caa a22 4500 606164731 CHVBK 20210128100650.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150701xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10144-015-0499-9 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10144-015-0499-9 Food supply and poaching limit giraffe abundance in the Serengeti [Elektronische Daten] [M. Strauss, M. Kilewo, D. Rentsch, C. Packer] The iconic giraffe, an ecologically important browser, has shown a substantial decline in numbers across Africa since the 1990s. In Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, giraffes reached densities of 1.5-2.6individualskm−2 in the 1970s coincident with a pulse of Acacia tree recruitment. However, despite continued increases in woody cover between the 1980s and the 2000s, giraffe recruitment and survival rates have declined and density has dropped to only 0.3-0.4giraffeskm−2. We used a decision table to investigate how four extrinsic factors may have contributed to these declines: food supply, predation, parasites, and poaching, which have all been previously shown to limit Serengeti ungulate populations. Lower recruitment likely resulted from a reduction in diet quality, owing to the replacement of preferred trees with unpalatable species, while decreased adult survival resulted from illegal harvesting, which appears to have had a greater impact on giraffe populations bordering the western and northern Serengeti. The Serengeti giraffe population will likely persist at low-to-moderate densities until palatable tree species regain their former abundance. Leslie matrix models suggest that park managers should meanwhile redouble their efforts to reduce poaching, thereby improving adult survival. The Society of Population Ecology and Springer Japan, 2015 Consumer-resource feedback nationallicence East Africa nationallicence Illegal harvesting nationallicence Population decline nationallicence Population dynamics nationallicence Ungulate nationallicence Strauss M. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Bldg, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, 55108, Saint Paul, MN, USA aut Kilewo M. Tanzania National Parks, Ecology Department (Veterinary Unit), P.O. Box 3134, Arusha, Tanzania aut Rentsch D. Frankfurt Zoological Society, Serengeti Community Outreach Office, Fort Ikoma, Serengeti, Tanzania aut Packer C. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Bldg, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, 55108, Saint Paul, MN, USA aut Population Ecology Springer Japan 57/3(2015-07-01), 505-516 1438-3896 57:3<505 2015 57 10144 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-015-0499-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-015-0499-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Strauss M. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Bldg, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, 55108, Saint Paul, MN, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kilewo M. Tanzania National Parks, Ecology Department (Veterinary Unit), P.O. Box 3134, Arusha, Tanzania aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Rentsch D. Frankfurt Zoological Society, Serengeti Community Outreach Office, Fort Ikoma, Serengeti, Tanzania aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Packer C. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Bldg, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, 55108, Saint Paul, MN, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Population Ecology Springer Japan 57/3(2015-07-01), 505-516 1438-3896 57:3<505 2015 57 10144