Elephants as Seed Dispersers: Maintaining Ecological Connectivity in Fragmented Savanna Landscapes

Background and Rationale: Elephants are the last remaining megaherbivores capable of maintaining ecological connectivity across increasingly fragmented savanna environments. Their fruit consumption and wide-ranging movements enable them to disperse the seeds of large-fruited, megafauna-adapted trees. These species rely on large-bodied animals for long-distance seed dispersal, essential for population regeneration and gene flow. The confinement or loss of elephant populations threatens these processes, potentially undermining savanna structure and resilience.

Elephant corridors in South Africa and Southern Mozambique present an exceptional opportunity to research these dynamics, reconciling wildlife movement with human livelihoods. This project, based on a partnership between the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy and Elephants Alive, aims to understand how elephants sustain seed dispersal, recruitment, and genetic connectivity for keystone trees within these coexistence landscapes—and to explore how people perceive and value these ecosystem services. The findings will directly inform the design and management of wildlife corridors and conservation strategies.

This project, based on a partnership between the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy and Elephants Alive, aims to understand how elephants sustain seed dispersal, recruitment, and genetic connectivity for keystone trees within coexistence landscapes—and to explore how people perceive and value these ecosystem services. The findings will directly inform the design and management of wildlife corridors and conservation strategies.