Understanding the spatial ecology of wildlife is an essential prerequisite for making informed management decisions and is of particular importance for those species residing in enclosed reserves where space use may be influenced by restricted dispersal and high population densities. As the brown hyaena Parahyaena brunnea is a species likely to increasingly rely on enclosed protected areas for its long-term persistence, due to the intense persecution experienced outside of protected areas, we examined the spatial ecology of 10 brown hyaenas from a high-density population, within a small (200 km²) enclosed reserve in north-central Namibia. Spatial data, in combination with camera trap data from communal den sites, suggested six clans and at least one nomadic individual in the reserve. A mean home range size of 37 km² (± 21 km², range 16–97 km²) was recorded, with 92% of the reserve utilized as brown hyaena home range. Whilst these home range sizes are some of the lowest recorded for brown hyaena, the degree of overlap between neighbouring clans was similar to that recorded for open systems. Given that the majority of the reserve is utilized as brown hyaena home range, options for dispersing subadults may be limited and these individuals may represent ideal candidates for translocation into other enclosed reserves as part of metapopulation management schemes.

中文翻译：

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封闭区内高密度棕色鬣狗种群的社会生态学

了解野生动植物的空间生态是做出明智的管理决策的基本前提，对于居住在封闭保护区内的物种而言尤其重要，在这些保护区中，空间使用可能会受到限制的分散和高人口密度的影响。由于褐鬣狗Parahyaena褐斑是一个物种可能会越来越多地依赖于它的长期持续性封闭保护区，由于保护区的激烈迫害经验外，我们研究的10个褐色hyaenas空间生态从高人口密度，在小范围内（200公里²）封闭的纳米比亚中北部储备区。空间数据与来自公共巢穴的相机陷阱数据相结合，表明该保护区有六个氏族和至少一个游牧个体。平均住宅范围大小为37 km ²（±21 km ²，范围16–97 km ²）被记录下来，其中92％的储备被用作棕色鬣狗的家园范围。这些原始范围的大小是棕色鬣狗记录的最低值，而相邻氏族之间的重叠程度与开放系统的记录程度相似。鉴于该保护区的大部分被用作棕色鬣狗的家园，散布成年动物的选择可能会受到限制，并且这些人可能代表理想的人选，作为易居种群管理计划的一部分，可转移到其他封闭的保护区中。