Book contents
- Only in Africa
- Only in Africa
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Physical Cradle: Land Forms, Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Soils
- Part II The Savanna Garden: Grassy Vegetation and Plant Dynamics
- Part III The Big Mammal Menagerie: Herbivores, Carnivores and Their Ecosystem Impacts
- Chapter 10 Niche Distinctions: Resources Versus Risks
- Chapter 11 Big Fierce Carnivores: Hunting Versus Scavenging
- Chapter 12 Herbivore Abundance: Bottom-up and Top-down Influences
- Chapter 13 How Large Herbivores Transform Savanna Ecosystems
- Chapter 14 Paleo-faunas: Rise and Fall of the Biggest Grazers
- Part III Synthesis: Movers of Savanna Dynamics: Grazers, Elephants and Fires
- Part IV Evolutionary Transitions: From Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans
- Appendix Scientific Names of Extant Animal and Plant Species Mentioned in the Book Chapters (Ecologically Conservative with Regard to Species Recognition)
- Index
- References
Chapter 12 - Herbivore Abundance: Bottom-up and Top-down Influences
from Part III - The Big Mammal Menagerie: Herbivores, Carnivores and Their Ecosystem Impacts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 September 2021
Book contents
- Only in Africa
- Only in Africa
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Physical Cradle: Land Forms, Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Soils
- Part II The Savanna Garden: Grassy Vegetation and Plant Dynamics
- Part III The Big Mammal Menagerie: Herbivores, Carnivores and Their Ecosystem Impacts
- Chapter 10 Niche Distinctions: Resources Versus Risks
- Chapter 11 Big Fierce Carnivores: Hunting Versus Scavenging
- Chapter 12 Herbivore Abundance: Bottom-up and Top-down Influences
- Chapter 13 How Large Herbivores Transform Savanna Ecosystems
- Chapter 14 Paleo-faunas: Rise and Fall of the Biggest Grazers
- Part III Synthesis: Movers of Savanna Dynamics: Grazers, Elephants and Fires
- Part IV Evolutionary Transitions: From Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans
- Appendix Scientific Names of Extant Animal and Plant Species Mentioned in the Book Chapters (Ecologically Conservative with Regard to Species Recognition)
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter compares the potential impacts of seasonal food abundance and predation risks on herbivore populations. It describes how herbivore species differ in their response to seasonal rainfall variation. Major droughts can induce severe population crashes. Abundant water accentuates local food depletion. Food shortages may cause animals to incur greater exposure to predation so that bottom-up and top-down influences are entangled. Demographic shifts may lower prey vulnerability to population growth rates, dependent on body size, and sustainable recruitment thresholds. Savanna ungulates differ in the breadth and seasonal timing of birth seasons. Medium–large grazing ruminants produce the most biomass annually. Browsers and equids are consistently less abundant than grazers, while smaller herbivores are more narrowly distributed regionally. Populations also expand and contract in their distribution.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Only in AfricaThe Ecology of Human Evolution, pp. 181 - 198Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Suggested Further Reading
Owen-Smith, N. (1988) Megaherbivores. The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N. (2010) Dynamics of Large Herbivore Populations in Changing Environments. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
References
Mills, MGL, et al. (1995) The relationship bewteen rainfall, lion predation and population trends in African herbivores. Wildlife Research 22:75–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshal, JP, et al. (2011) The role of El Niño–Southern Oscillation in the dynamics of a savanna large herbivore population. Oikos 120:1175–1182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dublin, HT; Ogutu, JO. (2015) Population regulation of African buffalo in the Mara–Serengeti ecosystem. Wildlife Research 42:382–393.Google Scholar
Ottichilo, WK, et al. (2000) Population trends of large non‐migratory wild herbivores and livestock in the Masai Mara ecosystem, Kenya, between 1977 and 1997. African Journal of Ecology 38:202–216.Google Scholar
Estes, RD, et al. (2006) Downward trends in Ngorongoro Crater ungulate populations 1986–2005: conservation concerns and the need for ecological research. Biological Conservation 131:106–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staver, AC, et al. (2019) Grazer movements exacerbate grass declines during drought in an African savanna. Journal of Ecology 107:1482–1491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogutu, JO; Owen‐Smith, N. (2003) ENSO, rainfall and temperature influences on extreme population declines among African savanna ungulates. Ecology Letters 6:412–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen-Smith, N; Mills, MGL. (2006) Manifold interactive influences on the population dynamics of a multispecies ungulate assemblage. Ecological Monographs 76:73–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grange, S, et al. (2004) What limits the Serengeti zebra population? Oecologia 140:523–532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Georgiadis, N, et al. (2003) The influence of rainfall on zebra population dynamics: implications for management. Journal of Applied Ecology 40:125–136.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N. (1990) Demography of a large herbivore, the greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, in relation to rainfall. The Journal of Animal Ecology 59:893–913.Google Scholar
Mduma, SAR, et al. (1999) Food regulates the Serengeti wildebeest: a 40‐year record. Journal of Animal Ecology 68:1101–1122.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N (1981) The white rhinoceros overpopulation problem, and a proposed solution. In Jewell, PA et al. (eds) Problems in Management of Locally Abundant Wild Mammals. Academic Press, New York, NY, pp. 129–150.Google Scholar
Moss, CJ. (2001) The demography of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population in Amboseli, Kenya. Journal of Zoology 255:145–156.Google Scholar
Corfield, TF. (1973) Elephant mortality in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 11:339–368.Google Scholar
Smit, IPJ; Bond, WJ. (2020) Observations on the natural history of a savanna drought. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 37:119–136.Google Scholar
Young, TP. (1994) Natural die‐offs of large mammals: implications for conservation. Conservation Biology 8:410–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spinage, CA; Matlhare, JM. (1992) Is the Kalahari cornucopia fact or fiction? A predictive model. Journal of Applied Ecology 29:605–610.Google Scholar
Walker, BH, et al. (1987) To cull or not to cull: lessons from a southern African drought. Journal of Applied Ecology 24:381–401.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N. (2019) Ramifying effects of the risk of predation on African multi-predator, multi-prey large-mammal assemblages and the conservation implications. Biological Conservation 232:51–58.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N. (2015) How diverse large herbivores coexist with multiple large carnivores in African savanna ecosystems: demographic, temporal and spatial influences on prey vulnerability. Oikos 124:1417–1426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoganand, K; Owen‐Smith, N. (2014) Restricted habitat use by an African savanna herbivore through the seasonal cycle: key resources concept expanded. Ecography 37:969–982.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen‐Smith, N; Traill, LW. (2017) Space use patterns of a large mammalian herbivore distinguished by activity state: fear versus food? Journal of Zoology 303:281–290.Google Scholar
Scheel, D; Packer, C (1995) Variation in predation by lions: tracking a movable feast. In Sinclair, ARE et al. (eds) Serengeti II: Dynamics, Management, and Conservation of an Ecosystem. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, p. 299.Google Scholar
Sinclair, ARE, et al. (2003) Patterns of predation in a diverse predator–prey system. Nature 425:288–290.Google Scholar
Harrington, R, et al. (1999) Establishing the causes of the roan antelope decline in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Biological Conservation 90:69–78.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N; Mills, MGL. (2008) Shifting prey selection generates contrasting herbivore dynamics within a large‐mammal predator–prey web. Ecology 89:1120–1133.Google Scholar
Fryxell, JM, et al. (1988) Why are migratory ungulates so abundant? The American Naturalist 131:781–798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fryxell, JM; Sinclair, ARE. (1988) Seasonal migration by white‐eared kob in relation to resources. African Journal of Ecology 26:17–31.Google Scholar
Cooper, SM, et al. (1999) A seasonal feast: long‐term analysis of feeding behaviour in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). African Journal of Ecology 37:149–160.Google Scholar
Harris, G, et al. (2009) Global decline in aggregated migrations of large terrestrial mammals. Endangered Species Research 7:55–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naidoo, R, et al. (2016) A newly discovered wildlife migration in Namibia and Botswana is the longest in Africa. Oryx 50:138–146.Google Scholar
Morjan, MD, et al. (2018) Armed conflict and development in South Sudan threatens some of Africa’s longest and largest ungulate migrations. Biodiversity and Conservation 27:365–380.Google Scholar
Naidoo, R, et al. (2012) Home on the range: factors explaining partial migration of African buffalo in a tropical environment. PLoS One 7:e36527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillman, J. (1988) Home range and movement of the common eland (Taurotragus oryx Pallas 1766) in Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 26:135–148.Google Scholar
Fryxell, JM, et al. (2005) Landscape scale, heterogeneity, and the viability of Serengeti grazers. Ecology Letters 8:328–335.Google Scholar
Cagnacci, F, et al. (2016) How many routes lead to migration? Comparison of methods to assess and characterize migratory movements. Journal of Animal Ecology 85:54–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreulen, D. (1975) Wildebeest habitat selection on the Serengeti plains, Tanzania, in relation to calcium and lactation: a preliminary report. African Journal of Ecology 13:297–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, MG. (1995) Specific nutrient requirements and migration of wildbeest. In Sinclair, ARE, et al. (eds) Serengeti II: Dynamics, Management, and Conservation of an Ecosystem. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, p. 231.Google Scholar
Ogutu, J, et al. (2013) Changing wildlife populations in Nairobi National Park and adjoining Athi-Kaputiei Plains: collapse of the migratory wildebeest. The Open Conservation Biology Journal 7:11–26.Google Scholar
Ogutu, JO, et al. (2012) Dynamics of ungulates in relation to climatic and land use changes in an insularized African savanna ecosystem. Biodiversity and Conservation 21:1033–1053.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, RN. (1988) Megaherbivores: The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Gaillard, J-M, et al. (2015) Does tooth wear influence ageing? A comparative study across large herbivores. Experimental Gerontology 71:48–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Owen‐Smith, N; Ogutu, JO. (2013) Controls over reproductive phenology among ungulates: allometry and tropical–temperate contrasts. Ecography 36:256–263.Google Scholar
Mills, MGL. (2017) Kalahari Cheetahs: Adaptations to An Arid Region. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Ryan, SJ, et al. (2007) Ecological cues, gestation length, and birth timing in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Behavioral Ecology 18:635–644.Google Scholar
Smuts, GL. (1976) Population characteristics of Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchelli antiquorum. H. Smith, 1841) in the Kruger National Park. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 6:99–112.Google Scholar
Whyte, IJ; Joubert, CSJ. (1988) Blue wildebeest population trends in the Kruger National Park and the effects of fencing. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 18:78–87.Google Scholar
Sinclair, ARE, et al. (2000) What determines phenology and synchrony of ungulate breeding in Serengeti? Ecology 81:2100–2111.Google Scholar
Ogutu, JO, et al. (2015) How rainfall variation influences reproductive patterns of African savanna ungulates in an equatorial region where photoperiod variation is absent. PloS One 10:e0133744.Google Scholar
Estes, RD. (1976) The significance of breeding synchrony in the wildebeest. African Journal of Ecology 14:135–152.Google Scholar
Augustine, DJ; McNaughton, SJ. (2004) Regulation of shrub dynamics by native browsing ungulates on East African rangeland. Journal of Applied Ecology 41:45–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen-Smith, RN. (1983) Dispersal and the dynamics of large herbivores in enclosed areas: implications for management. In Owen-Smith, N (ed.) Management of Large Mammals in African Conservation Areas. Haum Educational Publishers, Pretoria, pp. 127–143.Google Scholar
Owen‐Smith, N, et al. (2012) Shrinking sable antelope numbers in Kruger National Park: what is suppressing population recovery? Animal Conservation 15:195–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caughley, G, et al. (1980) Does dingo predation control the densities of kangaroos and emus? Wildlife Research 7:1–12.Google Scholar