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Rosti H, Pihlström H, Rottcher N, Bearder S, Mwangala L, Maghenda M, Rikkinen J. Species identity and behavior of cave-dwelling tree hyraxes of the Kenyan coast. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9693. [PMID: 36687802 PMCID: PMC9841124 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We surveyed tree hyrax populations living in forests, limestone rocky formations, and caves in coastal Kenya to identify the species and estimate the threat-level populations are in. Tree hyrax vocalizations were recorded in three different habitats with passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) for a total of 84 h in January and February 2022. We also observed tree hyrax behavior with thermal imaging camera and photographed individuals. Tree hyraxes in coastal Kenya are vocally active throughout the night, with most calls emitted between 23.00 and 04.00. We identified four different calls: snort, hac, hac ping-pong, and wheeze. Their calling range is between 220 and 15,000 Hz. Calls of tree hyraxes from the coast of Kenya were compared with calls stored by the Oxford Brookes University's Nocturnal Primate Research Group and identified as eastern tree hyrax, previously recorded from Tanzania. Here, we present what are, to our knowledge, the first photographs of live D. validus from Kenya. These tree hyraxes live in social groups. Due to strong pressure from humans, conservation measures are necessary to prevent the extinction of these isolated D. validus populations in Kenya.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Rosti
- Finnish Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland,Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Henry Pihlström
- Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | | | - Simon Bearder
- Nocturnal Primate Research GroupOxford Brookes UniversityOxfordUK
| | - Lucas Mwangala
- Programme and PlanningAcademic Research and Outreach DivisionTAITAGISTaita Taveta University (TTU)VoiKenya
| | - Marianne Maghenda
- Department of Agricultural SciencesSchool of Agriculture Earth and Environment SciencesTAITAGISTaita Taveta University (TTU)VoiKenya
| | - Jouko Rikkinen
- Finnish Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland,Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
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Vanderhoff EN, Bernal Hoverud N. Perspectives on Antiphonal Calling, Duetting and Counter-Singing in Non-primate Mammals: An Overview With Notes on the Coordinated Vocalizations of Bamboo Rats (Dactylomys spp., Rodentia: Echimyidae). Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.906546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Temporally coordinated interactive vocalizations are important means of communication between individuals in various animal taxa. In mammals, interactive calling and singing can be highly synchronized to create either overlapping or antiphonal duets while in others, competitors antagonistically vocalize, engaging in counter-singing. Among non-primate mammals these vocalizations are considered rare and poorly understood. We provide an overview of antiphonal calling, duetting and counter-singing in non-primate mammals. Many of these coordinated vocalizations play a role in social interactions and allow mammals to convey information to other members of the social unit in visually inaccessible environments. South American Bamboo rats Dactylomys spp. are arboreal bamboo specialists found in dense bamboo thickets in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia. These nocturnal rodents are rarely seen but can be easily heard because of their loud and distinctive staccato vocalizations. We provide some evidence that Bamboo rats engage in duetting, and as such they provide another case of a mammalian species, in which to investigate temporally coordinated interactive singing. We urge researchers to work toward common definitions of temporally coordinated vocalizations and to search for more mammals that utilize such vocalizations.
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Habitat preferences, estimated abundance and behavior of tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax sp.) in fragmented montane forests of Taita Hills, Kenya. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6331. [PMID: 35428748 PMCID: PMC9012809 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10235-7] [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: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied a previously almost unknown nocturnal mammal, an apparently undescribed species of tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax sp.) in the moist montane forests of Taita Hills, Kenya. We used thermal imaging to locate tree hyraxes, observe their behavior, and to identify woody plants most frequently visited by the selective browsers. We also documented acoustic behavior in forest fragments of different sizes. Data on calling type and frequency were analyzed together with lidar data to estimate population densities and to identify forest stand characteristics associated with large populations. Viable populations were found only in the largest forest fragments (> 90 ha), where tree hyraxes preferred most pristine forest stands with high, multilayered canopies. The estimated population sizes in smaller forest fragments were very limited, and hyraxes were heard to call only during late night and early morning hours, presumably in order to avoid detection. While we frequently recorded tree hyrax songs in the largest forest fragments, we almost never heard songs in the small ones. All remaining subpopulations of the Taita tree hyrax are under threat of human disturbance and further habitat deterioration. Conservation efforts should include protection of all remaining habitat patches, but also reforestation of former habitat is urgently needed.
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Oates JF, Woodman N, Gaubert P, Sargis EJ, Wiafe ED, Lecompte E, Dowsett-Lemaire F, Dowsett RJ, Gonedelé Bi S, Ikemeh RA, Djagoun CAMS, Tomsett L, Bearder SK. A new species of tree hyrax (Procaviidae: Dendrohyrax) from West Africa and the significance of the Niger–Volta interfluvium in mammalian biogeography. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Tree hyraxes (Dendrohyrax) are one of only three genera currently recognized in Procaviidae, the only extant family in the mammalian order Hyracoidea. Their taxonomy and natural history have received little attention in recent decades. All tree hyrax populations of Guineo-Congolian forests of Africa are currently treated as a single species, Dendrohyrax dorsalis, the western tree hyrax, but many other groups of mammals distributed across this large biome have been shown to consist of several different species, each restricted to a distinct biogeographical region. We analysed variation in loud-call structure, pelage colour, skull morphometrics and mitochondrial genomes in populations across much of the range of D. dorsalis. This integrative approach uncovered considerable cryptic variation. The population found between the Niger and Volta Rivers in West Africa is particularly distinctive, and we describe it herein as a new species. Our study highlights the need to revise the taxonomy of the genus Dendrohyrax in light of modern systematics and current understanding of its distribution. It also adds to a growing body of evidence that the Niger–Volta interfluvium has a distinct meso-mammal fauna. Unfortunately, the fauna of this region is under major threat and warrants much greater conservation attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- John F Oates
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College CUNY, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Neal Woodman
- U. S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Research Center, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - Philippe Gaubert
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, IRD/CNRS/UPS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Eric J Sargis
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Divisions of Vertebrate Zoology and Vertebrate Paleontology, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Edward D Wiafe
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya, Ghana
| | - Emilie Lecompte
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, IRD/CNRS/UPS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | | | | | - Sery Gonedelé Bi
- Département de Génétique, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, 01 BP V34 Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | | | - Chabi A M S Djagoun
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 01 B.P. 526 Cotonou, Benin
| | - Louise Tomsett
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Simon K Bearder
- School of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
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