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1. Spatiotemporal dynamics of forage and water resources shape space use of West African savanna buffaloes.

Author

Cornélis, Daniel, Benhamou, Simon, Janeau, Georges, Morellet, Nicolas, Ouedraogo, Moumouni, and Visscher, Marie-Noëld E

Subjects
*AFRICAN buffalo, *SAVANNA animals, *SYNCERUS caffer nanus, *FORAGING behavior, *HABITAT selection
Abstract

We investigated space-use patterns of the West African savanna buffalo (Syncerus caffer brachyceros), a little-studied subspecies occurring at the northern limit of the African buffalo's geographical range. This buffalo generally ranges in small herds (about 45 individuals) and has a low body mass (approximately 400 kg) relative to the Cape buffalo (S. c. caffer). We monitored the movements of 7 breeding herds in W Regional Park (Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger) using global positioning system collars and activity data loggers. Habitat selection was analyzed at both large (interseasonal) and small (intraseasonal) scales in a context where resources are segregated spatially at some times of year. Both biotic (primary production and vegetation types) and abiotic (timing of rainfall and surface water) covariates, and the extent to which neighboring herds shared space, were considered. In the dry season buffalo herds ranged close (within 5.3 ± 2.0 km, mean ± SD) to segments of permanent rivers. At the onset of the monsoon all herds but 1 (which had year-round access to suitable resources) performed a large (35 ± 10 km) directional movement in response to a large-scale gradient of primary production. Spatiotemporal dynamics of forage and water resources thus jointly stimulated interseasonal directional movements and shaped large (335 ± 167 km² ) annual home ranges. Furthermore, the establishment of home ranges in the wet season appears to be conditioned by a threshold (about 10%) in the availability of perennial grasses. Habitat-selection analysis at intraseasonal scale also underlines the key role played by perennial grasses for buffaloes. The spatial arrangements of home ranges of neighboring herds also suggest that interherd behavioral avoidance is a high-level constraint on foraging processes. The ability of the African buffalo to cope with contrasting environmental conditions throughout most sub-Saharan ecosystems highlights the high behavioral plasticity of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2011
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2. Spatiotemporal dynamics of forage and water resources shape space use of West African savanna buffaloes

Author

Georges Janeau, Nicolas Morellet, Marie-Noël De Visscher, Simon Benhamou, Daniel Cornélis, Moumouni Ouedraogo, Animal et gestion intégrée des risques (UPR AGIRs), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Département Productions Forestières (D.P.F.), INERA-CNRST, This study was funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR Mobility program). Buffalo captures were carried out with the financial support of the European Union (ECOPAS Program) and the International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife (IGF-France). We sincerely thank the WRP board for allowing us to conduct this study within the park, veterinarians P. Chardonnet, L. Ouattara, and A. Caron, and J.-M. Angibault, C. Paolini, A. K. Samna, the WRP rangers, and the Niger and Burkina Faso Air Forces for their invaluable support during capture sessions. We also warmly thank G. Cumming, S. Chamaille, and H. Fritz, and associate editor D. Van Vuren and 2 anonymous referees, for their comments on a previous draft of this paper., Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut de l'Environnement et Recherches Agricoles [Ouagadougou] (INERA), Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technologique [Ouagadougou] (CNRST)-Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technologique [Ouagadougou] (CNRST), and Cornelis, Daniel

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Range (biology), [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], habitat, habitat selection, 01 natural sciences, behavioral plasticity, Dry season, Dynamique des populations, foraging, home range, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), space use, Syncerus, caffer brachyceros, West African savanna buffalo, zoology, Savane, 2. Zero hunger, Ecology, biology, Fourrage, savane africaine, Système de positionnement global, Variation saisonnière, Geography, Habitat, besoin en eau, L20 - Écologie animale, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières, Wet season, Buffle africain, Distribution géographique, Home range, Foraging, Context (language use), 010603 evolutionary biology, Conservation des ressources, eau, Genetics, Adaptation, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Cape buffalo, Nature and Landscape Conservation, L02 - Alimentation animale, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Migration animale, L60 - Taxonomie et géographie animales, Distribution spatiale, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, masse corporelle, Animal Science and Zoology, Écologie animale, Comportement animal, Index de végétation
Abstract

International audience; We investigated space-use patterns of the West African savanna buffalo (Syncerus caffer brachyceros), a little-studied subspecies occurring at the northern limit of the African buffalo's geographical range. This buffalo generally ranges in small herds (about 45 individuals) and has a low body mass (approximately 400 kg) relative to the Cape buffalo (S. c. caffer). We monitored the movements of 7 breeding herds in W Regional Park (Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger) using global positioning system collars and activity data loggers. Habitat selection was analyzed at both large (interseasonal) and small (intraseasonal) scales in a context where resources are segregated spatially at some times of year. Both biotic (primary production and vegetation types) and abiotic (timing of rainfall and surface water) covariates, and the extent to which neighboring herds shared space, were considered. In the dry season buffalo herds ranged close (within 5.3 +/- 2.0 km, mean +/- SD) to segments of permanent rivers. At the onset of the monsoon all herds but 1 (which had year-round access to suitable resources) performed a large (35 +/- 10 km) directional movement in response to a large-scale gradient of primary production. Spatiotemporal dynamics of forage and water resources thus jointly stimulated interseasonal directional movements and shaped large (335 +/- 167 km(2)) annual home ranges. Furthermore, the establishment of home ranges in the wet season appears to be conditioned by a threshold (about 10%) in the availability of perennial grasses. Habitat-selection analysis at intraseasonal scale also underlines the key role played by perennial grasses for buffaloes. The spatial arrangements of home ranges of neighboring herds also suggest that interherd behavioral avoidance is a high-level constraint on foraging processes. The ability of the African buffalo to cope with contrasting environmental conditions throughout most sub-Saharan ecosystems highlights the high behavioral plasticity of this species.

Published
2011

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