Response of Crested Guinea-fowl (Guttera edouardi), a forest specialist, to spatial variation in land use in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa

Globally anthropogenic pressures on natural environments have caused species decline. Ground dwelling bird species declined in numbers because of loss of habitat and nesting sites. Protected areas (PAs) are generally perceived as areas with little disturbance; however, many have/are also subjected to anthropogenic land use change, such as agroforestry. Consequently, we investigated the presence and habitat use of a terrestrial avian species, the Crested Guinea-fowl ( Guttera edouardi ), in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa, a PA with varying land use change. We used single-season camera trap data from 99 trap stations across 24 days, and single season occupancy models to quantify the influence of habitat conversion and habitat characteristics on occupancy and detection probability of Crested Guinea-fowl. The average site occupancy (±standard error) and detection probability (±standard error) under the variable influence was 0.40 ± 0.07 and 0.43 ± 0.06 respectively from the top models. The most influential variables were natural forests, shrub cover, leaf litter, weed dominance, distance to water and narrow path. The natural forests, weed dominance and shrub cover positively influenced the occupancy of Crested Guinea-fowl. Leaf litter and distance to water had a positive influence on detection probability while narrow path had a negative influence. Our findings highlight the importance of natural forests to the survival of Crested Guinea-fowl in landscapes modified for agroforestry. Management initiatives are mandatory to ensure protection of adequate natural habitat for the conservation of forest specialists.