scholarly journals Seasonal changes in group size and composition of Arabian sand gazelle Gazella subgutturosa marica Thomas, 1897 during a period of drought in central western Saudi Arabia

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Low Cunningham ◽  
Torsten Wronski
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Continuous Monitoring ◽  
Group Structure ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Adult Sex Ratio ◽  
Gazella Subgutturosa ◽  
Mixed Groups

Abstract Group size variations of the Arabian sand gazelle Gazella subgutturosa marica were studied during a period of drought at the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in central western Saudi Arabia. Significant differences in median group sizes were observed between all seasons except summer. Single animals were observed mainly during summer while group sizes exceeding 10 individuals were observed mainly during winter. Solitary male and female groups were typically observed during winter and mixed groups mainly during the autumn rutting period. Most mixed groups were two to four times larger during winter than summer. The adult sex ratio (male: female) for all seasons combined was in parity and highest during autumn (1:1.23), probably as a result of prolonged drought conditions. The variability in group structure related to environmental conditions may be one factor permitting G. s. marica to adapt to hyper-arid habitats and climatic regimes in central western Saudi Arabia. The value of continuous monitoring of the gazelle population is emphasised for this drought prone region.

Group structure in wood bison: nutritional and reproductive determinants

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 1367-1371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr E. Komers ◽  
François Messier ◽  
Cormack C. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Group Structure ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Wood Bison ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Mixed Groups ◽  
Male To Female

Sexual segregation in ungulates has been documented for many species including bison. However, male and female bison do not differ in their pattern of habitat selection. In the present study we observed that a fraction of bison groups did not have young (<2 years) despite the presence of males and females. The male to female ratio in these groups was 2.4. We call them adult groups, in contrast to mixed groups, where young were present and the male to female ratio was 0.4. The proportion of cows with young (mothers) in a group was negatively correlated with the male to female ratio, suggesting that mothers associated more often with other cows than with bulls. Before the rut, cows without young (non-mothers) spent less time feeding than either mothers or bulls. However, mothers and non-mothers did not differ in the number of steps per minute they took while grazing, and both types of cows stepped faster than bulls. We suggest that cows feed more selectively than bulls and that the differing foraging strategies result in temporal but not spatial segregation of the sexes. Possibly as a result of similar nutritional demands, mothers tended to aggregate, forming nursery groups. We suggest that the formation of nursery groups can also serve to protect calves through a dilution effect of predation. Whether mothers actually prefer to associate with other mothers remains to be investigated.

Mammals of the Harrat al-Harrah Protected Area, Saudi Arabia

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Seddon ◽  
Yolanda van Heezik ◽  
Iyad A. Nader
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Protected Area

A study of attitudes toward Western culture among Saudi university students

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Anderson Hagler
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
University Students ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
The West ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
Instrumental Motivation ◽  
Clear Majority

This paper analyzes the attitudes Saudi university students hold toward Western culture. Saudi participants completed an open-ended questionnaire about attitudes toward Western culture, consisting of five open-ended questions. This paper presents questionnaire responses from 210 university students in Saudi Arabia (male and female). This paper finds that most of these students are integratively motivated and therefore show a positive disposition toward Western culture. It also shows a correlation between instrumental motivation and students who study on science and engineering tracks. The study shows that a clear majority of students like some aspect of the West or Western culture. The study concludes that these Saudi students are predisposed to interact favorably with the West.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in Group Composition and Habitat Use of Iberian Free-Range Pigs

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoni Dalmau ◽  
Míriam Martínez-Macipe ◽  
Xavier Manteca ◽  
Eva Mainau
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Boar Taint ◽  
Free Range ◽  
Mixed Mean ◽  
Feeding Area ◽  
Solitary Males ◽  
Mixed Groups

The aim of the present work was to study group size, group composition and habitat use of Iberian pigs along the year when reared outdoor. This consists of a regimen in which animals are reared free range from 2 months of age until at least 14 months of age. In a first stage, animals are supplemented with concentrates, and in a second, called montanera, pigs eat just natural resources in areas with no more than two pigs per hectare. In these systems, males are castrated to avoid boar taint and females spayed to avoid the attraction and mounting by wild boars. The study was carried out in five different farms allocated in the south-west of Spain during 2 consecutive years, from March 2012 to February 2014, under the montanera regimen, and with a total of 995 animals observed (498 males and 497 females). The data were analyzed with SAS by means of general models and proc mixed. Mean group size along the year was of 17 ± 12.9 individuals, but this was significantly lower (P &lt; 0.05) during the montanera (12 ± 0.8) and at midday (13 ± 0.8). Groups were bigger (P &lt; 0.05) when they were more than 50 m from a tree (23 ± 1.8), or &lt;10 m from the shelter (25 ± 1.5), the feeding area (31 ± 3.1) and the water-bath area (25 ± 1.5). Nine percent of the groups were solitary animals, being higher (P = 0.0286) during the montanera (11%) than the rest of the year (8%) and being formed in 68% by males. Males were less involved in mixed groups than were females (75% vs. 91%), especially in spring, where the largest (P &lt; 0.0001) male groups were found. Female groups were less frequent and smaller (P &lt; 0.0001) than were male and mixed groups. In conclusion, although males were castrated at a very young age, they showed a different behavior than females, forming in bachelor groups during the spring and being less involved in mixed groups and with more solitary animals. During the montanera, when animals were feeding on acorns and other natural resources, groups were smaller and closer to the trees, solitary males reaching a maximum percent.

Ecology, diet and behaviour of two fox species in a large, fenced protected area in central Saudi Arabia

2004 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M Lenain ◽  
Ernst Olfermann ◽  
Stuart Warrington
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Protected Area

The reproductive cycle of the viviparous seaperch, Cymatogaster aggregata Gibbons

1968 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1221-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Oocyte Maturation ◽  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Environmental Temperature ◽  
Interstitial Cells ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Male And Female

The natural reproductive cycle of male and female Cymatogaster aggregata is described with reference to gametogenesis, development of secondary sex structures, reproductive behavior, and gestation. Spermatocytogenesis starts in early spring and by June or July clusters of spermatozoa fill the seminiferous tubules. Concurrently the Sertoli cells and interstitial cells of Leydig increase in size and secondary sex structures develop on the male anal fin. When the sexes mingle in summer, the males perform very elaborate reproductive behavior. Fertilization occurs about mid-December—5 months after mating—and the ovary is then modified to maintain the young embryos until parturition in mid-summer. Oocyte formation is highest in July and August, just after parturition, while vitellogenesis and oocyte maturation occur mainiy from October to December. These seasonal changes are discussed in relation to changes in environmental temperature and photoperiod.

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