The ecology and conservation significance of African leopards (Panthera pardus pardus) on Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, South Africa
Date
2024
Authors
Morris, Declan Robert
Editors
Advisors
McWhorter, Todd
Boardman, Wayne
Simpson, Greg (The University of Pretoria)
Boardman, Wayne
Simpson, Greg (The University of Pretoria)
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Thesis
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Abstract
The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is currently listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The species has lost much of its historical range across Africa and continues to display a declining trend in population indices. Loskop Dam Nature Reserve (LDNR) is a protected nature reserve located in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The LDNR leopard population appears relatively isolated, located at the westernmost fringe of the largest patch of suitable leopard habitat in South Africa. The reserve is located in a highly fragmented landscape and is completely surrounded by a high density of human enterprises such as livestock farms, citrus farms, game farms and villages/towns. This thesis aimed to determine the conservation significance of the LDNR leopard population in the highveld escarpment of the Mpumalanga province. I hypothesised that I would find a leopard population that was severely negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation and the associated increased risks of anthropogenic mortality. I first established the density of the leopard population on the reserve using Spatially Explicit Capture Recapture (SECR) methods. The estimated density of leopards was found to be 7.7 ± 2.0 adults per 100 km2. By comparing this figure with other studies, I determined that this was a moderate-high population density for leopards in South Africa. This finding highlights that seemingly isolated protected natural areas, even in highly fragmented landscapes, have the potential to harbour significant populations of leopards. Using a combination of microsatellites and mtDNA, I then explored the population genetics of leopards in Mpumalanga. I found that there was genetic structure occurring in the province, identifying two distinct leopard population units which were subsequently labelled as ‘East Mpumalanga’ and ‘West Mpumalanga’. Gene flow was calculated to occur at a higher degree (9.7%) from East Mpumalanga to West Mpumalanga than in the reverse direction (3.3%). I also found that the leopard populations in Mpumalanga contain the highest levels of recorded genetic diversity in South Africa. These results emphasise that, despite a highly fragmented landscape, gene flow is still occurring across the Mpumalanga province. Following on from these findings, I also explored the evolutionary genetic history of leopards in Africa with emphasis on how historical climate patterns may have driven the modern genetics of leopards in the Mpumalanga province and the wider Limpopo Basin region. I found that two maternal lineages (PAR-I and PAR-II) diverged approximately 0.7051 (0.4477 –0.9632) million years ago. This estimate overlaps with historical changes in paleoclimatethat promoted intense aridification around the Limpopo Basin between 1.0 – 0.6 million years ago, likely reducing gene flow and promoting genetic drift in the leopard population. This has high conservation significance for all leopards in South Africa as the country is the main stronghold of the PAR-II lineage, with higher levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversity compared to the rest of the continent. This is also highly significant for Mpumalanga leopard populations as the Limpopo Basin is the region where the two lineages are in secondary genetic contact. This has driven higher levels of genetic diversity in Mpumalanga and the discovery of new unique haplotypes in LDNR or Mpumalanga not observed elsewhere on the continent. In the last data chapter, I explored the spatial ecology of the leopards on LDNR and in the greater region by tracking eight individual adults with GPS collars. The main findings in this chapter were that most study animals left the reserve boundary and travelled large distances across private land, regularly coming into close contact with farms. Despite the risks of moving through farms, most of the leopards did not experience any issues or conflicts with humans during the study period. However, one male leopard died during the study period after getting caught in a snare. These results demonstrate that even though many leopards are moving regularly around the fragmented landscape, there is a risk of anthropogenic mortality. I also found that leopards had a larger home range in winter compared to summer, and that male leopards had a larger degree of home range overlap than previously observed in other studies. The results of this thesis provide both new baseline data, and highly targeted specific conservation data, that will help inform management authorities on how best to manage this population into the future. Overall, I determined that the LDNR leopard population is important for the conservation of the species as it provides a newly discovered stronghold for the species in South Africa. I made this conclusion based on the overall leopard population dynamics (high density, successful movements throughout the fragmented landscape and leopards persisting on unprotected land), combined with the presence of unique and high levels of genetic diversity that is still being exchanged to other regions. Despite these overwhelmingly positive discoveries, there were several findings that highlight the population is not free from substantial threats. Finally, I discuss targeted threat abatement recommendations to conserve this population in the long term.
School/Discipline
School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
Dissertation Note
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, 2024
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