The ecology of large herbivores in the Miambo woodlands South East Tanzania

Abstract

The studies described in his thesis arose from an ecological survey of part of the castern side of the Selous Game Reserve in south east Tanzania from 1967 to 1975. The intensive study area contained two major, ecologically distinct habitats, an area of tall grass miombo woodland and a smaller area of short grass scattered tree grassland. Several species of large grazing ungulate utilise the50 habitats, namely: buffalo, hartebeest, impala, sable, warthog, wildbeasts and zebra. Seasonal changes in the environment such as the six month drought and widespread annual fires affect the pnttern of habitat utilisation exhibited by each species. This thesis examines such utilisation and shows that each species has developed its own ecological and feeding strategies in order t'o maximisee nutrient inputs and reproductive suceess in what 'is seasonally a harshenvironment. In many ways the miombo (Brachystegia) woodlands remain the least studied of the East African habitats. This lack of data on the miombo in general and the Seloua Game Reserve in particular means much of the thesis is taken up by descriptions of the physical and biotic environment of th study area.