Skip to content

Kruger National Park

Scientific Services

5th Annual Kruger Network Meeting 2007 - Program

DAY 1 - 16th April 2007

Session: Welcome (Chair: Danie Pienaar)
08h00 Welcome Kruger, JM
08h05 Opening Address Mkhize, B

Session: Learning by Doing (Chair: Danie Pienaar)
08h20 Learning by doing: How are we doing? Roux, D
08h50 Systems Ecology Quo Vadis? Grant, R
09h05 Challenges in developing thresholds of potential concern (TPCs) for natural resource use in Kruger National Park. Scheepers, K.J
09h20 The challenges and achievements of Science Support in the Kruger National Park. Kruger, JM
09h35 Restoration and rehabilitation in SANParks: Opportunities and Constraints. Sigwela, A
09h50 Discussion
10h00 TEA

Session: Heterogeneity Created by Herbivores(Chair: Holger Eckhardt)
10h45 The utilisation of large trees by elephant. Shannon, G
11h00 Co-existence of elephants and trees in systems with abundant and rare species Duffy, K. Page, B & Slotow, R
11h15 The role of elephants in enhancement of species richness (Proposal). Kohi, E.M, de Boer, F. Grant, R & Prins, H
11h30 The influence of herbivory on grassland community composition and diversity in the Kruger National Park: disentangling the roles of herbivore size and habitat fertility. Fynn, R.W.S,
Burkepile, D.E,
Knapp, A.K, Smith, M.D & Govender, N
11h45 Elephant impact on woody vegetation along the Chobe riverfront, Botswana. Skarpe, C, Makhabu, S,
Hytteborn, H &
Aarrestad, P.A
12h00 Habitat-contingent promotion of competitive dominance in African savannas. Parr, K
12h15 A comparative study of rodent and shrew diversity and abundance in and outside the N’washitshumbe enclosure site in Kruger National Park. MacFadyen, D,
van der Merwe, M & Bredenkamp, G
12h30 LUNCH

Session: Remote Sensing Applications and how they can be used for Monitoring (Chair: Izak Smith)
14h00 Regional studies of 3-D vegetation structure, composition, and physiology using the Carnegie Airborne Observatory. Asner, G
14h20 Developing a remote sensing monitoring framework for the Kruger National Park. Smith, I
14h35 Grass tree layer seperation in Remotely Sensed Images using Linear Spectral Unmixing Knox, N
14h50 TEA
15h20 An aerial census of the Limpopo Basin area of the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique 16th - 21st October, 2006 Whyte, I,J &
Swanepoel, W
15h35 POSTERS  

DAY 2 - 17th April 2007

Session: Terrestrial Patterns and Drivers (Chair: Rina Grant)
08h00 How dependant is tree growth on access to deep versus shallow soil water? Verweij, R., February, E.,
Higgins, S. & Bond, W.
08h15 Changes in plant available nitrogen with changes in available water in a mesic savanna. Keretetse, M,
February, E, Higgins, S. & Bond, W
08h30 Do trees acquire resources from different layers of the soil to grasses? February, E., Jack, S., Britton, M., Higgins, S. & Bond, W.
08h45 Long-term vegetation dynamics at the grassland-savanna ecotone, South Africa. Breman, E
09h00 Investigating bush encroachment under different land use practices in a mesic South African savanna. Wigley, B.J., Bond, W.J & Hoffman, M.T
09h15 Continuous vs. episodic recruitment in Acacia in Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park: implications for understanding savanna structure and dynamics. Staver, A.C.
February, E.C &
Bond, W.J.
09h30 Productivity, Photodegradation and Carryover among Mesic and Semi-arid Grasslands. Masubelele, M.L, & Bond, W.J
09h45 Multi-scaled and spatially explicit modelling of future vegetation patterns to aid the adaptive management process. Levick, S.R. &
Rogers, K.H.
10h00 Fertilization of mopane veld: short-term herbaceous layer responses. van der Waal, C
10h15 TEA  

Session: Terrestrial Patterns and Drivers cont.. (Chair: Rina Grant)
10h30 Characteristics of lion predation on buffalo in the central region of the Kruger National Park. Tambling, C. J., Getz, W. M, Cameron, E. &
du Toit, J. T.
10h45 Slow erosion and fast chemical weathering on Kruger granites. Khomo, L.M.,
Hartshorn, T.S.,
Chadwick, O.A. & Rogers, K.H.
11h00 Challenges in altering the spatial distribution of grazing some lessons from pastoral research in northern Australia. Hunt, L
11h15 Discussion

Session: Forage Quality (Chair: Angela Gaylard)
11h30 Diet separation between low-density and high-density grazers: sable antelope, zebra and buffalo. Macandza, V &
Owen-Smith, N
11h40 Habitat and forage dependency of sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) in the Pretoriuskop region of the Kruger National Park. Le Roux, E.,
Owen-Smith, N. & Grant, R.
11h50 Variability in herbivore feeding ecology and the decline of roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) in Kruger National Park, South Africa Codron, D., Codron, J.,
Lee-Thorp, J.A.,
Sponheimer, M.,
Grant, R, & Brink, J.S
12h00 Predation risk exerts primary control over the distribution of low density antelope species. Chirima, J. &
Owen-Smith, N.
12h20 Seasonal diet switch in elephant and impala in a Mopane woodland. Akos, M. A., Hoetmer, J.,
Pretorius,Y., de Boer, W.F., De Knegt, H., Grant, R., Kohi, E., Page, B., Peel, M., Slotow, R., van der Waal, C., van Langevelde, F., van Wieren, S.E & Prins, H.H.T.
12h30 Demographic responses of elephants to resource selection and management in the Kruger National Park. Ferreira, S., Young, K. &
van Aarde, R.
13h00 LUNCH

Session: Forage Quality cont.. (Chair: Angela Gaylard)
14h00 Plant biochemical maps of forage quality. Skidmore, A.K.,
Ferwerda, J.,
Mutanga, O., Van Wieren, S.E., Peel, M., rant,R., Prins, H.H.T., Knox, N. & Schlerf, M
14h15 Do trees really matter? Insights into sub-canopy grass quality in African savannas. Treydte, A.C.,
Heitkönig, I.M.A., Prins, H.H.T. & Ludwig, F.
14h30 Soil nutrients and large herbivore forage patch choice. Pretorius, Y
14h45 Discussion
15h00 TEA

Session: General (Chair: Thembi Khoza)
15h30 Zoning the Kruger National Park: The 80 year blue sky scenario. Eber, S
15h40 KOEDOE: past, present and future. Foxcroft, L.C., Smit, I., Kruger, J.M. & Webb, S.C
15h50 DNA Barcoding of the Flora of the Kruger National Park. van der Bank, M., Lahaye, R., Maurin, O., duthoit, S. &
Savolainen,V.
16h00 The use of Diatoms for long term rainfall reconstructions and vegetation dynamics, Mapimbi, Northern Kruger Park Ekblom, A., Gillson, L.,
& Chidoub, Z.

DAY 3: 18th April 2007

Session: Examining Kruger as a Heterogenous River System (Chair: Llewellyn Foxcroft)
08h00 More ramblings of a river ecologist: A challenge to “terrestrial” ecologists. Rogers, K.H.
08h15 The spatial organisation of savanna landscapes within drainage networks. Cullum, C
08h30 Conserving biodiversity: from buzzwords to a basis for management. Tye, N., Kotschy, K. A. & Rogers, K. H.
08h45 Deep structure analysis: Understanding scale in landscape ecology. Barichievy, C &
Rogers, K. H.
08h55 How chemical erosion sculpts savannas Hartshorn, T., Chadwick,
O., Khomo, L, Rogers, K.H & Heimsath, A

Session: Water in the Landscape: Patterns and Processes (Chair: Thomas Gyedu Ababio)
09h05 Management objectives and artificial water provision in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Farmer, H., Witkowski, E.T.F. & Peel, M.J.S.
09h20 Water Dependency and Movements of Sable Antelope. Cain III, J.W &
Owen-Smith, N.
09h35 Hydrological Lessons Learned from the Sabie and Letaba Exclosure Transects. Lorentz, S., Riddell, E. &
Koning, B.
09h50 Recruitment of riparian vegetation in the Sabie River in response to vertical template heterogeneity following a large infrequent flood disturbance. McLoughlin, C.A., Parsons, M., Kotschy, K.,
& Rogers, K.H.
10h05 TEA

Session: Water in the Landscape: Patterns and Processes cont.. (Chair: Thomas Gyedu Ababio)
10h30 A synopsis of freshwater fish surveys in the Kruger National Park: 1958-2006. Deacon, A.R
10h45 Revealing the Impacts of Dams and Land Cover Change on Luvuvhu River Baseflows Using Hydrologic Modelling, Remote Sensing, and Discharge Records. Griscom, H.R.,
Gyedu-Ababio, T. & Miller, S.N.
11h00 Discussion

Session: Browse and Browsers (Chair: Ian Whyte)

11h15 Variations in N, fibre and phenols of trees in relation to resources and browsing at the Nkuhlu Exclosures, Kruger National Park: 2005/2006. Scogings, P.F., Rooke, T.,
Dziba, L.E., Hattas, D.,
Eckhardt, H., Skarpe, C.,
Zobolo, A. & Hjältén, J.
11h30 Diet selection and browsing impact in a re-introduced black rhino population.. Shaw, J. A. & Owen Smith, N.
11h45 20th century changes in grass and browse consumption by Kruger's elephants. Codron, J., Lee-Thorp, J., Sponheimer, M.,
Codron, D., de Ruiter, D., Grant, R. & Melice, J-L.
12h00 Responses of woody species to browsing ruminants in savannas: what do we know after 35 years of research in Africa. Scogings, P.F.
12h15 Recovery, resilience and stability in piosphere systems in the Kruger National Park Matchett, K
12h30 LUNCH

DAY 4: 19th April 2007

Session: Humans In Complex Systems (Chair: Ayanda Sigwela)
08h00 What helps Opuntia stricta invade the Kruger National Park, South Africa: Baboons or elephants? Foxcroft, L.C. &
Rejmanek, M
08h15 Assessing local scale impacts of Opuntia stricta (Cactaceae) invasion on Arthropod assemblages in the Kruger National Park, South Africa Harris, K.R., Van Rensburg, B.J., Robertson, M.P. & Coetzee, J.A.
08h30 Invasive alien plant clearing by Working for Water along the Sabie River, KNP. Morris, T.L., Witkowski,
E.T.F., & Coetzee, J.A.
08h45 The occurrence of heavy metals in Labeobarbus marequensis, water and sediments in the Crocodile river Mphuthi, R.K., Wepener, V. & Gyedu-Ababio, T.K.
09h00 Status of Chemical Contaminants in three major rivers flowing through the Kruger National Park. Barker, J., Wepener, V. &
Gyedu-Ababio,T.
09h15 Sustainable harvesting of medicinal bark: Experimental research and formulation of harvest prescriptions Vermeulen, W. & Geldenhuys, C.J.
09h30 Land use at the wildlife livestock interface: consequences for the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Heitkönig, I.M.A., &
McCrindle, C.
09h45 The effect of different land-use practices on rangeland condition, herbaceous and seed bank composition implications for land degradation and biodiversity management in semi-arid western rangelands of Southern Africa Coetsee, M. &
Jordaan, F.P.
10h00 TEA  

Session: Humans In Complex Systems cont.. (Chair: Ayanda Sigwela)
10h45 Impacts of Roads and Hunting on Central-African Mammals Laurance, W.F
11h00 Discussion
11h10 Logic for Setting "Threshold" Scholes, B
11h15 Modelling TPC's for KNP elephants: A scientific framework for elephant management decision-making. Slotow, R

Session: Adaptive Management and Implementation (Chair: Judith Kruger)
11h30 Thresholds of Potential Concern can unnecessarily suppress ecosystem
dynamics 		Prins, H.H.T
11h45 Beyond the western boundary - an overview of environmental research in the lowveld region outside of the Kruger National Park. Swemmer, T., Stevens,. N
12h00 Design and prototype development of an integrated catchment/river model for adaptive learning and ecosystem management on the Crocodile River system. Kiker, G
12h15 Integrating research with adaptive management of Gorongosa National Park: Learning from the Kruger experience. Beilfuss R., Zolho R., Stalmans M,& Anderson J.
12h30 Restoration of the Greater Gorongosa Ecosystem a scaled approach towards vegetation monitoring as part of an adaptive management system. Stalmans, M., Beilfuss, R., Steinbruch, F. & Tinley, K.
12h45 LUNCH

Session: Fire (Chair: Navashni Govender)

14h00 Functional traits and grass species composition across the fire gradient. Coetzee, C
14h15 African savanna fires and nitrogen fertilization: functional and disfunctional relationships amongst the eutrophic and dystrophic savannas. Hanan, N. & Prihodko, L.
14h30 Savanna fire ignition research experiment (SavFIRE): effects of point vs perimeter ignitions on fire mosaics. Trollope, W.,
Govender, N., Austin, C.
& Held, A.
14h45 Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Fire Regime in Mkuzi Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal Mulqueeny, C
15h00 TEA

Session: Fire cont.. (Chair: Navashni Govender)

15h30 When the growing gets burnt can the buried keep growing? Above and below ground recovery rates of Acacia karroo after fire. Schutz, A.E.N.,
Cramer. M.D & Bond, W.J
15h45 What limits trees in savannas? The Australian puzzle Bond, W.J., Cook, G &
Williams, R.J
16h00 Discussion
19h00 GALA DINNER

DAY 5: 20th April 2007

Session: Doing Research in Kruger (Chair: Michele Hofmeyr)
08h00 Science Awareness Hofmeyr, M
08h10 Research data and online searching Kruger, JM
08h20 Savanna Scientific Services WebPages Mac Fadyen, S
08h30 Switching prey selection by lions as revealed by animal carcass records Owen-Smith,N & Mills,M.G.L

Session: Additional Items (Chair: Michele Hofmeyr)

08h45 Untangling anthropogenic and climatic influence on riverine forest in the Kruger National Park, South Africa Gillson, L.
09h00 Scale-related habitat selection of African buffalo. Bowers, J.A., Panagos, M
& Reilly, B.K.
19h15 Building Robustness to Disturbance: Governance in Southern African Peace Parks. Schoon, M.
19h30 ArcCentury: A user-friendly management tool developed to assess spatial and functional heterogeneity in a South African savanna ecosystem. aah, D.S., Genova, R.C
& Benning, T.L.

Session: Disease (Chair: Lin-Mari de Klerk Lorist)
09h45 What have we learnt from Bovine Tuberculosis research studies in the buffalo
population of the Kruger Park? 		Lin-Mari de Klerk Lorist
10h00 TEA
10h30 Potential value of a MPB70 iELISA for the control of Mycobacterium bovis infection in buffalo (Syncerus caffer) Hoogeveen G. M., Michel A.L.,
Rutten .P.M.G., & Godfroid, J.
10h45 New diagnostic and typing tools for Mycobacterium bovis control and eradication programmes: lessons to be learned from Belgium. Godfroid J., Saegerman C., Govaerts M.,
Vanholme L., Fauville Dufaux M., Letesson J.,
& Walravens K.
11h00 Effects of bovine tuberculosis and gastro-intestinal parasite infections on African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) activity budgets. Matokazi, N.J
11h15 Development of a quantitative stochastic decision model for assessing the risks of animal diseases occurrence within the Transboundary Conservation Areas. Jori, F., Brahmbhatt, D.,
Kriek, N., Vosloo, W. & Gummow, B.
11h30 Cloning, sequencing and expression of white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Interferon-gamma (IFN-g) and the production of rhinoceros IFN-g specific antibodies. Morar, D., Tijhaar, E.,
Negrea, A., Hendriks, J,
van Haarlem, D,
Godfroid, J., Michel, A.L
& PMG Rutten, V

11h45

Concluding remarks

Bond, W

12h25

Closure

Kruger, JM