A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2015. / Decades of study devoted to solving the “elephant problem” have generally concurred that
increasing elephant populations inevitably reduce biodiversity. However, recent evidence
suggests that such reductions can be accompanied by increases in other components of
biodiversity, and that ultimately elephant effects are scale-dependent. Although this new
perspective now underpins elephant management strategies in savannas such as the Kruger
National Park (KNP), South Africa, few empirical studies in support of this strategy have
incorporated the contribution of spatial context, or allowed for the emergence of relevant
scales, in their interpretations of heterogeneity. Moreover, use of traditional modes of scientific
enquiry and statistical approaches for investigating heterogeneity in complex systems have
been challenged. Recent advances in spatial statistics, together with an alternative mode of
science that draws upon multiple lines of converging evidence rather than testing narrowlyfocused
hypotheses, have the potential to address these challenges. However, their practical
application for understanding elephants as agents of change remains lacking. Riparian zones
along the ephemeral rivers in northern KNP provided an ideal landscape to explore the spatial
and temporal parameters of elephant effects in response to surface water, as a critical resource,
and hence to develop a framework for a heterogeneity approach for understanding and
managing elephants as agents of change in savannas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/19327 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Gaylard, Angela |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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