No abstract

Despite significant knowledge of tiger ecology, information on hunting behavior is limited because tigers hunt in habitats where they are difficult to observe. From May 2013 to June 2015, we visited kill sites of eight female radio-collared tigers (Panthera tigris) to identify prey species of this species in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. At 150 kill sites, 11 mammalian species were identified from skeletal remains or hair samples. Sambar (Rusa unicolor), banteng (Bos javanicus), and gaur (Bos gaurus) composed 95.1% of tiger prey biomass. A subset of 87 kill sites was paired with 87 randomly selected sites within the home ranges of five of the eight radio-collared tigers to determine the influence of prey abundance and other ecological variables on hunting success. At each site, geomorphic and ecological covariates were sampled in 900 m 2 square plots. A generalized linear model was used to investigate differences between kill sites and random sites. Mean relative prey abundance at kill sites was significantly lower than relative prey abundance at random sites (77.8 and 139.3 tracks/ha, respectively) indicating tigers did not kill in areas of higher relative prey abundance. Model selection was used to examine 12 landscape features that potentially influence kill site location. In the best model, low shrub cover and high crown cover were highly significant; tree density was included in this model but was not significant. This is the first study to demonstrate that kill location requires a combination of landscape features to first detect and then successfully stalk prey. Keywords cluster locations, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, hunting success, tiger kill site characteristics, tiger prey Animals should seek habitat with adequate food, cover, nest/den sites, or other resources critical for survival (Manly, McDonald, Thomas, McDonald, & Erickson, 2002). For female felids, sufficient food to raise young is often their primary resource need, and natural selection is expected to drive foraging decisions to optimize food intake and minimize energy expenditure (Krebs & Davies, 1993). Food demands of female tigers increase rapidly as cubs mature and mothers continue to be the primary provider until their young are approximately 1.5 years old; at this time, male offspring are often larger than their mothers (Smith, McDougal, & Miquelle, 1989). Johnson (1980) proposed a hierarchical model as a framework by which animals efficiently meet their resource needs. Simcharoen et al. (2014) studied second order habitat selection which focuses on where female tigers settle and the relationship of prey abundance to their territory size. These authors found an inverse relationship between female territory size and

Many hornbill species in Thailand are categorized as Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The objectives of this research were to predict hornbill distributions in Thailand and to assess the national conservation status of the species using extent of occurrence. We employed maximum entropy modelling, using 10 environmental variables that were believed to directly or indirectly influence hornbill distributions across Thailand, to predict the habitats potentially suitable for 10 of the country's 13 hornbill species. Data on the presence of hornbills were gathered from the Thailand Hornbill Project and additional field surveys in protected area complexes during 2004-2006. The results indicated that patch size is the most important factor affecting distribution, followed by latitude, ecoregion and distance to villages. All hornbill species were predicted to occur primarily in intact protected area complexes. The total extent of all hornbill habitats covers 9.3% of the country's land area. Seven of the 10 modelled species are at risk and the current distribution pattern is expected to reflect stochastic extinctions because of small population size. We recommend that the conservation status of Austen's brown hornbill Anorrhinus austeni and Tickell's brown hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli should be changed from Vulnerable to Endangered. The model identified five protected area complexes as hornbill hotspots in Thailand. These findings will help guide conservation management.

Movement patterns of animals can vary dramatically as a function of their reproductive cycle or social structure; however, little is known about how changes in the social structure of dispersers affect patterns of seed dispersal. We examined the movement patterns of the forest-dwelling and cooperatively breeding Puff-throated Bulbul (Alophoixus pallidus) in relation to different stages of their reproductive cycle, time of day, and group size, to determine potential impacts on the shape and scale of dispersal curves generated using a combination of gut passage time and displacement distance data. There were significant differences in dispersal distances depending on group size, season (breeding, non-breeding), incubation (vs. other times of the year), and time of the day. The estimated median seed dispersal distance was 28 m. The median dispersal distances produced by birds in larger groups were longer than those of smaller groups (29 m vs. 25 m). During the breeding season, median dispersal distances were longer than during the non-breeding season (31 m vs. 25 m), but the median dispersal distances were significantly shorter during incubation than during outside incubation (24 m vs. 28 m). The median dispersal distance produced in the early morning (30 m) was also longer than that of other times of the day (23 m late morning, 28 m early afternoon, and 26 m late afternoon). This study suggests that various aspects of an animal's behavior are likely to have significant effects on seed shadows and that this may vary significantly even among individuals of the same species.Abstract in Thai is available in the online version of this article.

The primary prey of tigers across much of South‐East Asia has been depleted, reducing the ability of already limited habitat to support tigers. To better understand the extent to which two of the largest prey species, gaur (Bos gaurus) and banteng (Bos javanicus), contribute to the tiger's diet, we estimated the average size of these species killed by tigers. This information is needed to more accurately calculate biomass of these species in the tiger's diet and to devise strategies to increase tiger carrying capacity where habitat is fragmented and limited in west‐central Thailand. We used temporally clumped locations of 24 satellite radio‐collared tigers to identify their kill sites and obtained mandibles from 82 gaur and 79 banteng. Kills were aged by teeth eruption sequence, sectioning the M1 molar and counting cementum annuli. Of all gaur killed, 45.2% were adults; of all banteng killed, 55.7% were adults. The average weight of banteng killed was 423.9 kg, which was similar to the 397.9 kg average weight for gaur. The mean weight of both prey species is 3.5–4.5 times greater than the predicted 1:1 preferred prey to predator ratio. In the absence of medium‐sized prey, killing these larger animals may be especially critical for female tigers provisioning nearly independent young when male offspring are already larger than the mother. This is the first study to present data on the average weights of gaur and banteng killed in South‐East Asia, and these results suggest that these are key prey species to target in tiger prey recovery efforts.