Abstract Context The Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is an introduced herbivore of the savannas and floodplains of northern Australia. Despite the significant environmental damage caused by water buffalo, important cultural and commercial stakeholders request this species is managed rather than eradicated. However, gaps in knowledge of buffalo ecology limit effective policy and planning. Aims To better understand how buffalo, at current population densities, respond to seasonally changing resources in the two key habitat types that they occupy in northern Australian – upland eucalypt savanna and seasonally inundated floodplain. Methods Satellite telemetry was used to record the location of a single female buffalo from each of 11 independent clans every hour over a 12-month period. Generalised linear mixed modelling was used to assess the extent to which buffalo movements, activity-space and site revisitation correlated with forage quality (inferred from the normalised difference vegetation index – NDVI) and localised buffalo density. Key results As the dry season progressed, forage quantity and quality within the activity-space of buffalo clans decreased. In response, buffalo inhabiting floodplain exhibited increased rates of movement and enlarged the size of their activity-space. This resulted in low repeated visitation of foraging areas in the late dry season and NDVI remained relatively high within these areas. In comparison, buffalo in upland savanna maintained similar rates of activity and occupied the same activity-space size throughout the year. This resulted in frequent revisitation of the same areas in the late dry season and NDVI reached as low as zero in these foraging areas. Clan size and localised buffalo density had no significant effect on measured movement parameters. Conclusions Buffalo exhibited a behavioural strategy in upland savanna that resulted in acute removal of green herbaceous vegetation within a few kilometres of the clan’s permanent water source. Buffalo inhabiting the floodplain used multiple wallows that reduced grazing impacts, but likely resulted in hoof-derived impacts over a broad area. Implications Current buffalo densities in Kakadu National Park appear to be well below carrying capacity but localised environmental degradation around permanent water sources remains severe in upland savanna.

中文翻译：

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亚洲水牛（Bubalus bubalis）在澳大利亚北部热带稀树草原和洪泛区的季节性运动和场地利用

摘要 背景 亚洲水牛 (Bubalus bubalis) 是澳大利亚北部热带稀树草原和洪泛区的一种引入草食动物。尽管水牛造成了严重的环境破坏，但重要的文化和商业利益相关者要求对该物种进行管理而不是根除。然而，水牛生态学知识的差距限制了有效的政策和规划。目的 为了更好地了解在当前人口密度下，水牛如何对它们在澳大利亚北部占据的两个主要栖息地类型——高地桉树稀树草原和季节性淹没的洪泛区——中的季节性变化资源做出反应。方法 卫星遥测用于在 12 个月的时间内每小时记录 11 个独立氏族中每个氏族的一头雌性水牛的位置。广义线性混合模型用于评估水牛运动、活动空间和场地重访与草料质量（从归一化差异植被指数 - NDVI 推断）和局部水牛密度的相关程度。主要结果 随着旱季的进展，水牛部落活动空间内的草料数量和质量下降。作为回应，栖息在洪泛区的水牛表现出增加的运动速度并扩大了其活动空间的大小。这导致在旱季后期对觅食区的重复访问率较低，并且这些区域内的 NDVI 保持相对较高。相比之下，高地稀树草原中的水牛全年保持相似的活动率并占据相同的活动空间大小。这导致在旱季后期频繁重新访问相同的区域，这些觅食区的 NDVI 低至零。氏族规模和局部水牛密度对测量的运动参数没有显着影响。结论 布法罗在高地稀树草原中表现出一种行为策略，导致在氏族永久水源几公里内的绿色草本植被被迅速清除。居住在洪泛区的布法罗使用了多个低洼地，减少了放牧的影响，但可能会导致大面积的蹄源影响。影响 卡卡杜国家公园目前的水牛密度似乎远低于承载能力，但在高地稀树草原，永久性水源周围的局部环境退化仍然严重。氏族规模和局部水牛密度对测量的运动参数没有显着影响。结论 布法罗在高地稀树草原中表现出一种行为策略，导致在氏族永久水源几公里内的绿色草本植被被迅速清除。居住在洪泛区的布法罗使用了多个低洼地，减少了放牧的影响，但可能会导致大面积的蹄源影响。影响 卡卡杜国家公园目前的水牛密度似乎远低于承载能力，但在高地稀树草原，永久性水源周围的局部环境退化仍然严重。氏族规模和局部水牛密度对测量的运动参数没有显着影响。结论 布法罗在高地稀树草原中表现出一种行为策略，导致在氏族永久水源几公里内的绿色草本植被被迅速清除。居住在洪泛区的布法罗使用了多个低洼地，减少了放牧的影响，但可能会导致大面积的蹄源影响。影响 卡卡杜国家公园目前的水牛密度似乎远低于承载能力，但在高地稀树草原，永久性水源周围的局部环境退化仍然严重。结论 布法罗在高地稀树草原中表现出一种行为策略，导致在氏族永久水源几公里内的绿色草本植被被迅速清除。居住在洪泛区的布法罗使用了多个低洼地，减少了放牧的影响，但可能会导致大面积的蹄源影响。影响 卡卡杜国家公园目前的水牛密度似乎远低于承载能力，但在高地稀树草原，永久性水源周围的局部环境退化仍然严重。结论 Buffalo 在高地稀树草原中表现出一种行为策略，导致该部落永久水源几公里内的绿色草本植被被迅速清除。居住在洪泛区的布法罗使用了多个低洼地，减少了放牧的影响，但可能会导致大面积的蹄源影响。影响 卡卡杜国家公园目前的水牛密度似乎远低于承载能力，但在高地稀树草原，永久性水源周围的局部环境退化仍然严重。