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Recent Submissions
Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements.
(2018-01-26) Tucker, Marlee A...; Kimuyu, D. M...
Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission.
Wild herbivores enhance resistance to invasion by exotic cacti in an African savanna.
(John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society, 2022-10-11) Wells,Harry B. M.; Crego, Ramiro D.; Alston, Jesse M.; Ndung'u, S. Kimani; Khasoha, Leo M.; Reed, Courtney G.; Hassan, Abdikadir A.; Kurukura, Samson; Ekadeli, Jackson; Namoni, Mathew; Stewart, Peter S.; Kimuyu, Duncan M.; Wolf, Amelia A.; Young, Ruman P.; Kartzinel, Tyler R.; Palmer, Todd M.; Goheen, Jacob R.; Pringle, Robert M...
Whether wild herbivores confer biotic resistance to invasion by exotic plants remains a key question in ecology. There is evidence that wild herbivores can impede invasion by exotic plants, but it is unclear whether and how this generalises across ecosystems with varying wild herbivore diversity and functional groups of plants, particularly over long-term (decadal) time frames.
Using data from three long-term (13- to 26-year) exclosure experiments in central Kenya, we tested the effects of wild herbivores on the density of exotic invasive cacti, Opuntia stricta and O. ficus-indica (collectively, Opuntia), which are among the worst invasive species globally. We also examined relationships between wild herbivore richness and elephant occurrence probability with the probability of O. stricta presence at the landscape level (6150 km2).
Opuntia densities were 74% to 99% lower in almost all plots accessible to wild herbivores compared to exclosure plots. Opuntia densities also increased more rapidly across time in plots excluding wild herbivores. These effects were largely driven by megaherbivores (≥1000 kg), particularly elephants. At the landscape level, modelled Opuntia stricta occurrence probability was negatively correlated with estimated species richness of wild herbivores and elephant occurrence probability. On average, O. stricta occurrence probability fell from ~0.56 to ~0.45 as wild herbivore richness increased from 6 to 10 species and fell from ~0.57 to ~0.40 as elephant occurrence probability increased from ~0.41 to ~0.84. These multi-scale results suggest that any facilitative effects of Opuntia by wild herbivores (e.g. seed/vegetative dispersal) are overridden by suppression (e.g. consumption, uprooting, trampling).
Synthesis. Our experimental and observational findings that wild herbivores confer resistance to invasion by exotic cacti add to evidence that conserving and restoring native herbivore assemblages (particularly megaherbivores) can increase community resistance to plant invasions.
Lessons from a century of evidence-based fire management in grassy ecosystems.
(2022-02-28) Govender, Navashni; Staver, Carla; Archibald, Sally; Wigley-Coetsee, Corli; Strydom, Tercia; Humphrey, Glynis; Kimuyu, Duncan
This African Journal of Range and Forage Science, fire Special Issue is dedicated to Winston Smuts Watts Trollope for his contribution, commitment, inspiration, support and a life-time of work to fire Ecology, with a tribute compiled by Navashni Govender, Sally archibald, Susanne Vetter andCorli Wigley-Coetsee. Brian W Van Wilgen wrote a succinct yet thorough review of the book titled ‘Ecology of fire-dependent ecosystems: Wildland fire science, policy and management’, by Devan McGranahan and Carissa Wonkka. although the authors are from North America and the focus is accordingly skewed towards the northern hemisphere, many good examples are used from around the globe, including Africa, to introduce all aspects of wildland fire science. Van Wilgen's review highlights how fire use, and fire research in Africa has contributed to the global understanding of the interplay between science, policy and management, and this sets the scene for the papers presented in this special issue.
Fine-scale variation in soil and topography influences herbaceous vegetation and the distribution of large mammalian herbivores
(John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2023-09) Ang'ila, Robert O.; Kimuyu, Duncan M.; Wambugu, Geoffrey M.; Kenfack, David; Musili, Paul M.; Kartzinel, Tyler R.
Current understanding of the distribution of vegetation and large mammalian herbivores (LMH) is based on a combination of biogeographic studies and highly controlled field experiments, but a more complete understanding of these patterns requires study of their natural co-occurrence patterns at intermediate spatial scales. The study was conducted in the 120-ha Mpala Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) plot, Kenya. We examined differences in herbaceous plant communities and habitat use by LMH among three topographic habitats with distinct soil types, namely steep slopes, valley and plateau. Each pair of habitats differed in plant and animal com-position. The steep slopes and plateau respectively had ≥1-fold higher percentage herbaceous cover than the valley, whereas the steep slopes and valley had >1.5-foldgreater grass species richness and diversity than the plateau. The activity of LMH was≥1.7-fold higher in the valley than the steep slopes and plateau, reflecting a positive relationship between LMH activity index and richness and diversity of grass species. Results indicate that fine-scale variation in topography and soil are associated with both the distribution of herbaceous vegetation and LMH, suggesting a need to ac-count for local habitat characteristics when examining the distributions of plants, animals, and plant-herbivore interactions in natural systems.
A Cognitive Semantics Analysis Of Fulstop And Valentine Taarab Songs By Khadija Kopa And Mzee Yusuf
(2017) Ntabo, Victor Ondara
The Taarab composers and singers Khadija Kopa and Mzee Yusuf have gained appeal for their hilarious and metaphorical songs. In particular, the songs, Fulstop by Khadija Kopa and Valentine by Mzee Yusuf have been a massive hit with many Kenyans as they are regularly played in coastal FM stations and social gatherings, thanks to their use of metaphors and witticism. Basically, the song Fulstop is about Khadija Kopa’s self-praise of her achievements in the music industry and the pieces of advice she offers the youths to stay away from vices especially drugs and substance abuse and illicit sex. Mzee Yusuf paints a picture of a patriarchal male member in society who is “worshipped” by women. Using four coders including the researcher, this paper set out to identify the metaphors in the songs through the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU). In addition, the study explains the meaning of the metaphors using the Cognitive Semantics framework. Content analysis which is within the qualitative research paradigm, also guided the analysis of the metaphors in the songs. The study found that the MIPVU is an effective method of identifying metaphors in songs. Also, the study notes that animal, human being, plant and object metaphors are source domains in the construction of metaphors in the songs. The study concludes that the metaphors in taarab songs belong inherently to different levels of the generic Great Chain of Being Metaphor (GCBM).