A major impediment to recovering declining populations successfully is the mortality of reintroduced or trans-located animals. It is of the general assumption that captive-born animals might lose their anti-predator behaviour abilities in captivity, but studies rarely compare predator recognition abilities of captive-born and wild-captured animals to test this. Predators often kill reintroduced and trans-located animals, and this mortality is often a considerable hindrance for successful population recovery. Some is this mortality may be expected because individuals vary in how they respond to predators and this variation may have fitness consequences. The predator recognition abilities might also be lost or modified when animals are; brought into or born into captivity because animals may be unsuccessful in developing appropriate recognition skills or lose these skills within a generation or over evolutionary time. Regardless of specific predator discrimination abilities, for some species overall “personality” may be associated with response to predators and following survival, and the differences in personality might influence how animals respond, and fare, when they encounter predators. A reduction in mortality of re-introduced animals can be achieved in three different ways. Firstly predator control, secondly by keeping predators away by shepherding the re-introduced animals and thirdly by identifying behavioural patterns that pre-dispose individuals to predation and then not release these individuals or try to modify their behaviour before releasing.
This study concentrates about the third method and the critically endangered Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) which is endemic to Vancouver Island and has dwindl...
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...ker response to the wolf, it is not explained why it is this way, but it might have to do with the way marmots react to different predators as many animals got predator specific strategies.
It can be concluded that the study does not show any significant results which can be directly used in conversation biology, the results do not come with an answer on whether the captive-born got the needed anti-predator abilities or not. The MIS results did not show any conclusive results either, but did show an indication of personality, and how the difference in personality traits of the animals might give them an edge compared to other animals when confronted with a predator.
Works Cited
Blumstein, D.T., Holland, B.-D., & Daniel, J.C. (2006) Predator discrimination and ‘personality’ in captive Vancouver Island marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Animal conservation 9: 274-282
There I was, standing face to face with the bobtailed lynx. It was looking right at me and licking its chops with delight. It seemed as if the beast was thinking "Lunch" on this cold, gray December day, but I wasn't worried about being attacked. The reason for this was the fact that this was a domestic lynx that just happened to be on the other side of a stout metal cage, so there was no chance of the lynx getting a hold of me.
Isle Royal is located fifty-six miles north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. It is the largest wilderness area in Michigan (USNPS, 2014). The island is surrounded by Lake Superior, which creates a cooler temperature. This results in arctic plant species growth on the island. There are only eighteen mammal species present on the island because most mammals cannot make the trip across the frozen great lake (USNPS, 2014). The need for an ice bridge is not the only environmental factor that is stopping the migration of animals; there is also the severe cold, and also wind and fog (Vucetich, 2012). Some species such as caribou and coyote have found the island to be too intense and have gone extinct (Vucetich, 2012). Due to the harsh weather and isolation of the island, humans have never regularly lived on the island (Vucetich, 2012). Some of species that are present such as the red squirrel are becoming their own subspecies due to its separation from the mainland (USNPS, 2014). The isolation of Isle Royal is what makes it a great place to conduct research, it has very low human interaction and the species that are on the island will have been and continue to be isolated from the mainland.
Predators called prudent predators select prey of the highest quality and will switch prey when other foods become more profitable. Prudent predators show preference for the prey they consume, in order to maximise net energy gain per unit time. An important factor in predation-prey interactions is the rate at which individual predators can capture individual prey items. The response of the predator consumption rate to increases in prey density is called the functional response
Deborah L. Duffy, Yuying Hsu, James A. Serpell ,Applied Animal Behavior Science - 1 December 2008 (Vol. 114, Issue 3, Pages 441-460, DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006)
All animals employ a vast array of behaviors that contribute to their ability to find resources, increase their chances of utilizing them efficiently, and therefore increase their overall fitness. One of the behaviors observed extensively throughout the animal kingdom to accomplish these tasks is aggression. Agonist conflict and aggressive behavior occurs both between species and within species. Curiously, within-species agonism is common in many animals because it can manipulate social hierarchies which can affect the distribution of resources within a population (Moore 2007 and Wofford 2013). Evaluating agonistic behavior is therefore a valuable means by which to examine expenditure of energy for resources (Moore 2007 and Wofford 2013).
Predators are biologically different and can be very dangerous compared to the common criminal. Predators have minimal or absent autonomic arousal, no conscious emotion, no imminent perceived threat, no displacement of target, and no time limited sequence. Predatory violence is planned and purposeful with variable goals, primarily cognitive, and predators have heightened and focused awareness. Predatory violence is different from other forms of violence because it is not defensive nor an appropriate or normal response.
A Chi Square Test of Independence was conducted to evaluate the relationship between age, gender and the frequency of Agonistic behavior. Results showed a belugas’ sex did not relate to agonistic behavior, X2 (1, N = 89) = 3.50, p > .05, Ф = .062. All categories of belugas fell within a close range of each other for showing agonistic behaviors. Males, females, juveniles, and adults were shown to equally portray agonistic behaviors.
Over a century ago, humans fought animals for dominance of the landscape and we regrettably won, now they’re in need of our protection. The Government and Organizations have come to the rescue of wildlife species all across the U.S. Their main goal is to protect wildlife species from over harvesting and also their loss of habitat due to industrial and residential development. The beauty and curiosity of wildlife captivates all of us for different reasons. For certain species, they are the link to our existence Animals are not being hunted into extinction because the government is protecting certain wildlife areas and are controlling the animal populations within those certain areas. While increasing a wildlife species population and removing from the endangered species list, a predator such as the gray wolf, is sure to be seen as a success to some and a threat to others.
The loss of habitat over time for the Florida panther has caused problems with dispersal and inbreeding within smaller populations. Inbreeding within these smaller patches of land, has resulted in congenital birth defects such as heart conditions and abnormal tails resulting in shorter life spans and high infant mortality within the panther populations (Facemire et al. 1993). In an effort to ameliorate inbreeding, a subspecies of puma from Australia (P. c. stanleyana) was introduced into South FL and has increased current panther counts from 60 in the 1990s to 130 individuals in 2001 (Johnson et al. 2010). In addition to inbreeding, panthers also suffer from exposure to environmental contaminants from agriculture and/or from consuming wildlife (raccoons) containing mercury and androgen crippling chemi...
National Parks are the cornerstone of every country because it preserves the rich cultural and natural resources of a nation, such as Yellowstone in the United States of America. Yellowstone National Park is the World’s First National Park which brings millions of attraction each year, it is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combine and have over a thousand species of plants and animal (Yellowstone Media). However, a very important type of species has been missing in Yellowstone National Park for a very long time. Wolves, which got reintroduce back into Yellowstone National Park, should stay there because without them the ecosystem would be out of balance.
The project at Yellowstone was met with some apprehension. Biologists there feared that without the fear of predation during the past few generations, the resident moose at Yellowstone would not fear the wol...
Before current knowledge of mountain lion activity had been researched, it was commonly believed that mountain lions were ferocious killers which crept down from the mountains to indulge in midnight feasts on livestock and pets. Of course, the worst harbored fear was the possibility of losing children, family and friends to these wild predators. Besides the past 25 years, little concern was given to the condition of mountain lion populations in California and much of the western United States. Between 1916 and 1971, more than 12,000 mountain lions were killed for bounties and for sport in California (California Wildlife Protection Coalition, 1995).
Mason, Georgia J. "Species Differences in Responses to Captivity: Stress, Welfare and the Comparative Method." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25.12 (2010): 713-21. Print.
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
Mason GJ. Species differences in response to captivity: stress, welfare and the comparative method. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 2010; 713-720.