A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016. / This project investigates the influence that rainfall and temperature patterns have on mammal drinking patterns at an artificial waterhole in KGNP at Nossob. On a regional scale, this project investigates long-term rainfall and temperature trends over three/four decades, and in some instances the past 100 years, respectively for KGNP using climate records from weather stations located within the park and adjacent areas. This project makes use of KGNP census data to observe spatio-temporal distributions of large mammals in relation to rainfall (and to a lesser extent temperature) variability. Investigations assess whether relationships exist between faunal movement and distribution and rainfall volume and frequency. On a local scale, this project makes use of webcam images measured at 15-second intervals to establish mammalian drinking patterns and waterhole use over a short time scale (October 2012 – December 2014).
The climate data for Twee Rivieren, Mata-Mata, Nossob and Upington reveal statistically significant increases in Tmax (av. 0.04°C) over the study period, whilst in summary, mean regional temperatures have increased by almost 1.6°C over the past 40 years. Rainfall patterns have revealed a north to south gradient in KGNP, where the northern and central parts of the park are becoming drier and the southern parts are becoming wetter. This demonstrates rainfall variability throughout KGNP over the period 2004 - 2013. This study established a positive relationship between faunal distributions and rainfall patterns within the park, showing that certain species are highly reliant on rainfall as a source of drinking water. It has been established that herbivore species are more reliant on the water trough during the dry season, when surface water is not available. However, there is an even spread of carnivore species water trough usage during the wet and dry season throughout the year. It has been established that during rainfall events exceeding ca. 30mm, faunal species prefer to utilise the natural surface water rather than the artificial waterhole at Nossob. Water trough usage under different temperature thresholds has revealed that groups of species (carnivores and herbivores) drinking patterns shift to either earlier or later in the day when temperatures increase, in order to avoid heat stress. Changing rainfall patterns could drastically cause water shortages, which will negatively affect the amount of available drinking water for mammals within KGNP.
This study is important in contributing to an improved management of KGNP through providing a quantitative description of the relationship of mammal visitation at water troughs to the ambient climate. This is particularly valuable as climate change projections for the region suggest progressive drying. Water troughs will become an important source of moisture. / LG2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/21743 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Maraschin, Nicoletta Maria Rita |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (202 leaves), application/pdf |
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