Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Migration

Migration

Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.

Optimal Foraging

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.

Keystone Species

Keystone Species

Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ecological community’s structure. Many factors affect community structure, including abiotic factors (e.g., sunlight and nutrients), disturbances (e.g., fire or flood), species interactions (e.g., predation or competition), and chance events (e.g., foreign species invasion). Certain species—such as keystone species—also play a pivotal role in the...

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.

Conservation of Small Populations

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Proanthocyanidin-Rich Cranberry Extract Lowers Glycemia in Established Obesity by Delaying Glucose Absorption.

FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·2026

Same author

Procedural trial generation for cognitive assessment: An executive function planning task.

Behavior research methods·2026

Same author

Correction: Wind conditions do not consistently affect large-scale movement decisions of large savanna herbivores.

Oecologia·2026

Same author

Wildlife Responses to Drone Noise: A Preliminary Approach for Quantifying Disturbance During Single- and Dual-Drone Flights.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

Corrigendum to "Desacetyl-alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone are required to regulate energy balance" [Mol Metab 9 (2018) 207-216/29226825].

Molecular metabolism·2026

Same author

Wind conditions do not consistently affect large-scale movement decisions of large savanna herbivores.

Oecologia·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

Combining Artificial Intelligence and Local Ecological Knowledge to Document the Largest Ever-Counted Cape Buffalo

Emily Bennitt¹, Blair R Costelloe^2,3,4, Ben Koger^5,6

¹Okavango Research Institute University of Botswana Maun Botswana.

Ecology and Evolution

|June 17, 2026

Summary

Large wild mammal aggregations are declining globally. This study documented a record-breaking mega-herd of 4,128 Cape buffalo using wildlife footage and local knowledge, highlighting the value of citizen science for conservation.

Keywords:

aerial survey collaboration indigenous knowledge machine learning population monitoring

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

Area of Science:

Ecology and conservation biology
Wildlife population dynamics
Citizen science and technology integration

Background:

Large wild mammal aggregations are declining globally, often before scientific documentation.
Non-academic wildlife video recordings are increasing, offering opportunistic data collection opportunities.
Understanding ecological value of large aggregations is crucial for conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

To document and quantify a rare, large aggregation of Cape buffalo.
To explore the utility of non-professionally collected wildlife footage for ecological research.
To integrate local ecological knowledge with technological methods for comprehensive data.

Main Methods:

Utilized video footage from a wildlife film producer in Mababe Depression, Botswana.
Applied automated detection and tracking algorithms to count buffalo in the footage.
Incorporated local ecological knowledge from stakeholders for contextual understanding.

Main Results:

Documented a minimum verified herd size of 3,676 Cape buffalo.
Extrapolated an estimated total herd size of approximately 4,128 individuals.
Identified this aggregation as the largest documented Cape buffalo herd, termed a 'mega-herd'.

Conclusions:

The study successfully documented a mega-herd, highlighting the value of opportunistic data and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Recommends further research into the ecological drivers and consequences of forming such large aggregations.
Demonstrates the potential of combining citizen science, technology, and local knowledge for conservation efforts.