{"id":63,"date":"2017-05-31T11:05:31","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T11:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dereklee.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=63"},"modified":"2017-05-31T11:05:31","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T11:05:31","slug":"new-study-describes-a-threatened-long-distance-wildebeest-migration-route","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/63\/new-study-describes-a-threatened-long-distance-wildebeest-migration-route\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>A new study published this week described in detail for the first time an endangered long-distance <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blue_wildebeest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wildebeest <\/a>migration in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tarangire_Ecosystem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tarangire ecosystem<\/a> of northern Tanzania.<\/li>\n<li>Wildlife migrations were once widespread globally, but are now mostly lost, and the remaining few migrations are in precipitous decline because of rapid, human-caused changes to the landscapes where they occur.<\/li>\n<li>The sustainability of the Tarangire wildebeest population is important to the ecological function and economic value of Tarangire National Park, one of the most profitable parks in a country where ecotourism is the #1 dollar earner and largest sector of the economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A new study was published this week describing an endangered long-distance wildebeest migration in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. In the study, wildlife scientists used machine learning and connectivity algorithms to delineate a previously undefined migratory corridor in order to save this vanishing natural phenomenon. Monica Bond, principal scientist at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wildnatureinstitute.org\/corridor-campaign.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wild Nature Institute<\/a> and co-author of <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10980-017-0537-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the paper<\/a> in <em>Landscape Ecology<\/em> said, \u201cFrom a practical standpoint, we need better tools to understand how animals get from one place to another. Our work shows how data from multiple sources and the latest analytical techniques can be integrated to identify, connect, and protect an ecologically and economically important migratory corridor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A variety of different animal species undertake seasonal long-distance migrations, defined as round-trip movements between distinct areas not used at other times of the year. These journeys are made to avoid predators and severe weather, and to access resources in the place and time of highest quality. Consequently, migrations enable animal populations to grow far more numerous than non-migratory populations, with important effects on landscape structure and function. For example, in the famous Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania, migratory wildebeest outnumber non-migratory wildebeest by nearly two orders of magnitude. Human hunter-gatherer societies around the world relied upon the superabundance of protein present in migratory species to support human population persistence for tens of thousands of years, and animal migrations likely played an important role in spreading people around the world after our emergence in Africa. Long-distance migrations also provide ecological benefits and services to the systems where they occur by transferring nutrients, fertilizing soil, and dispersing seeds. Until the 1800s, grassland ecosystems around the world continued to support vast herds of migratory hoofed mammals numbering in the millions of individuals, and these moving herds structured entire ecosystems. Unfortunately, migrations are now mostly lost, and the remaining few are in precipitous decline globally because of rapid, human-caused changes in the landscapes where they occur.<\/p>\n<p>Human population growth and agricultural expansion have led to the loss of most historical migratory routes, including the elimination of all but three migrations of wildebeest. East Africa still supports a high diversity and abundance of migratory ungulates, but most of the remaining populations are threatened. Migratory populations often respond suddenly and severely to the disruption of migratory routes. At the end of the 19th century the Tarangire ecosystem\u2019s wildebeest population likely numbered in the hundreds of thousands and connected with populations in southern Kenya. More recently, the Tarangire ecosystem\u2019s wildebeest population decreased from an estimated 40,000 animals in 1988 to approximately 11,000 today. The Tarangire ecosystem\u2019s eastern white-bearded wildebeest is genetically distinct from the much larger population of western white-bearded wildebeest in the Serengeti ecosystem, thus the loss of wildebeest in Tarangire would mean the loss of an evolutionary significant population. The sustainability of the Tarangire wildebeest population is important to the ecological function and economic value of Tarangire National Park, one of the most popular and profitable parks in a country where ecotourism is the largest sector of the economy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven the growing demands on grazing lands in these migratory landscapes, there is an important need to accurately document core habitat used by migratory wildlife, and then provide this information to the policy makers who decide how land will be managed,\u201d said Dr. Tom Morrison, of the University of Glasgow and co-author of the study. \u201cConserving migratory habitat for wildebeest will have the added benefits of protecting connectivity of rangelands used by Masai pastoralists and their livestock, and will benefit other wildlife species in this ecosystem, as they all use these habitats to move and graze.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reference:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10980-017-0537-4\">Bond ML, Bradley CM, Kiffner C, Morrison TA, &amp; Lee DE. (2017) A multi-method approach to delineate and validate migratory corridors. <em>Landscape Ecology<\/em> DOI 10.1007\/s10980-017-0537-4.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study published this week described in detail for the first time an endangered long-distance wildebeest migration in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. Wildlife migrations were once widespread globally, but are now mostly lost, and the remaining few migrations are in precipitous decline because of rapid, human-caused changes to the landscapes where they &#8230; <a title=\"New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/63\/new-study-describes-a-threatened-long-distance-wildebeest-migration-route\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":64,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,2,3,16],"tags":[5,7,18,23,20],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal","category-ecology","category-wildlife-conservation","category-wildlife-migration","tag-animals","tag-wild-nature-institute","tag-wildebeest","tag-wildlife-conservation","tag-wildlife-migration"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route - Derek Lee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/63\/new-study-describes-a-threatened-long-distance-wildebeest-migration-route\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new study published this week described in detail for the first time an endangered long-distance wildebeest migration in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. Wildlife migrations were once widespread globally, but are now mostly lost, and the remaining few migrations are in precipitous decline because of rapid, human-caused changes to the landscapes where they ... 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Current research investigates Masai Giraffe and other large mammal populations within a fragmented landscape in Tanzania. This work examines how births, deaths, and movements of ungulates are impacted by increasingly fragmented wildlife habitat, and what conservation actions are most effective. He spent 10 years researching the impacts of climate and ocean conditions on survival, reproduction, and population growth rates of marine predators such as northern elephant seals, Common Murres, and Cassin's Auklets at the South Farallon Islands, California. His work was included in a conservation and management plan for seabirds in the California Current. He also studied migration of Black Brant in Humboldt Bay as well as fire ecology of small mammals in California's oak woodlands and California Spotted Owls in the Sierra Nevada.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.wildnatureinstitute.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/author\\\/dereklee\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route - Derek Lee","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/63\/new-study-describes-a-threatened-long-distance-wildebeest-migration-route\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route","og_description":"A new study published this week described in detail for the first time an endangered long-distance wildebeest migration in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. 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A new study described in detail for the first time this endangered long-distance wildebeest migration in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. Courtesy of Wild Nature Institute"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/63\/new-study-describes-a-threatened-long-distance-wildebeest-migration-route\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Study Describes A Threatened Long-Distance Wildebeest Migration Route"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/","name":"Derek Lee","description":"Wild Nature Institute","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#organization","name":"Derek Lee","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/cropped-WNI-Three-Line-Logo.jpg?fit=2303%2C1149&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/cropped-WNI-Three-Line-Logo.jpg?fit=2303%2C1149&ssl=1","width":2303,"height":1149,"caption":"Derek Lee"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/person\/41b42fba55c50c75d88b1a44c47d067c","name":"Derek Lee","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795f1f3e792a49d904ae6ad8e9f57bb1db46f9b16a8a56beb88756e38c9650ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795f1f3e792a49d904ae6ad8e9f57bb1db46f9b16a8a56beb88756e38c9650ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795f1f3e792a49d904ae6ad8e9f57bb1db46f9b16a8a56beb88756e38c9650ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Derek Lee"},"description":"Derek Lee\ufeff, PhD, is a quantitative wildlife biologist with expertise in conservation demography and population ecology. Current research investigates Masai Giraffe and other large mammal populations within a fragmented landscape in Tanzania. This work examines how births, deaths, and movements of ungulates are impacted by increasingly fragmented wildlife habitat, and what conservation actions are most effective. He spent 10 years researching the impacts of climate and ocean conditions on survival, reproduction, and population growth rates of marine predators such as northern elephant seals, Common Murres, and Cassin's Auklets at the South Farallon Islands, California. His work was included in a conservation and management plan for seabirds in the California Current. He also studied migration of Black Brant in Humboldt Bay as well as fire ecology of small mammals in California's oak woodlands and California Spotted Owls in the Sierra Nevada.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.wildnatureinstitute.org"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/author\/dereklee\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/wildebeestbaby2FUNK.jpg?fit=1024%2C544&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNOJ-11","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/36\/drought-disrupts-wildebeest-migration\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":0},"title":"Drought Disrupts Wildebeest Migration","author":"Derek Lee","date":"January 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In Summary: Drought has left wildebeests and zebras of the Tarangire Ecosystem in northern Tanzania without food or water on their calving grounds, disrupting their normal migration and forcing them to give birth near the Tarangire River. Tanzania is experiencing a drought after the short rainy season failed to deliver\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ecology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ecology","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/ecology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Picture of Wildebeest and her newborn calf in Tarangire National Park.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/01\/WBandCalf.jpg?fit=609%2C443&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/01\/WBandCalf.jpg?fit=609%2C443&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/01\/WBandCalf.jpg?fit=609%2C443&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":154,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/154\/community-wildlife-management-areas-are-successfully-conserving-wildlife-in-tanzania\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":1},"title":"Community Wildlife Management Areas Are Successfully Conserving Wildlife in Tanzania","author":"Derek Lee","date":"August 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A new study found community-based wildlife conservation in Tanzania can quickly result in clear ecological success by benefitting giraffes and other wildlife species. Arusha, TANZANIA, 10 August 2018- Community-based natural resource management is a grassroots conservation tool that has become one of the dominant paradigms of natural resource conservation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A group of Masai Giraffes in the Tarangire Ecosystem.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/MRgangFunky.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/MRgangFunky.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/MRgangFunky.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/MRgangFunky.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/MRgangFunky.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":337,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/337\/the-best-way-to-save-giraffes-is-to-support-wildlife-law-enforcement-and-end-poaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":2},"title":"The Best Way to Save Giraffes is to Support Wildlife Law Enforcement and End Poaching","author":"Derek Lee","date":"October 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Iconic animals such as giraffes can be flagship species for conservation because of their charisma and popularity among the public. A new study explored the various threats to giraffe populations, and how specific human actions can mediate those threats so that giraffes and people can thrive together in African savannas.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"giraffes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":124,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/124\/giraffe-skin-disease-linked-to-soil-fertility\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":3},"title":"Giraffe Skin Disease Linked to Soil Fertility","author":"Derek Lee","date":"April 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Giraffe Skin Disease is a disorder of the skin that is characterized by crusty lesions on the back side of the front legs of adult Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) the only subspecies in Tanzania.\u00a0Lesions such as the ones shown in this picture on the forelimbs indicate Giraffe Skin Disease.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Giraffe in Tarangire National Park","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/GirHeadFunk.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/GirHeadFunk.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/GirHeadFunk.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/GirHeadFunk.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/51\/new-study-will-help-giraffe-conservation\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":4},"title":"New Study Will Help Giraffe Conservation","author":"Derek Lee","date":"May 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"How do you reverse a population decline and save an endangered species? This is the central question in conservation biology and it is the core of my scientific work. A population of animals like giraffes is almost always made up of smaller groups of animals that we call subpopulations. 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This means the girl gang social units may be important to giraffe evolution. 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