**3. Results**

The species richness was rather high for the nutrient poor granites, with 33 mammal species observed in total. These species were subdivided into the following feeding guilds (Table 1): 18 herbivore species (seven grazers, six browsers, two mixed feeders and three general vegetarians), 10 carnivores, two insectivores, and three omnivore species. Eight species are classified as small mammals (mongoose, squirrel, etc.), two as dwarf antelopes (steenbok, duiker), 11 as medium (impala, leopard, etc.), six as large (zebra, lion, etc.) and six as mega-sized mammals (elephant, rhino, etc.)

Due to the global rhino poaching crisis, all detail of rhinoceros species that can be used to determine their exact location was removed from the figures and text. For the remainder of the species, their presence in each zone on the catena (Figure 1a) (including the additional zones/areas—Figure 1b,c) was indicated for each survey period based on number of events/observations. Species with darker colour blocks on Figure 1 were observed with higher frequency (during different events/observations) on the cameras than species with lighter colour blocks. The common species found in all zones, were buffalo, elephant, greater kudu, grey duiker, impala and lion, while the other common species that were only absent from the granite-boulder outcrop area (Figure 1c) were blue wildebeest, giraffe, plains zebra and spotted hyena. Steenbok (water-independent species, like the grey duiker) was only absent at the mud wallows and waterholes (Figure 1b). Mammal species richness was the highest at waterholes (21 species), followed by the midslope (19) and sodic patch (16) on the catena. Four species were found only in the vicinity of a waterhole and not on the catena, namely, banded mongoose, side-striped jackal, vervet monkey and waterbuck.


**Table 1.** Total list of mammal species, including their scientific names, observed on the catena, granite outcrops and nearby waterholes. Their feeding guild and body sizes relative to each other are also indicated.

Mammal species observed at each of the waterholes in closest vicinity to the catena could be distinguished more easily (Table 2). During the 2015 survey period, the De la Porte waterhole was closed for maintenance and no data is available. The herd sizes of elephants visiting waterholes differed, including herds of 6, 9, 12, 18, 21 and 30, while impala herd sizes were 5, 12, 20, 40 and 70 over the different survey periods. Species observed at all three waterholes were baboon, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, impala and warthog. Some species that were also present on the catena were observed at only one of the waterholes, such as blue wildebeest, grey duiker, greater kudu and plains zebra. The larger predators were also only observed at one of the three waterholes, i.e., lion, leopard, wild dog and spotted hyena (latter observed at two waterholes), but these results can be biased since accurate night observations were impossible because of the way the cameras were set-up at waterholes. Vervet monkey, bushbuck, waterbuck and hippopotamus were also only captured at one waterhole, albeit different waterholes (Table 2). The differences that are evident between data presented in Figure 1 and Table 2 (i.e., banded mongoose, civet, dwarf mongoose, side-striped jackal, etc.) are because of the additional cameras that were placed at waterholes to cover the vicinity of the waterhole as well, and these data were included in Figure 1 but not in Table 2 where only data from the waterhole itself are presented.


**Figure 1.** Mammal species (excluding rhino species) present in different zones during three survey periods: (**a**) catenal zones; (**b**) mud wallows, waterholes and (**c**) granite-boulder outcrops. The colour gradient is used to indicate number of events (observations) of each species where increasing numbers were represented by darker colours.

> **Table 2.** Number of events (observations) of the mammal species (excluding rhinos) and the maximum group size observed at each of the three waterholes during that survey period.



**Table 2.** *Cont*.

The total number of events and the total number of species per zone were summarised in Table 3. The diversity index values indicating the species richness and evenness in each zone from the number of events were also included, for the sake of completeness. The riparian area (2016 and 2017), granite outcrops (2016) and crest–midslope (2017) had the highest diversity indexes. ANOVA (number of events per species) revealed that all main (Zone and Survey period, respectively: F(10,10) = 2.077, *p* = 0.132 and F(1,10) = 0.287, *p* = 0.604) and interaction effects (F(10,10) = 0.324, *p* = 0.955) were not significant. Small differences were also noted (Figure 1) in presence/absence of some species in the different zones (*H* = 2.227, n = 96, *p* = 0.5267) and between survey periods (*H* = 0.180, n = 99, *p* = 0.9139), but they were not statistically significant. Consequently, there was not enough evidence to test the hypothesis that species may be associated with specific zones. A longer time period is needed for the study and the zones are probably too small, relatively, to limit the mammals to one specific zone.


**Table 3.** Summary of the sum total of events (observations), species richness (number of species) and the Shannon–Weiner Diversity Index values per survey period for each zone. Total values of the catena and the waterholes (including their surrounding areas) are also indicated.
