LTREB: Long Term Studies of African Lions

9903416

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African lions defend joint territories that contain enough food, water and shelter for successful reproduction. However, some prides consistently reproduce at higher rates than others, presumably due to differences in the abundance or distribution of key resources within their territories. This LTREB project will use long-term demographic and ranging data in a GIS analysis to measure the value of specific landscape features to lions living in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. These data will clarify the influence of landscape heterogeneity on territory size and local population density and provide the foundation for game-theoretical models of group territoriality. The overall population data will also be used to determine whether lion numbers are regulated by food, disease, or territory, and will be used to assess whether the recent decline in the Ngorongoro Crater has resulted from the cumulative effects of close inbreeding. These analyses involve collaborations with scientists in Canada, South Africa, Tanzania, and the UK.