Landscape heterogeneity and the use of space by elephants in the Kruger National Park, South Africa |
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| Authors: | Matthew Grainger Rudi van Aarde and Ian Whyte |
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| Institution: | Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa;and South African National Parks, Kruger National Park, Private Bag X402, Skukuza 1250, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Landscape heterogeneity may influence ranging behaviour of mammals. Here we relate the home range size of elephants living in the Kruger National Park to the number of patches, proportion of each patch, spatial arrangement of patches, patch shape, and contrast between neighbouring patches. Home range sizes decreased exponentially with an increase in the number of patches per 100 km2 and the home range sizes of bulls were in general more strongly related to measures of heterogeneity. This may reflect differences in perception of heterogeneity between the sexes. |
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| Keywords: | FRAGSTATS home range landscape heterogeneity |
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