Browsing by Author "Woodgate, Zoe"

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    Factors influencing cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) distribution in Kafue National Park, Zambia
    (2025) Mulenga, Choolwe; O'riain, Mannus; Woodgate, Zoe; Overton, Kim-Young; Durant, Sarah
    Globally, effective management of large carnivores, particularly threatened and endangered species like cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), hinges upon a comprehensive understanding of their spatial distribution and conservation status. Despite being among the most threatened species within the Felid family, cheetah are data deficient throughout much of their known range, including within protected areas of Zambia, a potential stronghold for the species. In this study, existing camera trap data collected between 2018 and 2023, were used to assess cheetah occupancy estimates within Kafue National Park. These camera trap surveys were designed and run by the NGO Panthera Wildcat Conservation, in collaboration with Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to estimate leopard density across the north, central, and southern regions of the park. To adapt this survey for use in cheetah occupancy analyses, I overlaid a 6 x 6 km grid cell onto the surveyed area (KNP), where each grid subsumed multiple camera traps stations, and was treated as an independent site. All subsequent analyses were conducted at this site level. Due to low detection of cheetah, I used a stacked occupancy model to analyse cheetah spatial distribution in relation to landscape/site covariates within KNP, interpreting the results as probability of site use rather than the true occupancy. Data on cheetah detection histories (presence and absence) were analysed against nine covariates, including closed versus open habitat types (namely open forest, closed forest and grassland), the relative abundance of both prey and other large predators (lion [Panthera leo] and spotted hyena [Crocuta Crocuta]), distance to water, anti–poaching patrol effort and distance to legal camps (lodges, NGO and DNPW bases). The results confirmed the presence of cheetah in KNP with 170 cheetah detections, 110 of which were independent. The detection probability for cheetah increased significantly with the sampling effort (total number of days cameras were active in a site) but the addition of other detection variables decreased the predictive performance of the models. The naïve occupancy varied from 28% in the south to 50% in the northern region. Similarly, cheetah detections were highest in the north and lowest in the south. Among the nine site covariates analysed, only prey RAI (β = 2.08), and proportion of open forest (β = –3.55) had a significant influence on cheetah probability of site use. Using cheetah by–catch data from a leopard survey provided a first estimate of cheetah occupancy in a Zambian National Park. These estimates could be improved through the addition of more sites and a longer survey duration (range: 80 –100 days) to improve estimates for this important carnivore species.
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    Land use influence on biodiversity and activity patterns of predators and prey in the semi-arid drylands of South Africa
    (2024) Ayinla, Oluwaseun; O'riain, Mannus Justin; Woodgate, Zoe
    The unprecedented rise in anthropogenic activity worldwide has left wildlife with no other choice but to find means to coexist with humans across a range of different land uses. While some animals have developed strategies to adapt to the gradual and long-term modifications to the environment as a result of anthropogenic disruptions, rapid and pervasive changes often result in drastic reduction in species abundance causing local extirpation and posing a threat to ecosystem sustainability. Some behaviourally plastic species may be able to cope in real time to changes brought about by anthropogenic disruptions in their habitat, but they may have to compete with humans directly for space and food prompting negative interactions between people and wildlife which in turn lead to conflicts between conservation bodies on how best to mitigate these interactions. Understanding these interactions and how they influence ecosystem level functions, community interactions and the long-term persistence of wildlife is essential to achieving biodiversity goals. Most studies on wildlife in South Africa have focussed on protected areas but given that most animals still persist outside protected areas, it is imperative to expand research to include human modified landscapes too. The goal of my study was to 1) explore how wildlife adjust their activity with land use and, 2) determine whether heavily persecuted species adjust their activity more in human modified landscapes compared to protected areas and 3) how prey species adjust their activity with and without apex predators and 4) whether lunar illumination influences the activity of heavily persecuted species on farmland and predator-prey interactions in protected areas. I used camera trap surveys conducted on farmland between September 2012 and March 2013, in Anysberg Nature Reserve between the end of September 2013 and May 2014 and in Sanbona Wildlife Reserve between the end of August and November 2015 to provide insights into the relationships between land use, biodiversity, and predator-prey dynamics in the semi-arid drylands of South Africa. My study showed that semi-arid drylands of South Africa are important refugia for wildlife which is evident in the high species richness found in my study. I found that the temporal overlap for the same species living in Anysberg Nature Reserve and the nearby small livestock commercial farmland of Koup were not dissimilar. However, heavily persecuted (e.g., black backed jackal) and harvested species (e.g., steenbok) exhibited greater nocturnality on farmland presumably to avoid the diurnal peaks in farm worker activity. The presence and absence of apex predators had minimal influence on the activity of both smaller predators and a large size range of potential prey. That said both plains zebra and kudu showed increased nocturnal behaviour in the absence of lion which typically hunt at night. The response of wildlife to moon phase in different land uses was mixed with no clear patterns in the proportion of activity at night with different moon phases in either Anysberg or the farmland. This dissertation highlights the complex interplay between human activities and wildlife populations and provides important baseline information on the relationships between land use, biodiversity, and predator-prey dynamics that can be used to explore future shifts in both land use and climate in the drylands of the Karoo.