Sub Projects

In order to understand the life history of the plains zebra, and how this can be used to contribute significantly to the development of a pragmatic conservation and management plan for the African Savannah Ecosystem, we employ several different approaches to this study, each comprising a specific sub-project of the broader project.

This involves a detailed assessment of the neural underpinnings of the navigation system, understanding how sleep works during the migrations, how the senses of sight and smell are used in migration, to clearly determine how the plains zebras lead the migrations, the determination of how many migrations are found across the ecosystem, how these migrations are linked genetically and functionally, and to provide a detailed assessment of the overall health of the plains zebra population. Each of the links below provides greater detail for each of these subprojects. It must be noted that these are scientific descriptions of the research, and while we have tried to make these descriptions readily accessible to the educated reader, certain aspects of what is provided may require a more detailed understanding of the subject matter.

Each of these sub-projects is designed to reveal important information regarding the life history of the plains zebra, contributing to our overall understanding of how the plains zebra is the key species for the functioning and preservation of this ecosystem. In addition, in the spirit of transparency, we have included an open ethics statement regarding the use of animals in this research project.