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Hofmann G, Mettke-Hofmann C. Watch out! High vigilance at small waterholes when alone in open trees. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304257. [PMID: 38959233 PMCID: PMC11221651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
An animal's environment contains many risks causing animals to scan their environment for potential predators and threats from conspecifics. How much time they invest in such vigilance depends on environmental and social factors. Most vigilance studies have been conducted in a foraging context with little known about vigilance in other contexts. Here we investigated vigilance of Gouldian finches at waterholes considering environmental and social factors. Gouldian finches are colour polymorphic with two main head colours in both sexes co-occurring in the same population, black-headed and red-headed. Data collection was done on birds sitting in trees surrounding waterholes by measuring the frequency of head movements, which reflects how frequently they change their field of view, i.e., scan different areas in their environment. A higher frequency generally reflects higher vigilance. Gouldian finches had a higher frequency of head movements when at small waterholes and when sitting in open, leafless trees. Moreover, head movements were higher when birds were alone in the tree as compared to groups of birds. Finally, birds in same head colour morph groups had a higher frequency of head movements than birds in mixed head colour groups. Results indicate heightened vigilance with increased perception of predation risk (small waterholes, open exposed perch, when alone) but that social vigilance also played a role (group composition) with particularly the aggressive red-headed birds being more vigilant when together with other red-headed birds. Future research should investigate the effect of smaller waterholes as global warming will cause smaller waterholes to become more common for longer periods of time, which can increase stress in the birds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claudia Mettke-Hofmann
- School of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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2
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Courbin N, Garel M, Marchand P, Duparc A, Debeffe L, Börger L, Loison A. Interacting lethal and nonlethal human activities shape complex risk tolerance behaviors in a mountain herbivore. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2640. [PMID: 35443100 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Animals perceive human activities as risky and generally respond with fear-induced proactive behaviors to buffer the circadian patterns of lethal and nonlethal disturbances, such as diel migrations (DMs) between risky places during safe nighttime and safer places during risky daytime. However, such responses potentially incur costs through movement or reduced foraging time, so individuals should adjust their tolerance when human activities are harmless, through habituation. Yet this is a challenging cognitive task when lethal and nonlethal risks co-occur, forming complex landscapes of fear. The consequences of this human-induced complexity have, however, rarely been assessed. We studied the individual DM dynamics of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra), 89 GPS-tracked individual-years, from/to trails in the French Alps in areas with co-occurring lethal (hunting) and nonlethal (hiking and skiing) disturbances, with different intensities across seasons. We developed a conceptual framework relying on the risk-disturbance hypothesis and habituation to predict tolerance adjustments of chamois under various disturbance contexts and across contrasted seasonal periods. Based on spatial and statistical analyses combining periodograms and multinomial logistic models, we found that DM in relation to distance to a trail was a consistent response by chamois (~85% of individuals) to avoid human disturbance during daytime, especially during the hiking and hunting periods. Such behavior revealed a low tolerance of most chamois to human activities, although there was considerable interindividual heterogeneity in DM. Interestingly, there was an increased tolerance among the most disturbed diel migrants, potentially through habituation, with chamois performing shorter DMs in areas highly disturbed by hikers. Crucially, chamois that were most human-habituated during the hiking period remained more tolerant in the subsequent harvesting period, which could increase their risk of being harvested. In contrast, individuals less tolerant to hiking performed longer DMs when hunting risk increased, and compared to hiking, hunting exacerbated the threshold distance to trails triggering DMs. No carryover effect of hunting beyond the hunting period was observed. In conclusion, complex human-induced landscapes of fear with co-occurring disturbances by nature-based tourism and hunting may shape unexpected patterns of tolerance to human activities, whereby animal tolerance could become potentially deleterious for individual survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Courbin
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine (LECA), UMR 5553, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
| | - Mathieu Garel
- Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB), Direction de la Recherche et de l'Appui Scientifique - Service Anthropisation et Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes Terrestres, Gières, France
| | - Pascal Marchand
- Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB), Direction de la Recherche et de l'Appui Scientifique - Service Anthropisation et Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes Terrestres, Juvignac, France
| | - Antoine Duparc
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine (LECA), UMR 5553, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
| | - Lucie Debeffe
- Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Université de Toulouse, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (INRAE), Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Anne Loison
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine (LECA), UMR 5553, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
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Chitwood MC, Baruzzi C, Lashley MA. “Ecology of fear” in ungulates: Opportunities for improving conservation. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8657. [PMID: 35261746 PMCID: PMC8888265 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8657] [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: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Because ungulates are important contributors to ecosystem function, understanding the “ecology of fear” could be important to the conservation of ecosystems. Although studying ungulate ecology of fear is common, knowledge from ungulate systems is highly contested among ecologists. Here, we review the available literature on the ecology of fear in ungulates to generalize our current knowledge and how we can leverage it for conservation. Four general focus areas emerged from the 275 papers included in our literature search (and some papers were included in multiple categories): behavioral responses to predation risk (79%), physiological responses to predation risk (15%), trophic cascades resulting from ungulate responses to predation risk (20%), and manipulation of predation risk (1%). Of papers focused on behavior, 75% were about movement and habitat selection. Studies were biased toward North America (53%), tended to be focused on elk (Cervus canadensis; 29%), and were dominated by gray wolves (40%) or humans (39%) as predators of interest. Emerging literature suggests that we can utilize predation risk for conservation with top‐down (i.e., increasing predation risk) and bottom‐up (i.e., manipulating landscape characteristics to increase risk or risk perception) approaches. It is less clear whether fear‐related changes in physiology have population‐level fitness consequences or cascading effects, which could be fruitful avenues for future research. Conflicting evidence of trait‐mediated trophic cascades might be improved with better replication across systems and accounting for confounding effects of ungulate density. Improving our understanding of mechanisms modulating the nature of trophic cascades likely is most important to ensure desirable conservation outcomes. We recommend future work embrace the complexity of natural systems by attempting to link together the focal areas of study identified herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Colter Chitwood
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management Oklahoma State University Stillwater Oklahoma USA
| | - Carolina Baruzzi
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University Starkville Mississippi USA
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
| | - Marcus A. Lashley
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University Starkville Mississippi USA
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
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Khattak RH, Zhensheng L, Liwei T, Pairah P, Zhirong Z, Roberts NJ. Monitoring post-release behavioural activity of captive-bred urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) at Togh Managara Safari Park Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. BRAZ J BIOL 2021; 82:e243250. [PMID: 34133572 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.243250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) is a globally threatened wild sheep species. In Pakistan the species is legally protected and bred in captivity to release into natural habitats to reinforce wild populations. Vigilance and feeding are critical to survival, though the degree to which captive-bred animals exhibit these behaviours post-release has rarely been investigated. We monitored the daily behaviours of five adult urial after release and classifying behaviours from 0600 hrs to 1800 hrs, replicating each one-hour period twice and recording four observations of each animal per hour. At the herd level, vigilance and feeding behaviours were exhibited equally. Males and females invested equal time in feeding, males were more vigilant (p = 0.001) and more aggressive (p = 0.010), and females were more restful (p = 0.019) or engaged in grooming (p = 0.044) or locomotion (p = 0.002). Females spent more time feeding than being vigilant (p = 0.002). Males maintained high levels of vigilance throughout the day. Patterns of resting 1300 hrs to 1500 hrs and feeding in early morning and late afternoon were common for both sexes. Behaviours classified as 'other' were exhibited equally between sexes. Our results reveal positive indications of captive-bred urial balancing threat detection and energy acquisition post-release and exhibiting natural behaviours and activity patterns. We encourage assessment of survivorship to evaluate long-term effectiveness of captive breeding and release as a candidate restoration programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- R H Khattak
- College of Wildlife and Protected Areas, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, P.R.China
| | - L Zhensheng
- College of Wildlife and Protected Areas, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, P.R.China
| | - T Liwei
- College of Wildlife and Protected Areas, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, P.R.China
| | - P Pairah
- Gunung Halimun Salak National Park Agency, Jalan Rya Cipanas Kec. Kabandungan, Kabupaten Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
| | - Z Zhirong
- College of Wildlife and Protected Areas, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, P.R.China
| | - N J Roberts
- College of Wildlife and Protected Areas, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, P.R.China
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Human disturbances increase vigilance levels in sika deer (Cervus nippon): A preliminary observation by camera-trapping. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF THERIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.20.1.07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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6
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Beauchamp G. On how risk and group size interact to influence vigilance. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1918-1934. [PMID: 31270943 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Vigilance allows animals to monitor their surroundings for signs of danger associated with predators or rivals. As vigilance is costly, models predict that it should increase when the risk posed by predators or rivals increases. In addition, vigilance is expected to decrease in larger groups that provide more safety against predators. Risk and group size are thus two key determinants of vigilance. Together, they could have additive or interactive effects. If risk and group size interacted, the magnitude of the group-size effect on vigilance would vary depending on the level of risk experienced, implying that the benefits of sociality in terms of vigilance vary with risk. Depending on the model, vigilance is predicted to decrease more rapidly with group size at low risk or at high risk. Little work has focused directly on the interaction between risk and group size, making it difficult to understand under which conditions particular interactive effects arise and whether interactive effects are common in natural systems. I review the vast literature on vigilance in birds and mammals to assess whether interactive effects between risk and group size are common, and if present, which pattern occurs more frequently. In studies involving predation risk, the greatest proportion reported no statistically significant interactive effects. In other cases, vigilance decreased with group size more rapidly at low or high risk in a similar proportion of studies. In studies involving risk posed by rivals (social risk), most documented a more rapid decrease in vigilance with group size at low than at high risk, as predicted if the need to monitor rivals increases in larger groups. Low statistical power to detect interactive effects might have been an issue in several studies. The absence of interactive effects, on the other hand, might suggest constraints or limits on the ability of animals to adjust vigilance to current risk or group sizes. Interactive effects on vigilance have implications for the evolution of sociality and for our understanding of the phenotypic plasticity of predator- and competitor-induced defences and deserve more attention in future studies.
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Fattorini N, Ferretti F. To scan or not to scan? Occurrence of the group‐size effect in a seasonally nongregarious forager. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Niccolò Fattorini
- Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences University of Siena Siena Italy
| | - Francesco Ferretti
- Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences University of Siena Siena Italy
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Blank DA. Vigilance, staring and escape running in antipredator behavior of goitered gazelle. Behav Processes 2018; 157:408-416. [PMID: 30036640 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Predation is a very powerful force that shapes many ungulate traits. It is widely known that increasing vigilance intensity is costly and leads to a decline of forage intake. Consequently, ungulates gather into larger groups to reduce an individual vigilance burden by using the "many eyes" effect and to enhance their survival through the "safety in numbers" effect. Vigilance rate and related aggregation changes are two of the most discussed antipredator responses of ungulates to predation risk, but less considered factors also have a significant impact. To enhance our knowledge on these impact factors, I investigated the antipredator responses (vigilance, staring, and escape running) of goitered gazelles. I found that: a) adult females demonstrated vigilance, staring and escape running significantly more often than adult males, sub-adults and fawns; b) adult gazelles (females and males), having more experience in responding to threats, were more vigilant than young individuals (sub-adults and fawns), having likely more involvement in finding food; c) during the birthing and hiding periods, mothers displayed higher rates of vigilance than in other seasons, while staring and escape running were observed most often at the end of the hiding period, when fawns altering their hiding strategy to following one, started to walk a lot in the absence of mothers, as well; and d) goitered gazelles changed their vigilance rate in response to predation risks before changing group size. The events of the yearly biological cycle (birthing/rearing young for females; rutting for males) also had significant impacts on the antipredator responses (vigilance rate and aggregation) in adult gazelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A Blank
- Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresources in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China.
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9
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Social behaviour as a predominant driver of sexual, age-dependent and reproductive segregation in Mediterranean mouflon. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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10
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Marchand P, Garel M, Bourgoin G, Duparc A, Dubray D, Maillard D, Loison A. Combining familiarity and landscape features helps break down the barriers between movements and home ranges in a non-territorial large herbivore. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:371-383. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Marchand
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité Faune de Montagne; 147 route de Lodève, Les Portes du Soleil F-34990 Juvignac France
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, CNRS UMR 5553, Centre Interdisciplinaire des Sciences de la Montagne; Université Savoie Mont-Blanc; Bâtiment Belledonne Ouest F-73376 Le Bourget-du-Lac France
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Délégation Régionale Occitanie; 18 rue Jean Perrin, Actisud Bâtiment 12 F-31100 Toulouse France
| | - Mathieu Garel
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité Faune de Montagne; 147 route de Lodève, Les Portes du Soleil F-34990 Juvignac France
| | - Gilles Bourgoin
- Laboratoire de parasitologie vétérinaire, VetAgro Sup - Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon; Université de Lyon; 1 avenue Bourgelat, BP 83 F-69280 Marcy l’Etoile France
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS UMR 5558; Université Lyon 1; F-69622 Villeurbanne France
| | - Antoine Duparc
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité Faune de Montagne; 147 route de Lodève, Les Portes du Soleil F-34990 Juvignac France
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, CNRS UMR 5553, Centre Interdisciplinaire des Sciences de la Montagne; Université Savoie Mont-Blanc; Bâtiment Belledonne Ouest F-73376 Le Bourget-du-Lac France
| | - Dominique Dubray
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité Faune de Montagne; 147 route de Lodève, Les Portes du Soleil F-34990 Juvignac France
| | - Daniel Maillard
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité Faune de Montagne; 147 route de Lodève, Les Portes du Soleil F-34990 Juvignac France
| | - Anne Loison
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, CNRS UMR 5553, Centre Interdisciplinaire des Sciences de la Montagne; Université Savoie Mont-Blanc; Bâtiment Belledonne Ouest F-73376 Le Bourget-du-Lac France
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Daigle CL, Rodenburg TB, Bolhuis JE, Swanson JC, Siegford JM. Individual Consistency of Feather Pecking Behavior in Laying Hens: Once a Feather Pecker Always a Feather Pecker? Front Vet Sci 2015; 2:6. [PMID: 26664935 PMCID: PMC4672280 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2015.00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The pecking behavior [severe feather, gentle feather, and aggressive pecks (AP)] of individual White Shaver non-cage laying hens (n = 300) was examined at 21, 24, 27, 32, and 37 weeks. Hens were housed in 30 groups of 10 hens each and on 3 cm litter with access to a feeder, perch, and two nest boxes. The number of severe feather pecks given (SFPG) and received (SFPR) was used to categorize hens as feather peckers (P), victims (V), neutrals (N), or feather pecker-victims (PV) at each age. Hens categorized as PV exhibited pecking behaviors similar to P and received pecks similar to V. SFP given were correlated with APs given, but not with gentle feather pecks (GFP) given throughout the study. State-transition plot maps illustrated that 22.5% of P remained P, while 44% of PV remained PV throughout the duration of the study. Lifetime behavioral categories identified hens as a consistent feather pecker (5%), consistent neutral (3.9%), consistent victim (7.9%), consistent feather pecker-victim (29.4%), or inconsistent (53.8%) in their behavioral patterns throughout their life. Consistent feather peckers performed more SFP than hens of other categories, and consistent neutral hens received fewer GFP than consistent feather PV. No differences in corticosterone or whole blood serotonin levels were observed among the categories. Approximately, half of the population was classified as a feather pecker at least once during the study, while the remainder was never categorized as a feather pecker. Therefore, even if the development and cause of feather pecking may be multifactorial, once the behavior has been developed, some hens may persist in feather pecking. However, as some hens were observed to never receive or perform SFP, emphasis should be made to select for these hens in future breeding practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney L. Daigle
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Group, Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - T. Bas Rodenburg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - J. Elizabeth Bolhuis
- Adaptation Physiology Group, Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Janice C. Swanson
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Group, Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Janice M. Siegford
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Group, Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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Marchand P, Garel M, Bourgoin G, Dubray D, Maillard D, Loison A. Coupling scale-specific habitat selection and activity reveals sex-specific food/cover trade-offs in a large herbivore. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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13
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Li C, Zhou L, Xu L, Zhao N, Beauchamp G. Vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments of wintering hooded cranes, Grus monacha, in human-dominated foraging habitats. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0118928. [PMID: 25768111 PMCID: PMC4359144 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to loss and degradation of natural wetlands, waterbirds increasingly rely on surrounding human-dominated habitats to obtain food. Quantifying vigilance patterns, investigating the trade-off among various activities, and examining the underlying mechanisms will help us understand how waterbirds adapt to human-caused disturbances. During two successive winters (November-February of 2012–13 and 2013–14), we studied the hooded crane, Grus monacha, in the Shengjin Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR), China, to investigate how the species responds to human disturbances through vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments. Our results showed striking differences in the behavior of the cranes when foraging in the highly disturbed rice paddy fields found in the buffer zone compared with the degraded natural wetlands in the core area of the NNR. Time spent vigilant decreased with flock size and cranes spent more time vigilant in the human-dominated buffer zone. In the rice paddy fields, the birds were more vigilant but also fed more at the expense of locomotion and maintenance activities. Adult cranes spent more time vigilant and foraged less than juveniles. We recommend habitat recovery in natural wetlands and community co-management in the surrounding human-dominated landscape for conservation of the hooded crane and, generally, for the vast numbers of migratory waterbirds wintering in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River floodplain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunlin Li
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Biodiversity Information Center, Hefei, China
| | - Lizhi Zhou
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Biodiversity Information Center, Hefei, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Li Xu
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China
| | - Niannian Zhao
- Shengjin Lake National Nature Reserve Management Center, Chizhou, China
| | - Guy Beauchamp
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montréal, P.O. Québec, Canada
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van der Meer E, Fritz H, Pays O. Anti-predator behaviour of kudu and impala in response to mimicked African wild dog presence: do age and sex matter? BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Predators not only prey upon certain prey species, but also on certain age–sex classes within species. Predation risk and an individual’s response to this risk might therefore vary with an individual’s characteristics. We examined the proportion of time different age–sex classes of kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) spent high quality vigilant (costly vigilance that detracts from all other activities) in response to mimicked predation risk by African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). For both species predation risk was the main factor determining the investment in high quality vigilance behaviour. Age–sex class-specific responses were not related to age–sex class specific lethality risk presented by African wild dogs. For impala, regardless of predation risk, age seemed to have some effect on the investment in high quality vigilance with sub-adult impala spending more time high quality vigilant than adult impala, which is possibly why African wild dogs predominantly preyed upon adult impala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther van der Meer
- Painted Dog Conservation, Hwange National Park, P.O. Box 72, Dete, Zimbabwe
- Université de Lyon, CNRS Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 UMR 5558, Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Băt Gregor Mendel, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Hervé Fritz
- Université de Lyon, CNRS Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 UMR 5558, Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Băt Gregor Mendel, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
- CNRS HERD program, Hwange National Park, P.O. Box 62, Dete, Zimbabwe
| | - Olivier Pays
- CNRS HERD program, Hwange National Park, P.O. Box 62, Dete, Zimbabwe
- Université d’Angers–UFR Sciences, Groupe Ecologie et Biologie de la Conservation Campus de Belle-Beille, 2 Bd Lavoisier, F-49045 Angers, France
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15
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Marchand P, Garel M, Bourgoin G, Dubray D, Maillard D, Loison A. Sex-specific adjustments in habitat selection contribute to buffer mouflon against summer conditions. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
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Lashley MA, Chitwood MC, Biggerstaff MT, Morina DL, Moorman CE, DePerno CS. White-tailed deer vigilance: the influence of social and environmental factors. PLoS One 2014; 9:e90652. [PMID: 24599090 PMCID: PMC3945222 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Vigilance behavior may directly affect fitness of prey animals, and understanding factors influencing vigilance may provide important insight into predator-prey interactions. We used 40,540 pictures taken withcamera traps in August 2011 and 2012to evaluate factors influencing individual vigilance behavior of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) while foraging at baited sites. We used binary logistic regression to determine if individual vigilance was affected by age, sex, and group size. Additionally, we evaluated whether the time of the day,moon phase,and presence of other non-predatorwildlife species impacted individual vigilance. Juveniles were 11% less vigilant at baited sites than adults. Females were 46% more vigilant when fawns were present. Males and females spent more time feeding as group size increased, but with each addition of 1 individual to a group, males increased feeding time by nearly double that of females. Individual vigilance fluctuated with time of day andwith moon phase but generally was least during diurnal and moonlit nocturnal hours, indicating deer have the ability to adjust vigilance behavior to changing predation risk associated with varyinglight intensity.White-tailed deer increased individual vigilance when other non-predator wildlife were present. Our data indicate that differential effects of environmental and social constraints on vigilance behavior between sexes may encourage sexual segregation in white-tailed deer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus A Lashley
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - M. Colter Chitwood
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Michael T. Biggerstaff
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Daniel L. Morina
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Christopher E. Moorman
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Christopher S. DePerno
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
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