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Selective disturbance by elephants (Loxodonta africana) on eight tree species in a West African savannah

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Ecological Research

Abstract

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are ecosystem engineers in African savannahs, but their role in the modifications of the populations of trees by means of their browsing activities has been poorly studied so far in West Africa. We studied the disturbance of elephants to eight selected species of trees in the Nazinga Game Ranch (Burkina Faso), in 54 transects at the end of dry season 2008. We fitted simple models describing the number of dead individuals for each tree species in relation to their initial population density, and in relation to dung-pile density, in the assumption that there should be a positive relationship between elephant density and dung-pile density. Generalized Linear Model analyses and regression analyses showed that the more dense the woodland cover, the least the percentage of damaged plants by elephants. For each plant species, the initial density and density of elephant dung-piles explained a high proportion of the variance in the density of dead individuals. Stochastic models, generated by a purposely created simple computer program written in GW-BASIC programming language, predicted changes in tree and shrub abundance under different assumptions about elephant numbers. The models suggested that elephant browsing may cause considerable change in the selected plant populations, especially with regard to such species as Acacia gourmaensis, Vitellaria paradoxa and Maytenus senegalensis. These changes may possibly increase the meat harvest from controlled hunting activities, thus improving the income for surrounding communities.

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Acknowledgements

Field work was financed by the Nazinga Game Ranch as part of its Ecological Monitoring Program; we benefited from additional supports from the consortium of WildFoundation in USA, Save the Elephants in Kenya and the Environment & Development Group in UK. The late M. Adama Ouédraogo, Director of the Ranch during the period of the study, gave us permission to work at Nazinga. We are grateful to the Directeur de la Faune et des Chasses M. Urbain Belemsobgo who made the study possible. We thank all field assistants especially M. Banzourou Niagabaré, M. Néti Naman, M. Tinsgnimi Dialla, M. Ousmane Badini, M. Boukaré Ouédraogo, M. Dominique Zida, M. Boureima Kaboré and M. Misson Zida, for their support. We thank M. Philippe Bouché and two anonymous referees for commenting upon an earlier draft.

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Author notes

  1. Richard F. W. Barnes

    Present address: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-8651, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Biologie et Ecologie Animales, Université Ouaga 1 Pr Joseph KI-ZERBO/CUPD, 09 B.P. 848, Ouagadougou 09, Burkina Faso

    Emmanuel M. Hema & Wendengoudi Guenda

  2. Ecology, Behavior and Evolution Section, Division of Biological Sciences MC-0116, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA

    Richard F. W. Barnes

  3. Ecologia Applicata Italia s.r.l., via Edoardo Jenner 70, Rome, Italy

    Massimiliano Di Vittorio

  4. IDECC-Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33, I-00144, Rome, Italy

    Luca Luiselli

  5. Department of Applied and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

    Luca Luiselli

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  1. Emmanuel M. Hema
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Correspondence to Emmanuel M. Hema.

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Hema, E.M., Barnes, R.F.W., Di Vittorio, M. et al. Selective disturbance by elephants (Loxodonta africana) on eight tree species in a West African savannah. Ecol Res 32, 205–214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1431-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1431-2

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