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Termitaria as preferred browsing patches for black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) in Chipinge Safari Area, Zimbabwe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2014

Justice Muvengwi ,
Hilton G. T. Ndagurwa ,
Tatenda Nyenda  and
Innocent Mlambo
Justice Muvengwi*
Affiliation:
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Wits 2050, South Africa Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe
Hilton G. T. Ndagurwa
Affiliation:
Forest Ecology Laboratory, Faculty of Applied Science, National University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Department of Forest Resources & Wildlife Management, Faculty of Applied Science, National University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Tatenda Nyenda
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe
Innocent Mlambo
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe
*
1Corresponding author. Email: justicemuvengwi@yahoo.co.uk.
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Abstract:

This study tested the hypothesis that the black rhinoceros browses more on termitaria than off termitaria vegetation due to elevated soil and foliar nutrient levels on termitaria. We investigated the role of termitaria in providing nutrient-rich forage for the black rhinoceros, by comparing the preference (selection ratio) for vegetation occurring on and off termitaria, and then testing its relationship with foliar nutrient concentrations. Soil nutrients, bite intensity, tree species diversity, vegetation density, canopy cover and basal area were also surveyed on and off termitaria. We sampled 25 termite mounds together with their corresponding control plots in Chipinge Safari Area, Zimbabwe. Soil and foliar N, P, K, Ca and Na concentrations were greater on termitaria than off termitaria, with approximately twice the concentration of these nutrients. Browse preference followed the between-site differences in soil and foliar nutrient concentrations, with higher selection ratios and bite intensities for vegetation on termitaria than off termitaria. Diospyros quiloensis was the most preferred browse species whilst Combretum imberbe, Kigelia africana and Strychnos innocua were the least. In conclusion, the black rhino preferred vegetation on termitaria to that in the surrounding matrix, and utilization of vegetation can be influenced by the soil substrate on which tree species grow.

Keywords

Diceros bicornispreferencesavannatermitariavegetationZimbabwe
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 30 , Issue 6 , November 2014 , pp. 591 - 598
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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