Space use and parental care behaviour in Andinobates claudiae (Dendrobatidae)

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Ricardo Cossio ◽  
Jennifer Wright ◽  
Rebeca Acosta ◽  
Ariel Rodríguez

Abstract The selection of habitats with potential reproductive resources may maximize individual reproductive success and overall fitness. Dendrobatid frogs display remarkable parental care which is associated with water bodies (phytotelmata) contained in plants with characteristics that are important to offspring survival. It has been shown that the size of phytotelmata is a key factor that drove the divergence in parental care patterns in poison frogs and that the distribution of reproductive resources can influence space use in these species. Here, we investigated parental care strategies and the influence of reproductive resource distribution on space use patterns in a wild population of Andinobates claudiae in Bocas del Toro, Panama. We identified the phytotelmata characteristics that predict tadpole deposition and analysed the association between the spatial distribution of phytotelmata and spatial use of males and females. Our observations showed that this species mates polygamously and exhibits male parental care. We found that male frogs have smaller kernel density home ranges and core areas compared to females, and that space use is related to the density of Heliconia plants whose axil cavities are used for tadpole rearing. Furthermore, we found that tadpoles were more frequently found in phytotelmata that were at lower heights and contained larger water volumes. Fathers invested time inspecting multiple cavities and travelled further than predicted from their territories to find suitable deposition sites. Our observations suggest a selective choice of phytotelmata regarding tadpole deposition, where distribution and quality of cavities might influence parental care decisions.

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1550) ◽  
pp. 2221-2231 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Kie ◽  
Jason Matthiopoulos ◽  
John Fieberg ◽  
Roger A. Powell ◽  
Francesca Cagnacci ◽  
...  

Recent advances in animal tracking and telemetry technology have allowed the collection of location data at an ever-increasing rate and accuracy, and these advances have been accompanied by the development of new methods of data analysis for portraying space use, home ranges and utilization distributions. New statistical approaches include data-intensive techniques such as kriging and nonlinear generalized regression models for habitat use. In addition, mechanistic home-range models, derived from models of animal movement behaviour, promise to offer new insights into how home ranges emerge as the result of specific patterns of movements by individuals in response to their environment. Traditional methods such as kernel density estimators are likely to remain popular because of their ease of use. Large datasets make it possible to apply these methods over relatively short periods of time such as weeks or months, and these estimates may be analysed using mixed effects models, offering another approach to studying temporal variation in space-use patterns. Although new technologies open new avenues in ecological research, our knowledge of why animals use space in the ways we observe will only advance by researchers using these new technologies and asking new and innovative questions about the empirical patterns they observe.


Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 837-846
Author(s):  
Eileen Wyza ◽  
Luke Dollar ◽  
Leon Pierrot Rahajanirina ◽  
Viorel Popescu ◽  
Nancy J. Stevens

AbstractThe Vulnerable fosa Cryptoprocta ferox is the largest native carnivore in Madagascar, fulfilling a unique ecological niche in the island's remaining forests. Negative interactions with humans threaten the long-term viability of most remaining fosa populations across Madagascar. Threats to the fosa include habitat loss and persecution by humans resulting from perceived predation on domestic animals. We used GPS collars to record space use and activity patterns of five fosas in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar, during the dry seasons of 2016 and 2017. The results, with up to 2,110 recorded locations per individual, indicated fosas’ home ranges and movements were not limited to the forest, and all collared individuals used networks of habitat patches and corridors to navigate deforested areas. The fosas studied in Ankarafantsika National Park had significantly larger home ranges than those reported in previous studies in other protected areas. They were rarely found within village boundaries and appeared to avoid areas of human habitation, suggesting that during the study period livestock was not a significant component of the fosas’ diet in this Park. Our results suggest that fosas have some flexibility that enables them to adapt to living near deforested and human-dominated areas by altering their space-use patterns, but they are compensating by increasing their home range size.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 869-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lui Marinelli ◽  
François Messier

We investigated the space-use patterns of adult muskrats in a small (77 ha) marsh on the Canadian Prairies during two breeding seasons. During the study, population size was relatively low and the adult sex ratio was biased towards females. Adult muskrats were territorial with little intrasexual home-range overlap. The exclusivity of home ranges was maintained throughout the breeding season, and appeared to decrease at the end of the season. Male movements often extended over the territory of more than one female, but the overlap was more extensive with primary than with secondary females. Lactation appeared to reduce the space use and mobility of female muskrats. Male muskrats tended to range over smaller areas when weaned young were present within their home range. The results suggest that the sexual pair is the basic social unit of muskrats but that polygyny was common. A female-biased sex ratio appeared to be responsible for the tendency of males to mate polygynously during this study, thus illustrating the plasticity of this social system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Lei ◽  
David T. Booth ◽  
Ross G. Dwyer

Nest predation is the main cause of hatch failure for many turtle populations. For loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at the Wreck Rock rookery, adjacent to Deepwater National Park in south-east Queensland, yellow-spotted goannas (Varanus panoptes) are the main nest predator. However, no studies have documented the space use of goannas in costal habitat adjacent to a sea turtle nesting beach. Here we used Global Positioning System data loggers to evaluate the spatial ecology of adult yellow-spotted goannas in order to discover their potential interaction with sea turtle nests. Male yellow-spotted goannas had larger home ranges, spent a greater proportion of their time in the beach dune area where sea turtles nest, and their home ranges overlapped with more sea turtle nests compared with females. Both males and females had a bimodal activity pattern, with peaks in activity in the early morning and mid to late afternoon. Examination of space-use patterns indicates that it is the larger male yellow-spotted goannas that are the main predators of sea turtle nests at the Wreck Rock beach-nesting aggregation. Hence, by inference, it is probable that large male yellow-spotted goannas are responsible for opening nests at other Australian mainland sea turtle beaches, and if a goanna-specific management strategy is implemented to control predation it is these large males that should be targeted.


2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amariah A. Lebsock ◽  
Christopher L. Burdett ◽  
Safi K. Darden ◽  
Torben Dabelsteen ◽  
Michael F. Antolin ◽  
...  

Space use is a fundamental characteristic that informs our knowledge of social relationships and the degree to which individuals are territorial. Until recently, relatively little was known about the spatial ecology and social organization of swift foxes ( Vulpes velox (Say, 1823)). We investigated space use of swift foxes on shortgrass prairie in northeastern Colorado. Our first objective was to evaluate sizes of seasonal and annual home ranges and core areas of 13 radio-collared swift foxes monitored continuously for 2 years. Our second objective was to compare home-range and core-area overlap of breeding pairs to that of neighboring foxes, including male–male, female–female, and nonbreeding female–male dyads. Home-range size in our study population was among the smallest previously reported for swift foxes. Males tended to have slightly larger home ranges and core areas than females, and home-range size was significantly larger in the breeding season than in both the pup-rearing and the dispersal seasons; sizes of core areas did not differ seasonally. Spatial overlap between breeding pairs was substantial, whereas spatial overlap between neighbors, particularly males, was low, suggesting territoriality.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meaghan N. Evans ◽  
Carsten T. Müller ◽  
Peter Kille ◽  
Gregory P. Asner ◽  
Sergio Guerrero-Sanchez ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Agricultural land use is expanding and is a major driver of the biodiversity crisis. Land use planning initiatives seeking to optimize wildlife conservation are hindered by a lack of baseline data quantifying species’ tolerance to human-modified landscapes. Objectives We explored the influence of landscape characteristics on the fine-scale space-use patterns of a model generalist carnivore, the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga), within degraded tropical forests and oil palm plantations. Methods We collected over 20,000 GPS locations from 21 male civets in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo to evaluate the species’ space-use patterns and habitat utilization processes. We used movement-based modeling to determine home ranges, and combined the results with high-resolution remotely sensed habitat characteristics. We developed resource utilization functions to determine individual and population-level functional responses to proximity to plantation edge, distance to water, terrain ruggedness, forest structure, and functional diversity. Results Civets foraged within oil palm plantations, yet all animals utilized forests. Home ranges scaled with proportion of plantation within both total and core ranges. Resource utilization functions reported individualism in the species’ responses to habitat characteristics. At the population-scale, civets consistently and more intensely used habitats closer to plantation edges and taller tree canopies. Conclusions Although plantations did not pose an inhospitable matrix, oil palm agriculture is a less suitable habitat than remnant forests for civets. Proximity measures and forest structure influenced the spatial behaviors of this adaptable generalist, highlighting the importance of protected areas. We recommend land-sparing and -sharing approaches to facilitate carnivore persistence across oil palm degraded landscapes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Schlichting ◽  
Raoul K. Boughton ◽  
Wes Anderson ◽  
Bethany Wight ◽  
Kurt C. VerCauteren ◽  
...  

Abstract An individual’s spatial behavior is shaped by social and environmental factors and provides critical information about population processes to inform conservation and management actions. Heterogeneity in spatial overlap among conspecifics can be evaluated using estimates of home ranges and core areas and used to understand factors influencing space use and territoriality. To understand and test predictions about spatial behavior in an invasive large mammal, the wild pig (Sus scrofa), we examined variation in space use between sexes and seasons. We predicted that if animals were territorial that there would be a reduction in space-use overlap when comparing overlap of home ranges (HR-HR), to home ranges and core areas (HR-CA), and in-turn to core areas (CA-CA). Home ranges and core areas were estimated for 54 wild pigs at Buck Island Ranch, FL from GPS telemetry data. Overlap indices were calculated to estimate the strength (space-use overlap) and number of potential interactions within three wet seasons (June-October) and two dry seasons (December-April). Across all seasons, males exhibited larger home ranges compared to females (M = 10.36±0.79 km² (±SE), F = 3.21±0.16 km²) and interacted with a greater number of individuals than females. Home range size and strength of interactions did not vary between wet and dry seasons. Consistent with our predictions, wild pigs appeared to exhibit territorial behavior, where strength of overlap decreased when comparing HR-HR to HR-CA and HR-CA to CA-CA. Strength of overlap varied by sex, which was lowest between females, intermediate between females and males, and greatest between males. Our framework can be used to understand patterns of space use and territoriality in populations, which has important implications in understanding population processes and how pathogens and parasites might spread within and among populations.


The Auk ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 795-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Barg ◽  
Deviah M. Aiama ◽  
Jason Jones ◽  
Raleigh J. Robertson

Abstract Although most habitat characteristics are known to be continuously variable in space, practicality dictates that most habitat-selection studies at the spatial scale of the territory treat within-territory habitat as essentially homogeneous. However, the limitations associated with such a compromise have remained largely unexamined. Male Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulea) exhibit nonrandom space- use patterns within their territories, in that all territories contain areas of intensive use or core areas. In addition to documenting territory-wide habitat and behavioral use patterns in this species, we asked two specific questions about core-area structure and function. (1) Are core-area habitats distinct in their vegetative composition and structure from the rest of the territory? (2) What behavioral mechanisms underlie the nonrandom space-use patterns? On a territory-wide basis, males used trees in proportion to their availability; however, core areas were predominantly composed of bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), which was a highly preferred song-post tree. Core areas were not consistently associated with any other habitat feature, including canopy gaps. Core areas were singing centers; song-post densities within core areas were 10× higher than in noncore areas. In our study area, bitternut hickories have significant delayed leaf-out patterns, potentially offering minimal acoustic hindrance to song transmission until late in the breeding season. These singing centers may be strategically placed to simultaneously maintain vigilance over social nests and maximize communication with conspecifics. Core areas are potentially as important to males as nesting habitat is to females, and their provision should be taken into account when implementing conservation or management strategies. Uso de Hábitat en los Territorios y Selección de Microhábitats por los Machos en Dendroica cerulea


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Lei ◽  
David T. Booth

The lace monitor (Varanus varius) is a carnivorous scavenger that inhabits lowland forests and coastlines throughout south-eastern Australia. Here we used global positioning system (GPS) devices to remotely monitor adult lace monitor behaviour across two summer seasons in a coastal habitat adjacent to a sea turtle nesting beach at Wreck Rock, Queensland, Australia. GPS tracking showed that lace monitors spent most of their time in woodland habitat away from the seafront dune areas. Both adult males and females occupied relatively large home ranges (0.005 to 1.467 km2 calculated by the Kernel Brownian Bridge method) and individual home ranges overlapped each other to a large extent. The space use patterns of individual lace monitors could be classified as ‘linear’ or ‘clumped’, indicating plasticity in this species’ movement behaviour. Because lace monitors rarely visited the frontal dune area where sea turtles nest, they do not pose a significant threat to sea turtle nests.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 170720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Seiler ◽  
Christophe Boesch ◽  
Roger Mundry ◽  
Colleen Stephens ◽  
Martha M. Robbins

In territorial species, the distribution of neighbours and food abundance play a crucial role in space use patterns but less is known about how and when neighbours use shared areas in non-territorial species. We investigated space partitioning in 10 groups of wild, non-territorial mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei ). Using location data, we examined factors influencing daily movement decisions and calculated the per cent overlap of annual kernel home ranges and core areas among neighbours. We found that the probability that a group chose an area was positively influenced by both food availability and the previous use of that area by the group. Additionally, groups reduced their overall utilization of areas previously used by neighbouring groups. Lastly, groups used their core areas more exclusively than their home ranges. In sum, our results show that both foraging needs and avoidance of competition with neighbours determined the gorillas' daily movement decisions, which presumably lead to largely mutually exclusive core areas. Our research suggests that non-territorial species actively avoid neighbours to maintain core area exclusivity. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of the costs and benefits of non-territoriality.


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