Tshepo Moatswi
Other projects
30 Nov 2017
Recruitment Rates, Habitat Selection and Diet of Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) in the Southern Kalahari, Botswana
The density and distribution of animal populations are shaped by resource availability and risks. In the case of predators, prey is a key resource whereas humans can be a risk especially in systems where humans are a potential ‘apex predator’, competing over the same resources. Human activities may lead to a response in the distribution and density of predators due to direct effects such as disturbance or indirectly by negatively influencing the abundance and distribution of predators’ prey. Specifically, poaching could have a potential negative impact on predator populations when competition between predators and poachers arise. Despite its conservation significance, few studies have quantified the direct and indirect effects of poaching on predators and their prey.
I will investigate predator-prey-poaching dynamics in a semiarid region in Botswana, by:
(1) quantifying potential competition for food between lions (Panthera leo) and poachers, determining lion diet using faecal genetic analysis and identifying hunted species, using poacher seizure records;
(2) assessing prey availability and the factors influencing prey abundance and distribution;
(3) determining poaching hotspots by relating environmental predictors, such as herbivore density, distribution, and distances to ranger bases and settlements, to recorded poaching incidents; and
(4) estimating how lion distribution and density are influenced by prey abundance and poaching activity. Investigating these relationships will provide insight into how humans, as potential super-competitors, exert pressure on both prey and predators, and will therefore, enhance our understanding of the predator prey dynamics in the Anthropocene. Quantifying these human-driven impacts are essential for guiding conservation interventions.