Relationship between road dust and ungulate density in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
2008
Ndibalema, Vedasto G. | Mduma, Simon | Stokke, Sigbjørn | Røskaft, Eivin
We measured the responses of ungulate grazers to roads by recording the density of dust on grasses and compared distance sampling of ungulates in Serengeti National Park (SNP), Tanzania. Data were collected on the east and west side of the Ngorongoro-Seronera main gravel road to test if road traffic and dust were important factors determining distribution patterns amongst grazers. Results indicate that dust increased progressively with traffic speed and volume during dry season. More dust was intercepted on the west than on the east side of the road mainly because of wind effects. Dust deposition (measured as density g grass g⁻¹ dust) was higher on short grasses than on long grasses during the dry and late-dry seasons than during the wet season, when paired perpendicular distances up to 300 m were compared. Mean number of observed grazer species indicated that most fed further from the west side of the road than from the east perhaps to minimize higher density of dust commonly spread on foliage up to 200 m away from the road. Despite that most grazers avoided road side grass shoulders, supporting the 'dust aversion hypothesis', the test predictions from the 'road disturbance' and the 'road attraction' hypotheses did not support the responsive behaviours of grazers toward roads.
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