combined with information from previous surveys in other countries, provide a picture of the elephant situation in the forest zone, and especially the impact of poaching. About one-third of the forest elephant population of central Africa is to be found in Zaire, and about one-third in Gabon. The rest are in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. It is poaching for ivory, rather than the growth of human populations, which threatens the elephants of the equatorial forests.
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Poole, Joyce H., and Jorgen B. Thomsen. "Elephant are not beetles: implications of the ivory trade for the survival of the African elephant." Oryx 23, no. 4 (October 1989): 188–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300023012.
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The scientific community now agrees that, more than anything else, it is the killing of African elephants for the ivory trade that has caused the very dramatic declines in elephant populations witnessed over the past decade. Based on samples of ivory trade data, recent population modelling and field data, the authors discuss the implications of the ivory trade for the future survival of viable populations of African elephants.
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Della Rocca, F. "How tall is an elephant? Two methods for estimating elephant height." Web Ecology 7, no. 1 (February 14, 2007): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/we-7-1-2007.
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Abstract. Shoulder height is a reliable indicator of age for African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and is therefore an important parameter to be recorded in field studies of population ecology of these pachyderms. However, it can be somewhat difficult to estimate with precision the shoulder height of free-ranging elephants because of several reasons, including the presence of drops and vegetation cover and the potential dangerousness of approaching them in the wild. Here I test two alternative models for estimating shoulder height of elephants. In both models, the equipment needed to generate the height estimates is minimal, and include a telemeter and a digital photo-camera furnished with an ×16 zoom. The models are based respectively on a linear regression approach and on a geometric formula approach, and put into a relationship the linear distance between the observer and the animal, the number of pixels of an elephant silhouette as taken from digital photos, and the absolute height of the animal. Both methods proved to have a very small measurement error, and were thus reliable for field estimates of elephant shoulder heights. The model based on a geometric formula was used to estimate the shoulder height distribution of an elephant population in a savannah region of West Africa (Zakouma National Park, Chad). I demonstrated that Zakouma elephants were among the tallest populations in Africa, with growth rates being highest throughout the first five years of life.
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Fuentes, Sarah Quebec. "Activities for Students: Estimating African Elephant Populations (Part 1)." Mathematics Teacher 102, no. 7 (March 2009): 534–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.5951/mt.102.7.0534.
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How many elephants remain in Africa? For a variety of environmental reasons, monitoring the population of elephants in Africa is extremely important. When attempting to estimate the size of an elephant population in a certain area, a researcher must make several decisions. Should the count be conducted from the air or from the ground? Should the elephants in the entire area be counted or only those in a representative area? Should only the elephants themselves be counted, or should signs of their presence—such as dung, tracks, and feeding evidence—be considered as well? Over the past four decades, the approaches used to count elephants have become more statistically refined. This twopart article, to be continued in next month's issue, will explore the mathematics of some of the methods used to count elephants and will present related activities for the mathematics classroom. In this part, we will provide a brief but pertinent history of the African elephant and then present two different methods of counting elephants. This activity may be used as an entire unit or as an application of a particular concept and may be incorporated into several courses. Algebra and geometry students will be able to handle the necessary mathematics. Although this activity informally exposes students to several statistical concepts, a sophisticated understanding of statistics is not required to complete the first two scenarios. The mathematics for the third scenario is more advanced, however; thus, it could be used in higher-level classes such as statistics and calculus. The tasks involved in all three scenarios encourage students to make connections between mathematics and other disciplines and touch on the various implications of mathematical decisions.
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Fuentes, Sarah Quebec. "Activities for Students: Estimating African Elephant Populations (Part 1)." Mathematics Teacher 102, no. 7 (March 2009): 534–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.5951/mt.102.7.0534.
Full textAbstract:
How many elephants remain in Africa? For a variety of environmental reasons, monitoring the population of elephants in Africa is extremely important. When attempting to estimate the size of an elephant population in a certain area, a researcher must make several decisions. Should the count be conducted from the air or from the ground? Should the elephants in the entire area be counted or only those in a representative area? Should only the elephants themselves be counted, or should signs of their presence—such as dung, tracks, and feeding evidence—be considered as well? Over the past four decades, the approaches used to count elephants have become more statistically refined. This twopart article, to be continued in next month's issue, will explore the mathematics of some of the methods used to count elephants and will present related activities for the mathematics classroom. In this part, we will provide a brief but pertinent history of the African elephant and then present two different methods of counting elephants. This activity may be used as an entire unit or as an application of a particular concept and may be incorporated into several courses. Algebra and geometry students will be able to handle the necessary mathematics. Although this activity informally exposes students to several statistical concepts, a sophisticated understanding of statistics is not required to complete the first two scenarios. The mathematics for the third scenario is more advanced, however; thus, it could be used in higher-level classes such as statistics and calculus. The tasks involved in all three scenarios encourage students to make connections between mathematics and other disciplines and touch on the various implications of mathematical decisions.
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Foley, Charles A. H., and Lisa J. Faust. "Rapid population growth in an elephant Loxodonta africana population recovering from poaching in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania." Oryx 44, no. 2 (January 12, 2010): 205–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605309990706.
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AbstractWe studied the demography of a subpopulation of African elephants Loxodonta africana in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, from 1993 to 2005. The Tarangire elephants had been affected by heavy poaching prior to 1993. We monitored 668 individually known elephants in 27 family groups. The population increased from 226 to 498 individuals, with mean group size increasing from 8.4 to 18.3. The average annual growth rate was 7.1% (range 2.0–16.9%). This approaches the maximal growth rate for African elephants, with corresponding minimal values for demographic parameters. The mean interbirth interval was 3.3 years, mean age of first reproduction 11.1 years, average annual mortality of elephants younger than 8 years 3%, and average annual mortality of adult females 1%. Probability of conceiving was positively correlated with annual rainfall. No significant density-dependent effects were recorded. Rapid growth was aided by high rainfall, low population density and release from the stresses of poaching. These results demonstrate that elephant populations are capable of rapid population increases for extended periods of time given the right ecological and social conditions. This has consequences for elephant conservation and management.
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Valeix, Marion, Hervé Fritz, Ségolène Dubois, Kwanele Kanengoni, Samuel Alleaume, and Sonia Saïd. "Vegetation structure and ungulate abundance over a period of increasing elephant abundance in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe." Journal of Tropical Ecology 23, no. 1 (January 2007): 87–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467406003609.
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This study investigates whether increases in elephant populations may influence the structure of African savannas, and consequently may affect other herbivores through changes in habitats. Two contrasting periods in terms of elephant population densities were compared in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe: the early 1980s and the late 1990s. Elephant population density and other ungulate population densities were estimated for a c. 400-km2 area from road counts. Vegetation structure at the landscape scale was assessed using aerial photographs for the same area. All browsers and grazers declined between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, whereas elephants experienced a 16-fold increase. At the landscape scale, vegetation structure changed little with no evidence of an opening of the habitats. These results do not support any kind of medium-term facilitation between elephants and other herbivores. They rather suggest a negative effect of elephants on other herbivore species when elephants are present at high densities. This study rules out a scenario where the decrease of the different herbivore populations was caused by large changes in vegetation structure due to elephant activity.
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Wasser, S. K., L. Brown, C. Mailand, S. Mondol, W. Clark, C. Laurie, and B. S. Weir. "Genetic assignment of large seizures of elephant ivory reveals Africa’s major poaching hotspots." Science 349, no. 6243 (June 18, 2015): 84–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa2457.
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Poaching of elephants is now occurring at rates that threaten African populations with extinction. Identifying the number and location of Africa’s major poaching hotspots may assist efforts to end poaching and facilitate recovery of elephant populations. We genetically assign origin to 28 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 metric tons) made between 1996 and 2014, also testing assignment accuracy. Results suggest that the major poaching hotspots in Africa may be currently concentrated in as few as two areas. Increasing law enforcement in these two hotspots could help curtail future elephant losses across Africa and disrupt this organized transnational crime.
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Garai, Marion E., Tenisha Roos, Tamara Eggeling, André Ganswindt, Yolanda Pretorius, and Michelle Henley. "Developing welfare parameters for African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in fenced reserves in South Africa." PLOS ONE 17, no. 3 (March 24, 2022): e0264931. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264931.
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South Africa has many fenced reserves harbouring small to medium sized populations of African elephant (Loxodonta africana), most of which have been translocated. Elephants on fenced reserves may be exposed to various management interventions and practices (translocation, hunting, darting, high tourism impact, contraception programs, disruption due to infrastructure maintenance, etc.). These factors may impact the welfare of elephants. Poor elephant welfare may have serious consequences such as increased inter- and intra-species aggression that could result in fatalities. This is the first study to attempt to define behavioural and physiological welfare parameters for free-ranging elephants on small to medium sized reserves. The eight study sites incorporated reserves with different social structure combinations, elephant life-histories, reserve sizes, habitat, management, and tourism intensity. Data collection consisted of behavioural observations (10-minute videos) as well as faecal samples. By incorporating both behavioural and physiological (faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentration) parameters, we aimed to investigate whether the two parameters showed similar trends. Five behavioural categories were identified (Arousal, Assessing, Ambivalent, Ambivalent/ Body care, and Frustrated behaviour), with various detailed behaviours demonstrated by the elephants that may indicate the influence of anthropogenic disturbance and possibly impact on animal welfare. The study showed significant differences between the selected detailed behaviours, behavioural categories and fGCM concentrations of elephants across the eight reserves. History seemed to be a decisive factor, as reserves with predominantly ex-captive elephants showed higher frequencies of certain behaviours as well as higher fGCM concentrations. Age, sex, reserve size and season were also found to contribute to our defined welfare indices and fGCM concentrations. This indicates that behavioural parameters, indicative of certain behavioural states, are valuable indicators of welfare, as supported by the physiological response of the elephants. The results also highlight the importance of taking multiple specified behaviours from a category into consideration when evaluating the welfare of elephants, to account for individual variation.
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OBANDA, V., J. POGHON, M. YONGO, I. MULEI, M. NGOTHO, K. WAITITU, J. MAKUMI, et al. "First reported case of fatal tuberculosis in a wild African elephant with past human–wildlife contact." Epidemiology and Infection 141, no. 7 (January 23, 2013): 1476–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0950268813000022.
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SUMMARYTuberculosis is emerging/re-emerging in captive elephant populations, where it causes morbidity and deaths, although no case of TB in wild African elephants has been reported. In this paper we report the first case of fatal TB in an African elephant in the wild. The infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis was confirmed by post-mortem and histological examinations of a female sub-adult elephant aged >12 years that died in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, while under treatment. This case is unique in that during its lifetime the elephant had contact with both humans and wild elephants. The source of the infection was unclear because the elephant could have acquired the infection in the orphanage or in the wild. However, our results show that wild elephants can maintain human TB in the wild and that the infection can be fatal.
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Pearson, Virginia R., Jens B. Bosse, Orkide O. Koyuncu, Julian Scherer, Cristhian Toruno, Rosann Robinson, Lisa M. Abegglen, Joshua D. Schiffman, Lynn W. Enquist, and Glenn F. Rall. "Identification of African Elephant Polyomavirus in wild elephants and the creation of a vector expressing its viral tumor antigens to transform elephant primary cells." PLOS ONE 16, no. 2 (February 5, 2021): e0244334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244334.
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Wild elephant populations are declining rapidly due to rampant killing for ivory and body parts, range fragmentation, and human-elephant conflict. Wild and captive elephants are further impacted by viruses, including highly pathogenic elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses. Moreover, while the rich genetic diversity of the ancient elephant lineage is disappearing, elephants, with their low incidence of cancer, have emerged as a surprising resource in human cancer research for understanding the intrinsic cellular response to DNA damage. However, studies on cellular resistance to transformation and herpesvirus reproduction have been severely limited, in part due to the lack of established elephant cell lines to enable in vitro experiments. This report describes creation of a recombinant plasmid, pAelPyV-1-Tag, derived from a wild isolate of African Elephant Polyomavirus (AelPyV-1), that can be used to create immortalized lines of elephant cells. This isolate was extracted from a trunk nodule biopsy isolated from a wild African elephant, Loxodonta africana, in Botswana. The AelPyV-1 genome contains open-reading frames encoding the canonical large (LTag) and small (STag) tumor antigens. We cloned the entire early region spanning the LTag and overlapping STag genes from this isolate into a high-copy vector to construct a recombinant plasmid, pAelPyV-1-Tag, which effectively transformed primary elephant endothelial cells. We expect that the potential of this reagent to transform elephant primary cells will, at a minimum, facilitate study of elephant-specific herpesviruses.
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Songhurst, Anna, Graham McCulloch, and Tim Coulson. "Finding pathways to human–elephant coexistence: a risky business." Oryx 50, no. 4 (August 5, 2015): 713–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605315000344.
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AbstractFinding ways for people and wildlife to coexist requires affording both parties access to critical resources and space, but also a behavioural change by both to avoid conflict. We investigated pathway use in a population of free-ranging African elephants Loxodonta africana in the Okavango Panhandle, Botswana that share their range with humans in a multi-use, heterogeneous landscape. We used detailed ground surveys to identify and map elephant movement pathways, and mixed-effect models to explore factors influencing elephant numbers and movement behaviour on and around these pathways. We found deviation in pathway use among the elephant population, suggesting behavioural adaptations to avoid human-associated risk: avoiding pathways near settlements, particularly near larger settlements; avoiding pathways close to cultivated land; and adopting a safety-in-numbers strategy when moving through areas of human use. Our findings suggest there is opportunity to capitalize on risk avoidance by elephant populations, to minimize resource-use overlap and reduce conflict between humans and elephants. We discuss a strategy that involves ensuring appropriate protection of elephant pathways in land-use planning, using development-free buffer zones, combined with mitigation techniques along the interface with agricultural lands to increase risk levels and reinforce human–elephant interface boundaries. We recommend further examination of the use of landscape-level mitigation techniques that encourage elephants to use pathways away from human activity and help define spatial boundaries for management of human–elephant conflict in multi-use landscapes.
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Siegismund, H. R., and P. Arctander. "Structure of African Elephant Populations." Journal of Heredity 86, no. 6 (November 1995): 467–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111622.
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Madden, M., M. Karidozo, W. Langbauer, F. Osborn, A. Presotto, and R. Parry. "GEOSPATIAL ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN-WILDLIFE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS FOR SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT." International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLIII-B4-2021 (June 30, 2021): 281–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xliii-b4-2021-281-2021.
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Abstract. Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a global concern that requires geospatial data collection, analysis and geovisualization for decision support and mitigation. Bull African elephants, (Loxodonata africana), are often responsible for breaking fences, raiding crops and causing economic hardship in local communities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Methods for monitoring and understanding elephant movements are needed to mitigate conflict, find ways for coexistence and secure the future of Africa’s elephant populations. Researchers from academia and conservation organizations are partnering with decision makers and scientists of the Zimbabwe Department of National Park and Wild Life Management (PWMA) to track the movement of 15 bull elephants in the general area of Victoria Falls to analyse spatio-temporal patterns of elephant behaviour related to climatic factors, habitat conditions and changing land uses. Spatial decision support for local famers, resource managers and planners will assist in avoiding agricultural expansion and urban development that coincides with elephant corridors and access to water resources.
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Chamaillé-Jammes, Simon, Hervé Fritz, and Ricardo M. Holdo. "Spatial relationship between elephant and sodium concentration of water disappears as density increases in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe." Journal of Tropical Ecology 23, no. 6 (October 29, 2007): 725–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467407004531.
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African elephants Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach) may profoundly affect vegetation and associated animal bio-diversity in savannas (Conybeare 2004, Skarpe et al. 2004). Understanding the patterns of habitat use by elephants is crucial to predict their impacts on ecosystems (Ben-Shahar 1993, Nelleman et al. 2002), particularly now that many populations are recovering from past culling events or poaching outbreaks (Blanc et al. 2007). Surface water is one of the major constraints on elephant distribution (Chamaillé-Jammes et al. 2007, Stokke & du Toit 2002), and accordingly, elephant impacts are higher in the vicinity of water (Ben-Shahar 1993, de Beer et al. 2006). However, waterhole selection by elephant remains poorly understood. Weir (1972) showed in Hwange National Park (hereafter Hwange NP), Zimbabwe, that elephant numbers at waterholes over 24 h increased with the sodium concentration of water on nutrient-poor Kalahari sands. His work has become widely cited in elephant studies as it remains the only one, to the best of our knowledge, to have studied elephant use of waterholes in relation to the mineral concentration of water. Weir's work, however, took place when elephant densities in Hwange NP were low, likely below 0.5 elephants km−2 as estimated by aerial censuses (Williamson 1975). Since then, the elephant population has increased dramatically, particularly since the halt to culling operations in 1986 (Chamaillé-Jammes 2006, Cumming 1981). The present elephant density is much higher, estimated to be over 2 elephants km−2 (Chamaillé-Jammes et al. 2007, in press), and is one of the highest in the world (Blanc et al. 2007). Increased density may modify ecological constraints and affect the hierarchy of habitat selection processes (Morris 2003), and the extent to which water-nutrient selection still constrains elephant distribution at high population density – when their impact on savanna vegetation is the highest – remains unknown.
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Cerling, Thure E., Janet E. Barnette, Lesley A. Chesson, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Kathleen S. Gobush, Kevin T. Uno, Samuel K. Wasser, and Xiaomei Xu. "Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113, no. 47 (November 7, 2016): 13330–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1614938113.
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Carbon-14 measurements on 231 elephant ivory specimens from 14 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 ton) made between 2002 and 2014 show that most ivory (ca. 90%) was derived from animals that had died less than 3 y before ivory was confiscated. This indicates that the assumption of recent elephant death for mortality estimates of African elephants is correct: Very little “old” ivory is included in large ivory shipments from Africa. We found only one specimen of the 231 analyzed to have a lag time longer than 6 y. Patterns of trade differ by regions: East African ivory, based on genetic assignments of geographic origin, has a much higher fraction of “rapid” transit than ivory originating in the Tridom region of Cameroon–Gabon–Congo. Carbon-14 is an important tool in understanding patterns of movement of illegal wildlife products.
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Szott, Isabelle D., Yolanda Pretorius, Andre Ganswindt, and Nicola F. Koyama. "Physiological stress response of African elephants to wildlife tourism in Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa." Wildlife Research 47, no. 1 (2020): 34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr19045.
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Abstract ContextWildlife tourism has been shown to increase stress in a variety of species and can negatively affect survival, reproduction, welfare, and behaviour of individuals. In African elephants, Loxodonta africana, increased physiological stress has been linked to use of refugia, rapid movement through corridors, and heightened aggression towards humans. However, we are unaware of any studies assessing the impact of tourism pressure (tourist numbers) on physiological stress in elephants. AimsWe used faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations to investigate whether tourist numbers in Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa, were related to changes in physiological stress in elephants. MethodsWe repeatedly collected dung samples (n=43) from 13 individually identified elephants over 15 months. Using a generalised linear mixed model and a Kenward–Roger approximation, we assessed the impact of monthly tourist numbers, season, age, and sex on elephant fGCM concentrations. Key resultsHigh tourist numbers were significantly related to elevated fGCM concentrations. Overall, fGCM concentrations increased by 112% (from 0.26 to 0.55µgg−1 dry weight) in the months with the highest tourist pressure, compared to months with the lowest tourist pressure. ConclusionsManagers of fenced reserves should consider providing potential alleviation measures for elephants during high tourist pressure, for example, by ensuring that refuge areas are available. This may be of even higher importance if elephant populations have had traumatic experiences with humans in the past, such as poaching or translocation. Such management action will improve elephant welfare and increase tourist safety. ImplicationsAlthough tourism can generate substantial revenue to support conservation action, careful monitoring of its impact on wildlife is required to manage potential negative effects.
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Selier, Sarah-Anne Jeanetta, Rob Slotow, and Enrico Di Minin. "The influence of socioeconomic factors on the densities of high-value cross-border species, the African elephant." PeerJ 4 (October 27, 2016): e2581. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2581.
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Unprecedented poaching levels triggered by demand for ivory in Far East Asia are threatening the persistence of African elephantLoxodonta africana. Southern African countries make an important contribution to elephant conservation and could soon become the last stronghold of elephant conservation in Africa. While the ecological factors affecting elephant distribution and densities have extensively been accounted for, there is a need to understand which socioeconomic factors affect elephant numbers in order to prevent conflict over limited space and resources with humans. We used elephant count data from aerial surveys for seven years in a generalized linear model, which accounted for temporal correlation, to investigate the effect of six socioeconomic and ecological variables on the number of elephant at the country level in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GMTFCA). Important factors in predicting elephant numbers were the proportion of total land surface under cultivation, human population density and the number of tourists visiting the country. Specifically, elephant numbers were higher where the proportion of total land surface under cultivation was the lowest; where population density was the lowest and where tourist numbers had increased over the years. Our results confirm that human disturbance is affecting elephant numbers, but highlight that the benefits provided by ecotourism could help enhance elephant conservation. While future studies should include larger areas and more detailed data at the site level, we stress that the development of coordinated legislation and policies to improve land-use planning are needed to reduce the impact of increasing human populations and agriculture on elephant.
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Hawthorne, William D., and Marc P. E. Parren. "How important are forest elephants to the survival of woody plant species in Upper Guinean forests?" Journal of Tropical Ecology 16, no. 1 (January 2000): 133–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467400001310.
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Elephant populations have declined greatly in the rain forests of Upper Guinea (Africa, west of the Dahomey Gap). Elephants have a number of well-known influences on vegetation, both detrimental and beneficial to trees. They are dispersers of a large number of woody forest species, giving rise to concerns that without elephants the plant diversity of Upper Guinean forest plant communities will not be maintained. This prospect was examined with respect to four sources of inventory and research data from Ghana, covering nearly all (more than 2000) species of forest plant. Evidence supporting the hypothesis that plant populations are collapsing without elephants is conspicuously absent in these datasets, although Balanites wilsoniana is likely to suffer dramatically on a centennial scale in the absence of forest elephants. A few other species are likely to decline, although at an even slower rate. In the context of other processes current in these forests, loss of elephants is an insignificant concern for plant biodiversity. Elephant damage of forests can be very significant in Africa, but loss of this influence is more than compensated for by human disturbance. Elephants have played a significant part in the shaping of West African rain forest vegetation. However, it is the conservation of elephants that should be of primary concern. Tree populations should be managed to promote them, rather than vice versa.
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Zacarias, Daniel, Luis Mauricio Bini, and Rafael Loyola. "Systematic review on the conservation genetics of African savannah elephants." PeerJ 4 (October 19, 2016): e2567. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2567.
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Background In this paper we review the conservation genetics of African savannah elephants, aiming to understand the spatio-temporal research trends and their underlying factors. As such, we explore three questions associated to the conservation genetics and molecular ecology of these elephants: (1) what are the research trends concerning the conservation genetics of Loxodonta africana? (2) Do richer countries conduct more research on the genetics of African elephants? (3) Which attributes influence where scholars conduct their research? Materials and Methods We examined available peer-reviewed publications from 1993 to 2014 in complementary online databases, including the ISI/Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and Google Scholar (GS), and searched for publications in scientific journals as well as in the reference section of these publications. We analyzed the annual trend of publications in this field of research, including the number of authors, levels of collaboration among authors, year of publication, publishing journal and the countries from where genetic samples were collected. Additionally, we identified main research clusters, authors, and institutional collaborations, based on co-citation and co-occurrence networks. Results We found that during the study period there was a positive trend in the number of publications and a reduction in the number of authors per paper. Twenty-five countries contributed, with the majority of publications authored by researchers in the USA, Kenya and South Africa. The majority of samples were collected in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Research outputs are associated with the existence of long-term conservation/research projects and research potential as measured by the literacy rate and the number of higher education institutions in a country. Five research clusters were identified, focusing on the origin and evolution of the species, methodological issues and the relatedness among elephant species. Conclusions Research in this field should be expanded to additional countries harboring elephant populations to enable a more comprehensive understanding of the population structure and genetic differentiation of the species, and to cope with challenges associated with the conservation of the species such as illegal hunting, habitat fragmentation, species reintroduction and climate change.
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Douglas-Hamilton, I. "African elephants: population trends and their causes." Oryx 21, no. 1 (January 1987): 11–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300020433.
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In 1985 many African elephant populations, which had been monitored for a decade or more, were either in rapid decline or down to a fraction of their former size. The author examines regional trends and information on key populations with reference to the critical factors affecting the survival of the African elephant, most significantly poaching and the illegal trade in ivory
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Adams, Rachelle. "Delegitimizing Ivory: The Case for an Ivory Trade Ban Treaty." AJIL Unbound 108 (2014): 166–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s2398772300002099.
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In Romain Gary’s novel Roots of Heaven, Morel, a French national in despair over the plight of Africa’s elephants, resolves to promote an international convention that will ban all hunting of elephants. The setting is colonial Chad in French Equatorial Africa in 1953, and, evocative of the current crisis, the story relates that thirty thousand elephants had been killed that year alone. The theme of the use of international law to protect the elephant weaves throughout the narrative. Morel is obsessed with gathering signatures to his petition for the new treaty, to counter “the notoriously insufficient laws for the protection of the African fauna.” The key international treaty at that time was the 1933 Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State. This convention had been adopted at the urging of scientists anxious over the devastation of elephant (and other wildlife) populations, by colonial governments more concerned over the implications for the ivory trade. The convention regulated hunting for trade and for trophies, as well as subsistence hunting, and provided for the conservation of the elephant as part of a management plan for this very lucrative colonial trade. Admittedly, although its primary objective was the steadfast supply of elephants for their tusks, this treaty did stalwartly stand between traders, governments, and consumers on the one hand, and the final demise of elephants on the other.
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Sach, Fiona, Ellen S. Dierenfeld, Simon C. Langley-Evans, Michael J. Watts, and Lisa Yon. "African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) as an example of a herbivore making movement choices based on nutritional needs." PeerJ 7 (February 1, 2019): e6260. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6260.
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Background The increasing human population and global intensification of agriculture have had a major impact on the world’s natural ecosystems and caused devastating effects on populations of mega-herbivores such as the African savanna elephants, through habitat reduction and fragmentation and increased human–animal conflict. Animals with vast home ranges are forced into increasingly smaller geographical areas, often restricted by fencing or encroaching anthropogenic activities, resulting in huge pressures on these areas to meet the animals’ resource needs. This can present a nutritional challenge and cause animals to adapt their movement patterns to meet their dietary needs for specific minerals, potentially causing human–animal conflict. The aim of this review is to consolidate understanding of nutritional drivers for animal movement, especially that of African savanna elephants and focus the direction of future research. Peer reviewed literature available was generally geographically specific and studies conducted on isolated populations of individual species. African savanna elephants have the capacity to extensively alter the landscape and have been more greatly studied than other herbivores, making them a good example species to use for this review. Alongside this, their movement choices, potentially linked with nutritional drivers could be applicable to a range of other species. Relevant case study examples of other herbivores moving based on nutritional needs are discussed. Methods Three databases were searched in this review: Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, using identified search terms. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined and applied as required. Additional grey literature was reviewed as appropriate. Results Initial searches yielded 1,870 records prior to application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. A less detailed review of grey literature, and additional peer-reviewed literature which did not meet the inclusion criteria but was deemed relevant by the authors was also conducted to ensure thorough coverage of the subject. Discussion A review of peer reviewed literature was undertaken to examine nutritional drivers for African elephant movement, exploring documented examples from free-ranging African savanna elephants and, where relevant, other herbivore species. This could help inform prediction or mitigation of human–elephant conflict, potentially when animals move according to nutritional needs, and related drivers for this movement. In addition, appropriate grey literature was included to capture current research.
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Ntukey, Lucas Theodori, Linus Kasian Munishi, Edward Kohi, and Anna Christina Treydte. "Land Use/Cover Change Reduces Elephant Habitat Suitability in the Wami Mbiki–Saadani Wildlife Corridor, Tanzania." Land 11, no. 2 (February 17, 2022): 307. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11020307.
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Wildlife corridors are critical for maintaining the viability of isolated wildlife populations and conserving ecosystem functionality. Anthropogenic pressure has negatively impacted wildlife habitats, particularly in corridors between protected areas, but few studies have yet quantitatively assessed habitat changes and corresponding wildlife presence. We quantified land use/land cover and human–elephant conflict trends over the past two decades in the Wami Mbiki–Saadani (WMS) wildlife corridor, Tanzania, using RS and GIS combined with human–wildlife conflict reports. We designed landscape metrics and habitat suitability models for the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) as a large mammal key species in the WMS ecosystem. Our results showed that forest cover, a highly suitable habitat for elephants, decreased by 3.0% between 1998 and 2008 and 20.3% between 2008 and 2018. Overall, the highly suitable habitat for elephants decreased by 22.4% from 1998 to 2018, when it was scarcely available and when small fragmented patches dominated the unprotected parts of the corridor. Our findings revealed that large mammalian habitat conservation requires approaches beyond habitat-loss detection and must consider other facets of landscape patterns. We suggest strengthening elephant habitat conservation through community conservation awareness, wildlife corridor mapping, and restoration practices to ensure a sustainable pathway to human–wildlife coexistence.
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Schlake, Emily L., Katherine R. Cassady, Erika J. Gruber, and Larry J. Minter. "Effect of Prolonged Serum Storage Time and Varied Temperatures on Biochemical Values in African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta africana)." Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4, no. 1 (January 5, 2023): 12–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jzbg4010002.
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Blood samples are routinely collected from wild populations in remote locations with limited electricity, minimal diagnostic capabilities, and extreme environmental conditions. Under these conditions, serum samples may be stored for prolonged time under varied temperatures prior to processing, which could affect the ability to interpretation the results. This study’s objective was to evaluate the effects of delayed processing of serum samples and varied storage temperatures on biochemical values in African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). Blood samples were collected from six elephants managed by the North Carolina Zoo. For each elephant, seven red top tubes were collected. One serum sample for each elephant was analyzed on Day 0 (control group). The remaining samples were stored under different temperatures including room temperature (23 °C), refrigeration (2.2 °C), and incubation (32.2 °C), with samples from each temperature group being analyzed on Day 5 and Day 10. Many of analytes (10 out of 18) did not change significantly regardless of storage temperature or time. Refrigeration improved stability in an additional four analytes over prolonged storage. We conclude that if serum is properly separated shortly after collection, many serum biochemical analytes can be accurately measured even after suboptimal serum storage, but refrigeration and prompt evaluation are still required for some analytes.
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Campbell-Staton, Shane C., Brian J. Arnold, Dominique Gonçalves, Petter Granli, Joyce Poole, Ryan A. Long, and Robert M. Pringle. "Ivory poaching and the rapid evolution of tusklessness in African elephants." Science 374, no. 6566 (October 22, 2021): 483–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abe7389.
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Lose the tusks Harvest and poaching of wildlife have increased as the human population and our technology have grown. These pressures now occur on such a scale that they can be considered selective drivers. Campbell-Staton et al . show that this phenomenon has occurred in African elephants, which are poached for their ivory, during the 20-year Mozambican civil war (see the Perspective by Darimont and Pelletier). In response to heavy poaching by armed forces, African elephant populations in Gorongosa National Park declined by 90%. As the population recovered after the war, a relatively large proportion of females were born tuskless. Further exploration revealed this trait to be sex linked and related to specific genes that generated a tuskless phenotype more likely to survive in the face of poaching. —SNV
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Bjorck, Johan, Brendan H. Rappazzo, Di Chen, Richard Bernstein, Peter H. Wrege, and Carla P. Gomes. "Automatic Detection and Compression for Passive Acoustic Monitoring of the African Forest Elephant." Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence 33 (July 17, 2019): 476–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v33i01.3301476.
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In this work, we consider applying machine learning to the analysis and compression of audio signals in the context of monitoring elephants in sub-Saharan Africa. Earth’s biodiversity is increasingly under threat by sources of anthropogenic change (e.g. resource extraction, land use change, and climate change) and surveying animal populations is critical for developing conservation strategies. However, manually monitoring tropical forests or deep oceans is intractable. For species that communicate acoustically, researchers have argued for placing audio recorders in the habitats as a costeffective and non-invasive method, a strategy known as passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). In collaboration with conservation efforts, we construct a large labeled dataset of passive acoustic recordings of the African Forest Elephant via crowdsourcing, compromising thousands of hours of recordings in the wild. Using state-of-the-art techniques in artificial intelligence we improve upon previously proposed methods for passive acoustic monitoring for classification and segmentation. In real-time detection of elephant calls, network bandwidth quickly becomes a bottleneck and efficient ways to compress the data are needed. Most audio compression schemes are aimed at human listeners and are unsuitable for low-frequency elephant calls. To remedy this, we provide a novel end-to-end differentiable method for compression of audio signals that can be adapted to acoustic monitoring of any species and dramatically improves over naive coding strategies.
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Georgiadis, N., L. Bischof, A. Templeton, J. Patton, W. Karesh, and D. Western. "Structure and History of African Elephant Populations: I. Eastern and Southern Africa." Journal of Heredity 85, no. 2 (March 1994): 100–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111405.
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STILES, DANIEL. "The ivory trade and elephant conservation." Environmental Conservation 31, no. 4 (December 2004): 309–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892904001614.
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In response to significant elephant population declines in the 1970s and 1980s because of poaching for ivory, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the international trade in Asian and African elephant species by listing them on Appendix I in 1973 and 1989, respectively. Many southern African countries disagreed with the African elephant trade ban and have continued to argue against it since the mid-1980s. They maintain that their governments practise sound wildlife management policies and actions and, as a consequence, their national elephant populations have reached unsustainable size. They argue that they should not be penalized because other countries cannot manage their wildlife. Further, they say they need the proceeds from ivory and other by-product sales to finance conservation efforts. In 1997, the CITES Conference of Parties voted to allow Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to auction off 50 tonnes of government ivory stockpiles to Japanese traders on a one-off experimental basis, which took place in 1999. Ivory trade opponents allege that this sale stimulated ivory demand, resulting in a surge of elephant poaching. Nevertheless, CITES voted again in 2002 to allow Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to auction off another 60 tonnes of ivory after May 2004. Trade opponents have launched an active campaign to prevent the sales, warning that they could provoke a renewed elephant holocaust. This paper reviews available quantitative evidence on ivory trade and elephant killing to evaluate the arguments of the ivory trade proponents and opponents. The evidence supports the view that the trade bans resulted generally in lower levels of ivory market scale and elephant poaching than prevailed prior to 1990. There is little evidence to support claims that the 1999 southern African ivory auctions stimulated ivory demand or elephant poaching. Levels of elephant poaching and illegal ivory trading in a country are more likely to be related to wildlife management practices, law enforcement and corruption than to choice of CITES appendix listings and consequent extent of trade restrictions. Elephant conservation and public welfare can be better served by legal ivory trade than by a trade ban, but until demand for ivory can be restrained and various monitoring and regulation measures are put into place it is premature for CITES to permit ivory sales.
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Fuentes, Sarah Quebec. "Activities for Students: Estimating African Elephant Populations (Part 2)." Mathematics Teacher 102, no. 8 (April 2009): 621–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5951/mt.102.8.0621.
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The March 2009 “Activities for Students” presented the first installment of a two-part activity on counting African elephant populations. Part 1 offered two scenarios and asked students to estimate populations by using data given in each one. In part 2, we present the final scenario, noting that the mathematics involved is somewhat more sophisticated than that required for last month's activities. For readers' ease, we re-present the history portion of last month's installment.
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Fuentes, Sarah Quebec. "Activities for Students: Estimating African Elephant Populations (Part 2)." Mathematics Teacher 102, no. 8 (April 2009): 621–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5951/mt.102.8.0621.
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The March 2009 “Activities for Students” presented the first installment of a two-part activity on counting African elephant populations. Part 1 offered two scenarios and asked students to estimate populations by using data given in each one. In part 2, we present the final scenario, noting that the mathematics involved is somewhat more sophisticated than that required for last month's activities. For readers' ease, we re-present the history portion of last month's installment.
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Corbacho, Casimiro, Manuel Molina, Manuel Mota, and Alfonso Ramos. "Birth–death branching models. Application to African elephant populations." Journal of Theoretical Biology 332 (September 2013): 108–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2013.04.030.
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Comstock, Kenine E., Nicholas Georgiadis, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Alfred L. Roca, Elaine A. Ostrander, Stephen J. O'Brien, and Samuel K. Wasser. "Patterns of molecular genetic variation among African elephant populations." Molecular Ecology 11, no. 12 (December 2002): 2489–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294x.2002.01615.x.
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Haynes, Gary. "Age Profiles in Elephant and Mammoth Bone Assemblages." Quaternary Research 24, no. 3 (November 1985): 333–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(85)90055-9.
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Age profiles of modern African elephant (Loxodonta africana) populations are significantly affected by drought conditions that cause local die-offs. Subadult animals die in proportions that may be nearly twice what is recorded in live populations. Such biasing of death sample age profiles might also have occurred during late Pleistocene die-offs of Mammuthus. This comparative study of modern and fossil proboscidean age structures supports a tentative interpretation that late Pleistocene extinction of Mammuthus (at least in the southwestern United States) resulted from severe drought conditions, at which Clovis hunters were witnesses, but not necessarily frequent participants.
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Carlin, Elisabetta, Gabriella Teren, and Andre Ganswindt. "Non-Invasive Assessment of Body Condition and Stress-Related Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations in African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) Roaming in Fynbos Vegetation." Animals 10, no. 5 (May 8, 2020): 814. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10050814.
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Fynbos is a unique endemic vegetation type belonging to the Cape Floral Kingdom in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, representing the smallest of the six floral kingdoms in the world. Nowadays, only a few game reserves in this region support populations of African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and thus, little information exists regarding the suitability of the nutritionally poor Fynbos vegetation for these megaherbivores. Using already established non-invasive methods, the monitoring of individual body conditions and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations, as a measure of physiological stress, was performed to examine a herd of 13 elephants in a Western Cape Province Private Game Reserve, during two monitoring periods (April and June 2018), following a severe drought. The results indicate that overall median body condition scores (April and June: 3.0, range 2.0–3.0) and fGCM concentrations (April: 0.46 µg/g dry weight (DW), range 0.35–0.66 µg/g DW; June: 0.61 µg/g DW, range 0.22–1.06 µg/g DW) were comparable to those of other elephant populations previously studied utilizing the same techniques. These findings indicate that the individuals obtain sufficient nutrients from the surrounding Fynbos vegetation during the months monitored. However, a frequent assessment of body conditions and stress-associated fGCM concentrations in these animals would assist conservation management authorities and animal welfare practitioners in determining ways to manage this species in environments with comparably poorer nutritional vegetation.
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Stephenson, Peter J., and Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu. "Conservation planning for a widespread, threatened species: WWF and the African elephant Loxodonta africana." Oryx 44, no. 2 (April 2010): 194–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605309990846.
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AbstractIn a case study of conservation planning by a conservation organization working at a continental scale we examine how WWF identified and prioritized its African elephant Loxodonta africana conservation activities. We (1) review lessons learnt from previous work, (2) identify priority landscapes using biological criteria (e.g. population size and viability) and institutional criteria (e.g. feasibility, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of WWF interventions), and (3) conduct a threat analysis and review of national and subregional action plans. We suggest that species action plans should use priority-setting criteria that focus on conserving the largest and most viable populations at the subspecies level. Clear definition of geographical priorities helps an organization focus its resources and assists monitoring. Species action plans should also take account of plans developed by governments and other stakeholders. Conservation agencies wishing to select which landscapes to invest in for a given species or subspecies could then consider institutional prioritization criteria, such as those used by WWF for the African elephant. This would allow them to invest pragmatically in conservation that has a higher chance of success than work planned solely through scientific analysis. Ultimately, however, no species action plan will succeed unless it has the resources necessary for implementation and the key stakeholders work together in partnership.
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Fay, J. Michael. "An elephant (Loxodonta africana) survey using dung counts in the forests of the Central African Republic." Journal of Tropical Ecology 7, no. 1 (February 1991): 25–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467400005022.
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ABSTRACTIn May and June of 1989 data on elephant (Loxodonta africana) dung density were collected in the main forested areas of the Central African Republic. A total of 147.0 km of line transects (N = 14 transects, = 10.50 km, SD = 3.79) was completed. Dung was recorded in 37.4% of the 294 sectors of 0.5 km each. The overall dung density was estimated to be 266 piles km-2 (= 382, SD = 383.7). The highest dung density was found in the proposed Dzanga-Sangha Reserve in the extreme south-west with 1166 piles km-2 (N = 12 sectors of 0.5 km). The south-eastern forests were found to have an intermediate dung density of 336 piles km-2 (N = 215 sectors of 0.5 km, = 419, SD = 308). In the eastern section of the south-western forests no dung was recorded along survey transects (N = 67 sectors of 0.5 km). These data indicate that elephant populations are still relatively high in the forests of south-western and south-eastern Central African Republic, while the population in the eastern section of the south-western forests has diminished to a very low level.
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Lueders, I., A. ‐K Oerke, T. Knauf‐Witzens, D. Young, and H. J. Bertschinger. "Use of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (Gn RH ) vaccines for behavioural and reproductive control in managed Asian elephant Elephas maximus and African elephant Loxodonta africana populations." International Zoo Yearbook 53, no. 1 (May 2019): 138–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/izy.12220.
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Codron, Jacqueline, Kevin Kirkman, Kevin J. Duffy, Matt Sponheimer, Julia A. Lee-Thorp, Andre Ganswindt, Marcus Clauss, and Daryl Codron. "Stable isotope turnover and variability in tail hairs of captive and free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) reveal dietary niche differences within populations." Canadian Journal of Zoology 91, no. 3 (March 2013): 124–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0155.
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Many herbivore species expand their dietary niche breadths by switching from browse-rich diets in dry seasons to grass-rich diets in rainy seasons, in response to phenological changes in plant availability and quality. We analyzed stable isotope series along tail hairs of captive and free-ranging African elephant (Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach, 1797)) to compare patterns of seasonal dietary variability across individuals. Results from elephants translocated from the wild into captivity, where their diets are semicontrolled, revealed tail hair growth rates of ∼0.34 mm/day, on average, and relatively rapid isotope turnover through the transition from wild into captivity. Sampling hairs at 10 mm increments thus archives dietary chronologies at a resolution suitable for tracking diet switches at seasonal, and even subseasonal, scales. Hairs of free-ranging elephants showed extensive carbon isotopic variability within individuals, consistent with seasonal switches between C3-browsing and C4-grazing. Similarly extensive, but asynchronous, shifts in nitrogen isotope ratios were also observed, suggesting an influence of factors other than seasonality. Across individuals, switching patterns differed across habitats, and across age classes, with older, larger animals including increasing amounts of C3 browse into their diets. These results demonstrate how stable isotope approaches characterize complex patterns of resource use in wildlife populations.
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Santiapillai, Charles, and Bruce Read. "Would masking the smell of ripening paddy-fields help mitigate human–elephant conflict in Sri Lanka?" Oryx 44, no. 4 (October 2010): 509–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605310000906.
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AbstractDespite its small size and high human population Sri Lanka is home to c. 4,400 wild Asian elephants Elephas maximus. Human–elephant conflict around agriculture is severe, with > 100 elephants and c. 50 people killed annually. Elephants appear to be able to time their raiding of paddy-fields in Sri Lanka with the harvesting of the rice, as if they are responding to an olfactory trigger. It is the elephant’s sophisticated chemosensory system that may hold the key to resolving human–elephant conflict. Research is required to determine the odours associated with the various development stages of rice, using gas chromatography, and to find a suitable substance that could be used to mask the specific odour of ripening rice. The use of chemosensory-based methods, if feasible, will not be a universal panacea for the mitigation of human–elephant conflict but, in combination with other methods, could reduce conflict and make it easier for farmers to harvest their crops in safety. Such a combination of methods could be useful across the range of both Asian and African elephants.
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Pringle, Robert M., Jacob R. Goheen, Todd M. Palmer, Grace K. Charles, Elyse DeFranco, Rhianna Hohbein, Adam T. Ford, and Corina E. Tarnita. "Low functional redundancy among mammalian browsers in regulating an encroaching shrub ( Solanum campylacanthum ) in African savannah." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1785 (June 22, 2014): 20140390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0390.
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Large herbivorous mammals play an important role in structuring African savannahs and are undergoing widespread population declines and local extinctions, with the largest species being the most vulnerable. The impact of these declines on key ecological processes hinges on the degree of functional redundancy within large-herbivore assemblages, a subject that has received little study. We experimentally quantified the effects of three browser species (elephant, impala and dik-dik) on individual- and population-level attributes of Solanum campylacanthum ( Solanum incanum sensu lato ), an encroaching woody shrub, using semi-permeable exclosures that selectively removed different-sized herbivores. After nearly 5 years, shrub abundance was lowest where all browser species were present and increased with each successive species deletion. Different browsers ate the same plant species in different ways, thereby exerting distinct suites of direct and indirect effects on plant performance and density. Not all of these effects were negative: elephants and impala also dispersed viable seeds and indirectly reduced seed predation by rodents and insects. We integrated these diffuse positive effects with the direct negative effects of folivory using a simple population model, which reinforced the conclusion that different browsers have complementary net effects on plant populations, and further suggested that under some conditions, these net effects may even differ in direction.
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Codron, Jacqueline, Daryl Codron, Matt Sponheimer, Kevin Kirkman, Kevin J. Duffy, Erich J. Raubenheimer, Jean-Luc Mélice, Rina Grant, Marcus Clauss, and Julia A. Lee-Thorp. "Stable isotope series from elephant ivory reveal lifetime histories of a true dietary generalist." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, no. 1737 (February 15, 2012): 2433–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.2472.
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Longitudinal studies have revealed how variation in resource use within consumer populations can impact their dynamics and functional significance in communities. Here, we investigate multi-decadal diet variations within individuals of a keystone megaherbivore species, the African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ), using serial stable isotope analysis of tusks from the Kruger National Park, South Africa. These records, representing the longest continuous diet histories documented for any extant species, reveal extensive seasonal and annual variations in isotopic—and hence dietary—niches of individuals, but little variation between them. Lack of niche distinction across individuals contrasts several recent studies, which found relatively high levels of individual niche specialization in various taxa. Our result is consistent with theory that individual mammal herbivores are nutritionally constrained to maintain broad diet niches. Individual diet specialization would also be a costly strategy for large-bodied taxa foraging over wide areas in spatio-temporally heterogeneous environments. High levels of within-individual diet variability occurred within and across seasons, and persisted despite an overall increase in inferred C 4 grass consumption through the twentieth century. We suggest that switching between C 3 browsing and C 4 grazing over extended time scales facilitates elephant survival through environmental change, and could even allow recovery of overused resources.
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Neumann, Roderick P. "Africa's ‘Last Wilderness’: Reordering Space for Political and Economic Control in Colonial Tanzania." Africa 71, no. 4 (November 2001): 641–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/afr.2001.71.4.641.
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ABSTRACTFocusing on south-eastern Tanzania, this article explores the colonial state's spatial strategies for economic and political control of its citizenry and their concurrence with strategies to control and conserve nature. Analysing British colonial archival documents, it demonstrates that Africa's most famous wilderness, the Selous Game Reserve, is a product of colonisers' economic and political control schemes, not a vestigial pre-modern landscape. The analysis reveals that the control of nature was inseparable from the state's efforts to control African subjects (mostly Ngindo peasants) and ultimately to create a new kind of person: ‘civilised’, productive and surveillable. Control schemes had significant ecological consequences, specifically increasing elephant (Loxondata africana) populations and the creation of vast tracts of tsetse fly-infested bush. The result, sometimes unintended, but more often orchestrated, was the displacement of African land use and settlement and a new geography of society and nature. The article concludes that colonial efforts to reorder south-eastern Tanzania were fundamental to the process of modern nation-state building, a process that was propelled by a particular way of thinking about social order in visual terms.
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Basson, M., J. R. Beddington, and R. M. May. "An assessment of the maximum sustainable yield of ivory from african elephant populations." Mathematical Biosciences 104, no. 1 (April 1991): 73–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0025-5564(91)90031-d.
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Loveridge, John P., and Stein R. Moe. "Termitaria as browsing hotspots for African megaherbivores in miombo woodland." Journal of Tropical Ecology 20, no. 3 (April 21, 2004): 337–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467403001202.
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Thirteen termite mounds and 13 similar-sized control plots were surveyed in central Zimbabwe in order to study large mammalian browsing and vegetation characteristics. The mounds supported almost twice as many tree species as the control plots and the woody vegetation was denser on mounds compared with the woodland plots. Species of woody plants were recorded along with the percentage of branches browsed (cumulative browsing score) by black rhino, Diceros bicornis, elephant, Loxodonta africana and other browsers combined. In addition we measured how the cumulative browsing score on three woody plant species, Acacia nilotica, Colophospermum mopane and Dichrostachys cinerea, which were common both on and off mounds, was related to the distance from mound centre. Both black rhino and elephant cumulative browsing scores were significantly higher on the mound plants compared with the woodland plots. Cumulative browsing score was negatively related to distance from the mound centre for Dichrostachys cinerea, Colophospermum mopane and Acacia nilotica. We propose that termite mound construction in miombo woodland contributes to sustaining populations of megaherbivores and perhaps some woody species in these areas.
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Bennett, Elizabeth L. "Legal ivory trade in a corrupt world and its impact on African elephant populations." Conservation Biology 29, no. 1 (August 7, 2014): 54–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12377.
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