dc.description.abstract | The studies described in his thesis arose from an
ecological survey of part of the castern side of the Selous
Game Reserve in south east Tanzania from 1967 to 1975.
The intensive study area contained two major, ecologically
distinct habitats, an area of tall grass miombo woodland and
a smaller area of short grass scattered tree grassland.
Several species of large grazing ungulate utilise the50
habitats, namely: buffalo, hartebeest, impala, sable, warthog,
wildbeasts and zebra. Seasonal changes in the environment
such as the six month drought and widespread annual fires affect
the pnttern of habitat utilisation exhibited by each species.
This thesis examines such utilisation and shows that each
species has developed its own ecological and feeding
strategies in order t'o maximisee nutrient inputs and reproductive
suceess in what 'is seasonally a harshenvironment.
In many ways the miombo (Brachystegia) woodlands
remain the least studied of the East African habitats. This
lack of data on the miombo in general and the Seloua Game
Reserve in particular means much of the thesis is taken up
by descriptions of the physical and biotic environment of th
study area. | en |