Factors Influencing Carnivore Distribution in Wildlife Management Areas

Populations of large carnivores are declining at a rapid rate, primarily as a result of land use change due to from increasing human pressure. Consequently, habitats for many species such as wide-ranging large carnivores are... [ view full abstract ]

Populations of large carnivores are declining at a rapid rate, primarily as a result of land use change due to from increasing human pressure. Consequently, habitats for many species such as wide-ranging large carnivores are progressively getting smaller and are often restricted to protected areas (PAs). In Botswana, aside from PAs, large tracts of land (22%) are set aside as wildlife management areas (WMAs) but other forms utilisation is permitted. WMA’s often serve as buffer zones between PAs and agricultural land, and as such there is increasing risk of human-wildlife conflict as well as changes to prey abundance and the introduction of livestock to these areas. For carnivore species present in these areas, it was therefore hypothesised that the effects of surrounding land use, as well as human habitation and prey availability might potentially affect their distribution patterns. We conducted a camera-trap study across 96 stations in two adjoining WMAs in the Ghanzi District of Botswana to assess the probability of occupancy of large and medium-sized carnivores, while accounting for imperfect detection. Using a multi-species occupancy model (MSOM) under a Bayesian framework, we tested several competing models that may account for spatial heterogeneity in occupancy among nine species of carnivores. Detection probability was low across all species, whereas occupancy varied substantially across species with brown hyaena and black-backed jackal being the most common, and cheetah and spotted hyaena the least. Factors associated with anthropogenic pressure (i.e. land use) was more likely to influence distribution than prey availability at the individual species level, but were less robust at the community level. Partially protected areas such as WMAs provide key areas of available habitat for many large carnivore species and are essential as corridors between PAs. In this study, we have highlighted that WMAs in western Botswana support a high level of biodiversity and surrounding land use is an important factor affecting distribution patterns. With the increasing spread of agricultural areas, maintaining WMAs is essential for conserving carnivores and improving coexistence.