Journal
HUMAN ECOLOGY
Volume 31, Issue 1, Pages 87-110Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1023/A:1022834224257
Keywords
pastoralism; livestock; saiga antelope; density dependence; Soviet Union
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We examine factors regulating numbers of domestic livestock and saiga antelopes during the major periods of Kazakhstan's history. In the pre-Soviet period livestock migrations were relatively unrestricted and covered huge distances. Little winter feed or veterinary care was provided for domestic livestock and numbers were regulated largely by winter snow or ice cover. Drought affected fecundity but did not cause large-scale mortality. During the Soviet period the provision of winter feed shielded domestic livestock from winter mortality while hunting controls allowed saiga numbers to recover from over-hunting. Livestock and saiga numbers during this period were high and there is evidence that productivity was affected. However, there were no crashes in livestock numbers linked to high densities, probably because rainfall variability is relatively low and catastrophic droughts are rare. Today livestock numbers in Kazakhstan have crashed because of the withdrawal of state support and the use of animals as currency. The collapse of the state also meant the end of hunting controls and increased poverty, which has lead to widespread saiga poaching and dramatic population declines.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available