Anthropogenic disturbance induces opposing population trends in spotted hyenas and African lions

Green, David S.; Johnson-Ulrich, Lily; Couraud, H. E.; Holekamp, Kay E.

doi:10.1007/s10531-017-1469-7

Cited by 62 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Whatever the underlying mechanisms are, high rates of retaliatory killings of lions are a substantial challenge for lion conservation in this landscape and need urgent conservation action involving pastoralist communities to promote changes in attitudes and increase tolerance (Dickman, 2010;Hazzah, Bath, Dolrenry, Dickman, & Frank, 2017;Mutanga, Vengesayi, Gandiwa, & Muboko, 2015;Odebiyi, Ayeni, Umunna, & Johnson, 2015). Ultimately, retaliatory killing of lions might increase livestock depredation, because spotted hyena populations may substantially increase when lion populations are reduced by human interventions (e.g., Green, Johnson-Ulrich, Couraud, & Holekamp, 2018). Interestingly, our study found that carnivore raid attempts in livestock bomas did not occur daily at individual households, despite livestock depredation being perceived as a frequent problem among local residents (Koziarski et al, 2016).…”

Section: Characteristics Of Carnivore Raids In Bomas and Retaliatormentioning

confidence: 63%

Patterns of livestock depredation and cost‐effectiveness of fortified livestock enclosures in northern Tanzania

Kissui

Kiffner

König

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Human–carnivore conflicts and retaliatory killings contribute to carnivore populations' declines around the world. Strategies to mitigate conflicts have been developed, but their efficacy is rarely assessed in a randomized case–control design. Further, the economic costs prevent the adoption and wide use of conflict mitigation strategies by pastoralists in rural Africa. We examined carnivore (African lion [Panthera leo], leopard [Panthera pardus], spotted hyena [Crocuta crocuta], jackal [Canis mesomelas], and cheetah [Acinonyx jubatus]) raids on fortified (n = 45, total 631 monthly visits) and unfortified (traditional, n = 45, total 521 monthly visits) livestock enclosures (“bomas”) in northern Tanzania. The study aimed to (a) assess the extent of retaliatory killings of major carnivore species due to livestock depredation, (b) describe the spatiotemporal characteristics of carnivore raids on livestock enclosures, (c) analyze whether spatial covariates influenced livestock depredation risk in livestock enclosures, and (d) examine the cost‐effectiveness of livestock enclosure fortification. Results suggest that (a) majority of boma raids by carnivores were caused by spotted hyenas (nearly 90% of all raids), but retaliatory killings mainly targeted lions, (b) carnivore raid attempts were rare at individual households (0.081 raid attempts/month in fortified enclosures and 0.102 raid attempts/month in unfortified enclosures), and (c) spotted hyena raid attempts increased in the wet season compared with the dry season, and owners of fortified bomas reported less hyena raid attempts than owners of unfortified bomas. Landscape and habitat variables tested, did not strongly drive the spatial patterns of spotted hyena raids in livestock bomas. Carnivore raids varied randomly both spatially (village to village) and temporally (year to year). The cost‐benefit analysis suggest that investing in boma fortification yielded positive net present values after two to three years. Thus, enclosure fortification is a cost‐effective strategy to promote coexistence of carnivores and humans.

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Section: Characteristics Of Carnivore Raids In Bomas and Retaliatormentioning

confidence: 63%

Patterns of livestock depredation and cost‐effectiveness of fortified livestock enclosures in northern Tanzania

Kissui

Kiffner

König

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Although we expected that human disturbance would be negatively associated with global DNA methylation, we observed a positive anthropogenic disturbance effect that appeared to be strongest among cubs and was evident in subadults. Regardless, these findings are interesting from a biological viewpoint given that hyenas are generalist hunters that thrive under medium disturbance (Cooper et al, ; Green et al, ). It may be that higher levels of anthropogenic activity enhance the availability of livestock as prey for local hyenas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Early life social and ecological determinants of global DNA methylation in wild spotted hyenas

et al. 2019

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Environmental factors early in life can have lasting influence on the development and phenotypes of animals, but the underlying molecular modifications remain poorly understood. We examined cross‐sectional associations among early life socioecological factors and global DNA methylation in 293 wild spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, grouped according to three age classes (cub, subadult and adult). Explanatory variables of interest included annual maternal rank based on outcomes of dyadic agonistic interactions, litter size, wild ungulate prey density and anthropogenic disturbance in the year each hyena was born based on counts of illegal livestock in the Reserve. The dependent variable of interest was global DNA methylation, assessed via the LUminometric Methylation Assay, which provides a percentage methylation value calculated at CCGG sites across the genome. Among cubs, we observed approximately 2.75% higher CCGG methylation in offspring born to high‐ than low‐ranking mothers. Among cubs and subadults, higher anthropogenic disturbance corresponded with greater %CCGG methylation. In both cubs and adults, we found an inverse association between prey density measured before a hyena was 3 months old and %CCGG methylation. Our results suggest that maternal rank, anthropogenic disturbance and prey availability early in life are associated with later life global DNA methylation. Future studies are required to understand the extent to which these DNA methylation patterns relate to adult phenotypes and fitness outcomes.

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“…The Maasai Mara has a relatively high density of cheetahs with around 1.28–1.34 adults per 100 km 2 (Broekhuis & Gopalaswamy, 2016) which is why, along with the Serengeti National Park, it is an important stronghold for the global cheetah population (Durant et al., 2017). Other predators that occur at high densities in the Maasai Mara are lions, with a density of 17 individuals (>1 year) per 100 km 2 (Elliot & Gopalaswamy, 2017), and spotted hyaenas, with clan sizes in the Maasai Mara National Reserve ranging from 22 to 126 individuals (Green et al., 2018). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Maasai Mara in Kenya is an ideal place to conduct this study as the habitat is heterogeneous, ranging from wide open grasslands to Vachellia woodland and riverine forests (Oindo, Skidmore, & De Salvo, 2003). The Maasai Mara also has high densities of cheetahs (Broekhuis & Gopalaswamy, 2016) and other predators, including lions (Elliot & Gopalaswamy, 2017) and spotted hyaenas (Green, Johnson‐Ulrich, Couraud, & Holekamp, 2018), which vary spatially. Partly because of these high densities of predators, the Maasai Mara is a popular tourist destination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural and anthropogenic drivers of cub recruitment in a large carnivore

Broekhuis

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Recruitment is a critical parameter governing population dynamics and influences population persistence. Understanding the drivers of recruitment is therefore important for conservation, especially for long‐lived mammals such as large carnivores, which have low reproductive rates, rendering them prone to extinction. Using cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) as a model species, I investigated the variation in cub recruitment in relation to habitat and the abundance of tourists and predators. Per litter, female cheetahs on average raised 1.71 ± 1.35 cubs to independence, but this varied depending on the presence of open habitat and the abundance of tourists, both of which had a negative effect on cub recruitment. More specifically, female cheetahs that were mostly found in open habitats on average raised 1.69 ± 0.14 cubs per litter to independence compared to 3.04 ± 0.26 cubs in denser habitat. Similarly, female cheetahs that were exposed to high tourist abundance on average raised 0.21 ± 0.72 cubs to independence compared to 2.32 ± 0.11 cubs in low tourism areas. Neither lion nor spotted hyaena abundance had an impact on the number of cubs that were recruited. Based on these findings, I recommend that the importance of a heterogeneous environment should be taken into consideration in habitat management, restoration efforts, and reintroduction programs. In addition, tourist quotas should be put in place in high visitation areas and strict wildlife viewing guidelines, such as number of vehicles, tourist behavior, time spent, and distance to a sighting, should be enforced. Cub recruitment is an important component of species persistence and incorporating these findings could aid conservation efforts for species that are increasingly under threat.

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Anthropogenic disturbance induces opposing population trends in spotted hyenas and African lions

Cited by 62 publications

References 72 publications

Patterns of livestock depredation and cost‐effectiveness of fortified livestock enclosures in northern Tanzania

Patterns of livestock depredation and cost‐effectiveness of fortified livestock enclosures in northern Tanzania

Early life social and ecological determinants of global DNA methylation in wild spotted hyenas

Natural and anthropogenic drivers of cub recruitment in a large carnivore

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