FREC 480--GIS in Natural Resource Management
FINAL PROJECT
Corridors for Elephants
Background
Habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation are the two biggest threats to most wildlife
currently. This has always been a problem and continues to get worse as there is a time lag
between destruction and then the realization that populations of wildlife need a certain amount of
space for adequate survival and within these areas there needs to be all the necessary resources.
Specifically this paper will focus on African elephants, which are protected in their refuges, but
still face threats when they travel outside of refuge boundaries by hunters and subsistence
farmers who want to defend their land. This problem is worth researching to help connect
isolated areas of suitable habitat, referred to as corridors, so that the elephants can travel between
them and breed with the different population in order to increase genetic diversity and make the
populations more stable and less likely to crash. The spatial context of this problem is important
because there are certain requirements for habitat area and for the corridor area. Since it is a
somewhat long distance, there need to be supplies of freshwater and food along the way. Also
roads and settlements should be avoided to decrease negative human-elephant interactions. GIS
analysis can look at the core habitats and select areas based on certain specifications.
Literature Review
Previous studies used radio collar monitoring to see the movement patterns the elephants
were currently following. In conjunction with the monitoring there was GIS analysis of the land
use where land suitable for the corridor had to be a certain distance from the roads and
settlements, but still be within range of food and water. The strengths of these studies are the
methods of data collection, such as using radio collars. It could be a cheaper option just to
observe the elephants in their travels, but radio collars offer exact information of their
whereabouts. The weaknesses are that there are limitations for the corridor due to the threat of
subsistence hunters and political unrest in the area.
Hypotheses
Is there adequate space available for a corridor between the two habitats of elephants?
Data
I will need mapping data of the two habitats and the area in between them and surrounding
them. I will also need maps of land use and hydrology. My data will be structured as a vector
because one of the studies I read about layered their land-use map that way.
Methods
First, overall terrain modeling would be necessary for the area of the habitats and the
space connecting them which would be done with the Spatial Analyst 3D Analyst tools. Then
land-use would have to be analyzed to determine what land is available for the corridor and not
already occupied by farming and settlements. I would make a land-use map categorizing all the
current uses of the land such as faming, settlements, and vegetation. Next, I would plan to
identify the large areas of appropriate habitat that make up the two main areas where the elephant
populations are. To do this I would use the Spatial Analyst Raster Calculator. Then I would find
the core habitat area to get a more specific idea of exactly where the corridor needs to go. Spatial
Analyst Neighborhood Statistics tool would show these core cells. The next step would be to find
all of the adequate habitat space between the two core habitats which would involve using the
Buffer tool. These tools will give very accurate depictions of what land is suitable for the
elephant habitat and corridor needs. The downside is that it is hard to determine exactly how
close the elephants can get to human populated areas, as people may have different ideas of what
is an appropriate safe distance.
Anticipated Results
I expect to find some land area that meets the requirements for being a suitable corridor.
Hopefully there will be enough land to allow groups of these large animals to make their
journey.
Policy Applications
Once there is a designated corridor area for the elephants to migrate from one habitat to
another there could be some protection for it to help the elephants with their journey. Policies
could be enacted to put the area under the same protection as the refuge habitats.
Budget
2 years of radio collar monitoring per elephant= $ 9,400 x 30 elephants= $282,000
ArcView 9 software= $1,500 x 2= $3,000
Dell precision laptop made for running demanding programs= $1,154 x 2= $2,308
Labor for 3 years-52 weeks a year-5 days a week- 8 hours a day- 5 people @ $30/hr= $312,000
TOTAL= $599,308
Timeframe
I think that there should be a two year monitoring period to observe the travels of the
African elephants between the two main habitats. This can also allow for observations of the
desired land for the corridor to see if there are environmental changes over time that makes
different parts of land more or less adequate than originally determined. After the two years of
monitoring land and elephants it could take up to a year to process and analyze all of the data
collected.
Works Cited
Girdharry, Kristi. "Tracking Elephants in Namibia." Go Nomad. Web.
Kinuthia, J. N., and A. J. Rodrigues. "Wildlife GIS: Spatial Analysis and Visualisation in Masai
Mara." Wildlife GIS: Spatial Analysis and Visualisation in Masai Mara. Geospatial
Research Portal. GIS Development. Web.
Osborn, F. V., and G. E. Parker. "Linking two elephant refuges with a corridor in the communal
lands of Zimbabwe." African Journal of Ecology (2003): 68-74. Web.
Sitati, N. W. "Predicting spatial aspects of human–elephant conflict."
Journal of Applied Ecology 40 (2003): 667-77. Web.