Protecting and connecting landscapes stabilizes populations of the Endangered savannah elephant.

ABSTRACT: The influence of protected areas on the growth of African savannah elephant populations is inadequately known. Across southern Africa, elephant numbers grew at 0.16% annually for the past quarter century. Locally, much depends on metapopulation dynamics-the size and connections of individual populations. Population numbers in large, connected, and strictly protected areas typically increased, were less variable from year to year, and suffered less from poaching. Conversely, populations in buffer areas that are less protected but still connected have more variation in growth from year to year. Buffer areas also differed more in their growth rates, likely due to more threats and dispersal opportunities in the face of such dangers. Isolated populations showed consistently high growth due to a

SUBMITTER: Huang RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10776014 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature