On a map of the world, the researcher from Wageningen University has marked the areas in which the greatest diversity of large game can live. For species-rich nature reserves in East Africa and on the Argentinean Pampas, the predictions correlate well with the number of animal species present there. Even more remarkable are the predicted high species diversities in India, the Ukraine and the Mid-West United States. These are agricultural areas where the majority of animal species have become extinct. In Europe, Spain has many possibilities for nature reserves with a large species diversity of herbivores. The same is true for parts of Mongolia, China and Australia.

For the predictions of species diversity, the Wageningen ecologists only used soil fertility and rainfall data. These two parameters determine the quantity and quality of food. Large herbivores require a lot of food but the quality of this is less important. Small herbivores require less food but it needs to be of a higher quality. Therefore, a nature reserve with a high rainfall is good for large herbivores, such as elephants and buffalos. A nature reserve with fertile ground and little rainfall is ideal for small herbivores, such as gazelles and hares. The greatest species diversity can be expected in areas with a fertile soil and an average rainfall.

The Wageningen researcher has compared the predictions with the actual species diversity, soil fertility and rainfall of 88 nature reserves in Africa and 34 in North America. In Africa a total of 99 large herbivores with a weight of at least two kilograms can be found. In North America there are just 25 such species. Despite the great difference
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Contact: Michel Philippens
philippens@nwo.nl
31-70-344 0784
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
20-Feb-2002