Population Dynamics of the Ngorongoro Crater Lions
Decision making regarding effective management strategies in a multiple land use area
such as the Ngorongoro Crater relies on the availability of good data. We must take
human socio-economic welfare as well as wildlife conservation into consideration and
harmoniously integrate inter-disciplinary approaches. Thorough knowledge of the status
of wildlife populations and their ecological requirements are among the important datasets
necessary to this endeavor. Long-term monitoring of the Crater lion population has helped
to give insights into aspects of social behavior such as cooperative hunting and feeding,
disease epidemics, genealogy, and reproductive success.
Currently we are interested in understanding the long-term dynamics of the Crater
lion population. Given large-scale ecological changes that have occurred in the Crater
over the last two decades and the poor demographic performance of the lion population,
this study involves exploring the dynamics of life-history variables (such as rates of
reproduction and offspring survival) and examining how these variables influence population
growth. Incorporating spatial-temporal datasets will aid in understanding the effects of
local-scale and short-term environmental perturbations. Specifically, this study addresses
how life history variables have changed over the last 30 years, how these changes have
influenced the growth rate of the population, and which variables are most responsive to
changing environmental conditions. Findings from this study will help us understand how
natural populations respond to environmental perturbation, as well as provide critical
information necessary for evaluating the potential impacts of alternative management
strategies.
Currently we are interested in understanding the long-term dynamics of the Crater
lion population. Given large-scale ecological changes that have occurred in the Crater
over the last two decades and the poor demographic performance of the lion population,
this study involves exploring the dynamics of life-history variables (such as rates of
reproduction and offspring survival) and examining how these variables influence population
growth. Incorporating spatial-temporal datasets will aid in understanding the effects of
local-scale and short-term environmental perturbations. Specifically, this study addresses
how life history variables have changed over the last 30 years, how these changes have
influenced the growth rate of the population, and which variables are most responsive to
changing environmental conditions. Findings from this study will help us understand how
natural populations respond to environmental perturbation, as well as provide critical
information necessary for evaluating the potential impacts of alternative management
strategies.