Browsing by Author "Parsais, Singira"

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African wild dog population status in the Selous-Nyerere landscape, southern Tanzania: Insights from camera trap surveys
(Elsevier, 2025-05-03) Parsais, Singira; Searle, Charlotte; Strampelli, Paolo; Moyo, Francis; Giliba, Richard; Haule, Leonard; Olesyapa, Kandey; Salum, Nasri; Hape, Germanus; Elisa, Manase; Lobora, Alex; Cotterill, Alayne; Doody, Kathryn; Dickman, Amy
Despite being one of the world’s most endangered carnivore, there is a deficiency of recent information on the status of African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) in some of the few landscapes where viable populations are thought to still occur. One example is the Selous-Nyerere landscape in southern Tanzania, a critical stronghold for the species that has not been studied since the 1990s. We use data from seven camera trap surveys deployed over 4674 km2 in Selous Game Reserve (GR) and Nyerere National Park (NP) from 2020 to 2022 to provide an update on wild dog status in the landscape. We identified a total of 222 wild dogs, of which 38 % were male, 38 % were female, and 24 % were of unknown sex. We applied spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling to the data from 2565 km2 of Selous GR to estimate an over-dispersion adjusted population density of 2.14 ± 0.45 adult and yearling wild dogs per 100 km2 (95 % confidence interval: 1.42 – 3.21). This study demonstrates the ways in which camera trap data can be used to improve our understanding of wild dog populations in data-limited settings, but also highlights some limitations of this data type for the species. Our findings suggest that the Selous-Niassa ecosystem is one of the most important remaining populations of wild dogs in Africa. Although this study did not directly investigate mortality, we recommend long-term monitoring and a number of conservation actions to tackle the species’ apparent threats in the landscape, and help secure this stronghold into the future.
Dataset: Population status of leopard in one of Africa’s largest wilderness areas and the challenge of monitoring at scale
(Dryad, 2025-11-17) Searle, Charlotte; Strampelli, Paolo; Parsais, Singira; Haule, Leonard; Olesyapa, Kandey; Salum, Nasri; Mtoka, Samuel; Hape, Germanus; Mathayo, Daniel; Elisa, Manase; Lobora, Alex; Dickman, Amy
Remarkably little is still understood about how the leopard (Panthera pardus) is faring in much of its remaining African range, despite the species’ importance for ecosystem function and generating funding for conservation via tourism. In this study, we address this knowledge gap in southern Tanzania’s Selous-Nyerere ecosystem, one of the largest intact wilderness areas on the continent, by estimating leopard population density via spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling of data from seven camera trap surveys. Population density was highest in Nyerere National Park’s Matambwe sector (8.08 ± SE 1.54 adult and subadult leopards per 100 km2), followed by Selous Game Reserve’s Miguruwe sector (7.38 ± 1.26 per 100 km2); Nyerere NP’s Msolwa sector (6.05 ± 0.78 per 100 km2); Selous GR’s Liwale sector (5.93 ± 0.88 per 100 km2), western Kingupira sector (5.58 ± 0.87 per 100 km2), and eastern Kingupira sector (5.22 ± 0.71 per 100 km2); and Nyerere NP’s Kalulu sector (3.80 ± 0.64 per 100 km2). Together, our surveys covered an important component of extant leopard range in Tanzania, and our findings highlight the importance of the Selous-Nyerere ecosystem as a leopard stronghold. The estimates include the highest leopard densities yet documented in miombo woodland, which represents nearly one fifth of the species’ remaining African range. Unlike lion, leopard population density was highly correlated with relative abundance of preferred prey. Although limited by a small number of data points, this suggests that the two species may not be uniformly affected by anthropogenic threats. Threats to leopard in Selous-Nyerere include accelerating habitat conversion in boundary areas and bushmeat poaching, which impacts leopard indirectly by suppressing prey populations and directly via accidental snaring. Practical implication: Placed in the context of range-wide leopard monitoring, this study highlights the need to address persistent knowledge gaps on the species’ continental status and prioritise sites for monitoring based on their potential to inform evidence-based conservation management.
Population Status and Threats of the Endangered African wild dog in the Selous-Nyerere Landscape, Southern Tanzania
(NM-AIST, 2025-07) Parsais, Singira
African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are one of the world’s most endangered carnivore. Despites their conservation status, there is limited information on population status and threats of African wild dogs in Selous-Nyerere landscape where viable populations are thought to still occur. Furthermore, as part of the threat assessment, communitity attitude towards the endangered African wild dog has never been studied in the landscape. This study has addressed this gap by providing an updated assessment of wild dog population status and threats of African wild dogs within the Selous-Nyerere landscape of southern Tanzania. The community attitude towards wild dogs has also being addressed to ascertain the influence of the attitudes to the conservation of the species in the landscape. Data from seven camera trap surveys deployed over 4,674 km 2 in Selous GR and Nyerere NP from 2020-2022 were used to provide an update on wild dog population status in the landscape. Camera trap data were also used to gain valuable insights on pack size and demographic structure, which were compared with direct observation data to test the method applicability for wild dog population assessment in a data-limited settings. Data from satellite imagery was used to capture human threats in terms of land cover conversion over time. Data from household surveys and focus group discussions were used to explore community attitudes towards wild dogs. Based on camera trap data a total of 222 wild dogs were identified. Of these, 38% were male, 38% were female, and 24% were of unknown sex. The population density stands at approximately 2.14 ± 0.45 adult and yearling wild dogs per 100km². Remote sensing analysis revealed a significant increase of cropland from 11.83% in 2013 to 26.49% in 2023. Distribution of attitudes among the respondents revealed that the largest group (108 individuals; 36%) expressed a neutral attitude (p <0.001) towards the species. A positive attitude was the second most common response, with 100 individuals (33.3%) expressing favourable views toward wild dogs. This research study concludes that Selous-Nyerere remains a stronghold for wild dogs. The study recommends the need for establishing long term wild dogs population changes monitoring programmes to inform management actions.
Population status of leopard in one of Africa's largest wilderness areas and the challenge of monitoring at scale
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2025-12-26) Searle, Charlotte; Strampelli, Paolo; Parsais, Singira; Haule, Leonard; Kandey, Olesyapa; Salum, Nasri; Mtoka, Samuel; Hape, Germanus; Mathayo, Danie; Elisa, Manase; Lobora, Alex; Dickman, Amy
1. Remarkably little is still understood about how the leopard (Panthera pardus) is faring in much of its remaining African range, despite the species' importance for ecosystem function and generating funding for conservation via tourism. In this study, we address this knowledge gap in southern Tanzania's Selous–Nyerere ecosystem, one of the largest intact wilderness areas on the continent, by estimating leopard population density via spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) modelling of data from seven camera trap surveys. 2. Population density was highest in Nyerere National Park's Matambwe sector (8.08 ± SE 1.54 adult and subadult leopards per 100 km2), followed by Selous Game Reserve's Miguruwe sector (7.38 ± 1.26 per 100 km2); Nyerere NP's Msolwa sector (6.05 ± 0.78 per 100 km2); Selous GR's Liwale sector (5.93 ± 0.88 per 100 km2), western Kingupira sector (5.58 ± 0.87 per 100 km2) and eastern Kingupira sector (5.22 ± 0.71 per 100 km2); and Nyerere NP's Kalulu sector (3.80 ± 0.64 per 100 km2). 3. Together, our surveys covered an important component of extant leopard range in Tanzania, and our findings highlight the importance of the Selous–Nyerere ecosystem as a leopard stronghold. The estimates include the highest leopard densities yet documented in miombo woodland, which represents nearly one fifth of the species' remaining African range. 4. Unlike lion, leopard population density was highly correlated with relative abundance of preferred prey. Although limited by a small number of data points, this suggests that the two species may not be uniformly affected by anthropogenic threats. Threats to leopard in Selous–Nyerere include accelerating habitat conversion in boundary areas and bushmeat poaching, which impacts leopard indirectly by suppressing prey populations and directly via accidental snaring. 5. Practical implication. Placed in the context of range-wide leopard monitoring, this study highlights the need to address persistent knowledge gaps on the species' continental status and prioritise sites for monitoring based on their potential to inform evidence-based conservation management.