Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe
Dry season browse preference for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was studied at the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe, in 2010. Free ranging black rhinos were tracked and 8 687 individual bites were recorded at 131 feeding stations and 616 feeding points. Only 34 plant specie...
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2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1008 |
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| author | Makaure, Joseph Makaka, Caston |
| author_facet | Makaure, Joseph Makaka, Caston |
| author_sort | Makaure, Joseph |
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| description | Dry season browse preference for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was studied at the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe, in 2010. Free ranging black rhinos were tracked and 8 687 individual bites were recorded at 131 feeding stations and 616 feeding points. Only 34 plant species accounted for the black rhino diet. Trees contributed much of the diet (52.9%) followed by shrubs (44.0%) and lastly herbs (7.3%), with most of the browse (68.7%) coming from the 1.0-1.5m height category. Early dry season diet was richer and more evenly distributed (34 species, H'=3.812.) than late dry diet (27 species, H' =3.413). Acacia nilotica, Acacia karoo, Dichrostachys cineria, Ziziphus mucronata, Lantana camara, Gardenia volkensii and Rhus tenuinervis constituted the principal diet of the rhino, contributing 69.4% and 81.6% of the browse in the early dry and late dry season respectively. In the early dry season L. camara was the most important principal species contributing 32.9% of the browse, scoring the highest proportional usage. (-0.33) and was also the most available (0.26), a position that switched onto A nilotica in the late dry season. The restricted diet obtained in the study may encourage wandering of rhinos into unprotected neighbourhoods making them prone to poaching. |
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| id | ir-11408-1008 |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016 |
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| spelling | ir-11408-10082022-06-27T13:49:06Z Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe Makaure, Joseph Makaka, Caston browse, Diceros bicornis, feeding station, principal species. Dry season browse preference for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was studied at the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe, in 2010. Free ranging black rhinos were tracked and 8 687 individual bites were recorded at 131 feeding stations and 616 feeding points. Only 34 plant species accounted for the black rhino diet. Trees contributed much of the diet (52.9%) followed by shrubs (44.0%) and lastly herbs (7.3%), with most of the browse (68.7%) coming from the 1.0-1.5m height category. Early dry season diet was richer and more evenly distributed (34 species, H'=3.812.) than late dry diet (27 species, H' =3.413). Acacia nilotica, Acacia karoo, Dichrostachys cineria, Ziziphus mucronata, Lantana camara, Gardenia volkensii and Rhus tenuinervis constituted the principal diet of the rhino, contributing 69.4% and 81.6% of the browse in the early dry and late dry season respectively. In the early dry season L. camara was the most important principal species contributing 32.9% of the browse, scoring the highest proportional usage. (-0.33) and was also the most available (0.26), a position that switched onto A nilotica in the late dry season. The restricted diet obtained in the study may encourage wandering of rhinos into unprotected neighbourhoods making them prone to poaching. 2016-04-25T07:12:54Z 2016-04-25T07:12:54Z 2013 Article 2276-7762 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1008 en Greener Journal of Biological Sciences;Vol. 3 (1), p. 31-47 none |
| spellingShingle | browse, Diceros bicornis, feeding station, principal species. Makaure, Joseph Makaka, Caston Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe |
| title | Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe |
| title_full | Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe |
| title_fullStr | Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe |
| title_short | Dry Season Browse Preference for the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): the case of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), Zimbabwe |
| title_sort | dry season browse preference for the black rhinoceros (diceros bicornis): the case of the midlands black rhino conservancy (mbrc), zimbabwe |
| topic | browse, Diceros bicornis, feeding station, principal species. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1008 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT makaurejoseph dryseasonbrowsepreferencefortheblackrhinocerosdicerosbicornisthecaseofthemidlandsblackrhinoconservancymbrczimbabwe AT makakacaston dryseasonbrowsepreferencefortheblackrhinocerosdicerosbicornisthecaseofthemidlandsblackrhinoconservancymbrczimbabwe |