Swanepoel, L. H.Bhardway, M.Collison-Jonker, W. J.Thela, Siboniso Khulekane2022-08-082022-08-082022-07-15Thela, S. K. (2021) Seasonal use and mortalities of mammals along the Phalaborwa – Hoedspruit railway line in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa. University of Venda. South Africa.<http://hdl.handle.net/11602/2224.http://hdl.handle.net/11602/2224MSc (Zoology)Department of Biological SciencesRailways are essential transportation corridors that facilitate the movement of goods and people with important environmental and economic benefits. Despite these benefits, railways and trains can negatively affect wildlife through mortalities, barrier effects, disturbances, and habitat loss. There is growing evidence that human activity negatively affects the spatial distribution of wildlife in relation to the distance from the infrastructure and wildlife also adjust their spatiotemporal activity to avoid or minimize encounters of human activity. Moreover, wildlife mortalities due to collision with trains are a major conservation concern which can jeopardize the persistence of wildlife populations as wildlife-train collisions are non-specific with regard the species, age and sex of the animal affected. In this study, I assessed the activity patterns of six medium-large sized mammals (≥ 10 kg) and monitored the mortalities of wildlife from four different taxonomic groups on the landscape bisected by the railway line in Balule Nature Reserve. Impala and giraffe occurrences on the railway line is mostly diurnal. Meanwhile, lion occurrence on the railway line is mostly nocturnal. Four of my focal species moderately overlapped with train activity, with no seasonal differences in their degree of activity overlap. African buffalo and elephant activity decreased with increasing distance from the railway line. Giraffe, impala, and lions are less active around the railway line in the wet season than the dry season. Spotted hyaena are more active around the railway in both open grassland and woodland compared to mixed shrubland habitat intersecting the railway. I recorded a total of 99 rail-kills from a total of 450 km surveyed over a 90-day period. Of these rail-kills, mammals were recorded more often (29.29%), followed by birds (26.26%), reptiles (26.26%) and amphibians (18.18%). There was no significant difference in the frequency of mortalities on the railway line between seasons (U = 286.5, n = 49, p = 0.421). The rail mortalities of diurnal did not differ significantly from nocturnal species (x² = 0.55, df = 1, p = 0.458). However, there were significantly more mortalities of diurnal species than nocturnal species on the railway line during the dry season (p < 0.05). Most encountered deaths on the railway line occurred in a mixed shrubland section but there was no significant association in the frequency of rail mortalities and rail-side habitat type (H = 0.84, df = 2, p = 0.657).1 online resource (x, 81 leaves) : color illustrations, color mapsenRailwayMedium-largeUCTDWildlifeActivityMortalityRail-KillCollison333.9540968259Railroads -- South Africa -- MpumalangaAnimals -- South Africa -- MpumalangaTraffic safety and wildlife -- South Africa -- LimpopoWildlife conservation -- South Africa -- MpumalangaDissertationThela SK. Seasonal use and mortalities of mammals along the Phalaborwa – Hoedspruit railway line in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa. []. , 2022 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11602/2224Thela, S. K. (2022). <i>Seasonal use and mortalities of mammals along the Phalaborwa – Hoedspruit railway line in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa</i>. (). . Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11602/2224Thela, Siboniso Khulekane. <i>"Seasonal use and mortalities of mammals along the Phalaborwa – Hoedspruit railway line in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa."</i> ., , 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/2224TY - Dissertation AU - Thela, Siboniso Khulekane AB - Railways are essential transportation corridors that facilitate the movement of goods and people with important environmental and economic benefits. Despite these benefits, railways and trains can negatively affect wildlife through mortalities, barrier effects, disturbances, and habitat loss. There is growing evidence that human activity negatively affects the spatial distribution of wildlife in relation to the distance from the infrastructure and wildlife also adjust their spatiotemporal activity to avoid or minimize encounters of human activity. Moreover, wildlife mortalities due to collision with trains are a major conservation concern which can jeopardize the persistence of wildlife populations as wildlife-train collisions are non-specific with regard the species, age and sex of the animal affected. In this study, I assessed the activity patterns of six medium-large sized mammals (≥ 10 kg) and monitored the mortalities of wildlife from four different taxonomic groups on the landscape bisected by the railway line in Balule Nature Reserve. Impala and giraffe occurrences on the railway line is mostly diurnal. Meanwhile, lion occurrence on the railway line is mostly nocturnal. Four of my focal species moderately overlapped with train activity, with no seasonal differences in their degree of activity overlap. African buffalo and elephant activity decreased with increasing distance from the railway line. Giraffe, impala, and lions are less active around the railway line in the wet season than the dry season. Spotted hyaena are more active around the railway in both open grassland and woodland compared to mixed shrubland habitat intersecting the railway. I recorded a total of 99 rail-kills from a total of 450 km surveyed over a 90-day period. Of these rail-kills, mammals were recorded more often (29.29%), followed by birds (26.26%), reptiles (26.26%) and amphibians (18.18%). There was no significant difference in the frequency of mortalities on the railway line between seasons (U = 286.5, n = 49, p = 0.421). The rail mortalities of diurnal did not differ significantly from nocturnal species (x² = 0.55, df = 1, p = 0.458). However, there were significantly more mortalities of diurnal species than nocturnal species on the railway line during the dry season (p < 0.05). Most encountered deaths on the railway line occurred in a mixed shrubland section but there was no significant association in the frequency of rail mortalities and rail-side habitat type (H = 0.84, df = 2, p = 0.657). DA - 2022-07-15 DB - ResearchSpace DP - Univen KW - Railway KW - Medium-large KW - Wildlife KW - Activity KW - Mortality KW - Rail-Kill KW - Collison LK - https://univendspace.univen.ac.za PY - 2022 T1 - Seasonal use and mortalities of mammals along the Phalaborwa – Hoedspruit railway line in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa TI - Seasonal use and mortalities of mammals along the Phalaborwa – Hoedspruit railway line in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11602/2224 ER -