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. 2014 Jun 20;9(6):e100202.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100202. eCollection 2014.

Landscape suitability in Botswana for the conservation of its six large African carnivores

Hanlie E K Winterbach  1 , Christiaan W Winterbach  1 , Michael J Somers  2
Affiliations

Landscape suitability in Botswana for the conservation of its six large African carnivores

Hanlie E K Winterbach et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Wide-ranging large carnivores often range beyond the boundaries of protected areas into human-dominated areas. Mapping out potentially suitable habitats on a country-wide scale and identifying areas with potentially high levels of threats to large carnivore survival is necessary to develop national conservation action plans. We used a novel approach to map and identify these areas in Botswana for its large carnivore guild consisting of lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). The habitat suitability for large carnivores depends primarily on prey availability, interspecific competition, and conflict with humans. Prey availability is most likely the strongest natural determinant. We used the distribution of biomass of typical wild ungulate species occurring in Botswana which is preyed upon by the six large carnivores to evaluate the potential suitability of the different management zones in the country to sustain large carnivore populations. In areas where a high biomass of large prey species occurred, we assumed interspecific competition between dominant and subordinated competitors to be high. This reduced the suitability of these areas for conservation of subordinate competitors, and vice versa. We used the percentage of prey biomass of the total prey and livestock biomass to identify areas with potentially high levels of conflict in agricultural areas. High to medium biomass of large prey was mostly confined to conservation zones, while small prey biomass was more evenly spread across large parts of the country. This necessitates different conservation strategies for carnivores with a preference for large prey, and those that can persist in the agricultural areas. To ensure connectivity between populations inside Botswana and also with its neighbours, a number of critical areas for priority management actions exist in the agricultural zones.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have the following interests: This study was funded in part by Tau Consultants (Pty) Ltd. H.E.K. Winterbach and C.W. Winterbach are directors and sole shareholders of Tau Consultants (Pty) Ltd, which is registered as an independent research company in Botswana. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Land use zones in Botswana.
Map of the two main land use zones: the Conservation Zones (green colours) consisting of protected areas and Wildlife Management Areas, and the Agricultural Zones (brown colours) consisting of communal grazing land, farms used mainly for livestock production and limited crop production, game ranches, and mining - and residential areas.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Large prey biomass.
Map of the distribution of large prey biomass across the Conservation - and Agricultural Zones. Large prey species refers to wild ungulate species weighing >60 kg and occurring in Botswana that are typical prey for lions (Panthera leo), and includes warthog and ostrich but excludes atypical prey such as elephants.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Percentage large prey biomass.
Map of the distribution of the percentage large prey biomass across the Conservation - and Agricultural Zones. The percentage was calculated from the total available biomass of large prey and large livestock consisting of cattle (Bos spp.), horses (Equus caballus) and donkeys (E. asinus).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Small prey biomass.
Map of the distribution of small prey biomass across the Conservation - and Agricultural Zones. Small prey species refers to wild ungulate species weighing <50 kg and occurring in Botswana that are typical prey for cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Percentage small prey biomass.
Map of the distribution of the percentage small prey biomass across the Conservation - and Agricultural Zones. The percentage was calculated from the total available biomass of small prey and small livestock consisting of sheep (Ovis spp.) and goats (Capra hircus).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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