Predators, food and social context shape the types of vigilance exhibited by kangaroos

Favreau, François-René; Pays, Olivier; Fritz, Hervé; Goulard, Michel; Best, Emily; Goldizen, Anne W.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.11.001

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(102 reference statements)

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“…Therefore, the idea that visitors cause a significant disturbance to the wallabies’ environment, much like predators do in the wild, was not supported for the vigilance behaviors we observed. In summary, we believe the vigilance levels observed in this study more appropriately reflect the idea that vigilance was used to gather social and environmental information on their surroundings (Favreau, Pays, Goulard, Best, & Goldizen, ), irrespective of exhibit design or visitor presence and density.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Activity budget and spatial distribution of Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) in open versus closed exhibit designs

Beaudin‐Judd

Weladji

Lazure³

et al. 2019

Zoo Biology

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Although many studies investigating the impacts of zoo exhibit designs on captive animals exist, none have been performed on how they influence the behavior and welfare of captive Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus). Here, we assess the impact of exhibit design on the activity budget and spatial distribution of Bennett's wallabies. We compared animal behavior in two open exhibits (i.e. physical interaction between animals and visitors permitted) to two closed exhibits (i.e. physical interaction between animals and visitors prohibited). Behavioral data were collected using focal sampling, and spatial distribution was recorded on exhibit maps at regular time intervals. We found a significant increase in feeding and interactive behaviors in closed exhibits in comparison to open exhibits. However, other behaviors such as resting, locomotion, and vigilance did not vary with design. Functional use of space was similar between both designs; however, the effect of habituation may be relevant to consider in future studies. Although some support for visitor effects were present, our study provided no evidence for strong impacts of exhibit design on Bennett's wallaby welfare. Our study emphasizes the need for additional research into the impacts of how zoo environments affect Bennett's wallaby behavior and welfare.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Activity budget and spatial distribution of Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) in open versus closed exhibit designs

Beaudin‐Judd

Weladji

Lazure³

et al. 2019

Zoo Biology

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“…The exact impact of drone monitoring on kangaroo behaviour is difficult to ascertain however, our findings demonstrate at least a short-term impact. Ongoing or repeated exposure to stressors leading to increased vigilance can lead to a reduction in animal fitness, with less time invested in foraging and caring for young [35]. Food intake is reduced as a result of increased vigilance and, as antipredator vigilance was more common than social vigilance, in our study kangaroos invested less time in foraging and providing care for young during drone deployments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Fright or Flight? Behavioural Responses of Kangaroos to Drone-Based Monitoring

Brunton

Bolin

Leon

et al. 2019

Drones

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: Drones are often considered an unobtrusive method of monitoring terrestrial wildlife; however research into whether drones disturb wildlife is in its early stages. This research investigated the potential impacts of drone monitoring on a large terrestrial mammal, the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), in urban and peri-urban environments. We assessed the response of kangaroos to drone monitoring by analysing kangaroo behaviour prior to and during drone deployments using a linear modelling approach. We also explored factors that influenced kangaroo responses including drone altitude, site characteristics and kangaroo population dynamics and demographics. We showed that drones elicit a vigilance response, but that kangaroos rarely fled from the drone. However, kangaroos were most likely to flee from a drone flown at an altitude of 30 m. This study suggests that drone altitude is a key consideration for minimising disturbance of large terrestrial mammals and that drone flights at an altitude of 60–100 m above ground level will minimise behavioural impacts. It also highlights the need for more research to assess the level of intrusion and other impacts that drone surveys have on the behaviour of wildlife and the accuracy of the data produced.

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“…We were not able to investigate the impact of stage of reproductive cycle on sex-specific biases in FID due to the lack of opportunities for comparative studies in the winter when marmots are largely inactive under snow cover. However, motivational state driven by reproductive status can be important in fitness tradeoffs governing the distance at which prey choose to flee, with early-onset flight being offset by the calorific gain of foraging or the cost of lost mating opportunities [49]. For example female Apennine chamois ( Rupicapra pyrenaica ornate ) fled earlier than males when offspring were present [50] and female Columbian black-tailed deer ( Odocoileus hemionus columbianus ) fled at greater distances from approach by an armed pedestrian relative to males, but only during the breeding season [3].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased Flight Initiation Distance (FID) in Golden Marmots (Marmota caudata aurea) Responding to Domestic Dogs in A Landscape of Human Disturbance

Zaman

Tolhurst

Zhu

et al. 2019

Animals

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Simple SummaryHumans and domestic dogs may alarm wild animals, and the extent of this can be measured using Flight Initiation Distance (FID). Golden marmots are preyed on by globally-endangered predators such as the snow leopard, and are baited by humans with dogs, potentially causing FID to increase. We measured FID in 72 marmots from four colonies in the Karakoram range, Pakistan. Marmots were approached by a person on foot with a leashed dog, and by a person on their own to compare FID between the two. Additionally, we recorded background signs of human activity, namely roads, and presence of people other than the experimenters. We measured other aspects of the environment that might have affected marmot behavior such as marmot group size and age/sex, how visible each colony was, and colony substrate. The dog caused greater FID than the person alone, and adult marmots nearer to roads showed greater FID. However, marmot age and colony substrate had more marked impacts on FID, which was also greater at lower elevations where there were clusters of human settlements and livestock pasture. Further research should be conducted to explore some of these effects further and to find out whether increased FID affects marmot survival and breeding success.AbstractHumans and dogs initiate measurable escape responses in wild animals including flight initiation distance (FID), with potentially negative consequences. Golden marmots are important prey for endangered carnivores and are subject to human persecution including via marmot baiting with dogs. We quantified FID at four marmot colonies (72 individuals) in the Karakoram range, Pakistan in response to approach by a pedestrian with a leashed dog versus approach by a pedestrian alone (i.e., a control). Additionally, we related FID to background variables of human activity, namely proximity to roads, and presence of other pedestrians in the vicinity of study sites during sampling. We also controlled for potential environmental and social covariates (e.g., group size, age and sex, and colony substrate). Dogs initiated greater FID than pedestrians alone, and there was evidence that roads increased FID. However, these effects were weaker than those of marmot age and colony substrate. FID was greater at lower elevations, but this may reflect the clustering in these zones of human settlements and livestock pasture. Further work is needed elucidate the importance of colony substrate (linked to ease of human persecution), the effect of settlements and pasture, and the impact of increased FID on marmot fitness.

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Predators, food and social context shape the types of vigilance exhibited by kangaroos

Cited by 22 publications

References 79 publications

Activity budget and spatial distribution of Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) in open versus closed exhibit designs

Activity budget and spatial distribution of Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) in open versus closed exhibit designs

Fright or Flight? Behavioural Responses of Kangaroos to Drone-Based Monitoring

Increased Flight Initiation Distance (FID) in Golden Marmots (Marmota caudata aurea) Responding to Domestic Dogs in A Landscape of Human Disturbance

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