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Kruger National Park

Scientific Services

4th Annual Kruger Network Meeting 2006

 

Presentations 14-17th March 2006:

 

DAY 2 - 14th March 2006

Session: Introduction and welcome (Chair: D. Balfour)
08h00 Welcome D. Balfour
08h05 Opening address by head of Kruger National Park. B. Mkhize
08h25 The future of the tree-grass ratio in lowveld savanna. R. Scholes
08h55 Discussion.  

Session: Long-term data (Chair: D. Balfour)
09h00 SAEON Ndlovu Node: a year down the road. D. Balfour
09h30 Thresholds of potential concern as benchmarks in the management of African savannas. K. Duffin
09h40 Do we know enough about the ecological role of large trees to allow them to fluctuate at levels as
implied by some scientists?		 H. Eckhardt
09h50 Discussion.  
10h00 TEA  

Session: Long-term data (continued) (Chair: Johan Pauw)
10h30 Spatial dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystem function in a South African savanna: a structural equation modeling approach. S. Andleman
10h40 Using long-term ecological data in Kruger Park: does competition between trees limit maximum woody biomass? W. Sea
10h50 A phytosociological study in the Kruger National Park, south of the Sabie River. L. Mostert
11h00 Discussion.  
11h10 Evaluating large mammal monitoring methods at different scales: implications for diversity indicators J. Cromsigcht
11h25 History and results of aerial line transect surveys using distance sampling in the Kruger National Park: 1998 – 2005. I. Whyte
11h35 “SynBioSys Kruger”: Storing and managing the KNP’s wealth of data as an integrated unit T. Mostert
11h45 Discussion.  
11h55 Biomaterial banking for use in conservation and wildlife management. J. Joubert
12h05 Serum phytosterols and lipids of selected South African fauna. F. O’Neill
12h20 Discussion.  
12h30 LUNCH  

Session: Data management (Chair: Judith Kruger)
14h00 Approaches for automating data management, analysis, and modeling M. Jones
14h30 Discussion  
14h35 Thresholds of Potential Concern (TPC’s): What are they and how the system works to test exceedance. J. Kruger
14h45 Using Kepler scientific workflows to automate thresholds of potential concern (TPC) modeling M. Schildhauer
15h05 The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS): Promoting Cross-disciplinary Collaboration and the Reuse of Data. J. Reichman
15h15 Discussion  
15h25 TEA  

Session: Mammalian studies (Chair: Ian Whyte)
15h45 The re-introduction of Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) to Table Mountain National Park. D. Zimmerman
15h55 Highlights from 20 years of research on large carnivores in Kruger National Park. G. Mills
16h15 New methods to determine the diet and movement patterns of lions. C. Tambling
16h25 Discussion  
16h30 Current thinking regarding the distribution and impact of bovine tuberculosis on buffalo populations. P. Buss
16h40 Discussion  
16h50 END OF DAY TWO  
18h30 Andrew Mellon Foundation sponsored conference dinner  

DAY 3 - 15th March 2006

Session: Future implications of landscape associations (Chair: Louise Rademan)
08h00 Wet or dry years? When do trees escape? W. Bond
08h25 Using stable water isotopes to determine the depth of water used by different sizes of savanna trees. E. February
08h40 Exploring the role of water and nutrients in determining savanna structure and function. R. Verweij
08h55 Discussion  
09h05 Fire and nitrogen – what really matters? C. Coetzee
09h15 Hillslope chromatography: Why clay accumulates where it does and its implications for natural resource management. T. Hartshorn
09h25 Using terrain morphology and geochemical/mineralogical provenance to trace the origin of sodic patches in the northern KNP. L. Khomo
09h35 A Geographic Framework for Identifying Hydrological and Biogeochemical Patchiness
in Catenary Landscapes		 O. Chadwick
09h45 Discussion  
10h00 TEA  

Session: Future implications of nutrient - landscape associations (Chair: Shaun Levick)
10h30 Plant tissue nutrient status across complex riparian habitats in the Shingwedzi drainage. M. Cadenasso
10h45 Soil carbon and nitrogen contents across contrasting riparian and upland sites in the Shingwedzi drainage. E. Cook
10h55 Relationship between grass quality, productivity and utilization on sodic sites and crests. G. Alard
11h05 Changes in plant available nitrogen with changes in available water in a mesic savanna. T. Keretetse
11h15 Discussion  
11h30 Landscape Patterns in Plant and Soil Micro- and Macro-Nutrient Distributions in the Kruger National
Park: Implications for Management		 J. Ratnam
11h45 Nitrogen and phosphorous relationships with productivity, fire and herbivory in savannas: insights from a simple model. M. Sankaran
12h00 Discussion  
12h10 LUNCH  

Session: Landscape function: how will our understanding shape future decisions? (Chair: Hugo Bezuidenhoudt)
14h00 The Savanna Convergence Experiment. A. Knapp
14h10 Linking patterns of vegetation change with underlying processes in northern Kruger. S. Levick
14h25 Does browsing limit tree recruitment? Results and implications of a long-term experiment in Hluhluwe iMfolozi GR. C. Staver
14h35 Short-term growth responses of common grass species to soil moisture and defoliation in the Kruger National Park. A. Swemmer
14h50 Continental- to Landscape-Scale Analyses of Tree Cover in African Savannas. G. Bucinni
14h50 Discussion  
15h00 TEA  

Session: Using fire as a management tool in the future (Chair: Sue van Rensburg)
15h20 Results from the experimental burn plots M Smith
15h30 Practical ways of incorporating variation in fire intensity into fire management of African savannas. N. Govender
15h45 Forest colonization in savannas: A synthesis of fire- plant interaction in savannas. V. Khavhagali
15h55 Clustering of savanna trees as a function of fire and competition T. Groen
16h05 Fire experiments in Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park M. Waldram
16h15 Discussion  
16h30 END OF DAY THREE  

DAY 4: 16th March 2006

Parallel Session 1: Goldfields Auditorium

Session: How herbivores shape the future: the role of elephant (Chair: Mike Peel)
08h00 Elephant impact on vegetation and habitats: are there indirect consequences for other ungulate species? H. Fritz
08h30 Ecological guidelines for managing elephants. N. Owen-Smith
08h45 A framework for understanding elephant effects on biodiversity. R. Grant
09h00 Modeling the consequences of elephant damage on marula trees, KNP. F. Mabuduga
09h10 Discussion  
09h20 Effects of rainfall, predation and age structure on the population dynamics of African Buffalo P. Cross
09h30 Study Abroad programmes: their contribution towards monitoring of elephant utilization. L. Kruger
09h40 Community structure and temporal dynamics of large herbivores in Mkhuze Game Reserve B. Nxele
09h50 Discussion  
10h00 TEA  

Session: How herbivores could shape the future in decision making (Chair: Rina Grant)
10h25 Thresholds, Order-of –magnitude and sustainability in African savannas. M. Peel
10h40 Do artificial waterholes change the way herbivores use the landscape? I. Smit
10h55 Ecological determinants of birth timing in African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer). S. Ryan
11h05 Buffalo of KNP and HUP: a comparative study. B. Greyling
11h15 Discussion  
11h25 Habitat dependency and nutritional ecology of sable antelope. J. Chirima
11h35 The influence of fire on the nutritional ecology of sable antelope in the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve,
North-West Province		 F. Parrini
11h45 The effects of nutrients and habitat structure on reproduction and calf survival of roan antelope in different geographical areas in South Africa. J. Van Rooyen
11h55 Discussion  
12h10 LUNCH  

Session: Our water- our future (Chair: Christine Colvin)
14h00 Drying of the Luvuvhu River: examining the roles of land cover change and water extraction with GIS-based hydrologic modeling and remote sensing. T. Gyedu-Ababio
14h10 Changes in vegetation structure along the Sabie River 1990—2004, and predictions for the future. K. Kotschy
14h20 Multi-scaled heterogeneity of a riparian patch mosaics in the Sabie River landscape. M. Parsons
14h30 Ground water patterns in northern KNP C. Colvin
14h45 KNP lion population assessment: How many lions are there in the North? P. Funston
14h50 Introduction of Giraffe outside there historical range alters the distribution of Acacia species. C. Khumalo
14h55 The influence of catena soil water dynamics on the vegetation patch structure on the northern plains. S. Lorentz
15h05 Discussion  
15h15 TEA  

Session: Biodiversity – our future (Chair: Navashni Govender)
15h40 Biodiversity monitoring in Kruger National Park: How reliable are habitat surrogates? A. Andersen
15h55 Testing the concept of using potential habitat aspects as a surrogate for the occurrence of small vertebrate fauna (birds) in the KNP. A. Deacon
16h05 A study of rodent and shrew diversity and abundance in and outside the Nwashitsumbe enclosure site in the Kruger National Park. D. MacFadyen
16h15 The effect of anthropogenic activities to ant composition and the distribution of Lepisiota incise in KNP and its interaction with other ants H. Sithole
16h25 Analysis of environmental impacts of off-road driving and other concessionaire activities. G. Nortje
16h35 Discussion  
16h45 END OF DAY FOUR  

Parallel Session 2: Community hall

Session: Invasion biology (Chair: Thembi Khoza)
08h00 Integrated Control of water hyacinth in KNP. R. Brudvig
08h10 Beyond filling the gaps: advancing the science of invasion ecology using a new conceptual framework. L. Foxcroft
08h20 The effect of competition from the native vegetation on the invasion of C. odorata in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi
Park, South Africa.		 M. te Beest
08h30 Interference potential of Parthenium hysterophorus with indigenous grass species. M. van de Laan
08h40 Discussion  
08h50 A new Ceratocystis species from wounds made by elephants on trees in the Kruger National Park. N. Kamgan
09h00 Population structure and insect associations of the fungal pathogen Ceratocystis albifundus in South Africa. R. Heath
09h10 “Snow” in Kruger Park revisited – on the ecological significance of fungal plant parasites. W. Maier
09h20 Discussion  
10h00 TEA  

DAY 5: 17th March 2006

Session: Socio-ecology (Chair: Kevin Moore)
08h00 Understanding social-ecological systems S. Pollard
08h30 Toursim in Greater Limpopo Transfrontier conservation area A. Spenceley
08h45 HIV/AIDS mortality and household reliance on natural resources in Bushbuckridge. W. Twine
09h00 Discussion  
09h10 The insitutions and impacts of community-based avitourism in South Africa. D. Biggs
09h25 Conflicting human interests over the re-introduction of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). M. Gusset
09h40 People and Conservation into the future. H. Mmethe
09h50 Cultural Heritage in Kruger – what are we up to? T Madzhuta
10h00 Discussion  
10h10 TEA  
10h35 Use and value of landscapes, flora and fauna by Tsonga communities in the rural areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa. P. Brandon
10h45 Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park P. Theron
11h00 Research potential in the Transfrontier Park F. Mutepfa
11h15 Discussion  
11h30 Concluding remarks Herbert Prins
12h00 END OF CONFERENCE  






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