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Smit JB, Searle CE, Buchanan‐Smith HM, Strampelli P, Mkuburo L, Kakengi VA, Kohi EM, Dickman AJ, Lee PC. Anthropogenic risk increases night‐time activities and associations in African elephants (
Loxodonta africana
) in the
Ruaha‐Rungwa
ecosystem, Tanzania. Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.13083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Josephine B. Smit
- Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
- Southern Tanzania Elephant Program Iringa Tanzania
| | - Charlotte E. Searle
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Tubney UK
- Lion Landscapes Iringa Tanzania
| | | | - Paolo Strampelli
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Tubney UK
- Lion Landscapes Iringa Tanzania
| | - Lameck Mkuburo
- Southern Tanzania Elephant Program Iringa Tanzania
- Tanzanian Elephant Foundation Moshi Tanzania
| | | | | | - Amy J. Dickman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre Tubney UK
- Lion Landscapes Iringa Tanzania
| | - Phyllis C. Lee
- Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
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Spatial and seasonal group size variation of wild mammalian herbivores in multiple use landscapes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267082. [PMID: 35439256 PMCID: PMC9017940 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Group sizes of wild herbivores can be indicators of ecosystem health and proxies for individual and population fitness, particularly in areas where human activities have become increasingly common. We recorded 176 single- and multi-species groups of wild herbivores in human-dominated landscapes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) during dry and wet seasons. We analyzed how wild herbivore group sizes were affected by: (1) season, (2) distance to fully protected area (NCA crater) and to streams, (3) distance to human settlements, and (4) numbers of livestock. Group sizes were generally larger during the wet season than during the dry season and varied seasonally with distance to NCA crater, streams, and human settlements. During the wet season, larger groups were observed further away from the NCA crater whereas the opposite pattern was apparent during the dry season. Average wild herbivore group sizes increased by about three-fold with increasing distance from the streams during the dry season but were invariant to streams during the wet season. Furthermore, during the dry season, group sizes were larger close to settlements but varied little with distance to settlements during the wet season. While livestock presence did not directly affect wild herbivore group size, distance to settlements, streams and distance to the Ngorongoro crater in interaction with rainfall seasonality did. We conclude that the NCA crater functions as a key resource area for wild herbivores such as wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and zebra (Equus quagga burchelli) during the dry season, highlighting the need for its full protection status in this Man and Biosphere reserve.
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He H, Buchholtz E, Chen F, Vogel S, Yu CA. An agent-based model of elephant crop consumption walks using combinatorial optimization. Ecol Modell 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Glaeser SS, Shepherdson D, Lewis K, Prado N, Brown JL, Lee B, Wielebnowski N. Supporting Zoo Asian Elephant ( Elephas maximus) Welfare and Herd Dynamics with a More Complex and Expanded Habitat. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:2566. [PMID: 34573532 PMCID: PMC8472536 DOI: 10.3390/ani11092566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Ensuring good health and welfare is an increasingly important consideration for conservation of endangered species, whether free-ranging or managed to varying degrees under human care. The welfare-based design of a new habitat for Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo focused on meeting the elephants' physical, physiological, psychological, and social needs 24 h a day and across life stages. The habitat was designed to encourage activity, promote species-typical behaviors, support changing social dynamics, offer increased opportunities for choice, and provide biologically meaningful challenges. In this 4-year study, we monitored elephant health and welfare indicators throughout the transition and acclimation from the previous habitat to the new habitat. Several welfare indicators obtained through longitudinal hormone analyses, behavior assessments, and GPS measurement of walking distance and space use provided evidence that these goals were achieved. The elephants were more active and walked farther on a daily basis in the new habitat, with an average walking distance of over 15 km per day. A switch from primarily caretaker-delivered food to seeking food on their own indicates that the disbursement of food with less temporal and spatial predictability increased foraging opportunities, which better satisfies appetitive motivations important for psychological well-being. All individuals showed adaptive and normal adrenal responses to change and challenge, with the highest fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations and variability during the construction phase, and a return to previous baseline concentrations in the new habitat, suggesting they acclimated well to the new environment. The elephants expressed a diverse range of species-typical behaviors and demonstrated social dynamics of a healthy herd in both habitats with transitions of individuals through life stages. They exhibited more autonomy in choosing whom to associate with socially and also by choosing different aspects of their environment with regular indoor/outdoor access and extensive resource use in the new habitat. Findings indicate that the complexity and flexibility of the new habitat and habitat management has been effective in improving overall welfare by providing meaningful challenges and the opportunity to express appetitive behaviors, by offering choice in environmental conditions, and by providing the space and resource distribution to support evolving herd dynamics and increased social equity for individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon S. Glaeser
- Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221, USA; (D.S.); (K.L.); (B.L.); (N.W.)
| | - David Shepherdson
- Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221, USA; (D.S.); (K.L.); (B.L.); (N.W.)
| | - Karen Lewis
- Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221, USA; (D.S.); (K.L.); (B.L.); (N.W.)
| | - Natalia Prado
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA; (N.P.); (J.L.B.)
- Department of Biology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY 11530, USA
| | - Janine L. Brown
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA; (N.P.); (J.L.B.)
| | - Bob Lee
- Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221, USA; (D.S.); (K.L.); (B.L.); (N.W.)
- ABQ BioPark, 903 10th St. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, USA
| | - Nadja Wielebnowski
- Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221, USA; (D.S.); (K.L.); (B.L.); (N.W.)
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Development and validation of a spatially-explicit agent-based model for space utilization by African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) based on determinants of movement. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Boult VL, Fishlock V, Quaife T, Hawkins E, Moss C, Lee PC, Sibly RM. Human‐driven habitat conversion is a more immediate threat to Amboseli elephants than climate change. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.87] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Vicki Fishlock
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants Nairobi Kenya
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Natural SciencesUniversity of Stirling Stirling UK
| | - Tristan Quaife
- National Centre for Earth Observation, Department of MeteorologyUniversity of Reading Reading UK
| | - Ed Hawkins
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of MeteorologyUniversity of Reading Reading UK
| | | | - Phyllis C. Lee
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants Nairobi Kenya
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Natural SciencesUniversity of Stirling Stirling UK
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