IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i24p13707-d700494.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Influence of Habitat Changes on Elephant Mortality Associated with Human–Elephant Conflict: Identifying Areas of Concern in the North Central Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

Author

Listed:
  • Chase A. LaDue

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

  • Sarah M. Farinelli

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

  • Imira Eranda

    (Department of Biological Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka)

  • Chandana Jayasinghe

    (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Battaramulla 10120, Sri Lanka)

  • Rajnish P. G. Vandercone

    (Department of Biological Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka)

Abstract

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is becoming increasingly prevalent as human activity expands, and monitoring the impact of habitat quality on wildlife mortality related to HWC is critical for the well-being of wildlife and people. Using ten years of necropsies from free-ranging Asian elephants in the Northwestern Wildlife Region (NWR) of Sri Lanka, we quantified the effect of habitat quality on human–elephant conflict (HEC) (i.e., human-caused elephant mortality), hypothesizing that both artificial (e.g., forest cover loss) and natural (e.g., water availability, temperature) changes would be associated with elephant mortality. We collated necropsies from 348 elephants that died due to human activity from 2009 to 2018, comparing the results with data on forest cover loss, perennial water, rainfall, temperature, and human population sizes. Over the study period, we found that forest cover loss was significantly correlated with human-caused mortality in a district-specific manner. Similarly, access to perennial water and precipitation levels appeared to influence mortality, but not temperature, human population density, or percent land cover used for agriculture. We conducted emerging hot spot analyses to identify areas within the NWR that should be prioritized for protection, which included landscapes that are not currently protected (approximately 43% of the hot spots we identified). Similarly, areas that we identified as cold spots included many areas with minimal forest cover loss. Together, our results emphasize the impact that human activity can have on the measurable outcomes of HEC. We suggest that adaptive HWC management strategies that use retrospective analyses should inform any potential changes to the protection of vital wildlife habitats, such as the north central dry zone of Sri Lanka.

Suggested Citation

  • Chase A. LaDue & Sarah M. Farinelli & Imira Eranda & Chandana Jayasinghe & Rajnish P. G. Vandercone, 2021. "The Influence of Habitat Changes on Elephant Mortality Associated with Human–Elephant Conflict: Identifying Areas of Concern in the North Central Dry Zone of Sri Lanka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13707-:d:700494
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13707/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13707/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. M. P. N. Anuradha & Miho Fujimura & Tsukasa Inaoka & Norio Sakai, 2019. "The Role of Agricultural Land Use Pattern Dynamics on Elephant Habitat Depletion and Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Chithrangani WM Rathnayake & Simon Jones & Mariela Soto-Berelov, 2020. "Mapping Land Cover Change over a 25-Year Period (1993–2018) in Sri Lanka Using Landsat Time-Series," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mrinmay Mandal & Nilanjana Das Chatterjee, 2021. "Geospatial approach-based delineation of elephant habitat suitability zones and its consequence in Mayurjharna Elephant Reserve, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(12), pages 17788-17809, December.
    2. Kulasinghe, Tharindu Nuwan & Dharmakeerthi, Randombage Saman, 2022. "Effects of land use type and tank components on soil properties and sustainability of tank cascade system in the Dry Zone of north central Sri Lanka," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    3. Sören Köpke & Sisira S. Withanachchi & Ruwan Pathiranage & Chandana R. Withanachchi & Deepika U. Gamage & Thushantha S. Nissanka & Chinthana C. Warapitiya & Banu M. Nissanka & Nirangani N. Ranasinghe , 2021. "Human–Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka: A Critical Review of Causal Explanations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, August.
    4. Sujith S. Ratnayake & Lalit Kumar & Punchi B. Dharmasena & Harsha K. Kadupitiya & Champika S. Kariyawasam & Danny Hunter, 2021. "Sustainability of Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka: Exploring Cascade Anatomy and Socio-Ecological Nexus for Ecological Restoration Planning," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, September.
    5. Melvani, Kamal & Myers, the Late Bronwyn & Stacey, Natasha & Bristow, Mila & Crase, Beth & Moles, Jerry, 2022. "Farmers’ values for land, trees and biodiversity underlie agricultural sustainability," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    6. Sujith S. Ratnayake & Azeem Khan & Michael Reid & Punchi B. Dharmasena & Danny Hunter & Lalit Kumar & Keminda Herath & Benjamin Kogo & Harsha K. Kadupitiya & Thilantha Dammalage & Champika S. Kariyawa, 2022. "Land Use-Based Participatory Assessment of Ecosystem Services for Ecological Restoration in Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Sujith S. Ratnayake & Michael Reid & Nicolette Larder & Champika S. Kariyawasam & Callum Hunter & Danny Hunter & Punchi B. Dharmasena & Gamini Pushpakumara & Benjamin Kogo, 2024. "Sustainability and Productivity of Village Tank Cascade Systems: A Bibliometric Analysis and Knowledge Mapping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-25, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13707-:d:700494. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.