Understanding the dynamics of infectious diseases in ecosystems shared with wildlife is a priority for preventing future threats to human, animal health and conservation. However, the collection of ecological and epidemiological data on wild populations has relied on invasive and costly methods which limited the capacity of investigation. Recent technological developments have changed this trend. In Hwange national park and its surrounding area in Zimbabwe, we combined camera trap-based ecological monitoring over a period of 12 months, covering 14 water holes with a fecal-based antibody survey in 16 large herbivore species. A survey involving 52,829 pictures as well as 629 faecal samples collected every 15 days, has shown Through the modelling of multispecies contact networks, the risk of infection exposure at species-level is predicted. Coupled with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) antibody information, the role of each species in the dynamics of infectious diseases is explored. This study highlights how community networks can provide valuable insights into the functional epidemiological role of wildlife populations. Rather than establishing transmission routes, our aim is to propose a scalable and non-invasive surveillance framework that identifies priority species and areas for epidemiological monitoring in complex ecological systems ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. BNP Paribas Foundation ECOPATHO, CNRS Sciences Frugales 2021 LabEx CeMEB

Understanding psychological and sociological factors affecting human attitudes toward carnivores assists in promoting co-existence. We interviewed respondents in rural communities adjacent to Zimbabwe's Mid-Zambezi Wildlife Area to determine which demographic, regional and human-wildlife conflict-related variables affect attitudes toward African wild dog and other large carnivores. Variables determining attitude varied per species, however; women held less positive views of carnivores. Attitudes toward African wild dog were positively related to knowledge level and conservation support. Attitudes were most negative toward species which caused considerable conflict (spotted hyaena, lion, leopard). Age and being part of CAMPFIRE had a positive impact, while distance from the protected area negatively affected attitudes toward those conflict prone species. Overall, perceived threat to livestock and human life were main reasons to dislike carnivores, even when conflict was minimal or absent. Respondents used conventional mitigation methods during nighttime, but hardly used daytime herding to prevent depredation of livestock.

Predators of similar size often compete over prey. In semi-arid ecosystems where water is a limiting resource, prey availability can be affected by water distribution, which further increases resource competition and exacerbate conflict among predators. This can have implications for carnivore dietary competition. Hence, we evaluated the dynamics of food resource competition between African wild dogs and four competing predators (cheetahs, leopards, lions and spotted hyaenas) in different seasons and across areas with different waterhole densities in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We used the frequency of occurrence of prey items found in predators' scats to analyse diet composition, overlap and prey preference. For most predators, kudu was most frequently consumed and preferred. Low and medium water-dependent prey (medium and small-sized) were mostly consumed by wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs. Wild dog diet overlap was high with all predators, particularly with hyaenas and lions. There were no seasonal differences in the predators diet. The diet overlap of wild dogs with lions was highest in the low waterhole density area, and wild dog diet composition did not differ significantly from the diet of lions and hyaenas. In the low waterhole density area, wild dogs and hyaenas broadened their niche breadth, and predators diet had a higher proportion of low water-dependent prey. A low density of waterholes increased food resource competition. However, high density of waterholes, where there is more prey availability, can increase the aggregation and density of predators, and hence, increase the risks involved in interspecific competition on wild dogs. To reduce food resource competition on wild dogs, we propose to conserve larger-bodied prey that are less dependent on water (e.g. kudu, reedbuck, eland and gemsbok). As the use of water pumping is common practice, we propose maintaining water management heterogeneity where prey which is less dependent on water can also thrive.

For spatially separated populations, dispersal is essential to facilitate gene flow and colonisation (Creel et al., 2019; Woodroffe et al., 2019). This is especially true for the wide-ranging African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), an endangered species, whose global population currently consists of ca. 6600 adults, scattered across 39 sub-populations and is vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation, infectious diseases and anthropogenic mortality (Woodroffe & Sillero-Zubiri, 2012). Wild dogs are cooperative breeders living in packs of up to 30 individuals (Creel & Creel, 2002). Both sexes disperse from their natal pack, over distances of 2 (Woodroffe et al., 2019) to 476 km (Davies-Mostert et al., 2012), to find unrelated mates or packs, and colonise new territories (Creel & Creel, 2002; McNutt, 1996). Observations of long distance dispersals (>80 km straight linear distance) of wild dogs are rarely recorded, despite their high value for conservation management (Cozzi et al., 2020; Davies-Mostert et al., 2012). Here, we describe a long-distance cross-boundary dispersal of an African wild dog female (FEMALE146.02) within the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA). The KAZA-TFCA covers 520,000 km2 across five African countries (PPF, 2018) and is home to ca. 25% of the global African wild dog population (Woodroffe, 2013). FEMALE146.02's natal pack (which dissolved) lived in Hwange National Park (HNP), Zimbabwe: a 14,651 km2 unfenced protected area with woodland, bushland and open grassland (Valeix et al., 2010). She settled in the unfenced 1200 km2 Wildlife Management Area Linyanti NG15 (Linyanti), Botswana, which consists of riparian woodland, sandveld and grassland (Fynn, 2017; Figure 1). FEMALE146.02 (a 3-year-old subordinate female in a pack of 16 individuals) was fitted with a GPS collar (Tellus/Followit, Sweden). From 12 June to 25 September 2021, this collar provided fixes at 08:20, 16:20 and 00:20 h. FEMALE146.02 was immobilised by qualified veterinarians using butorphanol/medetomidine, reversed with atipamezole. Independently, our Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme deployed a camera trap survey at Linyanti (October–December 2021, 63 stations, 4 × 4 km grid). To identify departure, transience and settlement phases of dispersal, we calculated the net squared displacement (NSD), which is the square of the Euclidian distance (dE) (Börger & Fryxell, 2012). For each phase, we calculated the mean, maximum and minimum dE between 8 and 24 h fixes; the total dE (from first to last fix per phase), total path length (L) (cumulative distance), straightness index (ST = total dE/L, 1 = straight line, 0 = tortuous path - Almeida et al., 2010); plus the straight line between the furthest two dispersal locations (maximum straight distance). Using QGIS 3.8.2 (2019, qgis.org) we calculated, per phase, the percentage of time FEMALE146.02 spent in each land use type (PPF; https://www.peaceparks.org/) and land cover (ESA-CCI-LC 2016; http://2016africalandcover20m.esrin.esa.int/). We performed Fisher's exact tests to compare land cover proportions from random proportions (Table 1). Based on NSD (Figure A1) and field observations, FEMALE146.02's transience phase lasted from 27 June to 29 July in which she travelled 430 km in 32 days with a straight linear distance of 252 km (Table 1; Figure 1). This is comparable to a previously recorded dispersal from the Okavango Delta, Botswana, to HNP (Cozzi et al., 2020) but shorter than the dispersal from southwest Botswana to HNP reported by Davies-Mostert et al. (2012) (Table 2). Throughout Africa, dispersal distances of wild dogs vary widely (Table 2), possibly due to terrain and overall wild dog densities (potential of locating mates) (Cozzi et al., 2020). In accordance with observations by Woodroffe et al. (2019) and Cozzi et al. (2020), FEMALE146.02 travelled in a straighter line during transience than departure and settlement. FEMALE146.02's mean daily distance travelled (DDT) during departure and settlement in HNP and Linyanti, respectively, was comparable to DDT of established packs (Pomilia et al., 2015). However, compared to departure and settlement, FEMALE146.02's maximum DDT was larger during transience. Although not different from random proportions (p-value >0.05), FEMALE146.02 travelled in grassland more during transience (Table 1), possibly because it presents less resistance to movement. This is in line with Klarevas-Irby et al. (2021), who showed that transient individuals travel farther, faster and straighter to reduce energetic costs of long-distance dispersals. FEMALE146.02's dispersal followed the disappearance of the natal pack's alpha female, resulting in a pack of related members with no pups, which is a known cause of pack dissolution through dispersal (Behr et al., 2020; Masenga et al., 2015). Wild dogs usually disperse in same sex aggregations (McNutt, 1996; Somers et al., 2008; Woodroffe et al., 2019) and occasionally in mixed sex coalitions (Masenga et al., 2015). As two females and three males disappeared on the same date as FEMALE146.02, both options are possible. However, only FEMALE146.02 was detected during the camera trap survey at Linyanti, along with an unrelated male detected 4 days later and 4 km away from where FEMALE146.02 had appeared. It therefore seems that, despite the high anthropogenic mortality risk related to dispersal (Cozzi et al., 2020; Woodroffe et al., 2019), 5 months after dispersing, FEMALE146.02 was still alive and could potentially breed in Linyanti. During dispersal, FEMALE146.02 did not cross the Zambezi River and crossed one highway three times (Botswana's A33) (Figure 1). Dispersing wild dogs avoid large water bodies and human infrastructures (Cozzi et al., 2020; Hofmann et al., 2021), which may be dispersal barriers. During transience, the majority of FEMALE146.02 fixes were in wildlife-designated areas, while 30% were in non-protected areas (Table 1). This is testament to the high permeability of the KAZA-TFCA to wildlife movements, which consists of ~70% intact protected natural habitat (Hofmann et al., 2021; KAZA TFCA, 2015), and the area's importance in facilitating dispersal, and therewith gene flow, between wildlife populations (Brennan et al., 2020; Elliot et al., 2014; Hofmann et al., 2021). Wild dogs are a strong indicator species for connectivity across the KAZA-TFCA (Brennan et al., 2020), as such, the dispersal described here can assist in locating and protecting more wildlife dispersal areas within the KAZA-TFCA (Munthali et al., 2018), and confirms the significance of international transboundary conservation efforts. We thank the Research Council of Zimbabwe and the ZPWMA for approving this research (permits: 04052 and 23(1)(C)(II)16/2021). We thank Maxine Tadyanehondo, Munyaradzi Mutandwa, Mr. Gopito, Mr. Mbiti, ZPWMA rangers, Jealous Mpofu, David Kuvawonga, Geshem Njamba, Sichelesile Ndlovu, Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme and PDC staff for assistance with data collection. We thank Drs. Mpondi and Rob Rees for veterinary assistance. We thank the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Botswana, Great Plains Foundation and Wilderness Safaris for access to the concessions in Botswana. We thank Arno du Preez, the Linyanti Concession Manager for looking for the focal individual. We thank L. Chiaverini and G. Costa-Alvarenga for analyses assistance. We thank the reviewers. David Macdonald (WildCRU) funded the GPS collar from a Robertson Foundation Grant. PDC, Rufford Foundation, St Edmund Hall and the Department of Zoology (University of Oxford, UK), CONACYT and Universidad de Guadalajara (Mexico) funded this study. WWF-USA and Rufford Foundation funded the camera trap survey. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The data is available from the authors upon reasonable request. Appendix S1 Supporting Information Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

African Journal of EcologyVolume 60, Issue 1 p. 87-90 SHORT COMMUNICATION Coprophagy of African wild dog faeces by spotted hyaenas and hooded vultures in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe Esther van der Meer, Corresponding Author Esther van der Meer [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-6784-7837 Painted Dog Conservation, Dete, Zimbabwe Correspondence Esther van der Meer, Painted Dog Conservation, P.O. Box 72, Dete, Zimbabwe. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorThomas Mutonhori, Thomas Mutonhori Painted Dog Conservation, Dete, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this authorNobesuthu Ngwenya, Nobesuthu Ngwenya Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Harare, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this authorHillary Madzikanda, Hillary Madzikanda Painted Dog Conservation, Dete, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this author Esther van der Meer, Corresponding Author Esther van der Meer [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0001-6784-7837 Painted Dog Conservation, Dete, Zimbabwe Correspondence Esther van der Meer, Painted Dog Conservation, P.O. Box 72, Dete, Zimbabwe. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorThomas Mutonhori, Thomas Mutonhori Painted Dog Conservation, Dete, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this authorNobesuthu Ngwenya, Nobesuthu Ngwenya Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Harare, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this authorHillary Madzikanda, Hillary Madzikanda Painted Dog Conservation, Dete, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 October 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12938Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflict of interest. Open Research DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. REFERENCES BirdLife International (2017). Necrosyrtes monachus. The IUCN red list of threatened species 2017. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22695185A118599398.en [Last accessed 27 August 2021]. Bosch, G., Hagen-Plantinga, E. A., & Hendriks, W. H. (2015). Dietary nutrient profiles of wild wolves: Insights for optimal dog nutrition? British Journal of Nutrition, 113, S40–S54. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114514002311 Boze, B. G. V. (2010). Correlates of the coprophagy in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) as assessed by owner reports. Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior, 4, 28–37. Brink, C. 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Coprophagy of African wild dog faeces by hooded vultures in Botswana. Vulture News, 72, 34–37. https://doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v72i1.5 Soave, O., & Brand, C. D. (1991). Coprophagy in animals: A review. Cornell Veterinarian, 81, 357–364. Van der Meer, E., Lyon, N., Mutonhori, T., Mandisodza-Chikerema, R., & Blinston, P. (2019). Dangerous game: Preferential predation on baboons by African wild dogs in Mana Pools National Parks, Zimbabwe. Behaviour, 156, 37–58. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-00003529 Van der Meer, E., Moyo, M., Rasmussen, G. S. A., & Fritz, H. (2011). An empirical and experimental test of risk and costs of kleptoparasitism for African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) inside and outside a protected area. Behavioral Ecology, 22, 985–992. https://doi.org/10.1093/BEHECO/ARR079 Woodroffe, R., & Sillero-Zubiri, C. (2020). Lycaon pictus (amended version of 2012 assessment). The IUCN red list of threatened species 2020. 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A high-quality reference genome assembly is a valuable tool for the study of non- model organisms across disciplines. Genomic techniques can provide important insights about past population sizes, local adaptation, and even aid in the development of breeding management plans. This information can be particularly important for fields like conservation genetics, where endangered species require critical and immediate attention. However, funding for genomic-based methods can be sparse for conservation projects, as costs for general species management can consume budgets. Here we report the generation of high-quality reference genomes for the African wild dog ( Lycaon pictus ) at a low cost, thereby facilitating future studies of this endangered canid. We generated assemblies for three individuals from whole blood samples using the linked-read 10x Genomics Chromium system. The most continuous assembly had a scaffold N50 of 21 Mb, a contig N50 of 83 Kb, and completely reconstructed 95% of conserved mammalian genes as reported by BUSCO v2, indicating a high assembly quality. Thus, we show that 10x Genomics Chromium data can be used to effectively generate high-quality genomes of mammal species from Illumina short-read data of intermediate coverage (∼25-50x). Interestingly, the African wild dog shows a much higher heterozygosity than other species of conservation concern, possibly as a result of its behavioral ecology. The availability of reference genomes for non-model organisms will facilitate better genetic monitoring of threatened species such as the African wild dog. At the same time, they can help researchers and conservationists to better understand the ecology and adaptability of those species in a changing environment.

The spatial structuring of populations or communities is an important driver of their functioning and their influence on ecosystems. Identifying the (in)stability of the spatial structure of populations is a first step towards understanding the underlying causes of these structures. Here we studied the relative importance of spatial vs. interannual variability in explaining the patterns of abundance of a large herbivore community (8 species) at waterholes in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe). We analyzed census data collected over 13 years using multivariate methods. Our results showed that variability in the census data was mostly explained by the spatial structure of the community, as some waterholes had consistently greater herbivore abundance than others. Some temporal variability probably linked to Park-scale migration dependent on annual rainfall was noticeable, however. Once this was accounted for, little temporal variability remained to be explained, suggesting that other factors affecting herbivore abundance over time had a negligible effect at the scale of the study. The extent of spatial and temporal variability in census data was also measured for each species. This study could help in projecting the consequences of surface water management, and more generally presents a methodological framework to simultaneously address the relative importance of spatial vs. temporal effects in driving the distribution of organisms across landscapes.

In dry biomes, spatio-temporal variation in surface water resource stocks is pervasive, with unknown effects on the ranging behaviour of large predators. This study assessed the effect of spatial variation in surface water resources on the ranging behaviour of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). We analyzed data for 1992 (dry year with 20 water points) and 2000 (wet year with 30 water points) against presence-only data for five packs of L. pictus in a part of Hwange National Park and adjacent smallholder communal farming areas in western Zimbabwe. Modelling the potential habitat for L. pictus using Maxent with distance from water points (Dw) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as predictor variables was successful for 2000 (AUC = 0.793) but not successful for 1992 (AUC = 0.423), with L. pictus probability of occurrence near water points being more for year 2000 than for year 1992. The predicted L. pictus range was wider in 1992 (~13888.1 km2) than in 2000 (~958.4 km2) (Test of Proportions, χ2 = 124.52, df = 1, P = 0.00). Using the 2nd order Multitype Nearest Neighbour Distance Function (Gcross), we also observed significant attraction between L. pictus and water points within only ~1km radius for 1992 but up to ~8km radius for 2000. Our study reinforced the notion that surface water resources attract wild dogs in the savannahs but paradoxically less so when water resources are scarce. In particular, our study furthers current understanding of the effects of changing water availability regimes on the endangered L. pictus, providing evidence that the endangered predator’s home range encroaches into potential ecological traps (i.e., smallholder communal farming areas) when water resources are scarce.

The genetic diversity and population structure of a population of African lions in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, was studied using 17 microsatellite loci. Spatial genetic analysis using Bayesian methods suggested a weak genetic structure within the population and high levels of gene flow across the study area. We were able to identify a few individuals with aberrant or admixed ancestry, which we interpreted as either immigrants or as descendants thereof. This, together with relatively high genetic diversity, suggests that immigrants from beyond the study area have influenced the genetic structure within the park. We suggest that the levels of genetic diversity and the observed weak structure are indicative of the large and viable Okavango-Hwange population of which our study population is a part. Genetic patterns can also be attributed to still existing high levels of habitat connectivity between protected areas. Given expected increases in human populations and anthropogenic impacts, efforts to identify and maintain existing movement corridors between regional lion populations will be important in retaining the high genetic diversity status of this population. Our results show that understanding existing levels of genetic diversity and genetic connectivity has implications, not only for this lion population, but also for managing large wild populations of carnivores.

Scale influences habitat selection. We used data from 30 global positioning system radiocollared lions (Panthera leo) collected between 2003 and 2007 in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, and information from 227 locations where lions had made kills, to assess. how lions select habitat at 3rd-order habitat selection (selection of habitats within home ranges) and 4th-order habitat selection (selection of kill sites within the habitats used). Within home range, lions preferentially selected bushed grasslands and sites close to water holes, which are both characterized by high prey abundance. However, lions preferentially killed in thickets, where prey abundance was not the highest but where prey catchability may be higher because of dense vegetation. Our results support the suggestion that there are different determinants of habitat selection at different scales with prey abundance being the main driver of habitat selection at 3rd-order and prey catchability the main driver at 4rth-order habitat selection.

Prey make several behavioural adjustments to minimize the risk of predation by their natural predators. When hunted, however, they may have to adjust their behaviour further or differently to cope with this additional mortality risk. Here, we investigated whether African large ungulates would adjust their behaviour in response to hunting risk (i.e. risk of being shot by human hunters). We predicted that they would shift their use of surface water, a key and scarce resource in African savannas, from day hours to night hours to reduce the risk of encountering human hunters. In Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, we monitored waterholes to record the temporal drinking niche of three nonhunted ungulates (i.e. impala, Aepyceros melampus, greater kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros, sable antelope, Hippotragus niger). We also monitored waterholes in hunting areas in the vicinity of Hwange National Park. In Hwange National Park, the three species avoided waterholes at night, when the risk of natural predation was higher. Conversely, in the hunting areas, all three species visited waterholes more often at night. Impala and greater kudu, however, were less prone to switch towards night-time use of waterholes in hunting areas compared to sable antelope, although all three species were exposed to similar hunting risk. Our results suggest that hunting may force African ungulates to shift their visits at waterholes from day hours towards night hours, but that the magnitude of this shift may be constrained by the predation risk imposed by large nocturnal carnivores. We conclude that species preyed upon by natural predators adjust their antipredator behaviour in response to the additional risk of predation imposed by hunting. (C) 2011 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects on vigilance behavior of environmental cues that affect perceived risk of predation have been widely measured in gregarious herbivores. How extrinsic (e.g., predator activity within certain habitats) and intrinsic (e.g., within-group competition) cues interact depends on the biology of the prey species. However, very little is known about the impact of the actual presence of the predator in the vicinity on fine scale prey vigilance behavior. For this study, we monitored the vigilance of plains zebra (Equus quagga) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) in and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We assessed how the presence of radio-collared lions (Panthera leo) affected the vigilance of their prey. To evaluate the factors affecting vigilance behavior, we measured routine and intense vigilance. Routine vigilance can be conducted while chewing, although during intense vigilance chewing is halted and thus imposes foraging costs as food processing is delayed. As the most acute form of vigilance, we predicted that the presence of lions would lead to an increase in intense vigilance in both species. We found this to be the case for zebra, a key prey species for lions, while impala adjusted their intense vigilance to risk cues less specific to the presence of lions. Potential predation risk posed by lions in the immediate vicinity differs not only between species but also for a given species in different contexts. Our results also reveal how other environmental risk indicators influence the structure of vigilance behavior of large prey species in a manner that reflects their respective ecologies.

We test two hypotheses that could account for patch departure by large mammalian carnivores. One hypothesis is the unsuccessful-hunt hypothesis, where carnivores leave an area after an unsuccessful hunt but continue hunting in the same area after a successful hunt. The second hypothesis is the patch-disturbance hypothesis, where carnivores depart the area after a successful hunt because of behavioral responses of prey to predator presence. We used global positioning system collars to monitor the movements of African lions (Panthera leo) and identified their kill sites to distinguish between these two hypotheses. Lions moved to a different area (≥5 km away) after 87% of the kills, which supports the patch-disturbance hypothesis for patch-departure behavior of large mammalian carnivores.

Within a landscape where prey has an aggregated distribution, predators can take advantage of the spatial autocorrelation of prey density and intensify their search effort in areas of high prey density by using area-restricted search behaviour. In African arid and semi-arid savannas, large herbivores tend to aggregate around scarce water sources. We tested the hypothesis that water sources are a key determinant of habitat selection and movement patterns of large free-ranging predators in such savannas, using the example of the African lion. We used data from 19 GPS radio-collared lions in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Maps of lions’ trajectories showed that waterholes are key loci on the lions’ route-maps. Compositional analyses revealed that lions significantly selected for areas located within 2 km of a waterhole. In addition, analysis of lions’ night paths showed that when lions are close to a waterhole (<2 km), they move at lower speed, cover shorter distances per night (both path length and net displacement) and follow a more tortuous path (higher turning angle, lower straightness index and higher fractal dimension) than when they are further from a waterhole. Hence, our results strongly suggest that lions adopt area-restricted searching in the vicinity of waterholes, and reduce their search effort to minimize the time spent far from a waterhole. They provide an illustration of how key habitat features that determine the dispersion of prey (e.g. waterholes in this study) have an influence on the spatial ecology and movement patterns of terrestrial predators.

Perceived risk of predation is considered to influence individual prey vigilance, but little is known about the extent to which the context (e. g. distance to cover, group size) and the immediate presence of predators determine individual prey vigilance. We combined behavioural data on individual vigilance of herbivores at waterholes with fine-scale spatiotemporal data from 27 African lions, Panthera leo, fitted with GPS radiocollars to test whether individual prey vigilance increases when predators are in the vicinity and whether this relationship is influenced by group size and presence of other herbivores. The study was conducted on giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis, greater kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros, and plains zebra, Equus quagga, in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, between mid-September and mid-November 2008. Kudu was the only species to adjust its vigilance level significantly in the presence of lions, arguably owing to its higher contribution to lion diet in Hwange. Kudu devoted a significantly higher proportion of time to vigilance when lions were in the vicinity. Furthermore, the proportion of time spent on individual vigilance decreased as group size increased during the approach and drinking phases, particularly when lions were in the vicinity. Finally, the presence of other herbivores at the waterhole enabled kudu to spend less time vigilant while drinking. These adjustments involved changes in the length of vigilance bouts, but not in their frequency. Our study suggests that the interplay between the context (group size, presence of other prey) and the immediate presence of predators determines the level of vigilance in prey. (C) 2009 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

With the increase of elephant populations in southern Africa and the expansion of human settlements into wildlife areas, local communities are faced with increasingly numerous cases of human-elephant conflict (HEC), which require a combination of mitigation approaches for there management. Although chilli has been tested with success on crop-raiding elephants, its utilization on a larger scale has been limited by the difficulty of finding a low-cost, easy-to-use capsicum delivery system. Two types of dispensers were developed: a catapult using clay balls and a gas-dispenser using ping-pong balls. The two prototypes were tested on a firing range and the gas-dispenser on elephants in Hwange National Park. The mean shooting distance was 46 m. Fifty-four percent of shots released chilli oil extract on the targeted animal. Following shooting, 46% of elephants ran away, 29% backed up walking and 25% did not change their behaviour. Significant variation in agonistic behaviour was due to the success of chilli oil extract spreading onto the elephant. Improvements in the ballistic performance of the gas-dispenser have been undertaken and trials in its application with communities are in progress. Further research is planned to separate the individual effect of projectile impacts, bang and chilli itself and to assess the longer-term deterrence properties of capsicum on elephants.

Hunting of individuals from a population can affect its demography and socio-spatial parameters. This study provided opportunities to assess such effects, and may help to improve the conservation of populations threatened by conflict and over-use. We treated the periods before and after a moratorium on the trophy hunting of lions around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, as a quasi-experimental opportunity to examine changes in lion socio-spatial behaviour during and after perturbation. Changes in ranging behaviour coincided with the release from heavy mortality from hunting outside the Park and were likely to be due to changes in the perturbation regime, rather than factors such as prey abundance, which did not change over the study period. Lion home range sizes decreased in both sexes after the moratorium. Overlap between groups decreased in males but increased in females. Variation in home range size reduced both annually and seasonally for both sexes. Home range centres became more closely distributed. Lions increased the use of denser vegetation cover classes (>30%) and decreased the use of open cover classes (10–30%). Lions increased the use of areas within 2–5km of water, and decreased their use of the >20km class. Perturbation therefore appeared to influence the socio-spatial behavior of the lion population. Managers considering the use of moratoria as a conservation tool must anticipate changes in the behavior and distribution of the target species.

Vegetation gradients developing around water sources (i.e. piospheres) are important features of arid and semi‐arid ecosystems. Studied extensively in pastoral areas, piospheres have rarely been investigated in areas hosting rich herbivore diversity. We studied piospheres in woody cover assessed through remote‐sensing in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, which has one of the world's largest elephant populations. As no preferred statistical model for piosphere studies has emerged, we first contrasted results from ordinary least‐square (OLS) regressions on raw data with those from other statistical models (OLS on aggregated data and simultaneous autoregressive models on raw data), and selected the most parsimonious, unbiased, model to study the influence of artificial and natural waterholes, and the abundance of elephants, others browsers, and grazers on piospheres. OLS models provided unbiased parameter estimates, despite the strong spatial autocorrelation present in woody cover data, whereas other statistical models had important drawbacks. Using an OLS framework we showed that despite an important negative non‐linear mean effect, distance‐to‐water was a poor predictor of woody cover at any location. Woody cover was on average more reduced in the vicinity of water at artificial waterholes than at natural waterholes. Elephant abundance was not consistently associated with lower woody cover, and poorly explained woody cover heterogeneity, as did all other herbivore‐related variables. Our study indicates that piospheres may develop differently in pastoral and protected areas, suggesting the importance of herbivore diversity in ecosystem functioning. Our results also show that heterogeneity in woody cover persists within piospheres, calling for further investigation on the origin and role of this heterogeneity in the maintenance of ecological processes and biodiversity within these key‐areas of the landscape.

Avec l'augmentation des densites d'elephants en Afrique australe et l'expansion des installations humaines dans des zones habituellement occupees par la faune, les communautes locales font face a de nombreux cas de conflits Homme-Elephant (CHE). Au Zimbabwe, plus de 5000 cas de CHE ont ete enregistres entre 2002 et 2006. L'elephant est l'animal le plus implique dans le controle d'animaux a probleme (CAP) (80%). Le conflit Homme-Faune est un probleme complexe, qui requiert une combinaison de strategies pour gerer ce conflit par les communautes locales. Si le piment a deja ete teste avec succes sur les elephants detruisant les recoltes comme un repulsif passif, son utilisation de maniere active n'a pas ete testee en raison du cout des produits disponible dans le commerce ou de la difficulte a les acheter. Comme partie integrante d'un ensemble d'outils contre les CHE mis a disposition aupres des communautes rurale, l'Association des CAMPFIRE avec le support de BIO-HUB et des agents des parcs nationaux ont decide de developper un systeme de projection actif de piment utilisable par les communautes contre les elephants attaquant les recoltes. Deux systemes ont ete developpes: une catapulte utilisant des balles d'argiles faites a la main et un lanceur a gaz utilisant du gaz inflammable. Ce dernier utilise en guise de munitions des balles de ping-pong remplies de piment, reduit en poudre ou d'huile pimentee. Les deux prototypes ont ete testes dans des stands de tir et seul le lanceur a gaz utilisant des projectiles remplis d'huile pimentee, a ete teste sur 24 elephants dans le Parc National de Hwange. La distance moyenne de tir etait de 46±4 metres, allant de 15 metres a 110 metres. De maniere significative, les distances de tir pour les mâles elephants etaient plus courtes (38±4 metres) que pour les femelles (55±6 metres). Les tirs ont eu lieus aussi bien pendant qu'ils mangeaient, buvaient ou encore stationnaient simplement sur les routes. Cinquante quatre pour cent des tirs ont soit atteint directement l'elephant soit atteint le sol juste a ses pieds, liberant les extraits d'huile pimentee sur l'animal vise. Lors des tirs, 46% des elephants se sont enfuis, 29% ont recule en marchant et 25% n'ont pas modifie leur comportement. De facon significative, les differences de reactions observees sont liees au succes de dispersion de l'huile pimentee sur l'animal vise. La proportion d'elephants qui s'enfuient (27%) ou qui reculent (72%) sans avoir ete arroses par l'huile pimentee, suggere que le bruit produit par le tir a egalement un effet repulsif significatif. Apres une minute, les 29% d'elephants qui s'enfuient sont ceux qui avaient effectivement recu de l'huile pimentee. Avant de tester cet outil aupres des communautes locales, une amelioration de la balistique sera menee pour augmenter la distance securitaire de tir a un minimum de 50 metres. (Texte integral)