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Górecka-Bruzda A, Jaworska J, Stanley CR. The Social and Reproductive Challenges Faced by Free-Roaming Horse (Equus caballus) Stallions. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13071151. [PMID: 37048406 PMCID: PMC10093049 DOI: 10.3390/ani13071151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In captivity, intact male horses, due to their sexual drive, are usually socially isolated from other horses. This lifestyle strongly contrasts with that experienced by horses living in free-roaming, feral, or semi-feral conditions, where adult stallions have several roles in their social group, with successful reproduction being their primary drive. Reproductive skew in wild populations is high; many stallions will fail to reproduce at all, while others achieve high levels of reproductive success, siring a large number of foals. Successful stallions are those with particular characteristics and abilities that facilitate harem formation and tenure, allowing them to successfully take over a harem or establish a new one, protect mares from rival stallions, employ appropriate social behaviour to maintain group cohesion, and avoid kin-mating, for example through kin recognition mechanisms. Whilst the life of free-living stallions is far from stress-free, they retain ancestral adaptations to selection pressures (such as predation and competition) exhibited by their natural environment over thousands of years. Here, we discuss the challenges faced by free-living horse stallions, the roles they play in social groups, and their resulting social needs. By understanding these pressures and how stallions react to them, we highlighted the importance of the social environment for the stallion. It is hoped that a better understanding of wild stallions’ lives will lead to their needs being more clearly met in captivity, reducing stereotypical behaviour and improving welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Górecka-Bruzda
- Department of Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 05-552 Magdalenka, Poland
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-22-736-71-24
| | - Joanna Jaworska
- Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Gamete and Embryo Biology, 10-243 Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Christina R. Stanley
- Animal Behaviour & Welfare Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4B, UK
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Lundgren EJ, Ramp D, Middleton OS, Wooster EIF, Kusch E, Balisi M, Ripple WJ, Hasselerharm CD, Sanchez JN, Mills M, Wallach AD. A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2348-2357. [PMID: 35871769 PMCID: PMC10087508 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Introduced large herbivores have partly filled ecological gaps formed in the late Pleistocene, when many of the Earth's megafauna were driven extinct. However, extant predators are generally considered incapable of exerting top-down influences on introduced megafauna, leading to unusually strong disturbance and herbivory relative to native herbivores. We report on the first documented predation of juvenile feral donkeys Equus africanus asinus by cougars Puma concolor in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of North America. We then investigated how cougar predation corresponds with differences in feral donkey behaviour and associated effects on desert wetlands. Focusing on a feral donkey population in the Death Valley National Park, we used camera traps and vegetation surveys to compare donkey activity patterns and impacts between wetlands with and without cougar predation. Donkeys were primarily diurnal at wetlands with cougar predation, thereby avoiding cougars. However, donkeys were active throughout the day and night at sites without predation. Donkeys were ~87% less active (measured as hours of activity a day) at wetlands with predation (p < 0.0001). Sites with predation had reduced donkey disturbance and herbivory, including ~46% fewer access trails, 43% less trampled bare ground and 192% more canopy cover (PERMANOVA, R2 = 0.22, p = 0.0003). Our study is the first to reveal a trophic cascade involving cougars, feral equids and vegetation. Cougar predation appears to rewire an ancient food web, with diverse implications for modern ecosystems. Our results suggest that protecting apex predators could have important implications for the ecological effects of introduced megafauna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Lundgren
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Daniel Ramp
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | | | - Eamonn I F Wooster
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Erik Kusch
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mairin Balisi
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - William J Ripple
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Chris D Hasselerharm
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jessica N Sanchez
- One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Mystyn Mills
- Department of Botany & Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Arian D Wallach
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
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Lundgren EJ, Ramp D, Wu J, Sluk M, Moeller KT, Stromberg JC, Wallach AD. Feral equids' varied effects on ecosystems-Response. Science 2021; 373:973-974. [PMID: 34446598 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl7466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Lundgren
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia. .,Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Daniel Ramp
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Jianguo Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, AZ 85281, USA.,School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Martin Sluk
- Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History, Providence, RI 02907, USA
| | - Karla T Moeller
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, AZ 85281, USA
| | | | - Arian D Wallach
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
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