H. Root-Gutteridge, Bethany R. Smith, Arik Kershenbaum, Hannah Butkiewicz, Amy C. Fontaine, Jessica Owens, Loretta Schindler, Angela Dassow
Large predators are known to shape the behavior and ecology of sympatric predators via conflict and competition, with mesopredators thought to avoid large predators, while dogs suppress predator activity and act as guardians of human property. However, interspecific communication between predators has not been well‐explored and this assumption of avoidance may oversimplify the responses of the species involved. We explored the acoustic activity of three closely related sympatric canids: wolves Canis lupus, coyotes Canis latrans, and dogs Canis familiaris. These species have an unbalanced triangle of risk: coyotes, as mesopredators, are at risk from both apex‐predator wolves and human‐associated dogs, while wolves fear dogs, and dogs may fear wolves as apex predators or challenge them as intruders into human‐allied spaces. We predicted that risk perception would dictate vocal response with wolves and dogs silencing coyotes as well as dogs silencing wolves. Dogs, in their protective role of guarding human property, would respond to both. Eleven passive acoustic monitoring devices were deployed across 13 nights in central Wisconsin, and we measured the responses of each species to naturally occurring heterospecific vocalizations. Against our expectation, silencing did not occur. Instead, coyotes were not silenced by either species: when hearing wolves, coyotes responded at greater than chance rates and when hearing dogs, coyotes did not produce fewer calls than chance rates. Similarly, wolves responded at above chance rates to coyotes and at chance rates when hearing dogs. Only the dogs followed our prediction and responded at above chance rates in response to both coyotes and wolves. Thus, instead of silencing their competitors, canid vocalizations elicit responses from them suggesting the existence of a complex heterospecific communication network.
{"title":"Not afraid of the big bad wolf: calls from large predators do not silence mesopredators","authors":"H. Root-Gutteridge, Bethany R. Smith, Arik Kershenbaum, Hannah Butkiewicz, Amy C. Fontaine, Jessica Owens, Loretta Schindler, Angela Dassow","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01226","url":null,"abstract":"Large predators are known to shape the behavior and ecology of sympatric predators via conflict and competition, with mesopredators thought to avoid large predators, while dogs suppress predator activity and act as guardians of human property. However, interspecific communication between predators has not been well‐explored and this assumption of avoidance may oversimplify the responses of the species involved. We explored the acoustic activity of three closely related sympatric canids: wolves Canis lupus, coyotes Canis latrans, and dogs Canis familiaris. These species have an unbalanced triangle of risk: coyotes, as mesopredators, are at risk from both apex‐predator wolves and human‐associated dogs, while wolves fear dogs, and dogs may fear wolves as apex predators or challenge them as intruders into human‐allied spaces. We predicted that risk perception would dictate vocal response with wolves and dogs silencing coyotes as well as dogs silencing wolves. Dogs, in their protective role of guarding human property, would respond to both. Eleven passive acoustic monitoring devices were deployed across 13 nights in central Wisconsin, and we measured the responses of each species to naturally occurring heterospecific vocalizations. Against our expectation, silencing did not occur. Instead, coyotes were not silenced by either species: when hearing wolves, coyotes responded at greater than chance rates and when hearing dogs, coyotes did not produce fewer calls than chance rates. Similarly, wolves responded at above chance rates to coyotes and at chance rates when hearing dogs. Only the dogs followed our prediction and responded at above chance rates in response to both coyotes and wolves. Thus, instead of silencing their competitors, canid vocalizations elicit responses from them suggesting the existence of a complex heterospecific communication network.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139778761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. Root-Gutteridge, Bethany R. Smith, Arik Kershenbaum, Hannah Butkiewicz, Amy C. Fontaine, Jessica Owens, Loretta Schindler, Angela Dassow
Large predators are known to shape the behavior and ecology of sympatric predators via conflict and competition, with mesopredators thought to avoid large predators, while dogs suppress predator activity and act as guardians of human property. However, interspecific communication between predators has not been well‐explored and this assumption of avoidance may oversimplify the responses of the species involved. We explored the acoustic activity of three closely related sympatric canids: wolves Canis lupus, coyotes Canis latrans, and dogs Canis familiaris. These species have an unbalanced triangle of risk: coyotes, as mesopredators, are at risk from both apex‐predator wolves and human‐associated dogs, while wolves fear dogs, and dogs may fear wolves as apex predators or challenge them as intruders into human‐allied spaces. We predicted that risk perception would dictate vocal response with wolves and dogs silencing coyotes as well as dogs silencing wolves. Dogs, in their protective role of guarding human property, would respond to both. Eleven passive acoustic monitoring devices were deployed across 13 nights in central Wisconsin, and we measured the responses of each species to naturally occurring heterospecific vocalizations. Against our expectation, silencing did not occur. Instead, coyotes were not silenced by either species: when hearing wolves, coyotes responded at greater than chance rates and when hearing dogs, coyotes did not produce fewer calls than chance rates. Similarly, wolves responded at above chance rates to coyotes and at chance rates when hearing dogs. Only the dogs followed our prediction and responded at above chance rates in response to both coyotes and wolves. Thus, instead of silencing their competitors, canid vocalizations elicit responses from them suggesting the existence of a complex heterospecific communication network.
{"title":"Not afraid of the big bad wolf: calls from large predators do not silence mesopredators","authors":"H. Root-Gutteridge, Bethany R. Smith, Arik Kershenbaum, Hannah Butkiewicz, Amy C. Fontaine, Jessica Owens, Loretta Schindler, Angela Dassow","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01226","url":null,"abstract":"Large predators are known to shape the behavior and ecology of sympatric predators via conflict and competition, with mesopredators thought to avoid large predators, while dogs suppress predator activity and act as guardians of human property. However, interspecific communication between predators has not been well‐explored and this assumption of avoidance may oversimplify the responses of the species involved. We explored the acoustic activity of three closely related sympatric canids: wolves Canis lupus, coyotes Canis latrans, and dogs Canis familiaris. These species have an unbalanced triangle of risk: coyotes, as mesopredators, are at risk from both apex‐predator wolves and human‐associated dogs, while wolves fear dogs, and dogs may fear wolves as apex predators or challenge them as intruders into human‐allied spaces. We predicted that risk perception would dictate vocal response with wolves and dogs silencing coyotes as well as dogs silencing wolves. Dogs, in their protective role of guarding human property, would respond to both. Eleven passive acoustic monitoring devices were deployed across 13 nights in central Wisconsin, and we measured the responses of each species to naturally occurring heterospecific vocalizations. Against our expectation, silencing did not occur. Instead, coyotes were not silenced by either species: when hearing wolves, coyotes responded at greater than chance rates and when hearing dogs, coyotes did not produce fewer calls than chance rates. Similarly, wolves responded at above chance rates to coyotes and at chance rates when hearing dogs. Only the dogs followed our prediction and responded at above chance rates in response to both coyotes and wolves. Thus, instead of silencing their competitors, canid vocalizations elicit responses from them suggesting the existence of a complex heterospecific communication network.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139838543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natasha Ellison, Jonathan R. Potts, B. Strickland, S. Demarais, Garrett M. Street
Animals determine their daily movement trajectories in response to a network of ecological processes, including interactions with other organisms, their memories of previous events, and the changing environment. These combine to cause the emergent space use patterns observed over longer periods of time, such as a whole season. Understanding which processes cause these patterns to emerge, and how, requires a process‐based modelling approach. Individual‐based decisions can be described as a system of partial‐differential equations (PDEs) to produce a dynamic description of space use built from the underlying movement process. Here we combine PDE‐based models with step‐selection analysis to investigate the combined effects of three established ecological processes that partially shape movement and space use: 1) a heterogeneous environment; 2) the environmental markings of moving conspecifics; and 3) the memory of direct interactions with conspecifics. We apply this framework to a large GPS‐based dataset of white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in the southeastern US. We fit models at the population level to provide predictive models, then tailor these to fit individual deer. We specifically incorporate relationships between each possible pair of deer and define each animal's responses to their unique local environments using separate integrated step‐selection analyses. We show how individual movements and decisions yield emergent patterns in animal distributions, and we provide a full generalised description of the framework so that it may be applied to any species simultaneously responding to multiple potentially interacting stimuli (e.g. sociality, morphology, etc.). We found that the population of bucks had highly varied preferences for vegetation, but were shaping their space use in response to conspecific interactions, dependent on the individual relationships between two deer. We advocate for increased consideration of individual‐based movement rules as determinants of realized animal space use, and particularly how these affect emergent distributions of entire species.
{"title":"Combining animal interactions and habitat selection into models of space use: a case study with white‐tailed deer","authors":"Natasha Ellison, Jonathan R. Potts, B. Strickland, S. Demarais, Garrett M. Street","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01211","url":null,"abstract":"Animals determine their daily movement trajectories in response to a network of ecological processes, including interactions with other organisms, their memories of previous events, and the changing environment. These combine to cause the emergent space use patterns observed over longer periods of time, such as a whole season. Understanding which processes cause these patterns to emerge, and how, requires a process‐based modelling approach. Individual‐based decisions can be described as a system of partial‐differential equations (PDEs) to produce a dynamic description of space use built from the underlying movement process. Here we combine PDE‐based models with step‐selection analysis to investigate the combined effects of three established ecological processes that partially shape movement and space use: 1) a heterogeneous environment; 2) the environmental markings of moving conspecifics; and 3) the memory of direct interactions with conspecifics. We apply this framework to a large GPS‐based dataset of white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in the southeastern US. We fit models at the population level to provide predictive models, then tailor these to fit individual deer. We specifically incorporate relationships between each possible pair of deer and define each animal's responses to their unique local environments using separate integrated step‐selection analyses. We show how individual movements and decisions yield emergent patterns in animal distributions, and we provide a full generalised description of the framework so that it may be applied to any species simultaneously responding to multiple potentially interacting stimuli (e.g. sociality, morphology, etc.). We found that the population of bucks had highly varied preferences for vegetation, but were shaping their space use in response to conspecific interactions, dependent on the individual relationships between two deer. We advocate for increased consideration of individual‐based movement rules as determinants of realized animal space use, and particularly how these affect emergent distributions of entire species.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139852908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natasha Ellison, Jonathan R. Potts, B. Strickland, S. Demarais, Garrett M. Street
Animals determine their daily movement trajectories in response to a network of ecological processes, including interactions with other organisms, their memories of previous events, and the changing environment. These combine to cause the emergent space use patterns observed over longer periods of time, such as a whole season. Understanding which processes cause these patterns to emerge, and how, requires a process‐based modelling approach. Individual‐based decisions can be described as a system of partial‐differential equations (PDEs) to produce a dynamic description of space use built from the underlying movement process. Here we combine PDE‐based models with step‐selection analysis to investigate the combined effects of three established ecological processes that partially shape movement and space use: 1) a heterogeneous environment; 2) the environmental markings of moving conspecifics; and 3) the memory of direct interactions with conspecifics. We apply this framework to a large GPS‐based dataset of white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in the southeastern US. We fit models at the population level to provide predictive models, then tailor these to fit individual deer. We specifically incorporate relationships between each possible pair of deer and define each animal's responses to their unique local environments using separate integrated step‐selection analyses. We show how individual movements and decisions yield emergent patterns in animal distributions, and we provide a full generalised description of the framework so that it may be applied to any species simultaneously responding to multiple potentially interacting stimuli (e.g. sociality, morphology, etc.). We found that the population of bucks had highly varied preferences for vegetation, but were shaping their space use in response to conspecific interactions, dependent on the individual relationships between two deer. We advocate for increased consideration of individual‐based movement rules as determinants of realized animal space use, and particularly how these affect emergent distributions of entire species.
{"title":"Combining animal interactions and habitat selection into models of space use: a case study with white‐tailed deer","authors":"Natasha Ellison, Jonathan R. Potts, B. Strickland, S. Demarais, Garrett M. Street","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01211","url":null,"abstract":"Animals determine their daily movement trajectories in response to a network of ecological processes, including interactions with other organisms, their memories of previous events, and the changing environment. These combine to cause the emergent space use patterns observed over longer periods of time, such as a whole season. Understanding which processes cause these patterns to emerge, and how, requires a process‐based modelling approach. Individual‐based decisions can be described as a system of partial‐differential equations (PDEs) to produce a dynamic description of space use built from the underlying movement process. Here we combine PDE‐based models with step‐selection analysis to investigate the combined effects of three established ecological processes that partially shape movement and space use: 1) a heterogeneous environment; 2) the environmental markings of moving conspecifics; and 3) the memory of direct interactions with conspecifics. We apply this framework to a large GPS‐based dataset of white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in the southeastern US. We fit models at the population level to provide predictive models, then tailor these to fit individual deer. We specifically incorporate relationships between each possible pair of deer and define each animal's responses to their unique local environments using separate integrated step‐selection analyses. We show how individual movements and decisions yield emergent patterns in animal distributions, and we provide a full generalised description of the framework so that it may be applied to any species simultaneously responding to multiple potentially interacting stimuli (e.g. sociality, morphology, etc.). We found that the population of bucks had highly varied preferences for vegetation, but were shaping their space use in response to conspecific interactions, dependent on the individual relationships between two deer. We advocate for increased consideration of individual‐based movement rules as determinants of realized animal space use, and particularly how these affect emergent distributions of entire species.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139792838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cory J. Highway, Abigail G. Blake‐Bradshaw, Nicholas M. Masto, Allison C. Keever, Jamie C. Feddersen, H. Hagy, Daniel L. Combs, Bradley S. Cohen
The spatiotemporal allocation of activity is fundamental to how organisms balance energetic intake and predation risk. Activity patterns fluctuate daily and seasonally, and they are proximately affected by exogenous and endogenous conditions. For birds, flight activity is often necessary for relocating between foraging patches but is energetically expensive and can increase mortality risk. Hunted species may have to adjust their behavior and activity patterns to minimize anthropogenic mortality risk. We used hourly locations from 336 GPS‐marked mallards Anas platyrhynchos to examine how hunting pressure affected flight activity in response to weather conditions and habitat availability during winter in western Tennessee, USA. Mallards were more likely to fly during crepuscular times, particularly dusk, across winter months. Mallards conducted more flights after shooting hours when habitat availability increased during open hunting season; conversely, mallard flights decreased with increasing habitat availability when hunters were present on the landscape. Mallards were least active during periods open to hunting. However, indicators of approaching inclement weather (i.e. increased wind speed, precipitation, and decreasing barometric pressure) increased flights during periods open to hunting. Mallard flights decreased at lower temperatures except when hunting season was closed, wherein mallards increased nighttime flights. Flight activity was directly influenced by hunting disturbance which constrained when and how mallards reacted to environmental and habitat conditions. An understanding of the temporal shifts in waterfowl flight patterns can be used by natural resource managers to better manage stakeholder satisfaction and expectations.
{"title":"Hunting constrains wintering mallard response to habitat and environmental conditions","authors":"Cory J. Highway, Abigail G. Blake‐Bradshaw, Nicholas M. Masto, Allison C. Keever, Jamie C. Feddersen, H. Hagy, Daniel L. Combs, Bradley S. Cohen","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01198","url":null,"abstract":"The spatiotemporal allocation of activity is fundamental to how organisms balance energetic intake and predation risk. Activity patterns fluctuate daily and seasonally, and they are proximately affected by exogenous and endogenous conditions. For birds, flight activity is often necessary for relocating between foraging patches but is energetically expensive and can increase mortality risk. Hunted species may have to adjust their behavior and activity patterns to minimize anthropogenic mortality risk. We used hourly locations from 336 GPS‐marked mallards Anas platyrhynchos to examine how hunting pressure affected flight activity in response to weather conditions and habitat availability during winter in western Tennessee, USA. Mallards were more likely to fly during crepuscular times, particularly dusk, across winter months. Mallards conducted more flights after shooting hours when habitat availability increased during open hunting season; conversely, mallard flights decreased with increasing habitat availability when hunters were present on the landscape. Mallards were least active during periods open to hunting. However, indicators of approaching inclement weather (i.e. increased wind speed, precipitation, and decreasing barometric pressure) increased flights during periods open to hunting. Mallard flights decreased at lower temperatures except when hunting season was closed, wherein mallards increased nighttime flights. Flight activity was directly influenced by hunting disturbance which constrained when and how mallards reacted to environmental and habitat conditions. An understanding of the temporal shifts in waterfowl flight patterns can be used by natural resource managers to better manage stakeholder satisfaction and expectations.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139792886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cory J. Highway, Abigail G. Blake‐Bradshaw, Nicholas M. Masto, Allison C. Keever, Jamie C. Feddersen, H. Hagy, Daniel L. Combs, Bradley S. Cohen
The spatiotemporal allocation of activity is fundamental to how organisms balance energetic intake and predation risk. Activity patterns fluctuate daily and seasonally, and they are proximately affected by exogenous and endogenous conditions. For birds, flight activity is often necessary for relocating between foraging patches but is energetically expensive and can increase mortality risk. Hunted species may have to adjust their behavior and activity patterns to minimize anthropogenic mortality risk. We used hourly locations from 336 GPS‐marked mallards Anas platyrhynchos to examine how hunting pressure affected flight activity in response to weather conditions and habitat availability during winter in western Tennessee, USA. Mallards were more likely to fly during crepuscular times, particularly dusk, across winter months. Mallards conducted more flights after shooting hours when habitat availability increased during open hunting season; conversely, mallard flights decreased with increasing habitat availability when hunters were present on the landscape. Mallards were least active during periods open to hunting. However, indicators of approaching inclement weather (i.e. increased wind speed, precipitation, and decreasing barometric pressure) increased flights during periods open to hunting. Mallard flights decreased at lower temperatures except when hunting season was closed, wherein mallards increased nighttime flights. Flight activity was directly influenced by hunting disturbance which constrained when and how mallards reacted to environmental and habitat conditions. An understanding of the temporal shifts in waterfowl flight patterns can be used by natural resource managers to better manage stakeholder satisfaction and expectations.
{"title":"Hunting constrains wintering mallard response to habitat and environmental conditions","authors":"Cory J. Highway, Abigail G. Blake‐Bradshaw, Nicholas M. Masto, Allison C. Keever, Jamie C. Feddersen, H. Hagy, Daniel L. Combs, Bradley S. Cohen","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01198","url":null,"abstract":"The spatiotemporal allocation of activity is fundamental to how organisms balance energetic intake and predation risk. Activity patterns fluctuate daily and seasonally, and they are proximately affected by exogenous and endogenous conditions. For birds, flight activity is often necessary for relocating between foraging patches but is energetically expensive and can increase mortality risk. Hunted species may have to adjust their behavior and activity patterns to minimize anthropogenic mortality risk. We used hourly locations from 336 GPS‐marked mallards Anas platyrhynchos to examine how hunting pressure affected flight activity in response to weather conditions and habitat availability during winter in western Tennessee, USA. Mallards were more likely to fly during crepuscular times, particularly dusk, across winter months. Mallards conducted more flights after shooting hours when habitat availability increased during open hunting season; conversely, mallard flights decreased with increasing habitat availability when hunters were present on the landscape. Mallards were least active during periods open to hunting. However, indicators of approaching inclement weather (i.e. increased wind speed, precipitation, and decreasing barometric pressure) increased flights during periods open to hunting. Mallard flights decreased at lower temperatures except when hunting season was closed, wherein mallards increased nighttime flights. Flight activity was directly influenced by hunting disturbance which constrained when and how mallards reacted to environmental and habitat conditions. An understanding of the temporal shifts in waterfowl flight patterns can be used by natural resource managers to better manage stakeholder satisfaction and expectations.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139852587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Claudia Schmied née Stommel, H. Hofer, Cédric Scherer, S. Kramer‐Schadt, M. East
In Africa, burgeoning human populations promote agricultural expansion and the associated demand for water. Water abstraction for agriculture from perennial rivers can be detrimental for wildlife, particularly when it reduces water availability in protected areas. Ruaha National Park (Ruaha NP) in southern Tanzania, one of the largest parks in Africa, contains important wildlife populations, including rare and endangered species. The Great Ruaha River (GRR) is the main dry season water source for wildlife in the Park. Water offtake from this river for large‐scale irrigation and livestock production up‐stream of the Park has caused large expanses of this formerly perennial river within the Park to dry out during the dry season. The dry season distribution of a species in relation to surface water is considered an indicator of its dependence on water and ability to cope with the loss of surface water. We investigated how diminishing surface water availability during three dry seasons (2011–2013) affected herbivores' distance to water in Ruaha NP. The distance held by herbivores to water is shaped by a range of factors including dietary category. We determined changes in the locations of available surface water throughout the dry season using standardized ground transects, close to and leading away from the GRR, to map the locations of nine herbivore species. Functional responses of herbivores, i.e. their change in distance to water between early and late dry season, indicated that distance to water was 1) shortest in buffalo and waterbuck (grazers), 2) similar for plains zebra (grazer), elephant and impala (mixed feeders), 3) larger in giraffe and greater kudu (browsers) and 4) largest in generalist feeders (warthog, common duiker). The substantial species' differences in surface water dependence broadly fit predicted species differences in their ability to cope with anthropogenic reduction in surface water in Ruaha NP.
在非洲，急剧增长的人口推动了农业的扩张和相关的用水需求。从常年流淌的河流中取水用于农业生产可能会对野生动物造成危害，特别是当它减少了保护区的水供应时。坦桑尼亚南部的鲁阿哈国家公园（Ruaha National Park）是非洲最大的公园之一，拥有重要的野生动物种群，包括珍稀和濒危物种。鲁阿哈大河（GRR）是公园内野生动物的主要旱季水源。从这条河流取水用于公园上游的大规模灌溉和畜牧业生产，导致公园内这条昔日的常年河流在旱季大片干涸。一个物种在旱季与地表水的分布关系被认为是其对水的依赖性和应对地表水流失能力的指标。我们研究了三个旱季（2011-2013 年）地表水供应量的减少如何影响食草动物在鲁阿哈国家公园的水源距离。食草动物与水的距离受一系列因素的影响，包括食物种类。我们使用标准化的地面横断面，在整个旱季中测定了可用地表水位置的变化，并绘制了九种食草动物的位置图。食草动物的功能反应，即旱季初期和旱季末期它们与水的距离的变化表明：1）水牛和水鸭（食草动物）与水的距离最短；2）平原斑马（食草动物）、大象和黑斑羚（混食动物）与水的距离相似；3）长颈鹿和大库杜（食草动物）与水的距离较大；4）一般食草动物（疣猪、普通杜鹃）与水的距离最大。物种对地表水依赖性的巨大差异大致符合鲁阿哈国家公园中物种应对人为减少地表水能力差异的预测。
{"title":"Effect of human induced surface water scarcity on herbivore distribution during the dry season in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania","authors":"Claudia Schmied née Stommel, H. Hofer, Cédric Scherer, S. Kramer‐Schadt, M. East","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01131","url":null,"abstract":"In Africa, burgeoning human populations promote agricultural expansion and the associated demand for water. Water abstraction for agriculture from perennial rivers can be detrimental for wildlife, particularly when it reduces water availability in protected areas. Ruaha National Park (Ruaha NP) in southern Tanzania, one of the largest parks in Africa, contains important wildlife populations, including rare and endangered species. The Great Ruaha River (GRR) is the main dry season water source for wildlife in the Park. Water offtake from this river for large‐scale irrigation and livestock production up‐stream of the Park has caused large expanses of this formerly perennial river within the Park to dry out during the dry season. The dry season distribution of a species in relation to surface water is considered an indicator of its dependence on water and ability to cope with the loss of surface water. We investigated how diminishing surface water availability during three dry seasons (2011–2013) affected herbivores' distance to water in Ruaha NP. The distance held by herbivores to water is shaped by a range of factors including dietary category. We determined changes in the locations of available surface water throughout the dry season using standardized ground transects, close to and leading away from the GRR, to map the locations of nine herbivore species. Functional responses of herbivores, i.e. their change in distance to water between early and late dry season, indicated that distance to water was 1) shortest in buffalo and waterbuck (grazers), 2) similar for plains zebra (grazer), elephant and impala (mixed feeders), 3) larger in giraffe and greater kudu (browsers) and 4) largest in generalist feeders (warthog, common duiker). The substantial species' differences in surface water dependence broadly fit predicted species differences in their ability to cope with anthropogenic reduction in surface water in Ruaha NP.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140477809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Manisha Bhardwaj, Wendy J. Collinson‐Jonker, Siboniso K. Thela, L. Swanepoel, P. Allin
The global dependency on railways as an economical and environmentally‐friendly option for transportation is steadily increasing. Despite their numerous benefits, railways and train traffic can have negative impacts on wildlife, particularly through the risk of mortality due to collisions with trains, entrapment in rails, or electrocution at overhead powerlines. In most cases, these impacts are under‐investigated, thus remain unmitigated. In this study, we describe patterns of rail‐mortality of the local fauna in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa. In addition to exploring which species are most vulnerable to rail‐mortality, we explore the role that seasonal variation, the daily activity patterns of the species, and the surrounding habitat type have on the occurrence of wildlife‐rail‐mortality. From 25 May 2020–29 March 2021, we conducted carcass surveys over three 5 km railway segments, corresponding to the three dominant habitat types in the nature reserve: open grassland, open woodland and mixed shrubland. Each 5 km segment of railway was surveyed during the wet season (November–March) and the dry season (May–September) to account for seasonal variation. We recorded 99 rail‐kills, of which 29% were mammals, 26% were birds, 26% were reptiles, and 18% were amphibians. Mammal carcasses were found most frequently in the dry season, while amphibians were only detected in the wet season. Amphibian carcasses were all nocturnal species, while diurnal species dominated the bird carcasses found. Finally, most rail‐kill carcasses were found in mixed shrublands, while open woodlands had the lowest frequency of rail‐kill. The detrimental impacts of railway‐mortality on wildlife may be more pronounced in areas of high conservation value, such as nature reserves, and it is essential to study and mitigate these impacts, in order to foster successful co‐existence of wildlife and humans in the landscape.
{"title":"Mortality on the tracks: spatiotemporal patterns to rail‐kill in the Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa","authors":"Manisha Bhardwaj, Wendy J. Collinson‐Jonker, Siboniso K. Thela, L. Swanepoel, P. Allin","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01167","url":null,"abstract":"The global dependency on railways as an economical and environmentally‐friendly option for transportation is steadily increasing. Despite their numerous benefits, railways and train traffic can have negative impacts on wildlife, particularly through the risk of mortality due to collisions with trains, entrapment in rails, or electrocution at overhead powerlines. In most cases, these impacts are under‐investigated, thus remain unmitigated. In this study, we describe patterns of rail‐mortality of the local fauna in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa. In addition to exploring which species are most vulnerable to rail‐mortality, we explore the role that seasonal variation, the daily activity patterns of the species, and the surrounding habitat type have on the occurrence of wildlife‐rail‐mortality. From 25 May 2020–29 March 2021, we conducted carcass surveys over three 5 km railway segments, corresponding to the three dominant habitat types in the nature reserve: open grassland, open woodland and mixed shrubland. Each 5 km segment of railway was surveyed during the wet season (November–March) and the dry season (May–September) to account for seasonal variation. We recorded 99 rail‐kills, of which 29% were mammals, 26% were birds, 26% were reptiles, and 18% were amphibians. Mammal carcasses were found most frequently in the dry season, while amphibians were only detected in the wet season. Amphibian carcasses were all nocturnal species, while diurnal species dominated the bird carcasses found. Finally, most rail‐kill carcasses were found in mixed shrublands, while open woodlands had the lowest frequency of rail‐kill. The detrimental impacts of railway‐mortality on wildlife may be more pronounced in areas of high conservation value, such as nature reserves, and it is essential to study and mitigate these impacts, in order to foster successful co‐existence of wildlife and humans in the landscape.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139599315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Bañuelos, María Morán-Luis, Patricia Mirol, Mario Quevedo
Knowing the location and movements of individuals at various temporal and spatial scales is an important facet of behavior and ecology. In threatened populations, movements that would ensure gene flow and population viability are often challenged by habitat fragmentation. Also in those endangered populations capturing and handling individuals to tag them, or to obtain tissue samples, can present additional challenges. DNA tagging, i.e. non‐invasive individual identification of samples, can reveal movement patterns. We used fecal material genetically assigned to individuals to indirectly track movements of a large‐bodied, endangered forest bird, Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus). We wanted to know how the birds were using the fragmented forest landscape, and whether they showed fidelity to display areas. We used multi‐event capture−recapture models to estimate fidelity to display areas among three consecutive mating seasons. We identified 127 individuals, and registered movements of 22 females and 48 males. Most observed movements were as expected relatively short, concentrated around display areas. We did not find differences in movement distances between females and males within mating seasons, or between them. Fidelity to display areas among seasons was 0.62 (± 0.12 SE) for females and 0.77 (± 0.07 SE) for males. The best CR model suggested no sex or season effects. Several longer movements, up to 9.9 km, linked distant display areas, demonstrating that Cantabrian capercaillies were able to move between different parts of the study area, complementing previous studies on gene flow. Those longer movements may be taking birds out of the study area, and into historical capercaillie territories, which still include substantial forest cover. The non‐invasive DNA tagging approach provided a much larger sample size than would have been feasible with direct tracking. Lack of information on the social status of individuals, and timing of movements, are some disadvantages of DNA tagging.
{"title":"Tracking movements in an endangered capercaillie population using DNA tagging","authors":"M. Bañuelos, María Morán-Luis, Patricia Mirol, Mario Quevedo","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01121","url":null,"abstract":"Knowing the location and movements of individuals at various temporal and spatial scales is an important facet of behavior and ecology. In threatened populations, movements that would ensure gene flow and population viability are often challenged by habitat fragmentation. Also in those endangered populations capturing and handling individuals to tag them, or to obtain tissue samples, can present additional challenges. DNA tagging, i.e. non‐invasive individual identification of samples, can reveal movement patterns. We used fecal material genetically assigned to individuals to indirectly track movements of a large‐bodied, endangered forest bird, Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus). We wanted to know how the birds were using the fragmented forest landscape, and whether they showed fidelity to display areas. We used multi‐event capture−recapture models to estimate fidelity to display areas among three consecutive mating seasons. We identified 127 individuals, and registered movements of 22 females and 48 males. Most observed movements were as expected relatively short, concentrated around display areas. We did not find differences in movement distances between females and males within mating seasons, or between them. Fidelity to display areas among seasons was 0.62 (± 0.12 SE) for females and 0.77 (± 0.07 SE) for males. The best CR model suggested no sex or season effects. Several longer movements, up to 9.9 km, linked distant display areas, demonstrating that Cantabrian capercaillies were able to move between different parts of the study area, complementing previous studies on gene flow. Those longer movements may be taking birds out of the study area, and into historical capercaillie territories, which still include substantial forest cover. The non‐invasive DNA tagging approach provided a much larger sample size than would have been feasible with direct tracking. Lack of information on the social status of individuals, and timing of movements, are some disadvantages of DNA tagging.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139605970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Mysterud, M. Tranulis, Olav Strand, C. Rolandsen
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is well known among cervids in North America. Nevertheless, management faced different types and degrees of uncertainty when CWD was first detected in reindeer Rangifer tarandus in Nordfjella, Norway in 2016. We present a timeline of the efforts to control CWD, and identify how the process, measurement, environmental, and implementation uncertainties developed from the onset (2016) to the current situation (2023) after seven years of CWD management. In the ‘acute' phase (2016–2019), political ambitions were high and depopulation of the Nordfjella reindeer area involving marksmen aimed at eradicating CWD. Subsequently, increased surveillance and increased male harvest was used to enable early detection or to achieve ‘freedom‐from‐CWD' status of the adjacent populations. The second phase (2020‐now) came when cases were detected in the large reindeer population in Hardangervidda. Management authorities postponed culling using marksmen, signifying an important change, with more emphasis on socio‐political acceptance and consideration of the negative long‐term consequences of conflicts with local stakeholders. The subsequent dialogue processes between scientists and local management ended in joint advice. However, the Ministry set aside all advice in 2022, halting further actions, after pressure and negative media attention. During this period, there was no clear research plan to increase knowledge of CWD to reduce process uncertainty; however, large surveillance investments were made to reduce measurement uncertainty. Despite this, detecting and estimating CWD among reindeer at low prevalence remains a key challenge. Governance challenges have emerged as significant implementation uncertainties, partly due to the uncertain occurrence of CWD.
{"title":"Lessons learned and lingering uncertainties after seven years of chronic wasting disease management in Norway","authors":"A. Mysterud, M. Tranulis, Olav Strand, C. Rolandsen","doi":"10.1002/wlb3.01255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01255","url":null,"abstract":"Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is well known among cervids in North America. Nevertheless, management faced different types and degrees of uncertainty when CWD was first detected in reindeer Rangifer tarandus in Nordfjella, Norway in 2016. We present a timeline of the efforts to control CWD, and identify how the process, measurement, environmental, and implementation uncertainties developed from the onset (2016) to the current situation (2023) after seven years of CWD management. In the ‘acute' phase (2016–2019), political ambitions were high and depopulation of the Nordfjella reindeer area involving marksmen aimed at eradicating CWD. Subsequently, increased surveillance and increased male harvest was used to enable early detection or to achieve ‘freedom‐from‐CWD' status of the adjacent populations. The second phase (2020‐now) came when cases were detected in the large reindeer population in Hardangervidda. Management authorities postponed culling using marksmen, signifying an important change, with more emphasis on socio‐political acceptance and consideration of the negative long‐term consequences of conflicts with local stakeholders. The subsequent dialogue processes between scientists and local management ended in joint advice. However, the Ministry set aside all advice in 2022, halting further actions, after pressure and negative media attention. During this period, there was no clear research plan to increase knowledge of CWD to reduce process uncertainty; however, large surveillance investments were made to reduce measurement uncertainty. Despite this, detecting and estimating CWD among reindeer at low prevalence remains a key challenge. Governance challenges have emerged as significant implementation uncertainties, partly due to the uncertain occurrence of CWD.","PeriodicalId":54405,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139605821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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