This study considers the dynamical interaction of two predatory carnivores (Lions (Panthera leo) and Spotted Hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta)) and three of their common prey (Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)). The dependence on spatial structure of species’ interaction stimulated the author to formulate reaction-diffusion models to explain the dynamics of predator-prey relationships in ecology. These models were used to predict and explain the effect of threshold populations, predator additional food and prey refuge on the general species’ dynamics. Vital parameters that model additional food to predators, prey refuge and population thresholds were given due attention in the analyses. The stability of a predator-prey model for an ecosystem faced with a prey out-flux which is analogous to and modelled as an Allee effect was investigated. The results highlight the bounds for the conversion efficiency of prey biomass to predator biomass (fertility gain) for which stability of the three species ecosystem model can be attained. Global stability analysis results showed that the prey (warthog) population density should exceed the sum of its carrying capacity and threshold value minus its equilibrium value i.e., W >(Kw + $) −W . This result shows that the warthog’s equilibrium population density is bounded above by population thresholds, i.e., W < (Kw+$). Besides showing the occurrence under parameter space of the so-called paradox of enrichment, early indicators of chaos can also be deduced. In addition, numerical results revealed stable oscillatory behaviour and stable spirals of the species as predator fertility rate, mortality rate and prey threshold were varied. The stabilising effect of prey refuge due to variations in predator fertility and proportion of prey in the refuge was studied. Formulation and analysis of a robust mathematical model for two predators having an overlapping dietary niche were also done. The Beddington-DeAngelis functional and numerical responses which are relevant in addressing the Principle of Competitive Exclusion as species interact were incorporated in the model. The stabilizing effect of additional food in relation to the relative diffusivity D, and wave number k, was investigated. Stability, dissipativity, permanence, persistence and periodicity of the model were studied using the routine and limit cycle perturbation methods. The periodic solutions (b 1 and b 3), which influence the dispersal rate (') of the interacting species, have been shown to be controlled by the wave number. For stability, and in order to overcome predator natural mortality, the nutritional value of predator additional food has been shown to be of high quality that can enhance predator fertility gain. The threshold relationships between various ecosystem parameters and the carrying capacity of the game park for the prey species were also deduced to ensure ecosystem persistence. Besides revealing irregular periodic travelling wave behaviour due to predator interference, numerical results also show oscillatory temporal dynamics resulting from additional food supplements combined with high predation rates.

Seventeen cougars (Felis concolor) utilizing the Junction Wildlife Management Area (W.M.A.) in central British Columbia were fitted with radio collars. All collared cougars within the area were relocated using ground-based and aerial radio telemetry. Relocations were made daily during intensive field work (December-August), and a minimum of four per week the remainder of the year. General site reconnaissance and direct sampling work from 1986 to 1988 revealed 132 prey species mortalities of which 50 were confirmed as recent cougar kills. Although bighorn ewes and lambs (Ovis canadensis californiana) were not important prey items for the cougars, bighorn rams comprised 77.6% of the total mortality sample and 46.5% of the confirmed cougar kills. Cougars selected rams in greater proportion than would be expected based on the availability of rams in the prey population. Poor post-rut body condition and restricted rear and peripheral vision were factors that increased the rams' vulnerability to cougar predation. Cougar predation rates on bighorn sheep and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) were determined for two females with kittens. Kill rates varied from 0.7 - 3.0 ungulates/week. Interactions between cougars and coyotes (Canis latrans) at kill sites influenced the cougars' utilization of kills and predation rates. In 200 km² of the 425 km² study area, 130 coyotes were removed over a two-year period. The predation rate of a cougar with three kittens within the coyote removal area averaged 1.1 kills/week while that of a female with two similarly-aged kittens in the non-removal area averaged 2.6 kills/week. Moreover, observations of cougars abandoning kills following harassment by coyotes, suggested that cougar/coyote interactions were an important part of the system. Poor lamb recruitment and a decline in the number of mature rams in the Junction herd are a concern for the Ministry of Environment (MOE) Wildlife Branch. I make two recommendations that address these concerns: 1. Maintain the resident cougar population without removing cougars. Cougars were not important predators of the lamb segment, nor were cougars keying on the older, larger rams. Moreover, removal of the resident cougar population will disrupt the intraspecific and territorial dynamics of the cougar population resulting in an influx of transient cougars. This, in turn, will lead to the Junction system stabilizing at cougar numbers equal to or possibly greater than pre-removal levels. 2. Initiate an alternating, two-year on, two-year off, February-April coyote removal program until Iamb recruitment remains above 20 lambs/100 ewes throughout a four-year cycle. This program is preferable to cougar removal in that coyote removal can be implemented more effectively on a temporally and spatially scale. Coyote removal will result in an increase in lamb recruitment to the bighorn population, including the ram component. Moreover, fewer rams from this increased population will be killed because of lower cougar predation rates that also will result from the decrease in coyote scavenging/displacement pressures. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The risk of death by predation has been a major driver of group living in many prey animals. Animals must adapt to temporal and spatial variation in predation risk and would benefit from using relevant and reliable sources of information both from conspecifics and heterospecifics to better learn about danger. Research on the effects of group living on antipredator strategy has focused largely on group size. However, sociality is often more complex than simple amalgamations of individuals. Those living in groups are likely exposed to unequal levels of predation risk; some are exposed to more danger than others because of factors related to their age, sex, and spatial or social positioning. An individual’s antipredator strategy should reflect its perceived safety levels. I studied antipredator strategies in blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. Blue monkeys are arboreal guenons that live in matrilineally-based social groups and form differentiated social relationships. These social relationships could affect how monkeys respond to variable predation risk. Blue monkeys live in dense, biodiverse rain forests and are preyed upon by both aerial and terrestrial predators. They have a well-developed acoustic communication repertoire and have been known to associate with other primates to reduce predation risk (Cords 1987). I conducted five playback experiments and two sets of observational studies, and used data gathered on social interactions among adult females to further our understanding of how group living affects antipredator strategies. I also used 14 years of social interaction data to explore the heritability of social tendencies. In the first chapter, I present a comprehensive literature review of the connections between group living and antipredator behavior. I describe the effects of group size on antipredator behavior and how research on sociality has shifted towards focusing on individuals’ specific relationships and social connectivity. I then describe several ways in which social connectivity has been shown to influence antipredator behavior. I conclude with future directions and then introduce the dissertation. In the second chapter, I focus on heterospecific eavesdropping. I identified the extent to which blue monkey adult females respond to playbacks of alarm and social calls of two syntopic non-predatory bird species—black-faced rufous warblers (Bathmocercus rufus) and joyful greenbuls (Chlorocichla laetissima). Blue monkeys responded differentially depending on both call type and species. I then evaluated differential responses to conspecific and heterospecific callers, hypothesizing that conspecific signals would trigger stronger anti-predator responses because conspecifics are more relevant signals of risk. I conducted a playback experiment in which adult females were presented simultaneously with one alarm or social call from both conspecifics and warblers (4 combinations of alarm and social calls), or ambient rain forest sound (control). Subjects did not differentiate their responses to simultaneous calls according to the type of playback stimulus. These findings suggest that blue monkeys do not differentiate their responses to alarm calls according to caller relevance. Heterogeneous results among different response variables also highlight the importance of examining multiple modes of antipredator behavior. Next, I examine how an individual’s social connectivity influences its antipredator strategy, hypothesizing that more socially connected individuals would benefit from the proximity of more and closely bonded groupmates in enhancing predator avoidance. In Chapter 3, I evaluate the effects of social connectivity on acute antipredator responses, antipredator vigilance, and responses to signals related to various levels of predator-related threat. I first assessed how social connectivity affects the rate at which adult females exhibit acute antipredator responses (such as diving down in trees, climbing up trees, or alarm calling) and the proportion of responses that are major (lasting >30 s), statistically controlling for age, the presence of an infant, and 2-month “seasons”. I predicted that more socially connected individuals would exhibit less frequent acute antipredator responses because they would be better-informed about risk and therefore would exhibit fewer false alarms. I For the same reasons, I also predicted that they would exhibit more major (vs. minor) responses because false alarms are more likely to involve shorter responses (Cords 1987). Contrary to predictions, however, more closely connected individuals exhibited higher rates of acute antipredator responses, which might reflect their enhanced ability to learn about danger from surrounding groupmates, allowing them to detect more potential threats. There was no evidence that social connectivity was associated with the proportion of responses that lasted >30 s. I also found that the rate of acute antipredator responses and the proportion of responses that lasted >30 s varied with season. I then conducted 90-s focal vigilance follows, to assess how long females exhibit antipredator vigilance after controlling for other social and microhabitat factors (e.g., surrounding vegetation density), which can influence conspecific monitoring and exposure to potential predators. I predicted that more well-connected individuals would exhibit lower levels of antipredator vigilance in the absence of any imminent threats and after controlling for other social and spatial factors. More closely connected individuals who were in the spatial center of their social group did spend less time vigilant, but social connectivity was not associated with vigilance times when subjects were at the group’s edge, where exposure to predators and thus predation risk should be highest and antipredator vigilance should generally be higher. In the spatial center of the group, more closely connected individuals should be in a better position to observe their social partners’ antipredator behavior. Microhabitat also influenced antipredator vigilance in multiple ways, which highlights the spatial variation of perceived predation risk in a complex environment. Lastly, I conducted a playback experiment where I examined responses to signals from conspecifics and heterospecifics that are associated with different levels of threat. I predicted that more poorly connected individuals would respond strongly to all signals that might be associated with predators because they must identify personally whether danger is real, whereas more well-connected individuals would have more differentiated responses because they should be near social partners more frequently and can rely on their partners’ antipredator reactions to assess risk levels. However, although subjects did respond more to direct cues of the predator’s presence (its own calls) than to indirect cues of its presence (alarm calls by conspecifics and heterospecifics), there was no evidence that social connectivity affected responses to playbacks. As expected, stimulus type did affect responses—calls from predators (vs. alarm calls or social calls from non-predators) elicited increased looking responses from subjects, which suggests that stimuli that directly signal predator presence will elicit antipredator behavior regardless of the listener’s social connectivity. Overall, social connectivity seems to play a limited role in blue monkeys’ antipredator strategy but there was some evidence that more well-connected individuals were less vigilant when surrounded by groupmates. The ability to distinguish alarm calls by individual callers has not been well-studied, but animals might benefit from making such distinctions if callers vary in how reliably they signal danger. For decades, researchers have tested whether animals can discriminate callers using the habituation-dishabituation paradigm. After habituating subjects by repeatedly presenting calls of one individual, A, they examine whether subjects dishabituate when they hear the calls of a different individual, B (test stimulus). In Chapter 4, I first review studies that used this paradigm to evaluate whether animals discriminate between conspecific callers and then report on two playback experiments which tested whether wild blue monkeys are capable of such discrimination. My review revealed much methodological variation, particularly in the habituation phase and criteria, statistical analysis, and controls. In experiments, I contrasted two methods of habituation, either presenting a fixed number of stimuli (set after pilot observations) or evaluating responses during the series before progressing to the test. Afterwards, I conducted Wilcoxon signed-rank tests to assess habituation statistically. In the first experiment where I played back a fixed number and rate of calls, it was statistically unclear whether subjects habituated to caller A, despite preliminary observations and similar studies that suggested that the experimental design would be appropriate. Because there was not strong evidence that subjects habituated, I did not evaluate statistically whether subjects differentiated between callers in the full dataset. However, in the second experiment where I assessed habituation during the trial, subjects did habituate to caller A and there was weak support that they dishabituated to caller B, which suggests that caller discrimination may occur. From my experiences, I propose an improved design for studies using the habituation-dishabituation paradigm. Lastly, I explore the mechanisms that drive phenotypic variation in social tendencies (and in turn, social connectivity) in adult females. For natural selection to occur, there must be variation in traits, differentiated fitness benefits based on phenotypes, and heredity or a genetic basis underlying phenotypic variation. The previous chapters highlight the variation in and some of the benefits of social connectivity. In Chapter 5, I conducted an exploratory analysis to examine what factors account for phenotypic variance. Using animal models, I found that both environmental and additive genetic variance accounted for some of the phenotypic variance seen in traits associated with social tendencies (using social connectivity as a proxy). Variance in the social environment (i.e., environmental variance) played a large role in shaping observed phenotypic variation in social connectivity. However, all six of the social network measures examined were weakly heritable, which suggests that there is also a genetic basis for behavioral variation, allowing selection to occur. This dissertation emphasizes the importance of examining both antipredator behavior and sociality using multiple experiments, observations, and measures, while also considering the importance of study species and habitat complexity. The relationship between antipredator behavior and social connectivity is not straightforward and can vary greatly between study systems. Although many of my predictions were not supported, I did find evidence that blue monkeys are receptive to heterospecifics, vary their acute antipredator responses and vigilance based on social relationships with conspecifics, adjust their antipredator vigilance according to spatial positioning, and potentially discriminate between alarm callers. The findings presented here expand our knowledge of how animals learn about predation risk by being attentive to conspecifics and heterospecifics.

Members of a guild of cursorial spiders (Pardosa spp. and Alopecosa spp.) spatially segregated among five discrete habitats, from a streamside cobble habitat grading laterally along a successional gradient to the leaf litter zone of a transition or climax riparian forest. Seasonal activity peaked in midsummer for all guild members. Spiders were active diurnally earlier in the streamside habitats, and levels of activity were positively correlated with light intensity. Guild members Pardosa tristis and Pardosa uncata were most different in habitat selection and periods of diurnal activity. Males and females of all guild species differed in their distribution among habitats and over months of collection. Measures of guild species diversity and evenness were variable between habitats, and were largely influenced by the relatively high abundance of one or two guild species, particularly in the streamside habitats.

Orientador: Gustavo Quevedo Romero / Banca: Lilian Casatti / Banca: Simone Aparecida Vieira / Resumo: É amplamente sabido que os subsídios alóctones entram nas teias alimentares receptoras participando diretamente da dinâmica dos consumidores e indiretamente sobre as interações predador-presa. No entanto, este conhecimento se baseia em estudos feitos em florestas temperadas e por conseguinte ainda há lacunas no conhecimento dos sistemas tropicais, onde a abundância e variedade das presas é maior. Neste trabalho, buscamos descrever o efeito dos insetos aquáticos emergentes sobre a dinâmica predador-presa das teias alimentares terrestres presentes em zonas ripárias de uma floresta tropical. Para testar este efeito, utilizamos um desenho experimental de blocos aleatorizados. Deste modo, manipulamos a emergencia de insetos adultos de um riacho, utilizando um tratamento de exclusão com uma cobertura plástica sobre o riacho e um tratamento de controle, onde permitimos a emergência natural dos insetos para a terra. Amostramos os insetos aquáticos emergentes com armadilhas adesivas e os artrópodes terrestres (predadores, fitófagos, onívoros, detritívoros) usando diversos métodos. A abundância de insetos aquáticos emergentes foi cinco vezes menor no tratamento de exclusão do que no tratramento de controle, mas como esperado, não houve diferenças nas abundâncias de insetos alados terrestres entre os tratamentos; insetos terrestres foram três vezes mais abundantes que os insetos aquáticos emergentes. PERMANOVA revelou que a abundância de predadores terrestres foi afetada pelo tratamento de exclusão de subsídios, mas não a biomassa. No entanto, análises univariadas mostraram que apenas 11,5% dos taxons de predadores (Anyphaenidae, Araneidae e Theridiidae) diminuíram sua abundância no tratamento de exclusão e o 7,7% deles (Araneidae e Theridiidae) diminuíram sua biomassa na exclusão. A abundância dos fitófagos, detritívoros e onívoros não foi afetada pela exclusão de subsídios, mas a biomassa dos fitófagos ... / Abstract: It is widely known that input of allochthonous subsidies in recipient food webs directly participate in the dynamics of consumers and indirectly on predator-prey interactions. However, this knowledge is based on studies from temperate forests, thus there is still a gap in the knowledge of tropical systems where the abundance and diversity of terrestrial prey is high. In this study, we investigate the effects of emergent aquatic insects on predator-prey dynamics of tropical terrestrial food webs. To test this effect, we excluded allochthonous aquatic insects using greenhouse type exclosures, and allowed emergence of insects through unmanipulated stream reaches using a randomized design. Emergent aquatic insects and terrestrial flying insects were collected through sticky traps. Terrestrial arthropods in shrubs and ground were collected manually in nocturnal and diurnal surveys, and were classified in predators, phytophages, detritivores and omnivores. The abundance of aquatic insects was five times lower in exclosures than control, but there was no effect of treatment on abundance of terrestrial fly insects; abundance of terrestrial insects were three times more abundant that aquatic insects. PERMANOVA revealed that abundance of terrestrial predators, but not their biomass, was affected by exclosure treatment. Univariate analysis show that only 11.5% of predatory taxa (Anyphaenidae, Araneidae and Theridiidae) decreased its abundance in exclosure treatment and only 7.7% of them (Araneidae and Theridiidae) decreased its biomass. Abundance of phytophages, detritivores and omnivores was not affected by treatments, but the biomass of phytophages increased six times in exclosure treatment. Despite the abundance and biomass of only few predators were affected by exclosure, we observed that predators overall derived more than 80% of N and C of aquatic prey. Our results demonstrate that allochthonous subsidies participate on terrestrial food web ... / Mestre

The cues used by marine turtles to locate foraging areas in the open ocean are largely unknown though some species (especially the green turtle [Chelonia mydas], the loggerhead [Caretta caretta], and the leatherback [Dermochelys coriacea]) somehow locate areas of high productivity. Loggerheads can detect airborne odors, but a capacity to orient has not yet been investigated. In this comparative study, tethered loggerheads and leatherbacks were exposed to dimethyl sulfide (DMS) or food odors in a laminar flow of air. Turtles did not orient into the air current. Free-swimming loggerheads and green turtles were also exposed to air- or waterborne food (squid) odor plus a neutral visual stimulus. Both species showed increases in swimming activity and biting behavior to both stimuli. These results suggest that airborne odors are likely not used to locate distant areas, but that they are used in localized food searching efforts. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The Argentine black and white tegu, Salvator merianae, is a nonnative species that has invaded parts of Florida. The potential impacts of this species on native Florida wildlife are not yet known. This study looks at the stomach contents of 169 S. merianae captured between 2011 and 2013 in south Florida to infer potential impacts of S. merianae and spatial or seasonal shifts in diet. Analysis of 169 GI tracts showed that S. merianae is an omnivorous, terrestrial forager with a broad dietary range which includes insects, fruits, plants, snails, crayfish, carrion, birds, small mammals, turtles, snakes, lizards, frogs and eggs. S. merianae diet composition varied with capture habitat, the fattest tegus were collected from disturbed/agricultural areas and these samples contained, primarily, gastropods and insects. Tegu dietary habits threaten local endangered and state listed species such as the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, and the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis. Dedicated funds and efforts need to be focused on this species to limit its further spread and future impact on native species. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Anthropogenic impacts, such as habitat destruction and spread of exotic species, are contributing to the sixth major extinction event in Earth’s history. To develop effective management and conservation plans, it is important to understand the ecological drivers of at-risk populations, assess the ability of a population to adapt to environmental change, and develop research methods for long-term ecosystem monitoring. I used wading birds nesting in the Florida Everglades, USA as a model system to address the challenges of managing and monitoring populations within an ecosystem greatly impacted by anthropogenic activities. Specifically, my project investigated 1) the prey selection of wading bird species, and the role of prey and foraging habitat availability on annual nesting numbers, 2) the ability of using diet change to predict species adaptability to a rapidly changing environment, and 3) the use of sensory data to provide low-cost, long-term monitoring of dynamic wetlands. I found that tricolored herons, snowy egrets, and little blue herons consumed marsh fish larger than those generally available across the landscape. Additionally, number of nests initiated by tricolored herons, snowy egrets, and little blue herons was strongly correlated with the annual densities of large fish available within the Everglades landscape. Conversely, number of nests initiated by wood storks, great egrets, and white ibises was more correlated with the amount of foraging habitat availability across the nesting season. Wood stork diets changed considerably since the 1960’s, consisting of mainly sunfish and exotic fish as opposed to marsh fishes dominant in historical diet studies. Storks also consumed more exotic fish species than they did historically. This diet plasticity and the species’ ability to exploit anthropogenic habitats may be conducive to maintaining population viability as storks experience widespread human-induced changes to their habitat. Sensory-only data models generated complementary results to models that used site-specific field data. Additionally, sensory-only models were able to detect different responses between size classes of fish to the processes that increase their concentrations in drying pools. However, the degree to which sensory variables were able to fit species data was dependent upon the ability of sensors to measure species-specific population drivers and the scale at which sensors can measure environmental change. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Two sympatric dolphin species, Stenella frontalis and Tursiops truncatus, resident to Little Bahama Bank, Bahamas were found to mostly forage independent of one another, but occasionally foraged in mixed groups. Analysis of over 20 years of data revealed the degree of overlap to be minimal with spatially distinct regions identified for both species, environmental segregation based on depth, bottom type, temperature, and time of day. Results based on observational data indicated significant differences in group size and selected prey. For S. frontalis, lactating females had the most distinct diet, which differed from that of non-reproductively active (NRA) females. Pregnant females had ambiguous prey use results, but diet differences were revealed through nutritional analysis. Lactating females had a higher intake of all nutrients (% moisture, % lipid, % protein, and calories) than pregnant females but lower than NRA females. Mother and calf pairs selected prey for caloric and moisture values. The influence of calves on foraging groups was reflected through discrete differences in all nutrients. Males and females appeared to select the same major prey, but female prey use was much more diverse. / by Christopher R. Malinowski. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.