Coexistence in an African pastoral landscape: Evidence that livestock and wildlife temporally partition water resources
Erin M. Connolly, James R. Allan, Peadar Brehony, Alice Aduda, Guy Western, Samantha Russell, Amy Dickman, Peter Tyrrell
Abstract
Abstract African rangelands support substantial wildlife populations alongside pastoralists and livestock. Recent wildlife declines are often attributed to competition with livestock over water and grazing, in part because livestock are thought to spatially displace wildlife. However, more evidence is needed to understand this interaction and inform rangeland management. Here, we analysed the temporal overlap between wildlife and livestock at water points in a community‐governed area of Kenya's South Rift Valley, which is a dry season refuge where Maasai pastoralists, livestock and wildlife co‐occur. We used camera traps to capture images at water points in two time periods: first, when nearby settlements were unoccupied, and second, as people and their herds moved into the area. We measured wildlife activity (independent detections per hour) and the difference in temporal overlap between livestock and wildlife. We found no evidence that daily wildlife activity declined despite increased human and livestock settlement. However, temporal partitioning between livestock and wildlife at watering points increased with wildlife using water resources more at night. Maasai corral livestock overnight to protect them from predation, allowing wildlife to persist in a livestock‐dominated landscape. Our study demonstrates humans and wildlife co‐adapting to mitigate competition for shared water resources, thereby facilitating spatial coexistence.