Orange River Francolins (Scleroptila levaillantoides) persist in fragmented Highveld farming landscapes, South Africa

Abstract

Background: How do Orange River Francolins (Scleroptila levaillantoides) adapt to an intensive farming landscape with grass (grazing) camps and crop cultivation? To answer this question, a study was carried out in south-east of Johannesburg in South Africa to clarify the interaction of francolins with a landscape consisting of land use mosaics. Methods: A transect-road of 45km was traversed weekly during November 2015-October 2016 through flat maize (Zea mays) and cattle (Bos primigenius) grazing fields. Francolins were counted in three land use mosaic types along the transect-road (including the road): grass camps on both sides of the road (grass/grass edges); arable fields on both sides (arable/arable edges) and arable land on one side with grass camps on the opposite side of the road (arable/grass edges). Results: Francolins used all three mosaic types, but the arable/arable edges were least frequented. Nonetheless, the arable/arable edges played an important part: francolins, including females with chicks, moved along the arable/arable edges, which enabled contact between sub-populations, and the arable/arable edges provided temporary cover (e.g. stubble and maize plants) and ploughed firebreaks to forage (e.g. for bulbs). Conclusion: Cultivation of crop within grasslands does not constrain breeding, movement and habitat use by the Orange River Francolin. For conservation purposes it is critical that the fine-scale mosaic of grazing and cultivation areas remain intact.