Prey capture by the African lion

Elliott, John P.; Cowan, I. McT.; Holling, C. S.

doi:10.1139/z77-235

Cited by 161 publications

(150 citation statements)

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“…For comparisons of lion behaviour, lion sex and prey size, we therefore removed all locations from daytime. Since lions rely on vision for nocturnal hunting, we assumed that viewsheds were meaningful at night (Elliott et al 1977). …”

Section: Model Selection Framework and Controlling For Shadementioning

confidence: 99%

Lion hunting behaviour and vegetation structure in an African savanna

2013

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Keywords:Bayesian statistics Carnegie Airborne Observatory GPS telemetry LiDAR lion Panthera leo predatoreprey interaction vegetation structure Emerging evidence suggests that male lions are not dependent on female's hunting skills but are in fact successful hunters. But difficulty locating kills and objectively characterizing landscapes has complicated the comparison of male and female lion hunting strategies. We used airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurements of vegetation structure in Kruger National Park, combined with global positioning system (GPS) telemetry data on lion, Panthera leo, kills to quantify lines-of-sight where lion kills occurred compared with areas where lions rested, while controlling for time of day. We found significant differences in use of vegetation structure by male and female lions during hunts. While male lions killed in landscapes with much shorter linesof-sight (16.2 m) than those in which they rested, there were no significant differences for female lions. These results were consistent across sizes of prey species. The influence of vegetation structure in shaping predatoreprey interactions is often hypothe-sized, but quantitative evidence has been scarce. Although our sample sizes were limited, our results provide a mechanism, ambush hunting versus social hunting in the open, to explain why hunting success of male lions might equal that of females. This study serves as a case study for more complete studies with larger samples sizes and illustrates how LiDAR and GPS telemetry can be used to provide new insight into lion hunting behaviour.

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Section: Model Selection Framework and Controlling For Shadementioning

confidence: 99%

Lion hunting behaviour and vegetation structure in an African savanna

2013

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“…Accelerations are necessary to either catch prey or evade predators (Elliott et al, 1977), and thus structures that enhance an individual's ability to accelerate should be subjected to large selection pressures. Since the ability to rapidly accelerate is a strong predictor of successful predator evasion in many taxa (Elliott et al, 1977), the evolution of proximal limb mass may be the result of selection for acceleration capabilities.…”

Section: Why Concentrate Limb Mass Proximally?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the ability to rapidly accelerate is a strong predictor of successful predator evasion in many taxa (Elliott et al, 1977), the evolution of proximal limb mass may be the result of selection for acceleration capabilities. Although the results from the present study certainly cannot address why cursorial quadrupeds concentrate limb mass proximally, the context of predator-prey interactions may provide selection pressures for the evolution of proximally concentrated limb mass.…”

Section: Why Concentrate Limb Mass Proximally?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of limb mass distribution on mechanical power outputs during quadrupedalism

Raichlen

2006

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Many researchers have suggested that cursorial mammals concentrate limb muscle mass proximally to reduce energy costs during locomotion. Although supported by experiments where mass is added to an individual's limbs, mammals with naturally occurring distally heavy limbs such as primates have similar energy costs compared with other mammals. This study presents a new hypothesis to explain how animals with distally heavy limbs maintain low energy costs. Since distal mass should increase energy costs due to higher amounts of muscular power outputs, this hypothesis is based on the divergent effects of stride frequency on internal and external power outputs (the power output to move the limbs and the body center of mass, respectively). The use of low stride frequencies reduces limb velocities and therefore decreases internal power, while associated long strides increase the vertical displacement of the body center of mass and therefore increase external power. Total power (the sum of internal and external power) may therefore not differ among mammals with different limb mass distributions. To test this hypothesis, I examined a sample of infant baboons (Papio cynocephalus) during ontogeny and compared them with more cursorial mammals. Limb mass distribution changes with age (from distal to more proximally concentrated) in baboons, and the infants used shorter strides and higher stride frequencies when limb mass was most proximally concentrated. Compared with non-primates who have more proximally concentrated limb mass, the infants used longer strides and lower stride frequencies. Relatively low internal power was associated with low stride frequencies in both the intra- and inter-specific samples. However, only in the inter-specific comparison were relatively long strides associated with high external power outputs. In both the intra-specific and the inter-specific samples, total power did not differ between groups who differed in limb mass distribution. The results of this study suggest that a trade-off mechanism is available to quadrupeds with distally heavy limbs allowing them to maintain similar total power outputs (and likely similar energy costs) compared with mammals with more proximally concentrated limb mass.

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“…The primary hunting strategy of felids is to stalk prey until they are close enough to capture them with a pounce or quick rush [3,4]. As hunts are more successful when an attack is initiated from shorter distances [5,6], cats benefit from remaining undetected for as long as possible and camouflage helps achieve this. Many smaller cats are also likely to be camouflaged for protection from predation [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids

et al. 2010

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A complete explanation of the diversity of animal colour patterns requires an understanding of both the developmental mechanisms generating them and their adaptive value. However, only two previous studies, which involved computer-generated evolving prey, have attempted to make this link. This study examines variation in the camouflage patterns displayed on the flanks of many felids. After controlling for the effects of shared ancestry using a fully resolved molecular phylogeny, this study shows how phenotypes from plausible felid coat pattern generation mechanisms relate to ecology. We found that likelihood of patterning and pattern attributes, such as complexity and irregularity, were related to felids' habitats, arboreality and nocturnality. Our analysis also indicates that disruptive selection is a likely explanation for the prevalence of melanistic forms in Felidae. Furthermore, we show that there is little phylogenetic signal in the visual appearance of felid patterning, indicating that camouflage adapts to ecology over relatively short time scales. Our method could be applied to any taxon with colour patterns that can reasonably be matched to reaction -diffusion and similar models, where the kinetics of the reaction between two or more initially randomly dispersed morphogens determines the outcome of pattern development.

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Prey capture by the African lion

Cited by 161 publications

References 0 publications

Lion hunting behaviour and vegetation structure in an African savanna

Lion hunting behaviour and vegetation structure in an African savanna

Effects of limb mass distribution on mechanical power outputs during quadrupedalism

Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids

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