Utilization by elephants of the Brachystegia woodlands of the Kasungu National Park, Malawi

Utilization by elephants of the trees of the Brachystegia woodlands of Kasungu National Park, Malawi, was investigated. Of forty-one common species thirtyfive species were eaten, of which thirteen species were selected by elephants. The chemical composition of the leaf material was analysed and a significant correlation was found between the utilization of certain species and the protein and sodium content, whereas the crude fibre content showed no significant correlation but in general appeared to be relatively low in highly favoured species. The pushing over and uprooting of trees by elephants appear to be part of a feeding strategy which improves the availability of food for elephants during the dry season. The number of trees browsed increased with an increasing tree density up to 300 trees ha^-1, where browsing intensity remained constant for both selected and non-selected species. The reasons why the species composition of Brachystegia woodlands is hardly affected by elephant use are briefly discussed.     

Effects of tsetse targets on mammals and birds in Kasungu National Park, Malawi

Possible effects on wildlife of targets baited with an attractive odour (acetone), impregnated with deltamethrin and used to control tsetse flies (Glossina morsitans morsitans), were investigated in the Kasungu National Park, Malawi. Mammals and birds were censused simultaneously along transects in 'Miombo' woodland or 'Dambo' grassland/mixed woodland, with and without targets. Mammals were also monitored by surveys of their spoor on experimentally cleared plots (5 m in diameter) and a target relocation experiment was conducted when the targets were removed from the test transects and transferred to the controls. Significantly fewer small antelopes (e.g. common Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia) were detected in plots along transects with targets (tests) than along control transects. The presence of targets affected the frequency of occurrence of antelopes, suids and large herbivores in the experimental plots, but small carnivores, monkeys, rodents and hares were unaffected. A conclusion of the relocation experiment was that the deltamethrin-impregnated cloth was responsible for the observed effects and not the acetone. A total number of 23 species of birds meeting a criterion for their abundance in the areas surveyed were selected for detailed analyses. Lower indices in the test areas than in the controls were recorded for 15 of these 23 species in the Dambos and for 10 of 21 species in the Miombo woodland. Matched paired comparisons revealed significantly lower numbers in the test areas than in the controls in both habitats only for black-headed Oriole Oriolus larvatus, but for Grey Lourie Corythaixoides concolor, little bee-eater Merops pusillus, fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis and combined data on three species of sunbirds in the Dambos. The black-eyed bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus had significantly lower numbers in the tests than in the controls in Miombo woodland. The numbers of three species of dove were higher in the tests than in the controls in both habitats, significantly so for the Cape turtle dove Streptopelia capicola, and numbers of the Flappet Lark Mirafra rufocinnamomea were significantly higher in the tests than in the controls in Dambos. The results are discussed in the light of previous studies on environmental effects of tsetse control, including effects of tsetse targets on pollinators especially non-target horseflies.     

Crop raiding around Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda

In areas around Lake Mburo National Park, large wild animals wander in close proximity to human settlements. This poses serious conflict in terms of crop damage. The integration of conservation with other land uses is difficult where densely settled agricultural land surrounds a protected area potentially containing problem animals, as is the case for several parks in Africa and Asia. The intensity of crop raiding was quantified through the use of random crop quadrants/plots and area estimation techniques in a portion of raided fields. The animal species concerned were documented from observations, footprints and any other marks left behind. Three variables were tested as predictors of damage: human population density, distance from the park boundary and season. In this study, data is presented regarding crop loss in the different seasons of the year, analysis of crop damage variation and animal species involved in crop loss. A diverse assemblage of animals foraged on subsistence crops and analysis of crop damage revealed significant crop depreciation by wildlife.     

Local responses to conservation in the Richtersveld National Park, South Africa

Local notions of conservation deserve closer scrutiny. We cannot assume that they naturally coincide with those of the tourist core; nor that they are automatically given higher priority when local populations are induced to participate in practices which conserve flora and fauna. A case study of the establishment of the Richtersveld National Park in Namaqualand, a remote arid region of South Africa, is used to argue that local attitudes to conservation and development (associated with tourism) can become increasingly cynical and ambivalent in the context of ecotourism. Furthermore, such attitudes are shaped less by economic inducements than by the often contradictory messages about conservation that are being communicated daily.     

稀有植物十齿花群落物种多样性研究

运用样方法对贵州省玉舍国家级森林公园稀有保护植物十齿花(Dipentodon sinicus)群落的物种多样性进行了研究,结果表明：玉舍国家级森林公园十齿花群落以蔷薇科、杜鹃花科、壳斗科、桦木科、山茶科、樟科、忍冬科、山茱萸科等为优势科;10个样地中有8个样地以十齿花种群占绝对优势,其平均重要值高达135.69,远远高于其它种群;十齿花群落乔木层物种丰富度为2.847、Simpson指数为0.601、Shannon-Wiener指数为1.523、种间相遇机率为0.601、均匀度指数为0.569,总体上均小于灌木层(分别为:5.580、0.830、2.377、0.829、0.672),表现为较明显的亚热带常绿落叶阔叶混交林的物种多样性特征。10个样地中,Q₁的物种多样性程度最高,Q₃次之,Q₅和Q₆最小,多样性程度最低,10个样地的物种多样性排序为Q₁＞Q₃＞Q₉＞Q₇＞Q₂＞Q₄＞Q₁₀＞Q₈＞Q₅＞Q₆。     

Personality,empathy and attitudes to animal welfare

Abstract

A total of 833 students completed a four-part questionnaire which measured demographic factors (sex, education, vegetarianism, religiousness), attitudes to animal experimentation, personality (Big Five) and empathy. Attitudes to animal experimentation factored into five interpretable factors, and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the extent to which demographic factors, personality and empathy predicted these. Sex, vegetarianism, Agreeableness, Openness, Extraversion and empathy were significant predictors of all these factors. Results showed an interpretable set of correlates that were similar to previous studies in the area. As with previous research findings, the measures used predicted only a small amount of variance with respect to attitudes to animals.     

Demography and dental needs,an international perspective

The population of the world is changing and the science dealing with the study of these changes in human populations, in terms of disease, health and mortality has been called demography. It can be understood to include the evaluation of the size, density, and distribution of populations including the influence of a variety of factors such as age and economics. This paper will review the distribution of the world's population with regard to age and utilization of dental care with particular emphasis on the older cohorts.     

天际岭森林公园夏季鸟类群落调查及多样性研究

2003年夏季,对天际岭国家森林公园的鸟类群落进行了调查,共发现有鸟类39种,隶属于11目26科34属.通过对不同地区鸟类群落的比较研究,结果表明植物群落的垂直结构和水平格局对鸟类群落的多样性具有直接影响.     

Animal Preferences and Acceptability of Wildlife Management Actions around Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Wildlife management policies are often based on expert perceptions of the ecological importance of certain species and poorly informed perceptions of how public attitudes toward management are formed. Little is known about why preferences vary greatly and how this affects support for management actions. This paper explores preferences for a range of wildlife species among a sample of the rural population adjacent to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. We also examine the degree of acceptance for alternative management interventions when potentially dangerous animals pose different levels of problems to human beings, and the extent to which these attitudes are related to species preferences. Gender has a significant effect on species preferences. Men like most species better than women. Age has no significant effect, but level of education affects preference level for some species. Species preferences have a positive effect on support for management intervention when dangerous animals cause small or moderate problems to humans, i.e. there is a higher degree of acceptance of problems caused by animals that are well liked. In situations where human life is threatened, species preferences have no effect on preferred management actions. Appreciation of animals is a combination of functional, consumptive and cultural dimensions, and there is no simple link between species preferences and attitudes toward management actions. The local context and concrete experience with wildlife encounters is more important for shaping normative beliefs like attitudes towards management actions than global wildlife attitudes.     

Territoriality and nutritional condition in Cynotilapia afra (Gunther) and Pseudotropheus zebra (Boulenger), cichlidae in Lake Malawi National Park, Malawi

The standard length, diurnal activities, territory sizes, and areas over which individuals foraged and the nutritional condition of territorial and non-territorial Cynotilapia afra and Pseudotropheus zebra were compared. Results show that territorial tenureship in these fishes does not depend on the male size, implying that aggressiveness, experience and motivation are more important in the maintenance of territory. However, terri-toriality in C. afra (t = 10.93, P < 0.05) and P. zebra (t = 3.31, P < 0.05) manifests itself in the reduction of nutritional condition because territorial males engage in energetically more demanding activities, e.g. courtship displays, fertilizing ripe females and chasing intruders that trespass into their territories. Territorial C. afra (t = 4.77; P < 0.05) and P. zebra (t = 5.89; P < 0.05) also fed over significantly smaller areas and spent significantly less time feeding than did non-territorial males. The biological significance of territoriality in these fish species is therefore not food intake, but mate attraction and reproductive success for which they trade off their nutritional condition. However, there might be a nutritional threshold below which the cost out-weighs the benefit. Hence, territorial males in poorer health abandon their territories in order to regain their condition.     

An ecological study of small rodents in the woodland savanna of Liwonde National Park, Malawi

A community of small rodents was studied in the woodland savanna of Liwonde National Park, Malawi from September 1984 to June 1985. Seven species were recorded on two 11 ha grids, using a capture-mark-release technique. Three species ( Aelhomys chrysophilus, Acomys spinosissimus and Tatera leucogasler ) comprised 78% of all trapped individuals. Average population numbers fluctuated from 3 to 17 individuals/ha. The grid with the densest vegetation supported the greatest number of individuals. Highest population numbers occurred in the mid-dry season (when the grids appeared to act as refugia) and in the early wet season (due to recruitment of young animals). Areas which had been burned during the dry season did not support as many individuals as unburnt areas. Population survival rates were low, with only about 50% of individuals surviving to the following month. The number of individuals/ha in Liwonde NP was lower than in similar habitats in other parts of eastern Africa, probably because of the shorter rainfall season and the consequent strong seasonal fluctuations in food resources, reduced opportunity for reproduction, and overall low productivity of the ecosystem.     

An ecological study of small rodents in the thicket-clump savanna of Lengwe National Park, Malawi

A community of small rodents was studied in thicket-clump and grassland savanna of Lengwe National Park, Malawi, from September 1984 to June 1985. Nine species were recorded on a 1·1 ha grid and five assessment lines, using a capture-mark-release technique. The three commonest species (and their percentage proportions) were Mastomys natalensis (47%), Acomys spinosissimus (24%) and Saccostomus campestris (11%). Population numbers on the grid fluctuated from–30 individuals/ha, and the numbers on the assessment lines fluctuated from–57 individuals. There were two peaks of population numbers during the year: the first was in the early wet season (when individuals emigrated from dry season refugia and there was limited reproduction) and the second was in the mid dry season (when young born at the end of the wet season entered the trappable population). The population was comprised mainly of subadults in the late dry season, adults and some young in the wet season, and young and subadults in the early and mid dry seasons. Population survival rates were low with only 30–50% of individuals surviving to the following month. The magnitude of population fluctuations are related to the strong seasonality of climate, flooding and grass characteristics; in this respect, the community of small mammals in Lengwe National Park shows similarities to those of the Kafue Valley in Zambia and the Chobe Valley in Botswana.