Population Viability of Generic Rhino

Abstract:

We illustrate implementation of our PVA web app, using an exemplar data set that is inspired by the life-history and conservation predicament of the black rhino, Diceros bicornis, in southern Africa; but has not been fitted to any particular population because parameters vary quite considerable among populations. This species, like other rhino species, is close to extinction (it is on the IUCN’s critically endangered list—next step, extinct in the wild), with fewer than a few thousand individuals alive at this time. Because this species is subject to the devastating effects of intense poaching for rhino horn, actual locations and numbers are kept confidential by managers of national parks and conservation areas. Further, while some life history data on birth and survival rates are available, these rates vary from one area to another, and often life table construction (natality and mortality rates at each age) relies on misleading values obtained from individuals kept in zoos (e.g. longevity in zoos can be greatly different from longevity in the wild; while calf survival depends on predation pressure). Thus we stress that our dataset exemplar should not be regarded as applicable to any specific rhino population and the model itself is essentially generic. The analysis that follows here is not meant to apply to any real population, but is provided for the purpose of illustrating how conservation decisions for the species can be evaluated using our Numerus PVA app.