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The Interplay Of The Physical Landscape And Social Dynamics In Shaping Movement Of African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Maggie Wisniewska
The Interplay Of The Physical Landscape And Social Dynamics In Shaping Movement Of African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Maggie Wisniewska
Dissertations
Free ranging African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) are increasingly impacted by human-induced habitat loss and poaching for ivory. Because elephants live in tightly knit groups, this combination of threats not only reduces the size of their populations but also degrades their social interactions. Long-term relationships with socially competent individuals, such as experienced seniors, benefit the ability of other group members to access limiting resources and avoid danger. Understanding how anthropogenic pressure may affect persistence of elephant populations is important, because elephants are an economically important keystone species. This doctoral thesis characterizes how individual elephants influence the movement of their social …
Waterhole Dynamics And Chemical Signals Of African Elephants ( Loxodonta Africana ), Stacie Marie Castelda
Waterhole Dynamics And Chemical Signals Of African Elephants ( Loxodonta Africana ), Stacie Marie Castelda
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The distribution of mammals in a savanna environment is influenced by abiotic and biotic factors. The African savanna experiences distinct wet and dry seasons. Species become spatially restricted around water resources during the dry season, resulting in increased intraspecies and interspecies resource-based aggregation. A dominate species, such as the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), may influence this aggregation. I examined the influence of wet and dry seasons and ambient temperature on the use of a waterhole by elephants as well as the co-occurrence of elephants and other mammals at the waterhole. Biodiversity scans (October 2004-June 2007) and were performed at a …