Kruger National Park

Scientific Services

8th Annual Savanna Science Network Meeting 2010 - Presentations

Monday 08 March 2010
Session: Welcome (Chair: Pienaar DJ)
08h00	Welcome	Kruger, JM
08h10	Opening Address	Magome H
Session: Implementing Adaptive Management
08h30	How well does research in the KNP support SANPARKS' management objectives hierarchy? An overview of all the Kruger Network meetings	Erasmus BFN
08h55	Ecosystem services: Reconciling biodiversity and financial objectives?	Ferreira SM, Hofmeyr M, Joubert J et al
09h10	Progress and lessons associated with adaptive management of Kruger National Park's river systems	McLoughlin CA
09h25	Does it really matter what upsteam users think? – a preliminary study of perspectives and beliefs of water resources management in the Crocodile Catchment	Du Toit DR, Biggs H, Pollard SR et al
09h40	Towards freshwater sustainability of the rivers of the Kruger National Park: How well are we doing?	Pollard SR, Du Toit DR, Mallory S et al
09h55	DISCUSSION
10h10	TEA
Session: Rivers & Wetlands (Chair: Biggs HC)
10h50	Crocodile deaths in the Kruger National Park	Dixon R, Bouwman H, Osthoff G et al
11h05	Preliminary findings of a fish health assessment in the Olifants and lower Letaba Rivers in the Kruger National Park following a crocodile mortality event	Huchzermeyer KDA, Govender D, Pienaar D et al
11h20	Biofuels, water and biodiversity management in the Olifants River system, South Africa: a review	Gyedu-Ababio T & Venter F
11h35	Poster: The current distribution of the Southern Barred Minnow, Opsaridium peringueyi (Pisces: Cyprinidae) in South Africa: Is there reason for concern?	Venter JA, Fouché PSO & Vlok W
11h40	Wetlands of Marakele National Park: Characterisation and Distribution	Grundling P, Price JS, Grundling AT et al
11h55	Poster: The South African National Wetland Classification System: Relevance to the wetlands in the Kruger National Park	Grundling AT, Price JS, Linstrom A et al
12h00	Spatial and temporal variation of reservoir siltation in selected ecozones of the Kruger National Park – Results of the 2008 reconnaissance survey	Baade J, Franz S & Reichel A
12h15	DISCUSSION
12h30	LUNCH
Session: Vertebrate Species Outcomes - autecology, monitoring and trends (Chair: Gaylard A)
14h00	Poster: Population estimates and trends of spotted hyenas in the Kruger National Park from 1984 to 2008	Funston PJ & Ferreira SM
14h05	Baseline results of the 5th Wild Dog and 3rd Cheetah Photographic Census of Greater Kruger National Park	Davies-Mostert HT, Burger M, Mills MGL et al
14h20	Poster: Aspect of the ecology of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana	Snyman A, Funston PJ & Steyn V
14h25	Poster: Modelling habitat selection of cheetahs in South Africa	Marnewick K, & Somers MJ
14h30	Poster: Fine scale resource selection in impala (Aepyceros melampus)	Botha J & Marshal JP
14h35	Feral Asian water buffalo in Kakadu National Park, Australia, the ecology and management of Australia's "new megafauna"	Bowman DMJS
14h50	TEA
15h20	Poster: Elephants in the Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe – moving towards an integrated management plan for the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA)	Van der Westhuizen E, Zizadsa P, Gandiwa E et al
15h25	Poster: DNA-Based identification of individual White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) from horn and other samples for forensic use	Harper CK, Peppin L, Ludwig A et al
15h30	Poster: Assessment, implementation and preliminary results of the implementation of patagial tagging on southern African Vultures	Botha AJ
15h35	How successfully are small vertebrates conserved?	Deacon AR
15h50	DISCUSSION
19h00	GALA DINNER: Skukuza Golf Club: Registered delegates only
Tuesday 09 March 2010
Session: Landscape-level drivers & mechanisms (Chair: McLoughlin CA)
08h00	Mineral controls on organic carbon turnover in sub-humid African savannas	Khomo L, Trumbore S, Chadwick O et al
08h15	Poster: Catenal Elements in the Southern Granites and Basalts of Kruger national Park	Cullum CJ & Rogers KH
08h20	Climate and weathering as modifiers of catena morphology	Chadwick O, Khomo L, Levick S et al
08h35	Self organization in Shingwedzi vegetation, theory vs reality	Barichievy C & Rogers KH
08h50	A comparison of soil water dynamics across selected geologies, vegetation zones, and climate zones in the Kruger National Park	Lorentz SA, Riddell ES, Ngcobo NB et al
09h05	Wetland hydrology in the lowveld – lessons from the Sand River headwaters	Riddell ES & Lorentz SA
09h20	Towards understanding impacts of water supplementation in a heterogeneous landscape	Farmer H, Witkowski Ed & Peel M
09h35	Climatic, Topo-edaphic, Fire, and Herbivore Controls on Woody Plant Carbon Storage at the Landscape Scale in Kruger National Park	Colgan MS, Asner GP & Levick SR
09h50	Poster: Spatial and temporal variability of carbon fluxes in African ecosystems – a CarboAfrica synthesis study	Kutsch WL, Merbold L, and Scholes RJ
09h55	DISCUSSION
10h15	TEA
Session: Landscape-level drivers & mechanisms (Chair: Scheepers K)
10h50	Poster: Ecological niche factor analysis for modelling distribution of cattle and buffalo at the wildlife–livestock interface of the Kruger National Park	Van Schalkwyk OL, De Pus C, De Clercq EM et al
10h55	Poster: Rainfall, Primary Production and Cattle density relationships in South East Lowveld of Zimbabwe	Poshiwa X, Heitkönig IMA ,Murwira A et al
11h00	Endemic anthrax in the herbivores of Etosha National Park: a disease and movement ecology perspective focusing on zebra, elephants, and scavengers	Getz WM, Bellan S, Brashares J et al
Session: Human Interface - people park relationships (Chair: Scheepers K)
11h15	Poster: Key perceptions and needs of communal livestock farmers in the Bushbuckridge district adjacent to the Greater Kruger National Park, RSA	Van Rooyen J, Vandamme E, Madder M et al
11h20	Poster: Choice modeling of tourist preferences and willingness to pay for ecotourism in rural communities around Kruger National Park	Chaminuka P, Selomane AO , Groeneveld R et al
11h25	Poster: Exploring large scale spatial arrangements of land uses for the sustainable management of wildlife through protected area: A bio-economical model of the Hwange elephant population	Guerbois C, Doyen L & Fritz H
11h30	DISCUSSION
11h50	LUNCH
Session: Mapping and tracking vegetation change (Chair: Smit IPJ)
13h30	Poster: Mapping sodic sites in the Kruger National Park, using object-based image classification techniques on multispectral data - the results	Kleyn L, Erasmus BFN & Smit IPJ
13h35	Poster: Mapping of Bush encroaching species at canopy level using CAO Intergrated Hyperspectral & LiDAR Data	Naidoo L, Mathieu R, Cho M et al
13h40	Poster: SAR-monitoring concept and estimation of woody cover by means of the SIR-C/X-SAR Kruger National Park data set	Vollrath A, Smit I, Lück W et al
13h45	Poster: Woody cover elements and attributes using satellite imagery, colour aerial photography derived surface models and object-based classification	Lück W & Kleyn L
13h50	Calculating tree wood and leaf biomass in savannas	Kirton A, Scholes RJ & Archibald S
14h05	Poster: Spatial estimation of herbaceous biomass using remote sensing in a southern African savanna	Dwyer PC, Erasmus BFN, Witkowski ETF et al
14h10	DISCUSSION
14h35	TEA
Landuse: a driver & its outcomes (Chair: Smit IPJ)
15h20	A spatially explicit analysis of the impact of rural resource extraction on vegetation structure	Fisher JT, Erasmus BFN, Witkowski ETF et al
15h35	Poster: Spatial and temporal changes in vegetation cover in and around Gonarezhou National Park, South-East lowveld of Zimbabwe	Zisadza P, Murungweni C, Murwira A et al
15h40	Poster: Impact of land use on tree canopy height distributions: comparison of CAO Lidar data for Kruger NP, SabiSand and communal areas	Wessels KJ, Mathieu R , Asner GP et al
15h45	DISCUSSION
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Session: Fire & herbivory drivers & mechanisms (Chair: Govender N)
08h00	Causes and consequences of a ‘fire storm’ in a forest-savanna mosaic	Bond W, Browne C, & Midgley J
08h15	Convergence and contingencies in North American and South African savanna grassland responses to fire and grazing	Smith MD, Knapp AK, Collins SL et al
08h30	Savannna woody plant trait responses to disturbance (browsing and fire) along a rainfall and nutrient gradient	Wigley BJ, Fritz H & Bond WJ
08h45	Investigating the vulnerability of marula stems to fire and bark stripping	Helm CV
09h00	Effects of landscape location, elephants and fire on large tree mortality in the Kruger National Park: a multimodel information theoretic approach	Vanak AT, Shannon G, Page B et al
09h15	Fire frequency, vegetation structure, and sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) habitat use in the Pretoriuskop region	Loarie SR, Le Roux E, Levick S et al
09h30	Effects of fire frequency on herbivory and herbivore behavior	Chamane S, Kirkman KP, Smith MD et a
09h45	TEA
10h15	Poster: A spatial model of elephant, vegetation and fire dynamics for scenario-based adaptive management simulations	Kiker GA
10h20	Dynamics of grazing lawn formation in African savanna grasslands	Cromsigt JPGM
10h35	Different assembly processes form grasshopper and grass communities in bunch and lawn grasslands in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park	Van der Plas F, Anderson TM & Olff H
10h50	The spatial extent of termite influences on large herbivore browsing in African savanna	Levick SR & Asner GP
11h05	Litter removal by termites is affected by environmental variables and grazing	Buitenwerf R, Stevens N, Gosling C et al
11h20	DISCUSSION
Session: Plant Species Outcomes - autecology, monitoring and trends (Chair: Bezuidenhout H)
11h30	Re-analysis of past woody vegetation monitoring efforts to estimate historic woody vegetation cover and populations in the Kruger National Park	Kiker GA
11h45	Poster: The Death of a Giant: On the age of Baobabs	Woodborne S, Hall G, Basson S et al
11h50	Native trees in Southern Africa increasingly threatened by decline and death	Roux J, van der Merwe S, Malan R et al
12h05	Population biology and ecology of the critically endangered succulent Adenium Swazicum	Van der Walt K
12h20	Do soil biota enhance invasiveness of Chromolaena odorata in South African savannas?	te Beest M, Stevens N, Olff H et al
12h35	DISCUSSION
12h45	LUNCH
AFTERNOON FREE
Thursday 11 March 2010
Session: Elephants as driver & responder (Chair: Ferreira SM)
07h30	Two decades of elephant individual tracking: what have we learnt and is it useful in the context of the 'elephant debate'?	Chamaillé-Jammes S
07h45	Can we REALLY learn anything more about elephant impacts?	Gaylard A, Rogers KH & Owen-Smith N
08h00	Poster: How many elephants can the KNP support? A modeling study	Scheiter S & Higgins SI
08h05	The spatial dynamics of riparian woodland change caused by elephants in northern Botswana	Teren G, Owen-Smith N & Erasmus BF
08h20	Culling & water provision affects river-bound spatial dynamics of elephants	Smit IPJ. & Ferreira SM
08h35	What limits elephants? Some thoughts emerging from modelling the dynamics of the Venetia population	Page BR & O’Connor TG
08h50	Shifting mosaics in savanna vegetation mediated by overlapping home ranges of a large and a small browser	Duffy KJ & Page BR
09h05	Different sized herbivores determine woody species structure and species assemblages	Lagendijk G, Page BR & Slotow R
09h20	Poster: Foraging strategy within African elephant family units: why body size matters	Woolley LA, Page BR & Slotow R
09h25	The seasonal and circadian rhythms of terrain-use by African Elephants	De Knegt H, Van Langevelde F, Van Wieren S et al
09h40	DISCUSSION
09h50	TEA
Session: Human Interface - resource use & livelihoods (Chair: Swemmer L)
10h20	Is a firewood crisis looming in Bushbuckridge? Revisiting and re-evaluating the dire predictions of Banks et al (1996)	Matsika R, Twine W & Erasmus BFN
10h35	Could fuelwood harvesting on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park be sustainable?	Swemmer AM
10h50	Poster: An enthnobotanical survey of wild plant use in the southern Kalahari, South Africa	Mannetti L
10h55	Towards a strategy for prioritizing resource use projects in SANParks	Scheepers K
11h10	Understanding bio-physical, socio-economic and cultural-spiritual vulnerability in the context of livelihoods and biodiversity: experiences from the LiveDiverse project in the Greater Kruger, Vietnam, India and Costa Rica	Gooch GD
11h25	Poster: Sustainability in Communal Socio-Ecological Systems (SUCSES): Establishing a linked rural livelihoods and environment monitoring system in the lowveld	Twine W, Hunter LM, Collinson M et al
11h30	Linking conservation with agriculture –fruit crop productivity of NE South Africa depends on savanna’s biodiversity	Carvalheiro LG, Seymour C, Veldtman R et al
10h45	DISCUSSION
Session: Species outcomes - understanding drivers & their mechanisms (Chair: Grant CC)
12h05	Comparative water dependency of Sable antelope and Zebra in Kruger National Park	Cain JW, Owen-Smith N, & Macandza VA
12h20	Disappearance of sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) from the Pretoriuskop region: a consequence of diminished nutrient availability or enhanced risk of predation?	Le Roux E, Loarie ,S Levick S et al
12h35	LUNCH
14h00	Disappearing sable antelope: what have we learnt?	Owen-Smith N, Macandza V, Chirima J et al
14h15	What is influencing patchy space-use by wildebeests in central-western Kruger?	Yoganand K & Owen-Smith N
14h30	Poster: African ungulates and their drinking problems: how sport hunting, in addition of natural predation, constrains the temporal use of surface-water by ungulates in African savannas	Crosmary W, Madzikanda H, Côté SD et al
14h35	Fangs or food: explaining herbivore distributions from predation risk and habitat selection	Thaker M, Vanak AT, Ogden M et al
14h50	TEA
15h20	In search of physiological and behavioural mechanisms of South African ungulates to cope with changing climate	Shrestha AK, Van Wieren SE, BieS et al
15h35	Gnus, gerbils and nitrogen-cycle feedbacks – a paired 15N tracer study	Drake DC
15h50	Poster: Plant diversity turn-over along disturbance gradients within the Nkhuhlu exclosures, Kruger National Park	Kloppers P, Siebert F & Siebert S
15h55	Woody vegetation change at the Nkuhlu herbivore exclusion experiment: 2002-2007	Scogings PF, Hjältén J & Johansson T
16h10	DISCUSSION
Friday 12 March 2010
Session: Abiotic drivers and modulators of vegetation outcomes (Chair: Freitag-Ronaldson S)
07h30	Production ecology of the Greater Kruger Park system	Scholes RJ, Hanan N, Kutsch WL et al
07h45	Long-term temporal deposition of biogeochemically important trace species at Skukuza	Kleynhans EH, Pienaar JJ, Beukes JP et al
08h00	Poster: Variability of vegetation productivity across different land use types in the greater Kruger park region	Cho MA, Mathieu R, Erasmus BFN et al
08h05	Important metrics for savanna productivity	Sinden L, Scholes RJ, Archibald S et al
08h20	Tree stress in the pre-rain period – initial analysis of the costs of early-greening	Archibald S, Kirton A, Woodborne S et al
08h35	The optimal growing season length in savannas	Higgins SI, Prior L & Hutley LB
08h50	Poster: Landscape and leaf-level phenological patterns of grasses and trees in an African savanna	Delgado-Cartay MD, Combrick H J, Higgins SI et al
08h55	Experimental manipulation of cues for leaf-phenological events in a savanna system	Combrink HJ, Higgins S and February EC
09h10	N resorption and tree persistence in a grassy matrix	February EC, Williams S, Combrink H and Higgins S
09h25	Poster: Spatio-temporal variation of phenology and rainfall in Kruger National Park, South Africa: consequences for predicting climate change influence on biodiversity	Parrini F & Erasmus BFN
09h30	Poster: A depth-controlled tracer technique measures vertical, horizontal and temporal patterns of water use by plants in a sub-tropical savanna	Kulmatiski A, Verweij RJT, Beard KH, February EC & Mazzacavallo M
09h35	Poster: Comparison of Colophospermum mopane landscape distribution patterns at range edges and non-range edges	Stevens N, & Swemmer AM
09h40	Poster: Is spring the new summer? Using citizen science to find out	Thompson D
09h45	Poster: Adapting to climate change in a diverse landscape: the Kruger-Canyons Biosphere Reserve	Davis C, Stevens N, Archer E et al
09h50	Water, nutrients and productivity partitioning: an isotopic approach	Woodborne S, Hall G & Scholes RJ
10h05	Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques for grass nutrient estimations in savannah ecosystems	Ramoelo A, Cho M, Mathieu R et al
10h20	Poster: Assessing post-flood vegetation change along a section of the Sabie River, Kruger National Park	Ayres P, Siebert F & Siebert S
10h25	DISCUSSION
10h35	Wrap up	Palmer T
10h50	Thanks and meeting closure	Pienaar DJ

Kruger National Park

Scientific Services

8th Annual Savanna Science Network Meeting 2010 - Presentations

Monday 08 March 2010

Session: Welcome (Chair: Pienaar DJ)

Session: Implementing Adaptive Management

Session: Rivers & Wetlands (Chair: Biggs HC)

Session: Vertebrate Species Outcomes - autecology, monitoring and trends (Chair: Gaylard A)

Tuesday 09 March 2010

Session: Landscape-level drivers & mechanisms (Chair: McLoughlin CA)

Session: Landscape-level drivers & mechanisms (Chair: Scheepers K)

Session: Human Interface - people park relationships (Chair: Scheepers K)

Session: Mapping and tracking vegetation change (Chair: Smit IPJ)

Landuse: a driver & its outcomes (Chair: Smit IPJ)

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Session: Fire & herbivory drivers & mechanisms (Chair: Govender N)

Session: Plant Species Outcomes - autecology, monitoring and trends (Chair: Bezuidenhout H)

AFTERNOON FREE

Thursday 11 March 2010

Session: Elephants as driver & responder (Chair: Ferreira SM)

Session: Human Interface - resource use & livelihoods (Chair: Swemmer L)

Session: Species outcomes - understanding drivers & their mechanisms (Chair: Grant CC)

Friday 12 March 2010

Session: Abiotic drivers and modulators of vegetation outcomes (Chair: Freitag-Ronaldson S)

Thanks and meeting closure

Pienaar DJ