LTREB: Long Term Studies of African Lions

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

Over the next five years, this ongoing study of Serengeti lion populations will monitor the ranging patterns and demographic performance of lions in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. By continuing this long-term monitoring, the LTREB project will provide essential data on the effectiveness of a large-scale vaccination program that has been designed to protect wild carnivores from canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine parvovirus. The project will also clarify the ecological factors that influence the virulence and severity of CDV should another outbreak take place. The data will be used to test a series of models that reconstruct the Serengeti ecosystem. The lion project provides the most detailed data on any single species in the Serengeti, and it is particularly valuable in terms of the lions' response to ecological perturbations such as the predicted increase in year-to-year variability in rainfall. The project will also conduct a number of detailed studies to clarify the lions' ecology. First, relationships between lions and hyenas will be studied in detail to determine how these two species co-exist despite their similar ecological requirements. Second, new data will be collected on the lions' prey preferences as a function of prey density. Third, a simple experiment in large-scale habitat modification (through a series of controlled grassfires) will be undertaken to alter the carrying capacity of the Serengeti plains. Fourth, a genetic translocation experiment will be attempted so as to alleviate the degree of close inbreeding in the small, isolated Ngorongoro lion population. The project has several broader impacts. First, multi-host pathogens are the most serious public health problem since they can infect humans. If an effective vaccination program in domestic dogs can prevent the spread of disease in the wild carnivores of the Serengeti, this will provide a model for similar programs around the world. More fundamental, perhaps, the Serengeti lion study provides a high-profile example of the impacts of ecological change, whether in terms of infectious disease or from extreme weather conditions.