Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?

The foraging ecologies of reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and domestic camels (Camelus dromedarius) were examined in the Laikipia District of Kenya, where these species have recently become sympatric. Camels increased popularity in the region has lead to concerns about their...

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Published in:	African Journal of Ecology
Main Authors:	O'Connor, David A., Butt, Bilal, Foufopoulos, Johannes B.
Format:	Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:	unknown
Published:	E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research 2015
Subjects:	giraffe pastoralist camel conservation foraging ecology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Science Rangifer
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/111252 https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12204

id	ftumdeepblue:oai:deepblue.lib.umich.edu:2027.42/111252
record_format	openpolar
institution	Open Polar
collection	University of Michigan: Deep Blue
op_collection_id	ftumdeepblue
language	unknown
topic	giraffe pastoralist camel conservation foraging ecology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Science
spellingShingle	giraffe pastoralist camel conservation foraging ecology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Science O'Connor, David A. Butt, Bilal Foufopoulos, Johannes B. Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
topic_facet	giraffe pastoralist camel conservation foraging ecology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Science
description	The foraging ecologies of reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and domestic camels (Camelus dromedarius) were examined in the Laikipia District of Kenya, where these species have recently become sympatric. Camels increased popularity in the region has lead to concerns about their environmental impacts and possible competition with wild giraffe for resources. We gathered foraging data on both species using 2‐min group scans that recorded feeding heights and plant food preferences. Transects sampled the vegetation in areas where foraging observations were recorded. Giraffe females feed at lower elevations than males, while female camels feed below both sexes of giraffe. There was very little observed overlap in food preferences between the species. However, habitat type has an effect on foraging ecologies of both giraffe sexes, but habitat did not influence camel foraging. Camel herder husbandry techniques also influence camel foraging dynamics. These findings have important implications in achieving the twin objectives of wildlife conservation and pastoralist livestock production in northern Kenya.RésuméL'écologie alimentaire de la girafe réticulée (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) et celle du dromadaire (Camelus dromedarius) ont été étudiées dans le District de Laikipia, au Kenya, où ces espèces sont récemment devenues sympatriques. La popularité croissante des dromadaires dans la région a suscité des inquiétudes au sujet des impacts sur l'environnement et d'une éventuelle compétition pour les ressources avec les girafes sauvages. Nous avons récolté des données sur l'alimentation des deux espèces au moyen de scan de groupe de deux minutes, qui enregistraient la hauteur à laquelle les animaux mangeaient et les plantes préférées. Des transects ont permis de récolter des échantillons de végétation dans les zones où les observations alimentaires ont été faites. Les girafes femelles se nourrissent plus bas que les mâles et les dromadaires femelles se nourrissent plus bas que les girafes des deux ...
format	Article in Journal/Newspaper
author	O'Connor, David A. Butt, Bilal Foufopoulos, Johannes B.
author_facet	O'Connor, David A. Butt, Bilal Foufopoulos, Johannes B.
author_sort	O'Connor, David A.
title	Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
title_short	Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
title_full	Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
title_fullStr	Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
title_full_unstemmed	Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
title_sort	foraging ecologies of giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (camelus dromedarius) in northern kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?
publisher	E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research
publishDate	2015
url	https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/111252 https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12204
genre	Rangifer
genre_facet	Rangifer
op_relation	O'Connor, David A.; Butt, Bilal; Foufopoulos, Johannes B. (2015). "Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?." African Journal of Ecology 53(2): 183-193. 0141-6707 1365-2028 https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/111252 doi:10.1111/aje.12204 African Journal of Ecology Pringle, R.M., Palmer, T.M., Goheen, J.R., McCauley, D.J. & Keesing, F. ( 2011 ) Ecological importance of large herbivores in the Ewaso ecosystem. In: Conserving Wildlife in African Landscapes: Kenya's Ewaso Ecosystem (Ed. N. Georgiadis ). Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC. Kinnaird, M.F. & O'Brien, T.G. ( 2012 ) Effects of private‐land use, livestock management, and human tolerance on diversity, distribution, and abundance of large African mammals. Conserv. Biol. 26, 1026 – 1039. Kjekshus, H. ( 1996 ) Ecology Control & Economic Development in East African History: The Case of Tanganyika, 1850–1950. James Currey, London. Maloiy, G.M.O., Rugangazi, B.M. & Rowe, M.F. ( 2009 ) Energy expenditure during level locomotion in large desert ungulates: the one‐humped camel and the domestic donkey. J. Zool. 277, 248 – 255. McNaughton, S.J. & Georgiadis, N.J. ( 1986 ) Ecology of African grazing and browsing mammals. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 17, 39 – 65. Mitchell, K. ( 2007 ) Quantitative Analysis by the Point‐Centered Quarter Method. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva. Owen‐Smith, N. & Cumming, D.H.M. ( 1993 ) Comparative foraging strategies of grazing ungulates in African savanna grasslands. In: Proceedings of the XVII International Grasslands Congress, 8–21 February 1993, Palmerston North, New Zealand. New Zealand Grassland Association, Palmerston North. Parker, D.M. & Bernard, R.T.F. ( 2005 ) The diet and ecological role of giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) introduced to the eastern Cape, South Africa. J. Zool. 267, 203 – 2010. Pellew, R.A. ( 1983 ) The giraffe and its food resource in the Serengeti. I. Composition, biomass and production of available browse. Afr. J. Ecol. 21, 241 – 267. Pellew, R.A. ( 1984 ) The feeding ecology of a selective browser, the giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi). J. Zool. 202, 57 – 81. Pringle, R.M., Doak, D.F., Brody, A.K., Jocque, R. & Palmer, T.M. ( 2010 ) Spatial pattern enhances ecosystem functioning in an African savanna. PLoS Biol. 8, e1000377 [epub ahead of print]. Prins, H.H.T. & Fritz, H. ( 2008 ) Species diversity of browsing and grazing ungulates: Consequences for the structure and abundance of secondary production. In: The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing (Eds I. J. Gordon and H. H. T. Prins ). Springer‐Verlang, Berlin. Retzer, V. ( 2006 ) Impacts of grazing and rainfall variability on the dynamics of a Sahelian rangeland revisited (Hein, 2006): new insights from old data. J. Arid Environ. 67, 157 – 164. Sinclair, A.R.E. ( 1979 ) Dynamics of the Serengeti ecosystem: process and pattern. In: Serengeti: Dynamics of an Ecosystem (Eds A. R. E. Sinclair and M. Norton‐Griffiths ). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. du Toit, J.T. ( 1990 ) Feeding‐height stratification among African browsing ruminants. Afr. J. Ecol. 28, 55 – 61. du Toit, J.T. ( 1995 ) Determinants of the composition and distribution of wildlife communities in southern Africa. Ambio 24, 2 – 6. Treydtea, A.C., van der Beekb, J.G.M., Perdokb, A.A. & van Wierenb, S.E. ( 2011 ) Grazing ungulates select for grasses growing beneath trees in African savannas. Mamm. Biol. 76, 345 – 350. Tutchings, A., Fennessy, S., Marais, A. & Fennessy, J. ( 2013 ) Africa's Giraffe Giraffa Camelopardalis: A Conservation Guide. Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, Namibia. Woolnough, A.P. & du Toit, J.T. ( 2001 ) Vertical zonation of browse quality in tree canopies exposed to a size‐structured guild of African browsing ungulates. Oecologia 129, 585 – 590. Young, T.P. & Isbell, L.A. ( 1991 ) Sex differences in giraffe feeding ecology: energetic and social constraints. Ethology 87, 79 – 89. Young, T.P., Stubblefield, C.H. & Isbell, L.A. ( 1997 ) Ants on swollen‐thorn acacias: species coexistence in a simple system. Oecologia 109, 98 – 107. Young, T.P., Okello, B., Kinyua, D. & Palmer, T. ( 1998 ) KLEE: A long‐term multi‐species herbivore exclusion experiment in Laikipia. Kenya. Afr. J. Range For. Sci. 14, 92 – 104. Young, H.S., McCauley, D.J., Helgen, K.H., Goheen, J.R., Otárola‐Castillo, E., Palmer, T., Pringle, R.M., Young, T.P. & Dirzo, R. ( 2013 ) Effects of mammalian herbivore declines on plant communities: observations and experiments in an African savanna. J. Ecol. 101, 1030 – 1041. Altmann, J. ( 1974 ) Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour 49, 227 – 267. Augustine, D.J. & McNaughton, S.J. ( 2004 ) Regulation of shrub dynamics by native browsing ungulates on East African rangeland. J. Appl. Ecol. 41, 45 – 58. Bond, W.J. & Loffell, D. ( 2001 ) Introduction of giraffe changes acacia distribution in an South African savanna. Afr. J. Ecol. 39, 286 – 294. Bøving, P.S. & Post, E. ( 1997 ) Vigilance and foraging behaviour of female caribou in relation to predation risk. Rangifer 7, 55 – 63. Butt, B. ( 2010 ) Pastoral resource access and utilization: quantifying the spatial and temporal relationships between livestock mobility, density and biomass availability in southern Kenya. Land Degrad. Dev. 21, 520 – 539. Butt, B. & Turner, M.D. ( 2012 ) Clarifying competition: the case of wildlife and pastoral livestock in East Africa. Pastoralism 2, 9. Cameron, E.Z. & du Toit, J.T. ( 2007 ) Winning by a neck: tall giraffes avoid competing with shorter browsers. Am. Nat. 169, 130 – 135. Ciofolo, I. & Le Pendu, Y. ( 2002 ) The feeding behaviour of giraffe in Niger. Mammalia 66, 183 – 194. Cornelissen, J.H.C., Lavorel, S., Garnier, E., Diaz, S., Buchmann, N., Gurvich, D.E., Reich, P.B., ter Steege, H., Morgan, H.D., van der Heijden, M.G.A., Pausas, J.G. & Poorter, H. ( 2003 ) A handbook of protocols for standardized and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust. J. Bot. 51, 335 – 380. Davies, J. & Bennett, R. ( 2007 ) Livelihood adaptation to risk: constraints and opportunities for pastoral development in Ethiopia's Afar region. J. Dev. Stud. 43, 490 – 511. Dereje, M. & Uden, P. ( 2005 ) The browsing dromedary camel I. Behaviour, plant preference and quality of forage selected. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. 121, 297 – 308. Desta, S. & Coppock, L. ( 2000 ) Pastoral system trends and small ruminant production in the Borana Plateau of southern Ethiopia. The Opportunities and Challenges of Enhancing Goat Production in East Africa: Proceedings of a Conference Held at Debub University, Awassa, Ethiopia From November 10 to 12, 2000 (Eds R. C. Merkel, G. Abebe and A. L. Goetsch ). E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research, Langston, OK. Ellis, J. & Galvin, K.A. ( 1994 ) Climate patterns and land‐use practices in the dry zones of Africa. Bioscience 44, 340 – 349. El‐Keblawya, A., Ksiksi, T. & El Alqamy, H. ( 2009 ) Camel grazing affects species diversity and community structure in the deserts of the UAE. J. Arid Environ. 73, 347 – 354. Farah, K.O., Nyariki, D.M., Ngugi, R.K., Noor, I.M. & Guliye, A.Y. ( 2004 ) The Somali and the camel: ecology, management and economics. Anthropologist. 6, 45 – 55. Farid, M.F.A. ( 1995 ) Nutrient requirements of dromedary camels: protein and energy requirements for maintenance. J. Arid Environ. 30, 207 ? 218. Fennessy, J. ( 2009 ) Home range and seasonal movements of Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis in the northern Namib Desert. Afr. J. Ecol. 47, 318 – 327. Gallacher, D.J. & Hill, J.P. ( 2006a ) Effects of camel vs oryx and gazelle grazing on the plant ecology of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. In: Reclaiming the Desert: Towards a Sustainable Environment in Arid Lands (Ed. A. M. O. Mohamed ) Proceedings of the Third Joint UAE‐Japan Symposium on Sustainable GCC Environment and Water Resources, Abu Dhabi, 28‐30 January 2006 Taylor & Francis, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Gallacher, D.J. & Hill, J.P. ( 2006b ) Effects of camel grazing on the ecology of small perennial plants in the Dubai (UAE) inland desert. J. Arid Environ. 66, 738 – 750. Galvin, K.A. ( 1992 ) Nutritional ecology of pastoralists in dry tropical Africa. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 4, 209 – 221. Galvin, K.A., Coppock, D.L. & Leslie, P.W. ( 1994 ) Diet, nutrition and the pastoral strategy. In: African Pastoralist Systems: An Integrated Approach (Eds E. Fratkin, K. A. Galvin and E. A. Roth ). L. Rienner Publishers, Boulder CO.
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spelling	ftumdeepblue:oai:deepblue.lib.umich.edu:2027.42/111252 2023-08-20T04:09:23+02:00 Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition? O'Connor, David A. Butt, Bilal Foufopoulos, Johannes B. 2015-06 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/111252 https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12204 unknown E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research Wiley Periodicals, Inc. O'Connor, David A.; Butt, Bilal; Foufopoulos, Johannes B. (2015). "Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?." African Journal of Ecology 53(2): 183-193. 0141-6707 1365-2028 https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/111252 doi:10.1111/aje.12204 African Journal of Ecology Pringle, R.M., Palmer, T.M., Goheen, J.R., McCauley, D.J. & Keesing, F. ( 2011 ) Ecological importance of large herbivores in the Ewaso ecosystem. In: Conserving Wildlife in African Landscapes: Kenya's Ewaso Ecosystem (Ed. N. Georgiadis ). Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC. Kinnaird, M.F. & O'Brien, T.G. ( 2012 ) Effects of private‐land use, livestock management, and human tolerance on diversity, distribution, and abundance of large African mammals. Conserv. Biol. 26, 1026 – 1039. Kjekshus, H. ( 1996 ) Ecology Control & Economic Development in East African History: The Case of Tanganyika, 1850–1950. James Currey, London. Maloiy, G.M.O., Rugangazi, B.M. & Rowe, M.F. ( 2009 ) Energy expenditure during level locomotion in large desert ungulates: the one‐humped camel and the domestic donkey. J. Zool. 277, 248 – 255. McNaughton, S.J. & Georgiadis, N.J. ( 1986 ) Ecology of African grazing and browsing mammals. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 17, 39 – 65. Mitchell, K. ( 2007 ) Quantitative Analysis by the Point‐Centered Quarter Method. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva. Owen‐Smith, N. & Cumming, D.H.M. ( 1993 ) Comparative foraging strategies of grazing ungulates in African savanna grasslands. In: Proceedings of the XVII International Grasslands Congress, 8–21 February 1993, Palmerston North, New Zealand. New Zealand Grassland Association, Palmerston North. Parker, D.M. & Bernard, R.T.F. ( 2005 ) The diet and ecological role of giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) introduced to the eastern Cape, South Africa. J. Zool. 267, 203 – 2010. Pellew, R.A. ( 1983 ) The giraffe and its food resource in the Serengeti. I. Composition, biomass and production of available browse. Afr. J. Ecol. 21, 241 – 267. Pellew, R.A. ( 1984 ) The feeding ecology of a selective browser, the giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi). J. Zool. 202, 57 – 81. Pringle, R.M., Doak, D.F., Brody, A.K., Jocque, R. & Palmer, T.M. ( 2010 ) Spatial pattern enhances ecosystem functioning in an African savanna. PLoS Biol. 8, e1000377 [epub ahead of print]. Prins, H.H.T. & Fritz, H. ( 2008 ) Species diversity of browsing and grazing ungulates: Consequences for the structure and abundance of secondary production. In: The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing (Eds I. J. Gordon and H. H. T. Prins ). Springer‐Verlang, Berlin. Retzer, V. ( 2006 ) Impacts of grazing and rainfall variability on the dynamics of a Sahelian rangeland revisited (Hein, 2006): new insights from old data. J. Arid Environ. 67, 157 – 164. Sinclair, A.R.E. ( 1979 ) Dynamics of the Serengeti ecosystem: process and pattern. In: Serengeti: Dynamics of an Ecosystem (Eds A. R. E. Sinclair and M. Norton‐Griffiths ). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. du Toit, J.T. ( 1990 ) Feeding‐height stratification among African browsing ruminants. Afr. J. Ecol. 28, 55 – 61. du Toit, J.T. ( 1995 ) Determinants of the composition and distribution of wildlife communities in southern Africa. Ambio 24, 2 – 6. Treydtea, A.C., van der Beekb, J.G.M., Perdokb, A.A. & van Wierenb, S.E. ( 2011 ) Grazing ungulates select for grasses growing beneath trees in African savannas. Mamm. Biol. 76, 345 – 350. Tutchings, A., Fennessy, S., Marais, A. & Fennessy, J. ( 2013 ) Africa's Giraffe Giraffa Camelopardalis: A Conservation Guide. Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, Namibia. Woolnough, A.P. & du Toit, J.T. ( 2001 ) Vertical zonation of browse quality in tree canopies exposed to a size‐structured guild of African browsing ungulates. Oecologia 129, 585 – 590. Young, T.P. & Isbell, L.A. ( 1991 ) Sex differences in giraffe feeding ecology: energetic and social constraints. Ethology 87, 79 – 89. Young, T.P., Stubblefield, C.H. & Isbell, L.A. ( 1997 ) Ants on swollen‐thorn acacias: species coexistence in a simple system. Oecologia 109, 98 – 107. Young, T.P., Okello, B., Kinyua, D. & Palmer, T. ( 1998 ) KLEE: A long‐term multi‐species herbivore exclusion experiment in Laikipia. Kenya. Afr. J. Range For. Sci. 14, 92 – 104. Young, H.S., McCauley, D.J., Helgen, K.H., Goheen, J.R., Otárola‐Castillo, E., Palmer, T., Pringle, R.M., Young, T.P. & Dirzo, R. ( 2013 ) Effects of mammalian herbivore declines on plant communities: observations and experiments in an African savanna. J. Ecol. 101, 1030 – 1041. Altmann, J. ( 1974 ) Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour 49, 227 – 267. Augustine, D.J. & McNaughton, S.J. ( 2004 ) Regulation of shrub dynamics by native browsing ungulates on East African rangeland. J. Appl. Ecol. 41, 45 – 58. Bond, W.J. & Loffell, D. ( 2001 ) Introduction of giraffe changes acacia distribution in an South African savanna. Afr. J. Ecol. 39, 286 – 294. Bøving, P.S. & Post, E. ( 1997 ) Vigilance and foraging behaviour of female caribou in relation to predation risk. Rangifer 7, 55 – 63. Butt, B. ( 2010 ) Pastoral resource access and utilization: quantifying the spatial and temporal relationships between livestock mobility, density and biomass availability in southern Kenya. Land Degrad. Dev. 21, 520 – 539. Butt, B. & Turner, M.D. ( 2012 ) Clarifying competition: the case of wildlife and pastoral livestock in East Africa. Pastoralism 2, 9. Cameron, E.Z. & du Toit, J.T. ( 2007 ) Winning by a neck: tall giraffes avoid competing with shorter browsers. Am. Nat. 169, 130 – 135. Ciofolo, I. & Le Pendu, Y. ( 2002 ) The feeding behaviour of giraffe in Niger. Mammalia 66, 183 – 194. Cornelissen, J.H.C., Lavorel, S., Garnier, E., Diaz, S., Buchmann, N., Gurvich, D.E., Reich, P.B., ter Steege, H., Morgan, H.D., van der Heijden, M.G.A., Pausas, J.G. & Poorter, H. ( 2003 ) A handbook of protocols for standardized and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust. J. Bot. 51, 335 – 380. Davies, J. & Bennett, R. ( 2007 ) Livelihood adaptation to risk: constraints and opportunities for pastoral development in Ethiopia's Afar region. J. Dev. Stud. 43, 490 – 511. Dereje, M. & Uden, P. ( 2005 ) The browsing dromedary camel I. Behaviour, plant preference and quality of forage selected. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. 121, 297 – 308. Desta, S. & Coppock, L. ( 2000 ) Pastoral system trends and small ruminant production in the Borana Plateau of southern Ethiopia. The Opportunities and Challenges of Enhancing Goat Production in East Africa: Proceedings of a Conference Held at Debub University, Awassa, Ethiopia From November 10 to 12, 2000 (Eds R. C. Merkel, G. Abebe and A. L. Goetsch ). E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research, Langston, OK. Ellis, J. & Galvin, K.A. ( 1994 ) Climate patterns and land‐use practices in the dry zones of Africa. Bioscience 44, 340 – 349. El‐Keblawya, A., Ksiksi, T. & El Alqamy, H. ( 2009 ) Camel grazing affects species diversity and community structure in the deserts of the UAE. J. Arid Environ. 73, 347 – 354. Farah, K.O., Nyariki, D.M., Ngugi, R.K., Noor, I.M. & Guliye, A.Y. ( 2004 ) The Somali and the camel: ecology, management and economics. Anthropologist. 6, 45 – 55. Farid, M.F.A. ( 1995 ) Nutrient requirements of dromedary camels: protein and energy requirements for maintenance. J. Arid Environ. 30, 207 ? 218. Fennessy, J. ( 2009 ) Home range and seasonal movements of Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis in the northern Namib Desert. Afr. J. Ecol. 47, 318 – 327. Gallacher, D.J. & Hill, J.P. ( 2006a ) Effects of camel vs oryx and gazelle grazing on the plant ecology of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. In: Reclaiming the Desert: Towards a Sustainable Environment in Arid Lands (Ed. A. M. O. Mohamed ) Proceedings of the Third Joint UAE‐Japan Symposium on Sustainable GCC Environment and Water Resources, Abu Dhabi, 28‐30 January 2006 Taylor & Francis, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Gallacher, D.J. & Hill, J.P. ( 2006b ) Effects of camel grazing on the ecology of small perennial plants in the Dubai (UAE) inland desert. J. Arid Environ. 66, 738 – 750. Galvin, K.A. ( 1992 ) Nutritional ecology of pastoralists in dry tropical Africa. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 4, 209 – 221. Galvin, K.A., Coppock, D.L. & Leslie, P.W. ( 1994 ) Diet, nutrition and the pastoral strategy. In: African Pastoralist Systems: An Integrated Approach (Eds E. Fratkin, K. A. Galvin and E. A. Roth ). L. Rienner Publishers, Boulder CO. IndexNoFollow giraffe pastoralist camel conservation foraging ecology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Science Article 2015 ftumdeepblue https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12204 2023-07-31T21:15:41Z The foraging ecologies of reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and domestic camels (Camelus dromedarius) were examined in the Laikipia District of Kenya, where these species have recently become sympatric. Camels increased popularity in the region has lead to concerns about their environmental impacts and possible competition with wild giraffe for resources. We gathered foraging data on both species using 2‐min group scans that recorded feeding heights and plant food preferences. Transects sampled the vegetation in areas where foraging observations were recorded. Giraffe females feed at lower elevations than males, while female camels feed below both sexes of giraffe. There was very little observed overlap in food preferences between the species. However, habitat type has an effect on foraging ecologies of both giraffe sexes, but habitat did not influence camel foraging. Camel herder husbandry techniques also influence camel foraging dynamics. These findings have important implications in achieving the twin objectives of wildlife conservation and pastoralist livestock production in northern Kenya.RésuméL'écologie alimentaire de la girafe réticulée (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) et celle du dromadaire (Camelus dromedarius) ont été étudiées dans le District de Laikipia, au Kenya, où ces espèces sont récemment devenues sympatriques. La popularité croissante des dromadaires dans la région a suscité des inquiétudes au sujet des impacts sur l'environnement et d'une éventuelle compétition pour les ressources avec les girafes sauvages. Nous avons récolté des données sur l'alimentation des deux espèces au moyen de scan de groupe de deux minutes, qui enregistraient la hauteur à laquelle les animaux mangeaient et les plantes préférées. Des transects ont permis de récolter des échantillons de végétation dans les zones où les observations alimentaires ont été faites. Les girafes femelles se nourrissent plus bas que les mâles et les dromadaires femelles se nourrissent plus bas que les girafes des deux ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer University of Michigan: Deep Blue African Journal of Ecology 53 2 183 193

Foraging ecologies of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya: effects of habitat structure and possibilities for competition?

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