Social and spatial aspects of male subgrouping in a community of wild chimpanzees

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (7) ◽  
pp. 869-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mitani ◽  
Sylvia Amsler
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Permutation Tests ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Typically Develop ◽  
Small Subgroup ◽  
Matrix Permutation ◽  
Lower Ranking ◽  
Low Levels

AbstractStrong social bonds typically develop between dyadic pairs of male chimpanzees. These bonds are manifest in several contexts, including association, grooming, and proximity. Here we demonstrate that social bonds exist at a higher level of organization among males living in an extremely large community at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. An analysis of over 2,500 hours of observation of 35 individuals revealed two distinct subgroups of male chimpanzees. Males that composed each subgroup can be identified on the basis of their tendency to associate in temporary parties. Matrix permutation tests indicated that subgroup members tended to maintain spatial proximity to each other and participate together in territorial boundary patrols. Subgroups formed along the lines of age and rank; members of a small subgroup were younger and lower ranking than individuals in a larger subgroup. Despite this social clustering of males, community integrity remained intact with low levels of aggression between individuals of different subgroups. After controlling for the effect of association, significantly more aggression occurred within compared to between subgroups. In addition, males of the different subgroups displayed significant overlap in their use of the community territory and thus showed no tendency to divide spatially. We compare our findings with those from other animal species and chimpanzee populations and discuss them in the context of the unusual demography of the Ngogo community.

scholarly journals Linking Conservation, Community Knowledge, and Adaptation to Extreme Climatic Events: A Case Study in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6478
Author(s):  
Amemarlita Matos ◽  
Laura Barraza ◽  
Isabel Ruiz-Mallén
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Extreme Climatic Events ◽  
Water Provision

This study is based on ethnographic research that analyzes how traditional knowledge and local beliefs on biodiversity conservation relates to the local ability to adapt and be resilient to climatic changes in two communities around Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique: Nhanfisse in the buffer zone and Muanandimae in the core area. A total of 78 semi-structured interviews with heads of households were conducted. We found that both communities carried out practices and held beliefs associated with conservation, such as protecting trees and animal species considered sacred or perceived as beneficial for human life in terms of water provision and agricultural production. In addition to traditional ceremonies that respond to extreme climatic events such as drought and flood, other adaptation strategies used by the communities include moving to neighboring areas in search of better living conditions and using forest products in times of scarcity. We discuss that the management of the park should be agreed on, in a shared way, between local communities and conservation agents to ensure that these areas continue to perform the ecological, subsistence, and spiritual functions required. Our research results contribute to a better understanding of local adaptation dynamics towards extreme climatic events and improvement of management strategies.

scholarly journals Acceptance threshold theory can explain occurrence of homosexual behaviour

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 20140603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina C. Engel ◽  
Lisa Männer ◽  
Manfred Ayasse ◽  
Sandra Steiger
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Burying Beetles ◽  
Acceptance Threshold ◽  
Threshold Theory ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Perceived Costs

Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) has been documented in a wide range of animals, but its evolutionary causes are not well understood. Here, we investigated SSB in the light of Reeve's acceptance threshold theory. When recognition is not error-proof, the acceptance threshold used by males to recognize potential mating partners should be flexibly adjusted to maximize the fitness pay-off between the costs of erroneously accepting males and the benefits of accepting females. By manipulating male burying beetles' search time for females and their reproductive potential, we influenced their perceived costs of making an acceptance or rejection error. As predicted, when the costs of rejecting females increased, males exhibited more permissive discrimination decisions and showed high levels of SSB; when the costs of accepting males increased, males were more restrictive and showed low levels of SSB. Our results support the idea that in animal species, in which the recognition cues of females and males overlap to a certain degree, SSB is a consequence of an adaptive discrimination strategy to avoid the costs of making rejection errors.

scholarly journals Notes on distribution and relative abundances of some animal species, and on climate in the Kruger National Park during prehistoric times

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Insight Into

Faunal remains obtained from archaeological sites in the Kruger National Park, provide valuable information on the distributions of animal species in the past. The relative abundances of some species are compared with animal population statistics of the present. The study of the faunal samples, which date from nearly 7 000 years before present until the nineteenth century, also provides insight into climatic conditions during prehistoric times.

scholarly journals Distribution and Demographics of Fuchsia Excorticata, Nelson Lakes National Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Edward Rex Lancelot Bartholomew
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Reference Area ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Management Area ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
Reference Areas

<p>The small tree Fuchsia excorticata (Onagraceae) is found on disturbed riparian sites throughout New Zealand. Spatial distribution and  demographic changes in populations of F. excorticata were surveyed in the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project (RNRP) area, and an associated non-treatment reference area, Nelson Lakes National Park, over the period 2005 to 2007. The RNRP is an intensively managed "mainland island" project in mixed beech (Nothofagus) forest, pest animal species especially possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), rodents, and mustelids are controlled. The aim of this study was to survey the condition of F. excorticata in the managed and reference areas to determine if any differences could be detected between the populations over time. The only significant (p<0.05) difference between the two areas was in sapling abundance, which was higher in the RNRP management area. This was tentatively attributed to pest management; however the concurrence of complex  environmental influences, and a lack of management replication, prevented a simple interpretation of the data. There was no significant difference in recruitment, growth, mortality, and tree or seedling abundance  between the managed and reference areas. Growth rate, especially of saplings, was significantly greater at lower elevations in the RNRP managed area, however the inverse held for the reference area. Mammalian herbivory was light; the main affect being to restrict seedling growth through hedging. Periodic heavy flooding was responsible for much of the mortality, however many newly disturbed sites were rapidly populated with fuchsia seedlings. The need for rigour in establishing ecologically comparable reference sites for comparative studies was evident. There were inherent difficulties in establishing causal relationships between ecological changes and management practices where management was not replicated geographically.</p>

scholarly journals The illegal pet trade is driving Madagascar's ploughshare tortoise to extinction

Oryx ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo R. Mandimbihasina ◽  
Lance G. Woolaver ◽  
Lianne E. Concannon ◽  
E. J. Milner-Gulland ◽  
Richard E. Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Restricted Range ◽  
Pet Trade ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Line Transects ◽  
North Western

AbstractThe illegal wildlife trade is driving declines in populations of a number of large, charismatic animal species but also many lesser known and restricted-range species, some of which are now facing extinction as a result. The ploughshare tortoise Astrochelys yniphora, endemic to the Baly Bay National Park of north-western Madagascar, is affected by poaching for the international illegal pet trade. To quantify this, we estimated population trends during 2006–2015, using distance sampling surveys along line transects, and recorded national and international confiscations of trafficked tortoises for 2002–2016. The results suggest the ploughshare tortoise population declined > 50% during this period, to c. 500 adults and subadults in 2014–2015. Prior to 2006 very few tortoises were seized either in Madagascar or internationally but confiscations increased sharply from 2010. Since 2015 poaching has intensified, with field reports suggesting that two of the four subpopulations are extinct, leaving an unknown but almost certainly perilously low number of adult tortoises in the wild. This study has produced the first reliable population estimate of the ploughshare tortoise and shows that the species has declined rapidly because of poaching for the international pet trade. There is an urgent need for increased action both in Madagascar and along international trade routes if the extinction of the ploughshare tortoise in the wild is to be prevented.

scholarly journals Larger chimpanzee-dispersed seeds are elongated at Mahale, Tanzania: possible consequence of plant–disperser interaction?

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michio Nakamura ◽  
Noriko Itoh
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Seed Size ◽  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Mahale Mountains National Park ◽  
Round Seed

Abstract:Apes are important long-distance dispersers of large seeds in African tropical forests. Seed size and shape are likely to affect the ease of swallowing for an animal species. If an endozoochorous seed is larger than the digestive tract of an animal, the seed cannot be swallowed, and a round seed is more difficult to swallow than an elongated seed of the same length. In order to test if such a correlation exists between the seed size and its shape, we investigated the length and width of chimpanzee-dispersed seeds at the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Among the 14 species of seeds, longer seeds had significantly narrower relative widths, and thus, they were more ovoid. Since the chimpanzee is the largest arboreal frugivore at Mahale, their food selection might have influenced the shape of larger seeds. The chimpanzee's selective consumption of such fruits with longer, elongated seeds may have facilitated the selective dispersal of such plant species in that area.

Stem mortality of Acacia nigrescens induced by the synergistic effects of elephants and fire in Kruger National Park, South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 655-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn R. Moncrieff ◽  
Laurence M. Kruger ◽  
Jeremy J. Midgley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Natural Fires ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Stem Mortality

Abstract:One manner in which elephants utilize trees is by removing their bark. This type of utilization is concentrated on the largest trees in the landscape. The role of bark removal in increasing the vulnerability of large trees to fire and the mechanism through which fire damage is mediated were investigated in Kruger National Park, South Africa, by experimentally removing bark and burning Acacia nigrescens stems with diameters ranging between 30 and 68 mm. Also, field surveys were conducted subsequent to natural fires in order to investigate mortality patterns of large trees with dbh greater than 15 cm with bark removed by elephants. An increasing probability of mortality was associated with increasing amounts of bark removal but only if trees were burned. When trees had bark removed but were not burnt, simulating damage only to cambium and phloem, none of the 12 treated stems died in the 4-mo period over which the experiment ran. Moreover, low levels of cambium damage were detected in large burned stems. This suggests that bark removal increases fire-induced xylem damage and that this damage contributes towards stem mortality. In a survey of 437 large trees, bark removal by elephants was frequent on large stems (44%) and larger trees have greater amounts of bark removed. Post-fire mortality of large trees was significantly associated with increasing bark removal and stem diameter. These results indicate that bark removal by elephants increases the vulnerability of stems to fire, resulting in mortality of large stems otherwise protected from fire.

scholarly journals Diet and ecomorphological relationships of an endemic, species-poor fish assemblage in a stream in the Iguaçu National Park

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayara Pereira Neves ◽  
Rosilene Luciana Delariva ◽  
Luciano Lazzarini Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
National Park ◽  
Aquatic Invertebrates ◽  
Niche Breadth ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Mantel Test ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Terrestrial Insects ◽  
Trophic Niches

This study investigated the morphological and dietary relationships of the fish assemblage in a stream with an endemic fauna and low species richness. The ichthyofauna was sampled quarterly from September 2011 to July 2012, through the electrofishing technique. The stomach contents of 419 individuals belonging to seven species were analyzed by the volumetric method, and the ecomorphological traits of 30 specimens of each species were estimated. The main food items consumed were detritus, aquatic and terrestrial insects, and other aquatic invertebrates. We observed low levels of trophic niche breadth and diet overlap between most species. The PCA scores indicated the occurrence of three ecomorphotypes. PCA axis 1 segregated at one extreme, species with dorsoventrally depressed bodies, longer caudal peduncles, and well-developed swimming fins; and at the other extreme, species with compressed bodies and peduncles, and relatively larger eyes and anal fins. PCA axis 2 segregated species with elongated bodies and ventrally oblique mouths. The partial Mantel test revealed a significant correlation between diet and morphology, indicating independence from the phylogeny. The patterns observed suggest that the low richness did not result in a broadening of the species' trophic niches, or in the absence of some of the main ecomorphotypes expected.

scholarly journals Birds and mammals of the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

Oryx ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy G. O'Brien ◽  
Margaret F. Kinnaird
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Rain Forests ◽  
Sustainable Exploitation ◽  
South West ◽  
Land Use Conflicts ◽  
West Sumatra ◽  
Conservation Of Biodiversity

Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in south-west Sumatra is one of the largest protected areas in Sumatra and thus of considerable importance to the conservation of biodiversity in Indonesia. Until recently, little was known of the wildlife in the park. The authors' surveys document the presence of an intact community of the birds and mammals known to occur in lowland Sumatran rain forests. While hunting and collection of forest products threaten a number of plant and animal species in the park, the primary threat to the park's integrity is from agricultural encroachment and expansion of enclaves beyond their boundaries. The future survival of Bukit Barisan National Park and its wildlife requires that active measures be taken to curb non-sustainable exploitation of plants and wildlife. It will also be necessary to resolve land-use conflicts with communities in, and adjacent to, the park.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document