The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation
It has become clear that state-owned protected areas (PAs) are insufficient in preserving the world’s spatially heterogenous biodiversity. Private land conservation could contribute significantly to national conservation goals, without further burdening state resources. In South Africa, legislation...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/3/599 |
| _version_ | 1797610759993163776 |
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| author | Zoë Woodgate Marine Drouilly Greg Distiller M. Justin O’Riain |
| author_facet | Zoë Woodgate Marine Drouilly Greg Distiller M. Justin O’Riain |
| author_sort | Zoë Woodgate |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It has become clear that state-owned protected areas (PAs) are insufficient in preserving the world’s spatially heterogenous biodiversity. Private land conservation could contribute significantly to national conservation goals, without further burdening state resources. In South Africa, legislation has been introduced to incentivise private landowners to contribute to national biodiversity goals. In this study, we used camera trap arrays and hierarchical multi-species occupancy modelling to evaluate the impact of land-use on mammal (body mass >0.5 kg) diversity in the drylands of South Africa. Four hundred and fifty-one camera traps were deployed across a statutory PA, private PA and a neighbouring group of farmlands, covering ~2096 km<sup>2</sup>. Although trophic species richness were similar across all three land-uses, occurrence and detection probabilities of larger (>20 kg) species were low in the farmlands and highest in the private PA. In contrast, smaller species had higher occurrence probabilities in the farmlands, where large predators and megaherbivores have been extirpated. Differences in species-specific occurrence probabilities were primarily driven by land-use context, as opposed to fine-scale habitat attributes. These results highlight how a land-use matrix incorporating statutory PAs, private PAs and well-managed rangelands can benefit wildlife conservation, as long as these land-uses are included in carefully developed regional conservation planning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:18:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff49baeba817483a8c90d3dc96683db3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:18:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff49baeba817483a8c90d3dc96683db32023-11-17T12:06:43ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-03-0112359910.3390/land12030599The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for ConservationZoë Woodgate0Marine Drouilly1Greg Distiller2M. Justin O’Riain3Department of Biological Sciences, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South AfricaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South AfricaStatistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South AfricaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South AfricaIt has become clear that state-owned protected areas (PAs) are insufficient in preserving the world’s spatially heterogenous biodiversity. Private land conservation could contribute significantly to national conservation goals, without further burdening state resources. In South Africa, legislation has been introduced to incentivise private landowners to contribute to national biodiversity goals. In this study, we used camera trap arrays and hierarchical multi-species occupancy modelling to evaluate the impact of land-use on mammal (body mass >0.5 kg) diversity in the drylands of South Africa. Four hundred and fifty-one camera traps were deployed across a statutory PA, private PA and a neighbouring group of farmlands, covering ~2096 km<sup>2</sup>. Although trophic species richness were similar across all three land-uses, occurrence and detection probabilities of larger (>20 kg) species were low in the farmlands and highest in the private PA. In contrast, smaller species had higher occurrence probabilities in the farmlands, where large predators and megaherbivores have been extirpated. Differences in species-specific occurrence probabilities were primarily driven by land-use context, as opposed to fine-scale habitat attributes. These results highlight how a land-use matrix incorporating statutory PAs, private PAs and well-managed rangelands can benefit wildlife conservation, as long as these land-uses are included in carefully developed regional conservation planning.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/3/599camera-trappingmulti-species occupancy modeltrophic guildland-usespecies richness |
| spellingShingle | Zoë Woodgate Marine Drouilly Greg Distiller M. Justin O’Riain The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation Land camera-trapping multi-species occupancy model trophic guild land-use species richness |
| title | The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation |
| title_full | The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation |
| title_short | The Effect of Multi-Use Landscapes on Mammal Assemblages and Its Implication for Conservation |
| title_sort | effect of multi use landscapes on mammal assemblages and its implication for conservation |
| topic | camera-trapping multi-species occupancy model trophic guild land-use species richness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/3/599 |
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