Environment and Natural Resources Research; Vol. 8, No. 2; 2018 ISSN 1927-0488 E-ISSN 1927-0496 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 33 Trophy Hunting Versus Ecotourism as a Conservation Model? Assessing the Impacts on Ungulate Behaviour and Demographics in the Ruaha-Rungwa Ecosystem, Central Tanzania Kwaslema Malle Hariohay 1,2 , Craig R. Jackson 3 , Robert D. Fyumagwa 1 & Eivin Røskaft 2 1 Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, P.O.Box 661, Arusha, Tanzania 2 Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Realfagbygget, No-7491, Trondheim, Norway 3 Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway Correspondence: Kwaslema Malle Hariohay, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, P.O. Box 661, Arusha, Tanzania. Tel: 255-769-190-099. E-mail: alexmalle2007@yahoo.com Received: March 17, 2018 Accepted: April 10, 2018 Online Published: April 20, 2018 doi:10.5539/enrr.v8n2p33 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/enrr.v8n2p33 Abstract Trophy hunting may influence wildlife populations in many ways, but these effects have received little consideration in many of Africa’s protected areas. We assessed the effects of trophy hunting on group size, behaviour, flight initiation distance, sex ratio and calf recruitment rate in two model species, impala (Aepyceros melampus) and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), in Rungwa Game Reserve (RGR), Tanzania. The adjoining Ruaha National Park (RNP) served as a control site, since only ecotourism is permitted. Road transects were driven and data recorded immediately upon sighting animals. Both impala and greater kudu had higher flight initiation distances, smaller group size, lower calf recruitment rates and higher levels of vigilance behaviour in RGR compared to those in RNP. Sex ratios did not differ between the two areas. The observed differences are ascribed to the direct and indirect effects of trophy hunting in RGR. Low calf recruitment rates in RGR are of concern, as this may directly compromise population growth rates. Long-term studies may therefore be required to assess how hunted populations are affected by different hunting intensities and at what point this may threaten population persistence. Keywords: Calf recruitment, flight initiation distance, group size, sex ratio, trophy hunting 1. Introduction Anthropogenic disturbances affect wildlife populations in many ways (Christiane Averbeck, Apio, Plath, & Wronski, 2009; Lindsey et al., 2013; Lunde, Bech, Fyumagwa, Jackson, & Røskaft, 2016; Matthias Waltert, Meyer, & Kiffner, 2011; Mathias Waltert et al., 2008). In response, animals may exhibit behavioural changes to minimise potentially negative impacts (Hunninck et al., 2017; Nyahongo, 2008; Tingvold et al., 2013). Vigilance, for example, may increase in response to threatening processes (Nyahongo, 2008; Tingvold et al., 2013; Matthias Waltert et al., 2011) and although this may reduce mortality risk, an increase in vigilance incurs costs as time spent on fitness-increasing behaviours is lost to vigilance (Holmern, Setsaas, Melis, Tufto, & Røskaft, 2016). In this way, behavioural modifications carried out by human activities can have indirect negative population-level effects. Particularly invasive disturbances, however, may lead to direct changes in demographic parameters such as sex ratio and recruitment of young (Christiane Averbeck et al., 2009; Love, Chin, Wynne-Edwards, & Williams, 2005; Lunde et al., 2016; Tuomainen & Candolin, 2010). In combination, such processes have the ability to affect a population’s reproductive potential and thereby its probability of persistence. The rapidly increasing global human population exacerbates the extent and severity of negative anthropogenic effects wildlife populations are exposed to. In response, protected areas are playing an increasingly important role in safeguarding ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. In regions with poor rural communities, however, the natural resources within protected areas represent a valuable source of food (plants and animals), timber for construction, firewood, etc. As a result, human population growth is often particularly rapid in areas immediately alongside protected areas (Kideghesho, 2015; Kideghesho, Nyahongo, Hassan, Thadeo, & Mbije,