Home 
Network News Network News Termites, white rhinos crucial in promoting biodiversity
Network News Network News Termites, white rhinos crucial in promoting biodiversity
|
Termites, white rhinos crucial in promoting biodiversity |
|
Both creatures provide an important service in managing grasslands White rhinos and termites provide an equally important service when it comes to sustaining and promoting biodiversity in South Africa's national reserves, according to scientists. Delegates at the 6th Annual Science Network meeting in the Kruger National Park were told last week that both creatures, although massively different in size, were crucial to managing grasslands. "White rhinos are basically huge lawnmowers that create open areas, but leave some areas of tall grass undisturbed. This patchiness is essential for biodiversity," explained Dr Richard Fynn from the University of KwaZulu Natal, who is doing research in the Kruger Park. Cleo Gosling, a PhD student from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who is currently working in the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park in KwaZulu Natal, found similar results regarding white rhino grazing habits. She said termites encouraged biodiversity in similar ways to white rhinos by keeping the grass short and removing dead plant material to create space for regrowth of new plants that will attract more grazers. "Without termites we would be neck-deep in dead plant matter," Gosling said. She said another reason why rhinos promoted biodiversity was that their dung added fertiliser to the environment and attracts a wide variety of birds and insects. "Birds and insects come to pick through the dung for seeds, while dung beetles help to spread the fertilising effect." Meanwhile, Fynn said it would make sense to introduce more white rhinos to the central plains of the Kruger Park where the tall grass was limiting biodiversity and decreasing the number of blue wildebeest in the area. "White rhinos will allow blue wildebeest numbers to increase, because blue wildebeest prefer to graze on short grass and also use open areas as a way to detect predators. "Some need a place to hide, while others prefer open spaces where they can see predators," he explained. There are about 200 ongoing scientific research projects in the Kruger Park alone, and the meeting provided a forum to discuss the most up-to-date scientific knowledge to better manage national parks. - African Eye News Service http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4379442 |
