African Journal of Wildlife Research covers the scientific, applied, managerial, methodological, and sociological issues related to wildlife research.

Carnivorous waterbirds have been reported to enhance wetlands diversities, control pests, bio-indicators of ecological conditions, and act as indicators of potential disease outbreaks. They also provide important ecosystem services to indigenous communities residing along wetlands. Regardless of their importance, global waterbirds populations are declining. Despite their ecological contribution to wetlands functions and ecosystem services, piscivore waterbirds have been re-ported to compete with piscivorous fish and fishermen. The aim of this study was to compare piscivorous waterbirds species and functional diversity between fish protected areas (FPA) and non-fish protected area (NFPA) in two tributaries of Zambezi River in Namibia. We also measured the degree to which patterns of guild structure between piscivore waterbirds and fish were similar between FPA and non-FPA. Species diversities were determined by calculating the Shannon Diversity Index. We calculated taxonomic diversity, functional diversity and community-based trait diversity indices for each tributary. Generally, species diversities were not significantly different between FPA and NFPA (P > 0.05). However, all functional diversities indices calculated were significantly different between FPA an NFPA (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). This was partly due to food item, weight and movement type that were associated with each site.

Elephants have been structuring woodlands along the Chobe Riverfront, changing them to shrublands. Along with the loss of woodland cover, impala populations seem to be increasing along the Chobe Riverfront. We tested the prediction that elephant‐induced loss in woodland cover has increased preferred habitats for impalas along the Chobe Riverfront. We found that home range sizes of impala breeding herds did not differ among seasons at all spatial scales. Impala breeding herds were more selective at broader spatial scales than finer spatial scales in all seasons. Impala breeding herds selected shrublands more than the other habitats throughout the year. The Baikiaea woodland and the riparian woodland were the most avoided habitats, with mixed combretum shrublands and relationships between habitat selectivity and group size, inter‐herd encounter and habitat fidelity. The results of our study suggest that impala breeding herds used elephant‐transformed habitats throughout the year. Season did not influence habitat selectivity, suggesting that the preferred habitat had higher required resources relative to the other habitats throughout the year.

Fire regulates the composition and structure of many terrestrial ecosystems. However, uncontrolled fire can negatively affect the functioning of ecosystems and is considered to pose a significant threat to biodiversity. To date, the effect of fire regimes on tree density remains a subject of research, particularly in Namibia. This study using an experimental layout investigated the effects of fire occurrence, season, and intensity on tree density in the Kavango West Region, Namibia. The study was quantitative and followed a completely randomized block design consisting of four fire regimes: March–April, June–July, and October–November and a control. Results from NMDS analysis showed no difference on the effect of fire on the relative abundance. Results from a Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney for the effects of fire occurrence, intensity and season on tree density showed no significant difference. This suggests that seasonality did not have significant negative effects of fire on tree density. Therefore, for forest management in similar environments, burning can be applied throughout the year. Further studies on the effect of different fire regimes on soil and macro-invertebrates is recommended.

Fire is a key ecological driver in savanna systems, influencing soil biogeochemical processes by releasing nutrients but also causing potential losses through volatilization and leaching. In this study, we investigated how fire seasonality and soil depth influence both Mehlich-3 extractable nutrients and total elemental concentrations. This study was conducted in a long-term fire experiment consisting of 20 plots subjected to seasonal burning treatments (dry season, late dry season, late wet season, and an unburned control). Soil samples were collected from two different depth horizons (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm) and analyzed for nutrient concentrations. We used two-way PERMANOVA, Scheirer–Ray–Hare tests, and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to assess treatment effects and interactions. Results showed that fire seasonality did not significantly affect Mehlich-3 extractable nutrients; in contrast, soil depth strongly structured nutrient profiles, with higher concentrations in the upper soil layer, while total elemental concentrations were consistently enriched in the deeper soil horizon. Fire seasonality influenced total elemental nutrient pools, with late dry season burns enhancing potassium and other cations, likely due to combustion of accumulated dry biomass and subsequent ash deposition. Depth effects were particularly pronounced for TN and OC, which were elevated in deeper layers due to the presence of mineral-associated organic matter OM. Our findings highlight that vertical stratification is the dominant control of nutrient distribution, while fire seasonality modulates specific nutrient dynamics. These results underscore the need to incorporate soil profile depth and fire timing when evaluating post-fire soil fertility and ecosystem resilience in savanna landscapes.

Functional diversity is a component of biodiversity that includes the range of roles that organisms perform in communities and can explain and predict the impact of organisms on ecosystems. Mudumu National Park is an important ecosystem that acts as a wildlife corridor for migratory fauna moving between Botswana, Namibia, Angola and Zambia. Thus, a thorough understanding of the functional diversity of large herbivores would assist with the management of the park. The present study examined large herbivore species contribution to total large herbivore biomass; dominant species’ functional similarities; and whether or not functional diversity is affected by increasing distance from the Kwando River. A total of twenty-two roads were selected that provided good coverage of the park and were surveyed using the line transect distance sampling method. All large herbivores seen on either side of the transects were identified to species level and recorded. The hierarchical cluster analysis in SPSS was used to classify the herbivores into functional groups. Only a small number of species were found to be dominant in both numbers and biomass. Furthermore, dominant species were found to be functionally distinct, and functional dominance changed with respect to season and distance from the river.