Catarrhine juvenile mortality in captivity, under seminatural conditions, and in the wild

1995 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 935-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. W. J. Debyser
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

scholarly journals Aggression and Competition for Space and Food  in Captive Juvenile Tuatara (Sphenodon Punctatus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Laura Luise Barbara Woerner
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Small Female ◽  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
Competition For Space ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Sphenodon Punctatus ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
One Year

<p>Intraspecific competition is of importance in the wild and captivity, as the interaction among individuals for resources can affect growth, survival, and ultimately fitness. Tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, are endemic to New Zealand and the sole representatives of the reptile Order Rhynchocephalia, and their recovery plan outlines the importance of head-started individuals to supplement existing populations and provide stock to start new populations. Head-starting is a widespread conservation tool for raising juveniles in captivity prior to release in the wild, with the aim of reducing juvenile mortality and providing populations with more individuals. However, mortality differs between sexes and juvenile tuatara show enormous variation in size in captivity. I investigated aggression and competition for space and food in a tuatara head-starting facility to determine whether intraspecific competition may affect mortality and growth. Pairs of one-year-old tuatara, S. punctatus, were chosen according to sex and relative size, e.g. a big male and a small female or two similar sized females. Seven scenarios were replicated four times with different pairs. Behaviour (including two feeding trials) was recorded over a six day period via security cameras and direct observations. The number of aggressive conflicts differed among scenarios, and male-male dyads were significantly more aggressive than female-female dyads. Dominance hierarchies were established in 18 of 28 experimental pairs, with bigger animals being dominant. Conflicts include chasing, biting or colliding at full speed. One year old juveniles did not compete for space. They did not use space exclusively, but stopped clustering and had developed aggressive behaviour, suggesting that they are not territorial yet but in an early stage of transition towards territoriality as seen in older juveniles and adults. Space use and avoidance in space and time did not differ among social scenarios and the latter were negligible, but they marked a novel enclosure with urine and faeces. Juveniles competed directly and indirectly for food. Dominant individuals were likely to secure more food than submissive individuals. Females acquired less food when paired with males of bigger or similar size, and acquired about equal shares when paired with a smaller male. While bigger males acquired slightly more food when paired with smaller males, this was not the case in differently sized females. Interference behaviours such as chasing and food stealing were mostly directed from bigger towards smaller individuals. Captive group housing has consequences for competition and aggression, and may directly influence survival. As juvenile tuatara mortality is female-biased, and aggression against females in bigger male-biased groups common, I recommend keeping sexes separate, and assorting groups by size with more spacious enclosures for male groups. These modifications should improve health and numbers of juveniles for release, improve recruitment into the reproductive adult population, and ultimately create more successful head-starting facilities.</p>

Platyrrhine juvenile mortality in captivity and in the wild

1995 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 909-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. W. J. Debyser
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

scholarly journals Aggression and Competition for Space and Food  in Captive Juvenile Tuatara (Sphenodon Punctatus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Laura Luise Barbara Woerner
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Small Female ◽  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
Competition For Space ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Sphenodon Punctatus ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
One Year

<p>Intraspecific competition is of importance in the wild and captivity, as the interaction among individuals for resources can affect growth, survival, and ultimately fitness. Tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, are endemic to New Zealand and the sole representatives of the reptile Order Rhynchocephalia, and their recovery plan outlines the importance of head-started individuals to supplement existing populations and provide stock to start new populations. Head-starting is a widespread conservation tool for raising juveniles in captivity prior to release in the wild, with the aim of reducing juvenile mortality and providing populations with more individuals. However, mortality differs between sexes and juvenile tuatara show enormous variation in size in captivity. I investigated aggression and competition for space and food in a tuatara head-starting facility to determine whether intraspecific competition may affect mortality and growth. Pairs of one-year-old tuatara, S. punctatus, were chosen according to sex and relative size, e.g. a big male and a small female or two similar sized females. Seven scenarios were replicated four times with different pairs. Behaviour (including two feeding trials) was recorded over a six day period via security cameras and direct observations. The number of aggressive conflicts differed among scenarios, and male-male dyads were significantly more aggressive than female-female dyads. Dominance hierarchies were established in 18 of 28 experimental pairs, with bigger animals being dominant. Conflicts include chasing, biting or colliding at full speed. One year old juveniles did not compete for space. They did not use space exclusively, but stopped clustering and had developed aggressive behaviour, suggesting that they are not territorial yet but in an early stage of transition towards territoriality as seen in older juveniles and adults. Space use and avoidance in space and time did not differ among social scenarios and the latter were negligible, but they marked a novel enclosure with urine and faeces. Juveniles competed directly and indirectly for food. Dominant individuals were likely to secure more food than submissive individuals. Females acquired less food when paired with males of bigger or similar size, and acquired about equal shares when paired with a smaller male. While bigger males acquired slightly more food when paired with smaller males, this was not the case in differently sized females. Interference behaviours such as chasing and food stealing were mostly directed from bigger towards smaller individuals. Captive group housing has consequences for competition and aggression, and may directly influence survival. As juvenile tuatara mortality is female-biased, and aggression against females in bigger male-biased groups common, I recommend keeping sexes separate, and assorting groups by size with more spacious enclosures for male groups. These modifications should improve health and numbers of juveniles for release, improve recruitment into the reproductive adult population, and ultimately create more successful head-starting facilities.</p>

scholarly journals Analysis of 100 high coverage genomes from a pedigreed captive baboon colony

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Robinson ◽  
Shifra Birnbaum ◽  
Deborah E. Newman ◽  
Jeannie Chan ◽  
Jeremy P. Glenn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Model Organisms ◽  
Primate Research ◽  
Primate Model ◽  
High Coverage ◽  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
Deleterious Alleles ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Basic Biology ◽  
Biomedical Research Institute

Baboons (genus Papio) are broadly studied in the wild and in captivity. They are widely used as a non-human primate model for biomedical studies, and the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute has maintained a large captive baboon colony for more than 50 years. Unlike other model organisms though, the genomic resources for baboons are severely lacking. This has hindered the progress of studies using baboons as a model for basic biology or human disease. Here, we describe a dataset of 100 high-coverage whole-genome sequences obtained from the mixed colony of olive (P. anubis) and yellow (P. cynocephalus) baboons housed at the SNPRC. These data provide a comprehensive catalog of common genetic variation in baboons, as well as a fine-scale genetic map. We show how the data can be used to learn about ancestry and admixture, and to correct errors in the colony records. Finally, we investigated the consequences of inbreeding within the SNPRC colony and found clear evidence for increased rates of juvenile mortality and increased homozygosity of putatively deleterious alleles in inbred individuals.

scholarly journals On the modulation and maintenance of hibernation in captive dwarf lemurs

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina B. Blanco ◽  
Lydia K. Greene ◽  
Robert Schopler ◽  
Cathy V. Williams ◽  
Danielle Lynch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Restriction ◽  
Metabolic Disorders ◽  
Biological Rhythms ◽  
Food Ingestion ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Cheirogaleus Medius ◽  
Save Energy ◽  
Metabolic Strategies

AbstractIn nature, photoperiod signals environmental seasonality and is a strong selective “zeitgeber” that synchronizes biological rhythms. For animals facing seasonal environmental challenges and energetic bottlenecks, daily torpor and hibernation are two metabolic strategies that can save energy. In the wild, the dwarf lemurs of Madagascar are obligate hibernators, hibernating between 3 and 7 months a year. In captivity, however, dwarf lemurs generally express torpor for periods far shorter than the hibernation season in Madagascar. We investigated whether fat-tailed dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius) housed at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) could hibernate, by subjecting 8 individuals to husbandry conditions more in accord with those in Madagascar, including alternating photoperiods, low ambient temperatures, and food restriction. All dwarf lemurs displayed daily and multiday torpor bouts, including bouts lasting ~ 11 days. Ambient temperature was the greatest predictor of torpor bout duration, and food ingestion and night length also played a role. Unlike their wild counterparts, who rarely leave their hibernacula and do not feed during hibernation, DLC dwarf lemurs sporadically moved and ate. While demonstrating that captive dwarf lemurs are physiologically capable of hibernation, we argue that facilitating their hibernation serves both husbandry and research goals: first, it enables lemurs to express the biphasic phenotypes (fattening and fat depletion) that are characteristic of their wild conspecifics; second, by “renaturalizing” dwarf lemurs in captivity, they will emerge a better model for understanding both metabolic extremes in primates generally and metabolic disorders in humans specifically.

scholarly journals Previously unknown behavior in parasitic cuckoo females: male-like vocalization during migratory activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swetlana G. Meshcheryagina ◽  
Alexey Opaev
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Harmonic Spectrum ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Neck Extension ◽  
Migratory Activity ◽  
Call Production ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Combined Features ◽  
Female Call

Abstract Background In the last decade, enigmatic male-like cuckoo calls have been reported several times in East Asia. These calls exhibited a combination of vocal traits of both Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) and Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) advertising calls, and some authors therefore suggested that the enigmatic calls were produced by either Common × Oriental Cuckoo male hybrids or Common Cuckoo males having a gene mutation. However, the exact identity of calling birds are still unknown. Methods We recorded previously unknown male-like calls from three captive Oriental Cuckoo females, and compared these calls with enigmatic vocalizations recorded in the wild as well as with advertising vocalizations of Common and Oriental Cuckoo males. To achieve this, we measured calls automatically. Besides, we video-recorded captive female emitting male-like calls, and compared these recordings with the YouTube recordings of calling males of both Common and Oriental Cuckoos to get insight into the mechanism of call production. Results The analysis showed that female male-like calls recorded in captivity were similar to enigmatic calls recorded in the wild. Therefore, Oriental Cuckoo females might produce the latter calls. Two features of these female calls appeared to be unusual among birds. First, females produced male-like calls at the time of spring and autumn migratory activity and on migration in the wild. Because of this, functional significance of this call remained puzzling. Secondly, the male-like female call unexpectedly combined features of both closed-mouth (closed beak and simultaneous inflation of the ‘throat sac’) and open-mouth (prominent harmonic spectrum and the maximum neck extension observed at the beginning of a sound) vocal behaviors. Conclusions The Cuculus vocalizations outside the reproductive season remain poorly understood. Here, we found for the first time that Oriental Cuckoo females can produce male-like calls in that time. Because of its rarity, this call might be an atavism. Indeed, female male-like vocalizations are still known in non-parasitic tropical and apparently more basal cuckoos only. Therefore, our findings may shed light on the evolution of vocal communication in avian brood parasites.

scholarly journals Reintroduction of the Golden Conure (Guaruba guarouba) in Northern Brazil: Establishing a Population in a Protected Area

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
Marcelo Rodrigues Vilarta ◽  
William Wittkoff ◽  
Crisomar Lobato ◽  
Rubens de Aquino Oliveira ◽  
Nívia Gláucia Pinto Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Lines ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Territorial Disputes ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Viable Population ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Northern Brazil ◽  
Native Foods

Brazil has the highest number of parrots in the world and the greatest number of threatened species. The Golden Conure is endemic to the Brazilian Amazon forest and it is currently considered as threatened by extinction, although it is fairly common in captivity. Here we report the first reintroduction of this species. The birds were released in an urban park in Belem, capital of Para State, where the species was extinct more than a century ago. Birds were trained to recognize and consume local food and to avoid predators. After the soft-release, with food supplementation and using nest boxes, we recorded breeding activity in the wild. The main challenges before the release were the territorial disputes within the aviary and the predation by boa snakes. During the post-release monitoring the difficulties were the fast dispersion of some individuals and the dangers posed by anthropic elements such as power lines that caused some fatalities. Released birds were very successful at finding and consuming native foods, evading predators, and one pair reproduced successfully. Monitoring continues and further releases are programmed to establish an ecologically viable population.

scholarly journals Numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1740) ◽  
pp. 20160508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Benson-Amram ◽  
Geoff Gilfillan ◽  
Karen McComb
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Numerical Assessment ◽  
Individual Discrimination ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Assessment Skills ◽  
In The Wild

Playback experiments have proved to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. In particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the Order Carnivora. Additionally, playback experiments allow us to assess the importance of numerical information versus other ecologically important variables when animals are making adaptive decisions in their natural habitats. Here, we begin by reviewing what we know about quantity discrimination in carnivores from studies conducted in captivity. We then review a series of playback experiments conducted with wild social carnivores, including African lions, spotted hyenas and wolves, which demonstrate that these animals can assess the number of conspecifics calling and respond based on numerical advantage. We discuss how the wild studies complement those conducted in captivity and allow us to gain insights into why wild animals may not always respond based solely on differences in quantity. We then consider the key roles that individual discrimination and cross-modal recognition play in the ability of animals to assess the number of conspecifics vocalizing nearby. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in this area, highlighting in particular the need for further work on the cognitive basis of numerical assessment skills and experimental paradigms that can be effective in both captive and wild settings. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The origins of numerical abilities’.

First record of quadruplets in the musky ratkangaroo Hypsiprymnodon moschatus.

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
PM Johnson ◽  
S Lloyd ◽  
T Vallance ◽  
MDB Eldridge
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
First Record ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
North East ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

THE musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) is endemic to the tropical rainforests of north-east Queensland (Johnson and Strahan 1982). It is the smallest (510 ? 530 g) and most unusual member of the marsupial superfamily Macropodoidea (Dennis and Johnson 1995). Unlike other macropodoids, H. moschatus is frugivorous, diurnal, has an opposable first digit on the pes, a running quadrupedal gait and possesses a relatively unspecialised digestive tract (Johnson and Strahan 1982; Dennis 2002). It also differs from all other macropodoids in typically giving birth to multiple young, usually twins ? although single young and triplets are regularly reported both in the wild and in captivity (Troughton 1967; Johnson and Strahan 1982; Johnson et al. 1983; Dennis and Marsh 1997; Lloyd 2001). However, the birth of more than three young has not previously been observed in H. moschatus or any other macropodoid, even though all species possess four teats.

scholarly journals Challenges and opportunities for monitoring wild Nile crocodiles with scute mark-recapture photography

Koedoe ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard W.T. Coetzee ◽  
Sam M. Ferreira ◽  
Kristine Maciejewski
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Status ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Mark Recapture ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Open Population ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

The global conservation status of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) was last assessed in 1996. The species presents particular difficulty in monitoring because it can be cryptic, require expertise to handle, and caudal tail tags and transmitters are often lost. Some studies advocate mark-recapture techniques based on photograph identification of the unique scute markings of crocodile tails as a non-invasive means of monitoring their populations. Researchers developed this method with crocodiles in captivity. In this study, we test the technique under field conditions by monitoring crocodiles from 2015 to 2017 in the Sunset Dam in the Kruger National Park. Using a Cormack-Jolly-Seber open population model, we found that the dam may host 15–30 individuals, but that there is a high turnover of individuals and much uncertainty in model outputs. The dam’s population thus has high rates of immigration and emigration. The method proved challenging under field conditions, as there was bias in identifying scute markings consistently. The efficient use of the method requires an exceptional quality of photographic equipment. Animal crypsis, however, remains an issue. In this study, we discuss how to improve the mark-recapture photography methodology, especially to adapt the technique for citizen science initiatives.Conservation implications: Using scute mark-recapture photography presents challenges under field conditions. These challenges require innovative, practical and analytical solutions to successfully use the technique before monitoring programmes, aimed at ensuring the persistence of crocodiles in the wild, can be implemented.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document