Abstract

Home range and activity patterns of animals are important elements for wildlife management and conservation practices. We examined seasonal home range and daily activity patterns of the endangered Swayne’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia. We tracked two groups of Swayne’s hartebeests in open grassland for 1 year. Each group’s daily activities (0700–1900 h) and GPS locations were recorded at 15-min intervals on 5 days every month. Activities were grouped into five behavioral categories: feeding, resting, traveling, vigilance, and other. In addition, we carried out nocturnal monitoring during full moon periods to further document movements patterns. We produced 95% and 50% kernel density estimates (KDE) of home range sizes for each group. Home range estimates did not vary across seasons. Feeding and traveling peaked during the early morning and late afternoon, whereas resting occurred most frequently during the midday hours in both seasons. The proportion of time spent feeding was higher during the dry season, whereas a greater proportion of time was spent resting during the wet season. Vigilance behavior occurred consistently throughout the day during both seasons. Time spent feeding and traveling did not vary significantly between seasons. Activity patterns of Swayne’s hartebeests are strongly influenced both by time of day and season, while home range size is less influenced by seasonality and may instead reflect temporal variation in food availability. Our findings will help to inform management strategies and conserve one of the last two extant populations of Swayne’s hartebeests.

中文翻译：

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Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei)：埃塞俄比亚迷宫国家公园的栖息地和活动模式

摘要

动物的栖息地和活动模式是野生动物管理和保护实践的重要元素。我们研究了濒临灭绝的 Swayne's hartebeest ( Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei）在埃塞俄比亚的迷宫国家公园。我们在开阔的草原上追踪了两组 Swayne's hartebeests 1 年。每个组的日常活动（0700-1900 小时）和 GPS 位置在每个月 5 天以 15 分钟的间隔记录。活动分为五个行为类别：进食、休息、旅行、警惕和其他。此外，我们在满月期间进行了夜间监测，以进一步记录运动模式。我们为每个组生成了家庭范围大小的 95% 和 50% 核密度估计 (KDE)。家庭范围估计在不同季节没有变化。进食和旅行在清晨和傍晚达到高峰，而休息最频繁地发生在两个季节的中午。旱季花在喂食上的时间比例较高，而更多的时间花在雨季的休息上。在这两个季节，全天都始终保持警惕行为。喂养和旅行所花费的时间在不同季节之间没有显着差异。Swayne's hartebeests 的活动模式受到一天中的时间和季节的强烈影响，而家庭范围的大小受季节性影响较小，而是可能反映食物供应的时间变化。我们的发现将有助于为管理策略提供信息，并保护 Swayne's hartebeest 现存的最后两个种群之一。Swayne's hartebeests 的活动模式受到一天中的时间和季节的强烈影响，而家庭范围的大小受季节性影响较小，而是可能反映食物供应的时间变化。我们的发现将有助于为管理策略提供信息，并保护 Swayne's hartebeest 现存的最后两个种群之一。Swayne's hartebeests 的活动模式受到一天中的时间和季节的强烈影响，而家庭范围的大小受季节性影响较小，而是可能反映食物供应的时间变化。我们的发现将有助于为管理策略提供信息，并保护 Swayne's hartebeest 现存的最后两个种群之一。