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Rödel HG, Ibler B, Ozogány K, Kerekes V. Age-specific effects of density and weather on body condition and birth rates in a large herbivore, the Przewalski's horse. Oecologia 2023; 203:435-451. [PMID: 37971561 PMCID: PMC10684615 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05477-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Reproduction in young females can show a particularly sensitive response to environmental challenges, although empirical support from individual-based long-term studies is scarce. Based on a 20-year data set from a free-roaming Przewalski's horse population (Equus ferus przewalskii), we studied effects of large-herbivore density (horses + cattle) and weather conditions experienced during different life stages on females' annual birth rates. Foaling probability was very low in 2-year-olds, reaching maximum values in 5 to 10-year-olds, followed by a decrease in older females indicating reproductive senescence. Mother's previous reproductive investment affected her current reproduction; young and old mothers (as opposed to middle-aged ones), which had nursed a foal for at least 60 days during the previous year, reproduced with a lower probability. Foaling probability and body condition of young females were lower when large-herbivore density was high. Reproduction was also influenced by interactive weather effects during different life stages. Low late-summer precipitation during the females' year of birth was associated with a pronounced decrease in foaling probability in response to harsh late-winter temperatures prior to the mating season. In turn, increased amounts of late-summer rain during this early age together with more late-summer rain during the females' current pregnancy led to an increased reproductive probability in 2-3-year-olds. These results were corroborated by the ameliorating effects of late-summer rain on body condition in such females. In conclusion, our findings highlight the interactive importance of weather conditions experienced during early life, and of density and weather during current pregnancy on foaling probability, particularly in young females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko G Rödel
- Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée UR 4443 (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 93430, Villetaneuse, France.
| | - Benjamin Ibler
- Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen (Bielefeld Zoo), Dornberger Straße 149a, 33619, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Katalin Ozogány
- HUN-REN-UD Behavioural Ecology Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Viola Kerekes
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
- Hortobágy National Park Directorate, Sumen utca. 2, 4024, Debrecen, Hungary.
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Britnell J, Vorster L, Shultz S. Evidence of infanticide in the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra). BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Infanticide has been described across mammal species. Infanticide is thought to be a tactic which increases reproductive opportunities or reduces competition over local resources. Species of the genus Equus exhibit life history traits such as expensive young, long gestation, lactation and dependency, extended inter-birth interval when there is a foal at foot and strong male reproductive skew. These traits suggest infanticide may be present throughout the genus. However, most documented cases of infanticide attempts come from captive populations and rely heavily on indirect accounts in free-roaming populations. Here, we report an infanticide attempt in Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra). The aggression was perpetrated by multiple bachelor males on two foals belonging to the same family group. The foals were separated from the parent group, chased and harried for a total of 45 minutes before the mothers and herd stallion were able to regain their offspring. We also report three cases of infanticide from necropsy. The injuries sustained by the foals are consistent with infanticide-based injuries documented in other equids species. The timing of these deaths occurs after a stallion turnover. These two cases provide the most conclusive evidence to date that infanticide takes place within mountain zebra.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.A. Britnell
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9NT, UK
- North of England Zoological Society (Chester Zoo), Caughall Road, Upton-by-Chester CH2 1LH, UK
| | - L. Vorster
- Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Barrydale 6720, South Africa
| | - S. Shultz
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9NT, UK
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Vitet C, Duncan P, Ganswindt A, Mabika C, Chamaillé-Jammes S. Do infanticides occur in harem-forming equids? A test with long-term sociodemographic data in wild plains zebras. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Hu D, Chao Y, Zhang B, Wang C, Qi Y, Ente M, Zhang D, Li K, Mok KM. Effects of Gasterophilus pecorum infestation on the intestinal microbiota of the rewilded Przewalski's horses in China. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251512. [PMID: 33974667 PMCID: PMC8112688 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Horse botflies have been a threat to the Przewalski’s horses in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in Xinjiang of China since their reintroduction to the original range. As larvae of these parasites could infest the intestine of a horse for months, they could interact with and alter the structure and composition of its intestinal microbiota, affecting adversely its health. Nonetheless, there are no such studies on the rewilded Przewalski’s horses yet. For the first time, this study characterizes the composition of the intestinal microbiota of 7 rewilded Przewalski’s horses infected severely by Gasterophilus pecorum following and prior to their anthelmintic treatment. Bioinformatics analyses of the sequence data obtained by amplicon high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes showed that G. pecorum infestation significantly increased the richness of the intestinal microbial community but not its diversity. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were found the dominant phyla as in other animals, and the parasitic infestation decreased the F/B ratio largely by over 50%. Large reduction in relative abundances of the two genera Streptococcus and Lactobacillus observed with G. pecorum infestation suggested possible changes in colic and digestion related conditions of the infected horses. Variations on the relative abundance of the genus groups known to be pathogenic or symbiotic showed that adverse impact of the G. pecorum infestation could be associated with reduction of the symbiotic genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium that are probiotics and able to promote immunity against parasitic infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dini Hu
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuzhu Chao
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Boru Zhang
- Qinhuangdao Forestry Bureau, Qinhuangdao, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Altay Management Station of Mt. Kalamaili Ungulate Nature Reserve, Altay, China
| | - Yingjie Qi
- Altay Management Station of Mt. Kalamaili Ungulate Nature Reserve, Altay, China
| | - Make Ente
- Xinjiang Research Centre for Breeding Przewalski’s Horse, Urumqi, China
| | - Dong Zhang
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Li
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (KL); (KMM)
| | - Kai Meng Mok
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Macau, Macao, China
- * E-mail: (KL); (KMM)
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Tang L, Li Y, Srivathsan A, Gao Y, Li K, Hu D, Zhang D. Gut Microbiomes of Endangered Przewalski's Horse Populations in Short- and Long-Term Captivity: Implication for Species Reintroduction Based on the Soft-Release Strategy. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:363. [PMID: 32226419 PMCID: PMC7081077 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Captivity maybe the only choice for survival of many endangered vertebrates, and understanding its broad effects is important for animal management and conservation, including breeding endangered species for subsequent release. Extreme environmental changes during captivity may influence survival ability in the wild. Captivity decreases gut bacterial diversity in a wide range of animals. However, most studies directly compare animals living in captivity with those in the wild, and there is a lack of understanding of effects of gradient shift in lifestyle during species reintroduction based on the soft-release strategy, which involves a confinement period in a field enclosure. Here, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyze gut microbiomes of 11 captive and 12 semi-wild Przewalski’s horses (PH; Equus ferus przewalskii) under the same captivity environment, using fecal samples. A subset of samples with abundant extracted DNA (including 3 captive and 3 semi-wild individuals) was selected for whole-genome shotgun sequencing. We found that community diversity did not differ between the semi-wild PH and captive PH, but the semi-wild PH had significantly higher bacterial richness than those in captivity. Relative abundances of all dominant phyla were similar across the semi-wild or captive horses, while those of the non-dominant phyla Tenericutes and Proteobacteria were significantly higher in semi-wild PH than in captive PH. Beta diversity results indicated that bacterial communities of captives and semi-wild horses were clearly separated distinct when considering only composition. Functional profiling of the microbiomes revealed that the semi-wild and captive gut microbiomes were largely similar. However, semi-wild horse microbiomes had higher abundance of bacterial genes related to core metabolic processes, such as carbohydrates, amino acids, and nucleic acid metabolism. The study revealed that semi-wild PH could retain specific non-dominant bacteria and harbor a more diverse microbiome than the captive counterpart, and thus have higher metabolic potential to utilize the complex plants efficiently. These results indicate that change in host lifestyle may play a role in microbiome differentiation in the process of reintroduction, suggesting that a short period of time in captivity is acceptable for PH from the perspective of maintaining the richness of intestinal bacterial flora to some extent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liping Tang
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Yimeng Li
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Amrita Srivathsan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yunyun Gao
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Li
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Defu Hu
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Dong Zhang
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
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Heck L, Clauss M, Sánchez-Villagra MR. Gestation length variation in domesticated horses and its relation to breed and body size diversity. Mamm Biol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2017.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Zhang Y, Cao QS, Rubenstein DI, Zang S, Songer M, Leimgruber P, Chu H, Cao J, Li K, Hu D. Water Use Patterns of Sympatric Przewalski's Horse and Khulan: Interspecific Comparison Reveals Niche Differences. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0132094. [PMID: 26161909 PMCID: PMC4498657 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2014] [Accepted: 06/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Acquiring water is essential for all animals, but doing so is most challenging for desert-living animals. Recently Przewalski’s horse has been reintroduced to the desert area in China where the last wild surviving member of the species was seen before it vanished from China in the1960s. Its reintroduction placed it within the range of a close evolutionary relative, the con-generic Khulan. Determining whether or not these two species experience competition and whether or not such competition was responsible for the extinction of Przewalski’s horses in the wild over 50 years ago, requires identifying the fundamental and realized niches of both species. We remotely monitored the presence of both species at a variety of water points during the dry season in Kalamaili Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Przewalski’s horses drank twice per day mostly during daylight hours at low salinity water sources while Khulans drank mostly at night usually at high salinity water points or those far from human residences. Spatial and temporal differences in water use enables coexistence, but suggest that Przewalski’s horses also restrict the actions of Khulan. Such differences in both the fundamental and realized niches were associated with differences in physiological tolerances for saline water and human activity as well as differences in aggression and dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjun Zhang
- College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Qing S. Cao
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Daniel I. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Sen Zang
- College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Melissa Songer
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Peter Leimgruber
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Hongjun Chu
- College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Altai Forestry Bureau, Altai, Xinjiang, China
| | - Jie Cao
- Wild Horse Breeding Center, Xinjiang Forestry Department, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
| | - Kai Li
- College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Defu Hu
- College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
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Retraction. Przewalski's horses in western China: when will reintroduction succeed? Equine Vet J 2011; 44:123, e1. [PMID: 21933361 DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00463.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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