- Title
- Understanding resource use of an invasive species: Diet of the common warthog in Eastern Cape succulent thicket
- Creator
- Mgqatsa, Nokubonga, Jama, Kanyisa, Landman, Marietjie, Kerley, Graham I H
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 2024
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/462746
- Identifier
- vital:76331
- Identifier
- xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105155"
- Description
- Understanding resource use of invasive species provides insights for predicting and mitigating their impacts on biodiversity. We explored the predictability of diet of the invasive common warthog by describing and comparing the diet of warthog populations from two semi-arid, invaded sites, Addo Elephant National Park (AMC), and Great Fish River Nature Reserve (GFRNR), Eastern Cape, South Africa. These sites are both dominated by the Subtropical Thicket biome, but differ in vegetation type. We used forage availability to estimate diet preferences at AMC. We predicted that warthog would consume grass in invaded landscapes. Additionally, we predicted that the diet at one invaded site would predict this at another invaded site. As predicted, warthog mainly consumed grass at both sites (AMC – 87.4%, GFRNR – 88.5%), eating few woody plants, succulents, and forbs. Cynodon dactylon was the most consumed species in AMC, in GFRNR this was Eragrostis curvula and Cymbopogon pospichilii. Our ability to predict the diet between sites was constrained by variation in the plant species consumed. We found strong relationships between the consumption of preferred plant species at AMC and their consumption at GFRNR. We show that warthogs are specialised grazers outside their native range and thus can be expected to impact grass communities in invaded areas, especially preferred grass species. Thus, conservation managers need to monitor grasses in areas invaded by warthog to better detect and manage their impacts.
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (6 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Journal of Arid Environments, Mgqatsa, N., Jama, K., Landman, M. and Kerley, G.I., 2024. Understanding resource use of an invasive species: Diet of the common warthog in Eastern Cape succulent thicket. Journal of Arid Environments, 222, p.105155, Journal of Arid Environments volume 222 p. 105155 2024 1095-922X
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Elsevier Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions)
- Rights
- Open Access
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- Visitors: 26
- Downloads: 1
Collections
Mgqatsa, Nokubonga (Dr)
SDG 15. Life On Land
RU Department of Zoology and Entomology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | Understanding resource use of an invasive species.pdf | 910 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |