conservation.arizona.edu - Behavioral Ecology

Shrub avoidance by an open-adapted ground squirrel in a shrub-encroached environment

aburnett93 — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 21:29:42 +0000

Authors

Alexandra D. Burnett

John L. Koprowski

Additional Information

Plos One

Date of publication:

2024

Topics

shrub encroachment

habitat selection

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Disturbance Ecology Spatial Ecology

Editorial: Ecology, impact, and management of squirrel invasions

aburnett93 — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 17:36:58 +0000

Authors

Valentina La Morgia

Maria Vittoria Mazzamuto

Tim Adriaens

Additional Information

Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution

Date of publication:

2023

Topics

population management

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Invasive Species

Effects of disturbances and environmental changes on an aridland riparian generalist

aburnett93 — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 18:31:19 +0000

Authors

Brian Blais

Samantha Johnson

John Koprowski

Additional Information

PeerJ

Date of publication:

2023

Topics

climate change

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Disturbance Ecology Spatial Ecology

Use of infrared thermography to detect reactions to stressful events: does animal personality matter?

aburnett93 — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 16:42:32 +0000

Authors

Maria Vittoria Mazzamuto

Marina Morandini

William Lampman

Lucas Armand Wauters

Damiano Preatoni

John Koprowski

Adriano Martinoli

Additional Information

Integrative Zoology

Date of publication:

2023

Topics

animal personality

infrared thermography

stress

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology

Using a substitute species to inform translocation of an endangered territorial mammal

aburnett93 — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 19:59:14 +0000

Authors

Marina Morandini

John Koprowski

Substitute species can inform management strategies without exposing endangered species to unacceptable risk. Furthermore, experimental approaches may help to identify the causes of translocation failures, improving the chances of success. We used a surrogate subspecies, Tamiasciurus fremonti fremonti to test different translocation techniques to inform on potential management actions with regards to the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus fremonti grahamensis). Individuals of both subspecies defend year-round territories in similar mixed conifer forests at elevations between 2650–2750 m, where they store cones to survive over winter. We fitted VHF radio collars to 54 animals, and we monitored their survival and movements until individuals settled on a new territory. We considered the effect of season, translocation technique (soft or hard release), and body mass on survival, distance moved after release, and time to settlement of translocated animals. Survival probability averaged 0.48 after 60 days from the translocation event and was not affected by season or translocation technique. 54% of the mortality was caused by predation. Distance moved and number of days to settlement varied with season, where winter was characterized by shorter distances (average of 364 m in winter versus 1752 m in fall) and a smaller number of days (6 in winter versus 23 in fall). The data emphasized on the potential of substitute species to provide valuable information for possible outcomes of management strategies to closely related endangered species.

Additional Information

PLOS One

Date of publication:

2023

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Threatened and Endangered Species

What’s on the menu? A presumed attack of Andean bear on a Mountain tapir at the Puracé National Natural Park, Colombia

mmerrick — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 18:28:52 +0000

Authors

Gustavo Adolfo Pisso-Florez

Ignacio Gómez-Lora

I. Mauricio Vela-Vargas

Héctor Pizo

Isaac Bedoya Dorado

Héctor E. Ramírez-Chaves

Two iconic and charismatic species that inhabit the northern Andes of South America are the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). Both species can be found sympatrically in several areas of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru. Despite their overlap in distribution, little is known about interactions between both species, with few reported cases of Andean bear attacks on the Mountain tapir. Here, we report a possible attack by an Andean bear on a Mountain tapir in the northern part of Puracé National Natural Park, Colombia based on strong wounds and marks on a tapir’s back and rump. The wounds match typical attack patterns generated by Andean bears and corroborates previous camera traps records of bears attacking tapirs in this locality.

Additional Information

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

Date of publication:

2021

Topics

Neotropical mammals

Andean bear

Andean forest

mountain tapir

protected areas

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Natural History Threatened and Endangered Species

Endemic population response to increasingly severe fire: A cascade of endangerment for the Mt. Graham red squirrel

mmerrick — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 16:50:11 +0000

Authors

Melissa J. Merrick

Marina Morandini

Vicki L. Greer

John L. Koprowski

Drought, past fire suppression, insect invasion, and high-severity fire represent a disturbance cascade characteristic of forests in the western United States. The result is altered forest ecosystems diminished in their function and capacity to support biodiversity. Small habitat specialists are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of disturbances because of their limited movement capacity and high site fidelity. Research suggests that small mammals suffer limited direct mortality from fire but are increasingly vulnerable to local extirpation because of secondary impacts that include habitat loss and reduced food availability, survival, and reproduction. We examine the direct and secondary impacts of increasingly severe fire events on the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel—a model system to demonstrate how disturbances can threaten the persistence of range-limited species. We document survival, space use, and displacement prior to and following fires and discuss implications for conservation. We suggest that management plans address future threats, including disturbance-related habitat loss.

Additional Information

BioScience

Date of publication:

2021

Topics

Mt. Graham red squirrel

wildfire

disturbance cascade

spatial habitat take

disturbance displacement

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Disturbance Ecology Sky Islands Spatial Ecology Threatened and Endangered Species

Ecological responses to flow variation inform river dolphin conservation

mmerrick — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 16:44:59 +0000

Authors

Shambhu Paudel

John L. Koprowski

Usha Thakuri

Rajesh Sigdel

Ram Chandra Gautam

Many environmental flow (e-flow) studies and applications have predominantly used state—(i.e., at a single time point) and rate—(i.e., temporal change) based demographic characteristics of species representing lower trophic levels (e.g., fish communities) to build flow-ecology relationships, rather than using a process that incorporates population dynamics. Recent studies have revealed the importance of incorporating data on species traits when building flow-ecology relationships. The effects of flow on keystone megafauna species (i.e., body mass ≥ 30 kg) reverberate through entire food webs; however, the relationships between flow and these species are not well understood, limiting the scope of the relationships used in flow management. Here, we fill this gap by incorporating the habitat selection traits at different flows of a freshwater apex predator, Ganges River dolphin (GRD, Platanista gangetica gangetica), which plays a significant role in maintaining the structure, functions and integrity of the aquatic ecosystem. Using temporally and spatially measured GRD habitat selection traits, we quantified flow-ecology responses in the Karnali River of Nepal during the low-flow season when habitat was heavily reduced and water demand was highest. We define ecological responses as suitable habitat templates with enough usable surface area to support GRD fitness by improving reproduction and survival. We measured the available and occupied habitats to develop flow-ecology responses. Variation in flow resulted in substantial differences in the ecological response across time and space, suggesting that aquatic species adjusted in a variety of habitats to support their life histories and maintain viable populations. The limited availability of suitable habitats combined with uninformed water regulations by humans likely places GRDs under severe physiological stress during low-water seasons (i.e., January–April), suggesting that reduced flows contribute to the process of endangering and extirpating highly sensitive endemic aquatic biodiversity. Our study reveals that ad hoc or experience-based flow management is no longer tenable to maintain the integrity and functionality of aquatic ecosystems. We stress that quantifying the flow-ecology relationships of foundational species, particularly megafauna, in response to flow variation is crucial for monitoring the effects of water alterations and determining the minimum flows needed for maintaining healthy and functional freshwater ecosystems in the Anthropocene.

Additional Information

Nature Scientific Reports

Date of publication:

2020

Topics

Ganges River dolphin

freshwater ecosystem

aquatic mammal

apex predator

flow ecology

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Disturbance Ecology Threatened and Endangered Species

Challenging hibernation limits of hoary bats: the southernmost record of Lasiurus cinereus hibernating in North America

mmerrick — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 22:56:54 +0000

Authors

Ganesh Marín

Daniel Ramos‑H

Daniela Cafaggi

Cárol Sierra‑Durán

Alejandra Gallegos

Aarón Romero‑Ruiz

Rodrigo A. Medellín

It has been suggested that Lasiurus cinereus cinereus migrates from summer roosts at higher latitudes to the coastal regions and southern latitudes in the United States and Mexico to overwinter, where little is known about its winter ecology. We found a hoary bat in a shrub in a conifer forest at high elevation in central Mexico in November 2019. We installed a camera trap and recorded it was hibernating for at least 12.7 days. Our record is by far the most southern hibernation location of tree bats in North America and it shows L. cinereus is capable of hibernating in a non-typical roost. We also open the possibility that camera traps may provide an additional, practical, and easy-to-use tool to study bat hibernation. Our finding expands the ultimate questions of why and where hoary bats decide to hibernate, migrate or both.

Additional Information

Mammalian Biology

Date of publication:

2020

Topics

Camera-trap

Central Mexico

Hibernation

Hoary bat

Non-typical roost

Tropic

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Natural History

Seasonal flow dynamics exacerbate overlap between artisanal fisheries and imperiled Ganges River dolphins

mmerrick — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 22:51:05 +0000

Authors

Shambhu Paudel

John L. Koprowski

Michael V. Cove

Here we quantify the effects of artisanal fisheries on the ecology of a small cetacean, the Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica, GRD), in a large river system of Nepal. We examine the size-classes of fisheries’ catches, behavioural changes in GRD in response to fishing activities, and diel overlap between GRD and fishing activity. We observed high human exploitation rates (> 60% of the total catch per effort) of GRD-preferred prey sizes, indicating risks of high resource competition and dietary overlap, especially during the low water season when resource availability is reduced. Competitive interactions in the feeding niches during the low water season, plus temporal overlap between the peak exploitation and critical life-history events (e.g., reproduction), likely have ecological consequences. Furthermore, we detected 48% (95% CI 43–52%) increase in the chance of behavioural changes among dolphins exposed to anthropopressure (fishing activity), risking social behaviour impairment in exposed dolphins. The higher diel overlap and increased diel coefficient as the surveys progressed towards the monsoon season suggest temporal shifts in GRD socio-behavioural states and seasonal effects on resource partitioning, respectively. This work identifies drivers of small cetaceans-fisheries interactions and their consequences, and can be used to help reduce biologically significant fishing impacts on small cetaceans. Mitigation strategies, together with river sanctuary and distanced-based approaches, should be urgently included in a framework of ecosystem-based management.

Additional Information

Scientific Reports

Date of publication:

2020

Topics

Freshwater ecology

Conservation biology

biodiversity

Research Categories

Behavioral Ecology Disturbance Ecology Human Wildlife Conflict Threatened and Endangered Species