BACKGROUND The availability of preferred habitats determines the spatial and temporal distribution of herbivores in savanna ecosystems. Understanding habitat preference of a targeted wildlife species is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies. Habitat preference of large grazers in connection to grass height and post-fire effect has been debated for the last century. Here, we examined the effects of season, grass height and burning on the habitat preference on Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park. Data for seasonal habitat selection were collected using both direct observation along established transect lines and pellet counting using permanently established plots. Every month, we measured grass height commonly preferred by Swayne's hartebeest in grassland habitat. Starting from the first week of burning, we recorded the abundance of Swayne's hartebeest in both burned and unburned grassland patches. RESULTS From detected pellets, 94.3% were recorded in the grassland habitat indicating that other habitat types are less used despite their extensive cover > 50% of the Park. During wet and early dry seasons, Swayne's hartebeest exclusively preferred grassland habitat. We found that 85.2% (n = 1079) and 85.3% (n = 593) of individuals observed in areas with a grass height below 30 cm during wet and early-dry seasons, respectively; while 70.9% (n = 2288) preferred grass height below 30 cm during the dry season. The density of Swayne's hartebeest in burned grassland area was higher than unburned grassland areas up to 150 days since burning. However, in unburned grassland areas, the density was initially low but showed increasing trend for consecutive days, reaching similar density with burned areas after 150 days since burning. CONCLUSION Swayne's hartebeest exclusively preferred grassland habitat, particularly during wet and early-dry seasons, shortest available grass height in all seasons and were attracted to burned grassland areas. Our results suggested that fire played an important role in maintaining habitat quality in grassland, and that management should continue using controlled burning as a tool for the conservation of Swayne's hartebeest. However, we remain cautious of our findings given the paucity of information regarding other confounding factors and the absence of long-term data on fire disturbance.

中文翻译：

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季节和火灾后对埃塞俄比亚迷宫国家公园中濒临灭绝的Swayne羚羊（Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei）栖息地偏好的影响。

背景技术优选栖息地的可用性决定了热带稀树草原中草食动物的时空分布。了解目标野生动植物物种的栖息地偏好对于制定有效的保护策略至关重要。上个世纪以来，关于草高和后火效应的大型吃草者的栖息地偏好一直存在争议。在这里，我们研究了季节，草高和燃烧对迷宫国家公园中Swayne羚羊（Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei）栖息地偏好的影响。通过沿已建立的样带线进行直接观测和使用永久建立的样地进行颗粒计数，收集季节性生境选择的数据。每个月，我们都会测量草地栖息地中Swayne羚羊通常偏爱的草高。从燃烧的第一周开始，我们记录了燃烧和未燃烧的草地中Swayne的羚羊的丰度。结果从检测到的颗粒物中，草地生境中记录到94.3％，这表明尽管其他生境类型被广泛使用，但其覆盖率却超过了公园的50％，因此使用量较少。在潮湿和早期的干旱季节，Swayne的羚羊完全偏爱草地栖息地。我们发现，在湿季和早干季草高低于30 cm的地区分别观察到85.2％（n = 1079）和85.3％（n = 593）的个体；而70.9％（n = 2288）在干旱季节更喜欢草高低于30 cm。在燃烧后的150天内，烧过的草地中Swayne的羚羊的密度高于未燃烧的草地。但是，在未燃烧的草原地区，密度最初较低，但连续几天呈上升趋势，自燃烧150天后达到与燃烧区域相似的密度。结论Swayne的羚羊只喜欢草原生境，特别是在湿季和早旱季节，所有季节中可用的草高最短，并且被烧毁的草原地区所吸引。我们的结果表明，火灾在维持草原生境质量方面发挥着重要作用，并且管理工作应继续使用受控燃烧作为养护斯威恩羚羊的工具。但是，由于缺乏有关其他混杂因素的信息，并且缺乏长期的火灾干扰数据，因此我们对研究结果保持谨慎。自燃烧150天后达到与燃烧区域相似的密度。结论Swayne的羚羊只喜欢草原生境，特别是在湿季和早旱季节，所有季节中可用的草高最短，并且被烧毁的草原地区所吸引。我们的结果表明，火灾在维持草原生境质量方面发挥着重要作用，并且管理工作应继续使用受控燃烧作为养护斯威恩羚羊的工具。但是，由于缺乏有关其他混杂因素的信息，并且缺乏长期的火灾干扰数据，因此我们对研究结果保持谨慎。自燃烧150天后达到与燃烧区域相似的密度。结论Swayne的羚羊只喜欢草原生境，特别是在湿季和早旱季节，所有季节中可用的草高最短，并且被烧毁的草原地区所吸引。我们的结果表明，火灾在维持草原生境质量方面发挥着重要作用，并且管理工作应继续使用受控燃烧作为养护斯威恩羚羊的工具。但是，由于缺乏有关其他混杂因素的信息，并且缺乏长期的火灾干扰数据，因此我们对研究结果保持谨慎。所有季节中可用的草高最短，并且被烧毁的草地吸引。我们的结果表明，火灾在维持草原生境质量方面发挥着重要作用，并且管理工作应继续使用受控燃烧作为养护斯威恩羚羊的工具。但是，由于缺乏有关其他混杂因素的信息，并且缺乏长期的火灾干扰数据，因此我们对研究结果保持谨慎。所有季节中可用的草高最短，并且被烧毁的草地吸引。我们的结果表明，火灾在维持草原生境质量方面发挥了重要作用，并且管理应继续使用受控燃烧作为养护斯威恩羚羊的工具。但是，由于缺乏有关其他混杂因素的信息，并且缺乏长期的火灾干扰数据，因此我们对研究结果保持谨慎。