Buffalo Research

The Okavango Delta is a unique but fragile ecosystem; it is one of the world's largest inland deltas, a RAMSAR site, and plays a significant role in Botswana's economy through tourism. African buffalo are a keystone species that influence many aspects of this ecosystem. Despite their considerable importance in shaping the ecosystem, there is little information on the delta's buffalo population. The key aim of this project is to determine the role and resource requirements of buffalo in this ecosystem, and use this information to develop a conservation strategy for the delta and its unique herbivore assemblages.

Project Needs
The Okavango Delta is an extremely complex ecosystem with a high level of biodiversity. This level of species richness is sustained by the unusual hydrological regime seen in the Delta. In December – March, rains fall in the region. In April – August, rains that fell in Angola swell the Okavango River to the point that the Delta floods. The direction and extent of these floods varies from year to year, depending on a variety of factors, including movements of hippopotami and tectonic shifts.

The two annual influxes of water into the system create a complex mosaic of habitat patches, able to sustain a large variety of animal species in large numbers. There are plans in place in Angola and Namibia to divert water from the Okavango River before it reaches the Delta. These plans, combined with the unpredictable effect of climate change, could have a severe impact on the Delta ecosystem.

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) are one of the most numerous species in the Delta. They are large animals, weighing up to 750 kg, and can form herds reaching into the thousands. They are highly water dependent, needing to drink every day, and require large amounts of forage. Very little research has been carried out on the ecology of buffalo in the Okavango Delta, yet they are one of the most important species in the ecosystem.

This project aims to quantify the resource requirements of the buffalo and to establish a baseline study of the demographics of the buffalo population. Monitoring the health of the buffalo population in the future will then provide an indication of the health of the Delta ecosystem as a whole. African buffalo in the Okavango Delta could therefore be used as an umbrella species – ensuring their continued survival will help to protect the ecosystem as a whole.

Objectives
•    To monitor changes in population demographics in terms of herd size, ratio of males to females and ratio of adults to juveniles. These data will be used to determine the health of the population
•    To quantify resource requirements, in terms of plant species consumed and habitat types used and how these change with seasons. Body condition of individuals will be monitored to determine whether the population is limited by resources at any given time of year
•    To describe movement patterns of the herds at different scales (within habitat patches, between habitat patches and between wet and dry season home ranges)
•    To develop a model to predict when long distance seasonal movements will take place, including factors such as forage quality, water availability and temperature