Research Article:  Goswami, V. R., Vasudev, D., Joshi, B., Hait, P., & Sharma, P. (2021). Coupled effects of climatic forcing and the human footprint on wildlife movement and space use in a dynamic floodplain landscape.

Blog Author: Simran Prasad

Key highlights are: 

  • The authors identified notable opportunities and challenges in flood-driven refuge migration of large herbivores. 
  • Species distribution was contrasted between the dry and intense flood seasons to ascertain large herbivore movement and space use patterns. 
  • The results indicate that environmental conditions influenced by floods are a determining factor in shaping animal movement across human-dominated spaces. 
  • The authors highlight the importance of established planning and collaborative conservation action in floodplain landscapes due to dynamic climatic conditions and human influence. 

 

Floods are serious natural disasters expected to increase in severity and prevalence in the coming years because of climate change. As a dynamic system, floodplain ecosystems are home to numerous animals and plants that have adapted to cyclical disturbance events, often migrating or adapting physiologically to cope with intense floods. Animals of particular interest include large herbivores, especially megaherbivores such as the Asian elephant Elephas maximus. The movement of these herbivores is founded on an intricate interplay between species-specific characteristics and their surrounding environment. Environmental constraints, resource distribution, and human habitation are all notable factors that can either deprive or present viable opportunities for these herbivores. Therefore, space use and movement patterns can vary considerably.

In this study, scientists from Conservation Initiatives, Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Centre for Wildlife Studies utilized surveys that marked the presence or absence of large herbivores and camera traps, identifying movement patterns of these herbivores. The study was conducted in Kaziranga and Karbi Anglong, located in Assam, Northeast India – a floodplain ecosystem accommodating a diverse aggregate of large herbivores and containing intervening human-dominated space within the larger area. To mark presence or absence, scientists recorded signs, predominantly fresh dung, pellets, or tracks of different large herbivore species. Camera traps were used in tandem with surveys and were deployed across 18 locations in two wildlife corridors (Kanchanjuri and Panbari) within the study area. 

The study covered 152 sites during the dry season and 43 sites during the flood season, recording elephant, rhinoceros, water buffalo, sambar, hog deer, and muntjac signs. Species-specific detections within the two designated corridors varied substantially, with elephant and sambar detections ranking multiple orders of magnitude higher in the Kanchanjuri corridor compared to the Panbari corridor. In the Panbari corridor, hog deer detections were four times higher in comparison to the Kanchanjuri corridor.  

This study indicates that incremental and fluctuating climate change and increased magnitude and intensity of flood events can have significant consequences on floodplain ecosystems. Subsequently, terrestrial large herbivore assemblages must adapt quickly to these dynamic events, which is increasingly imperative to their survival when facing climate change effects. Along with environmental considerations, the study highlighted the ramifications of human-dominated areas in proximity to floodplain ecosystems, which impede animal movement and can restrict refuge migration during flooding events. Large herbivore space use and movement across seasons varied based on species and season across this dynamic floodplain ecosystem. However, future opportunities, challenges, and conservation efforts that enable herbivores to utilize space use and increase ease of movement should factor in the expected intensification of weather events and expanding human influence within these spaces. Informed conservation planning and collaborative climate change adaptation strategies are robust strategies to overcome these adversities, many of which large herbivores continue to face in a world influenced by human impact. 

 

You can access the original article here.

 

Keywords: space-use, wildlife movement, human use landscapes, human footprint, herbivores, floodplain landscape, climate change