Elephant’s activities elicited biodiversity disturbance in Omo Biosphere Reserve, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/EQ.2022.034Keywords
bio-conservation, disturbances, diversity, herbivory, vegetation structure, West AfricaAbstract
Disturbance by herbivores occurs in most of the natural ecosystems and influence species diversity and vegetation structure. This study compares the vegetation of elephant (disturbed) zone (EZ) and non-elephant (undisturbed) zone (NEZ) in the Omo biosphere reserve to assess the effect of elephant browsing on the vegetation. Woody species densities, basal area, importance value and species diversity were determined from twenty sampling plots (20 m x 20 m) established randomly each in the EZ and NEZ. The result of floristic composition shows more species were in the NEZ than EZ. The species diversity reduced by 3.3% in EZ. Sorensen index of similarity of the two communities was 62%. Celtis zenkeri (74.75) and Diospyros dendo (51.1) dominated the species in the EZ while Gmelina arborea (127.35) and Funtumia africana (16.63) were the dominant species in the NEZ. Browsing of elephants directly influence species composition, diversity and structure in the forest ecosystem leading to loss of biodiversity.
References
Akobundo I.O. & Agyakwa C.W., 1998, A Handbook of West African Weeds, 2nd Edition. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan.
Alexandre D.-Y., 1978, Le role disseminateur des elephants en foret de Taï, Cote-d’Ivoire. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 32: 47–72.
Barnes R.F.W., Barnes K.L. & Kapela E.B., 1994, The long-term impact of elephant browsing on baobab trees at Msembe, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 32: 177–184.
Ben-Shahar R., 1998, Elephant density and impact on Kalahari woodland habitats. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 53: 149–156.
Clegg B.W., 2008, Habitat and diet selection by the African elephant at the landscape level: a functional integration of multi-scale foraging processes. PhD Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/39666647.pdf
CMS, 2011. Convention sur espèces migratrices. Deuxième réunion des stagiaires du mémorandum d’accord concernant les mesures de conservation en faveur des populations Ouest-Africaines de l’Eléphant d’Afrique (Loxodonta africana). PNUE/CMS/WAE2/Inf.2 juin 2011, Niamey, Niger, 45pp.
Cowling R. & Kerley G.I.H., 2002, Impacts of elephants on the flora and vegetation of subtropical thicket in the Eastern Cape, [in;] Elephant conservation and management in the Eastern Cape: Workshop Proceedings, p. 55–72, Terrestrial Ecology Research Unit,
University of Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Report (No. 35).
Croze H., 1974, The Seronera Bull Problem I. The Elephants. East African Wildlife Journal 12: 1–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.1974.tb00104.x
Cumming D.H.M., Brock-Fenton M., Rautenbach I.L., Taylor R.D., Cumming G.S., Cumming M.S., Dunlop J.M., Ford A.G., Hovorka M.D., Jonhstohn D.S., Kalcounis M., Malangu Z. & Portfors C.V.R., 1997, Elephants, Woodlands and Biodiversity In Southern Africa. South African Journal of Science 93: 231–236.
Danquah E., 2016, Spatial Distribution of Elephants versus Human and Ecological Variables in Western Ghana. Advances in Ecology Article ID 8038524
Dublin H.T., Sinclair A.R.E. & McGlade J., 1990, Elephants and fire as causes of multiple stable states in the Serengeti-Mara woodlands. Journal of Animal Ecology 59: 1147–1164.
Eckhardt H.C., van Wilgen B.W. & Biggs H.C., 2000, Trends in woody vegetation cover in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, between 1940 and 1988. African Journal of Ecology 38: 108–115.
Emmanuel O., Onyewen T., Egbe S., Omonu C., Bowkett A.E., Francis L., Morakinyo T., Hall P., Adepoju A., Onoja J. & Karunwi A., 2017, First photographs of chimpanzees in the Omo Forest Reserve, Nigeria. Oryx 51(3): 395–396.
Gandiwa E., Magwati T., Zisadza P., Chinuwo T. & Tafangenyasha C., 2011, The impact of African elephants on Acacia tortilis woodland in northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. Journal of Arid Environments 75(9): 809–814.
Grellmann D., 2002, Plant responses to fertilization and exclusion of grazers on an arctic tundra heath. Oikos 98: 190–204. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.980202.x
Guldemond R. & Van Aarde R., 2008, A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of African Elephants on Savanna Vegetation. Journal of Wildlife Management 72(4): 892–899. https://doi.org/10.2193/2007-072
Hoft H. & Hoft M., 1995, The differential effects of elephants on rain forest communities in the Shimba hills, Kenya. Biological Conservation 73: 67–79.
Hutchinson J. & Dalziel J.M., 1963-1972, Flora of West Tropical Africa. Vol. I-III.
Isichei A.O., 1995, Omo Biosphere Reserve, Current Status, Utilization of Biological Resources and Sustainable Management (Nigeria).
Working Papers of the South-South Cooperation Programme on Environmentally Sound Socio-Economic Development in the Humid Tropics. UNESCO, Paris.
Jachmann H. & Bell R.H.V., 1985, Utilisation by Elephants of Brachystegia Woodlands of Kasungu National Park, Malawi. African Journal of Ecology 23: 245–258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.1985.tb00955.x
Kacholi D.S., 2020, Density and Aboriginal Uses of Wild Tree Species in Milawilila Forest Reserve in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Science 46(1): 85–100.
Karimu S.A., 1999, The role of surrounding communities on the management of Omo Forest Reserve. Consultant Report for FORMECU, June 1999, 47 pp.
Keay R.W.J., 1989, Trees of Nigeria. Clarendon Press, Oxford. doi: 10.1111/j.1756-1051.1991.tb01411.x
Laws R.M., 1970, Elephants as agents of habitat and landscape change in East Africa. Oikos 21: 1–15.
Laws R.M., Parker I.S.C. & Johnstone R.C.B., 1970, Elephants and Habitats in North Bunyoro, Uganda. East African Wildlife Journal 8: 163–180.
Laws R.M., Parker I.S.C. & Johnstone R.C.B., 1975, Elephants and their habitats. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Lawton R.M. & Gough M., 1970, Elephants or Fire: Which to Blame? Oryx 10(4): 244–248.
Leuthold W., 1977, African Ungulates. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Leuthold W., 1996, Recovery of woody vegetation in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, 1970-94. African Journal of Ecology 34: 101–112.
Lewis D.M., 1991, Observations of tree growth, woodland structure and elephant damage on Colophospermum mopane in Luangwa Valley, Zambia. African Journal of Ecology 29(3): 207–221. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.1991.tb01003.x
Lock J.M., 1993, Vegetation change in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda: 1970-1988. African Journal of Ecology 31: 106–117.
Mapaure I. & Mhlanga L., 2000, Patterns of elephant damage to Colophospermum mopane on selected islands in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Kirkia 17: 189–198.
Menhinick E.F., 1964, A comparison of some species-individuals diversity indices applied to samples of field in-sects. Ecology 45: 859–861.
Midgley G., Chapman R. & Hewitson B., 2005, A status quo, vulnerability and adaptation assessment of the physical and socio-economic effects of climate change in the Western Cape. Unpublished document.
Moloney K.A. & Levin, S.A., 1996, The effects of disturbance architecture on landscape-level population dynamics. Ecology 77: 375–394.
Mosugelo D.K., Moe S.T., Ringrose S. & Nelleman C., 2002, Vegetation changes during a 36-year period in northern Chobe National Park, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology 40: 232–240.
Mwalyosi R.B.B., 1990, Decline of Acacia tortilis in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 25: 51–53.
Mukwashi K, Gandiwa E, Kativu S., 2012, Impact of African elephants on Baikiaea plurijuga woodland around natural and artificial watering points in northern Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. International Journal of Environmental Sciences 2: 1355–1368.
O'Connor M.I., Bruno J.F., Gaines S.D., Lester S.E., Halpern B.S., Kinlan B.P. & Weiss J.M., 2007, Temperature control of larval dispersal and implications for marine ecology, evolution, and conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 104: 1266–1271. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0603422104
Ojo L.O., 2004, The fate of a tropical rainforest in Nigeria: Abeku sector of Omo Forest Reserve. Global Nest 6(2): 116–130.
Ola-Adams B.A., 1999, Biodiversity Inventory of Omo Biosphere Reserve, Nigeria. Country Report on Biosphere Reserves for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Anglophone Africa (BRAAF) Project, 351 pp.
Olofsson J., Kitti H., Rautiainen P., Stark S. & Oksanen L., 2001, Effects of summer grazing by reindeer on composition of vegetation, productivity and nitrogen cycling. Ecography 24: 13–24.
Osborn F.V., 2002, Capsicum oleoresin as an elephant repellent: field trials in the communal lands of Zimbabwe. Journal of Wildlife Management 66: 674–677.
Pamo E.T. & Tchamba M.N., 2001, Elephants and vegetation change in the Sahelo-Soudanian region of Cameroon. Journal of Arid Environments 48(3): 243–253.
Petraitis P.S., Latham R.E. & Niesenbaum R.A., 1989, The maintenance of species diversity by disturbance. The Quarterly Review of Biology 64: 393–418.
Pitchairamu C., Muthucherian K. & Siva N., 2008, Floristic inventory and quantitative analysis of tropical deciduous forest in Piranmalai Forest, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Ethnobotanical Letters 12: 204–216.
Pickett S.T.A. & White P.S., 1985, The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, Orlando.
Pielou E.C., 1969, An Introduction to Mathematical Ecology. Wiley and Sons, New York.
Pielou E.C., 1975, Ecological Diversity. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Sheil D., 1996, Species richness, forest dynamics and sampling: questioning cause and effect. Oikos 76: 587–590.
Skarpe C., Aarrestad P.A., Andreassen H.P., Dhillion S.S., Dimakatso T., du Toit J.T., Halley D.J., Hytteborn H., Makhabu S., Mari M., Marokane W., Masunga G., Modise D., Moe S.R., Mojaphoko R., Mosugelo D., Motsumi S., Neo-Mahupeleng G., Ramotadima M., Rutina L., Sechele L., Sejoe T.B., Stokke S., Swenson J.E., Taolo C., Vandewalle M. & Wegge P., 2004, The return of the giants: Ecological effects of an increasing elephant population. Ambio 33: 276–282.
Steyn A. & Stalmans M., 2001, Selective habitat utilisation and impact on vegetation by African elephant within a heterogeneous landscape. Koedoe 44(1): 95–103.
Struhsaker T.T., Lwanga J.S. & Kasenene J.M., 1996, Elephants, selective logging and forest regeneration in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Journal of Tropical Ecology 12: 45–64.
Sugar R., Raghubanshi. A.S. & Singh. J.S., 2003, Tree Species Composition, Dispersion, and Diversity along a disturbance gradient in dry tropical forest region of India. Forest Ecology and Management 186(1–3): 61–71.
Swanepoel C.M. & Swanepoel S.M., 1986, Baobab damage by elephant in the middle Zambezi, Valley, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Ecology 24(2): 129–132. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.1986.tb00352.x
Thomson P.J., 1975, The role of elephants, fire and other agents in the decline of a Brachystegia boehmii woodland. Journal of the Southern African Wildlife Management Association 5: 11–18.
Trollope W.S.W., Trollope L.A., Biggs H.C., Pienaar D. & Potgieter A.L.F., 1998, Long-term changes in the woody vegetation of the Kruger National Park, with special reference to the effects of elephants and fire. Koedoe 41: 103–112.
UNESCO, 2016, About the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). Available at: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/man-and-biosphereprogramme/about-mab/ [Accessed on: June 11 2021].
Valeix M., Fritz H. & Dubois S., 2007, Vegetation structure and herbivore abundance over a period of increasing elephant abundance in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Journal of Tropical Ecology 23: 87–93. doi:10.1017/S0266467406003609
Van Aarde R.J. & Jackson T.P., 2007, Megaparks for metapopulations: addressing the causes of locally high elephant numbers in southern Africa. Biological Conservation 134: 289–297. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2006.08.027
Van de Vijver C.A.D.M., Foley C.A. & Olff H., 1999, Changes in the woody component of an East African savanna during 25 years. Journal of Tropical Ecology 15: 545–564.
Van Wyk P. & Fairall N., 1969, The influence of the Africal elephant on the vegetation of the Kruger National Park. Koede 9: 57–95.
Walker B., Holling C.S., Carpenter S.R. & Kinzig A., 2004, Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 9(2): 5. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss2/art5/
Weeks M.R., 1997, Enumeration Survey of the Omo Forest Reserve Biosphere Extension Area. The Nigerian Forest Elephant (NFE) Forest Inventory Final Report. Erin Camp: NFE and Wildlife Survey and Protection Group.
Western D. & Maitumo D., 2004, Woodland loss and restoration in a savanna park: a 20-year experiment. African Journal of Ecology 42: 111–121.
Wiseman R., Page B.R. & O’Connor T.G., 2004, Woody vegetation change in response to browsing in Ithala Game Reserve, South Africa. Southern African Journal of Wildlife Research 34: 25–37.
WFO, 2021, The World Flora Online. http://www.worldfloraonline.org/ [Accessed: 31 December, 2021].
WNBR, 2022, World Network of Biosphere Reserves. UNESCO, The MAB programme. https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/wnbr [Accessed July 5, 2022].
Young S. & Swiacki L.N., 2006, Surveying the forest biodiversity of Evansburg State Park: Plant community classification and species diversity assessment. Int. J. Bot. 2: 293–299.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 OLUDARE AGBOOLA, Andre Jacques Molou, Aderopo Akinsoji, Stephen Oyedeji
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 609
Number of citations: 0
