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Goldsborough Z, Crofoot MC, Alavi SE, Del Rosario-Vargas E, Garza SF, Tiedeman K, Barrett BJ. Coupling of coastal activity with tidal cycles is stronger in tool-using capuchins ( Cebus capucinus imitator). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230355. [PMID: 37736530 PMCID: PMC10509577 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial mammals exploiting coastal resources must cope with the challenge that resource availability and accessibility fluctuate with tidal cycles. Tool use can improve foraging efficiency and provide access to structurally protected resources that are otherwise unavailable (e.g. molluscs and fruits). To understand how variable accessibility of valuable resources shapes behavioural patterns, and whether tool use aids in the efficient exploitation of intertidal resources, we compared the relationship between tidal cycles and activity patterns of tool-using versus non-tool-using groups of white-faced capuchin monkeys on Jicarón Island in Coiba National Park, Panama. Although tool use on Jicarón is localized to a small stretch of coast (approx. 1 km), all coastal groups forage on intertidal resources. Using more than 5 years of camera trap data at varying distances from the coast, we found that capuchins on Jicarón showed increased coastal activity during specific parts of the tidal cycle, and that this relationship differed between tool-using and non-tool-using groups, as well as between seasons. Activity patterns of tool-using capuchins were more strongly and consistently tied to tidal cycles compared with non-tool-users, indicating that tool use might allow for more efficient exploitation of tidal resources. Our findings highlight the potential of tool use to aid niche expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë Goldsborough
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | - Margaret C. Crofoot
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | - Shauhin E. Alavi
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | | | - Sylvia F. Garza
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kate Tiedeman
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Brendan J. Barrett
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
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Crawford DA, Conner LM, Clinchy M, Zanette LY, Cherry MJ. Prey tells, large herbivores fear the human 'super predator'. Oecologia 2022; 198:91-98. [PMID: 34981219 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05080-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Fear of the human 'super predator' has been demonstrated to so alter the feeding behavior of large carnivores as to cause trophic cascades. It has yet to be experimentally tested if fear of humans has comparably large effects on the feeding behavior of large herbivores. We conducted a predator playback experiment exposing white-tailed deer to the vocalizations of humans, extant or locally extirpated non-human predators (coyotes, cougars, dogs, wolves), or non-predator controls (birds), at supplemental food patches to measure the relative impacts on deer feeding behavior. Deer were more than twice as likely to flee upon hearing humans than other predators, and hearing humans was matched only by hearing wolves in reducing overall feeding time gaged by visits to the food patch in the following hour. Combined with previous, site-specific research linking deer fecundity to predator abundance, this study reveals that fear of humans has the potential to induce a larger effect on ungulate reproduction than has ever been reported. By demonstrating that deer most fear the human 'super predator', our results point to the fear humans induce in large ungulates having population- and community-level impacts comparable to those caused by the fear humans induce in large carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Crawford
- Department of Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, 700 University Blvd, MSC 218, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA. .,The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, USA.
| | - L Mike Conner
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, USA
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Michael J Cherry
- Department of Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, 700 University Blvd, MSC 218, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA
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Epperly HK, Clinchy M, Zanette LY, McCleery RA. Fear of large carnivores is tied to ungulate habitat use: evidence from a bifactorial experiment. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12979. [PMID: 34155290 PMCID: PMC8217516 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92469-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The fear large carnivores inspire in large ungulates has been argued to have cascading effects down food webs. However, a direct link between ungulate habitat use and their fear of large carnivores has not been experimentally tested. To fill this critical gap, we conducted a bi-factorial experiment in an African savanna. We removed shrub cover and broadcast large carnivore vocalizations (leopard, hyena, dog) or non-threatening control vocalizations in both experimentally cleared and shrubby control sites. We recorded the proactive (frequency of visitation) and reactive (fleeing or vigilance) responses of multiple prey (impala, warthog, nyala and bushbuck). Critically, we found a significant proactive-reactive interaction. Ungulates were 47% more likely to run after hearing a predator vocalization in shrubby control sites than experimental clearings, demonstrating that ungulates perceived less fear from large carnivores in open habitat (clearings). Consistent with this finding, ungulates visited clearings 2.4 times more often than shrubby control sites and visited shrubby control sites less often at night, when large carnivores are most active. Combined with results from previous experiments demonstrating that the disproportionate use of available habitats by large ungulates can alter ecosystem properties, our experiment provides critical evidence that the fear large carnivores inspire in large ungulates can cause trophic cascades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley K. Epperly
- grid.15276.370000 0004 1936 8091Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
| | - Michael Clinchy
- grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Liana Y. Zanette
- grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Robert A. McCleery
- grid.15276.370000 0004 1936 8091Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA ,grid.15276.370000 0004 1936 8091University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, PO Box 110430, Gainesville, FL 32611-0430 USA
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Huaranca JC, Villalba ML, Negrões N, Jiménez JE, Macdonald DW, Pacheco LF. Density and activity patterns of Andean cat and pampas cat (Leopardus jacobita and L. colocolo) in the Bolivian Altiplano. WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2020. [DOI: 10.1071/wr19053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
ContextUnderstanding the factors that determine the distribution and abundance of species is an important aim of ecology and prerequisite for conservation. The Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) and the pampas cat (L. colocolo) are two of the least studied felids. Both are threatened, of similar size and live sympatrically in the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Perú.
AimsWe aimed at estimating the population densities of the Andean cat and pampas cat in two continuous areas and to analyse the activity patterns of these two species and that of mountain vizcacha (Lagidium viscacia), the main prey of the Andean cat.
MethodsWe used camera traps to evaluate the density of both felid species using the space explicit capture recapture (SECR) framework and the overlap in their activity patterns with that of mountain vizcacha, using the kernel-density estimator in two contiguous areas in the Bolivian Altiplano, at Muro-Amaya and at Micani, both within the Ciudad de Piedra region.
Key resultsAndean cat density was estimated at 6.45 individuals per 100km2 in Muro-Amaya and 6.91 individuals per 100km2 in Micani, whereas the density of the pampas cat was 5.31 individuals per 100km2 and 8.99 individuals per 100km2 respectively. The Andean cat was mainly nocturnal, whereas the pampas cat was cathemeral. The activity of the mountain vizcacha overlapped less with that of its specialised predator, the Andean cat, than with that of the pampas cat.
ConclusionsIn line with our predictions, the Andean cat, considered a more specialised nocturnal hunter, particularly of mountain vizcacha, had lower population densities than did the more generalist pampas cat.
ImplicationsLow population densities, as compared with theoretical expectations, pose an additional conservation problem for these felids, in an area such as the high Andes.
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Suraci JP, Clinchy M, Zanette LY, Wilmers CC. Fear of humans as apex predators has landscape‐scale impacts from mountain lions to mice. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1578-1586. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin P. Suraci
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department University of California Santa Cruz CA 95064 USA
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology Western University London ON N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Liana Y. Zanette
- Department of Biology Western University London ON N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Christopher C. Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department University of California Santa Cruz CA 95064 USA
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Duthie AB, Bocedi G, Germain RR, Reid JM. Evolution of precopulatory and post-copulatory strategies of inbreeding avoidance and associated polyandry. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:31-45. [PMID: 28986951 PMCID: PMC5765502 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Inbreeding depression is widely hypothesized to drive adaptive evolution of precopulatory and post-copulatory mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance, which in turn are hypothesized to affect evolution of polyandry (i.e. female multiple mating). However, surprisingly little theory or modelling critically examines selection for precopulatory or post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, or both strategies, given evolutionary constraints and direct costs, or examines how evolution of inbreeding avoidance strategies might feed back to affect evolution of polyandry. Selection for post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, but not for precopulatory inbreeding avoidance, requires polyandry, whereas interactions between precopulatory and post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance might cause functional redundancy (i.e. 'degeneracy') potentially generating complex evolutionary dynamics among inbreeding strategies and polyandry. We used individual-based modelling to quantify evolution of interacting precopulatory and post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance and associated polyandry given strong inbreeding depression and different evolutionary constraints and direct costs. We found that evolution of post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance increased selection for initially rare polyandry and that evolution of a costly inbreeding avoidance strategy became negligible over time given a lower-cost alternative strategy. Further, fixed precopulatory inbreeding avoidance often completely precluded evolution of polyandry and hence post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, but fixed post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance did not preclude evolution of precopulatory inbreeding avoidance. Evolution of inbreeding avoidance phenotypes and associated polyandry is therefore affected by evolutionary feedbacks and degeneracy. All else being equal, evolution of precopulatory inbreeding avoidance and resulting low polyandry is more likely when post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance is precluded or costly, and evolution of post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance greatly facilitates evolution of costly polyandry.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. B. Duthie
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | - G. Bocedi
- Institute of Biological and Environmental SciencesSchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - R. R. Germain
- Institute of Biological and Environmental SciencesSchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - J. M. Reid
- Institute of Biological and Environmental SciencesSchool of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
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Suraci JP, Clinchy M, Roberts DJ, Zanette LY. Eavesdropping in solitary large carnivores: Black bears advance and vocalize toward cougar playbacks. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin P. Suraci
- Department of Biology; Western University; London ON Canada
- Raincoast Conservation Foundation; Sidney BC Canada
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