The main aim of this study was to classify and describe the plant communities in the home range of
white rhinoceros in order to understand the animal seasonal foraging ecology. To provide a detailed
habitat description, forty sample plots were stratified randomly. A TWINSPAN classification,
refined by Braun-Blanquet procedures, was carried out on the Viewpoint section of the reserve. Ten
plant communities, grouped into five major community types, were identified. The veld condition
and ecological carrying capacity in these communities were measured, stating an abundance of food
on long grass while the short grass equal the number of short grass feeders. A number of behavioural
aspects such as activity data, home range utilization and dietary usage were examined. Statistical
methods such as the Spearman rank-order correlation, Wilcoxon sign test and Student T-test were
used on rhino data. The difference in usage of the home range during wet and dry seasons was
insignificant. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/3593 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Jordaan, Hermanus Lukas |
| Contributors | Brown, L.R. (Prof.), Slater, Karin |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (xi, 147 leaves) |
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