1. Werner Kilian
Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Etosha Ecological Institute
24 November 2016

2. What is movement? Extrinsic and intrinsic factors RC1 RC2
Spatial-temporal variation in home range
RC2
Environmental drivers of movement
Individual movement trajectories
RC3
Habitat selection
RC4
Demography

3. Selected articles from the literature

5. Elephants in Namibia Omu Kau Zam Eto Kun 1,250 km 600 mm 100 %
<30 %
Omu
Kau
Zam
Eto
Kun
1,250 km

6. Population Information and Site-specific factors
Kunene
Omusati
Etosha
Kaudum
Zambezi
Status/
Land-use
Multiple
Freehold
Nat Park
Population estimate
Average annual rainfall
<50-250mm mm mm mm mm
Disease
(anthrax) - +
Human density and settlements
Water
provision
Fences
HE Conflict
Tourism
Hunting
(trophy)
Poaching

7. Elephant movement dataset
Population
No of GPS collars
Male
Female
Resolution
Period
Kunene 23 10 13
30 min
2010 till 2012
Omusati 5 2 3
Etosha 39 17 22
15-30min
2008 till 2015
Kaudum
60 min
2012 till 2014
2015 till present
Zambezi 6 1 9
2016 till present
Total 87 16
103 30 57 73

9. Title: Linking movement ecology of elephant with Wildlife Management and Conservation in Namibia.
Kunene
Zambezi

10. Outline of Presentation
Introduce a Conceptual Movement-management framework
Potential to apply it to Elephant: Etosha as a case-study
Briefly illustrate an application of fine-resolution movement data.

11. Enhances conservation planning, and
Timely Link between movement ecology and conservation
Framework:
Enhances conservation planning, and
2. Identifies management actions, that are complimentary to existing strategies.

12. Case-study: Etosha Management goal Resolution 15 – 30 min Timespan
Methods
GSM/GPS
Individuals
39/17M, 22F
Step1. Movement data

13. Movement-management framework:
Sedentary
Home range
Dispersal
Dispersal ability
Dispersal distance
Migration
Routes
Seasonal ranges
Semi-migratory
Stop over
Nomadism
Timing
Drivers
Continuum
Movement types/attributes
Movement characteristics

14. Movement-management framework: Movement types/attributes
NSD measures the square of the
Euclidean distance between the start
of a movement path and each subsequent
location

15. Management goal 2). Ecosystems impacts Disturbance
Species interactions
3). Scale of management
Localised actions
Ecological networks
4)Implementation
Human-wildlife conflicts
Policy and Law enforcement
5). Evaluation
Management strategy evaluation
Management goal

16. ENP in terms of an ecological network/connectivity
Largely closed population (22 900km²)
No significant emigration/immigration

17. ENP in terms of population regulation/limitation

18. Framework in terms of Etosha as a case-study:
Classified movements are at coarse temporal resolutions (NSD statistic
Large/Adequate sample sizes fine data resolution, inter-individual variation
Availability of supplementary data, eg. population estimates, rainfall and NDVI, anthrax
Formulation of the Management Goal (?)
●Movement ecology: Need to define the where, when, how and why of animal movement,
●Understanding the role of spatio-temporal movement patterns in
ecological processes.

19. Ran Nathan Paradigm
This paradigm encompasses the animal’s internal state (why move?) and
the state of the environment (where to move?), constrained by the animal’s motion and
navigation capabilities.

20. Movement modes
resting
foraging
Directed walk

21. A few general thoughts…
Consideration of only population-level averages promulgates neglect of between-individual variation on movement, potentially hindering the study of factors controlling movement (Holyoake et al. 2008).
Understanding of the effects of landscape heterogeneity on animal movement is still fairly limited as it requires studying the movement of multiple individuals across a variety of environmental conditions (Avgar et al. 2013).
The ability of a species to track shifting climatic conditions relies on its dispersal capabilities and life-history responses to environmental constraints (Morelett et al. 2013).
Variation is key to the adaptability of species and their ability to survive changes to the Earth’s climate and habitats (Dodge et al. 2016).
Plasticity in movement strategies allows a species to better track spatial dynamics of habitat quality.

22. Acknowledgements Staff, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Namibia
Prof. George Wittemyer , Colorado State
Dr. Leo Polansky, UC Davis
Dr. Wayne Getz, UC Berkeley

23. Thank You