Reproductive biology and life history traits of Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) founder females reintroduced to Mahazat as-Sayd, Saudi Arabia

Wronski, Torsten; Lerp, Hannes; Ismail, Khairi

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2011.01.004

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In spite of the progressive increase in the number of ungulate reintroduction projects in North Africa and the Middle East (Cano et al, 1993;Abaigar et al, 1997;Dunham, 1997;Abaigar et al, 2005;Jebali, 2008;Molcanova and Wacher, 2008;Islam et al, 2010;Wronski et al, 2011), there are few cases where the animals live completely in the wild, and most of them live in protected, fenced-in areas of different sizes, from a few hundred hectares, like the mohor gazelles living at R´Mila Reserve in Morocco (Cuzin et al, 2007), to the several hundred thousand hectares where the sand gazelles live in Saudi Arabia (Islam et al, 2010). Thus animal reserves and protected fenced-in areas have to deal with the challenge of being the "final" release area for some species in some areas of their distribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat preference of reintroduced dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas neglecta) in North Ferlo, Senegal

Abáigar

Ensenyat²

2013

Journal of Arid Environments

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In March 2009, 23 dorcas gazelles (9 males and 14 females) were reintroduced in the Katané enclosure, a 440 ha fenced-in area in the North Ferlo Fauna Reserve (Senegal). In the enclosure, the dorcas gazelle live with other reintroduced (the mohor gazelles and the scimitar-horned oryx) and native ungulate species (the Red-fronted gazelle), as well other native mammals. Seven habitat types were characterized in the enclosure. Habitat preference of dorcas gazelles was studied using presence and abundance of gazelle signs (tracks, latrines, fecal deposits) and direct observations. Seasonal data were collected along a 6-km long transect in the enclosure. The presence of dorcas gazelles is significantly dependent on the type of habitat in the Katané enclosure and they prefer open habitats (plateaus) to habitats with less visibility. This preference did not change according to season and the number of fecal deposits increased with proximity to the fence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat preference of reintroduced dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas neglecta) in North Ferlo, Senegal

Abáigar

Ensenyat²

2013

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…Between 1990 and 1994 a total of 76 captive-bred were released in MS. These included individuals from the breeding programme at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) in Taif (derived from the donation of 57 animals from the farm of late King Khaled in Thumamah) and supplemented by captive bred animals from the World Heard (comprising of descendants of founders from Aden Protectorate, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia as well as wild-caught individuals from London Zoo), Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar [ 26 , 28 , 29 ]. The population size now exceeds 300 individuals and based on management recommendations for this population, animals above an estimated carrying capacity of 70% are regularly removed and either incorporated in the NWRC breeding programme or relocated to other suitable habitats such as Uruq Bani Ma’arid.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Saudi Arabia currently hosts the two largest free-ranging Arabian oryx populations one in Mahazat as-Sayd, ca. 200 km north-east of Taif, and one in Uruq Bany Ma’arid, in the western Rub-al Khali, one of the driest regions of the world both of which lack permanent water bodies [ 26 – 29 ]. The Arabian oryx is a highly mobile species that can survive months without access to free standing water [ 15 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As additional behavioural adaptation to the desert climate Arabian oryx exhibit a switch from diurnal to nocturnal activity in response to high ambient temperatures and water shortage and spend substantial amounts of the daytime in the shade of Acacia trees or grass tussocks where they may dig shallow depressions to facilitate heat exchange [ 8 , 31 , 35 – 37 ]. Rainfall has also been shown to affect reproduction in Arabian oryx and although birth may occur throughout the year, both in captivity and in the wild, conception is more likely to occur after rainfall [ 8 , 29 , 31 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living on the edge: Daily, seasonal and annual body temperature patterns of Arabian oryx in Saudi Arabia

et al. 2017

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Heterothermy, the ability to allow body temperature (Tb) to fluctuate, has been proposed as an adaptive mechanism that enables large ungulates to cope with the high environmental temperatures and lack of free water experienced in arid environments. By storing heat during the daytime and dissipating it during the night, arid-adapted ungulates may reduce evaporative water loss and conserve water. Adaptive heterothermy in large ungulates should be particularly pronounced in hot environments with severely limited access to free water. In the current study we investigated the effects of environmental temperature (ambient, Ta and soil, Ts) and water stress on the Tb of wild, free-ranging Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) in two different sites in Saudi Arabia, Mahazat as-Sayd (MS) and Uruq Bani Ma’arid (UBM). Using implanted data loggers wet took continuous Tb readings every 10 minutes for an entire calendar year and determined the Tb amplitude as well as the heterothermy index (HI). Both differed significantly between sites but contrary to our expectations they were greater in MS despite its lower environmental temperatures and higher rainfall. This may be partially attributable to a higher activity in an unfamiliar environment for translocated animals in UBM. As expected Tb amplitude and HI were greatest during summer. Only minor sex differences were apparent that may be attributable to sex-specific investment into reproduction (e.g. male-male competition) during rut. Our results suggest that the degree of heterothermy is not only driven by extrinsic factors (e.g. environmental temperatures and water availability), but may also be affected by intrinsic factors (e.g. sex and/or behaviour).

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“…; Morrow et al 1999;Wronski et al 2011) and springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis; Skinner et al 2001) reproduce year-round.…”

Section: Regional Variation In Reproductive Seasonality With Rainfallmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive seasonality in African ungulates in relation to rainfall

2014

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Context. Reproductive seasonality in ungulates has important fitness consequences but its relationship to resource seasonality is not yet fully understood, especially for ungulates inhabiting equatorial environments.Aims. We test hypotheses concerning synchronisation of conception or parturition peaks among African ungulates with seasonal peaks in forage quality and quantity, indexed by rainfall.Methods. We relate monthly apparent fecundity and juvenile recruitment rates to monthly rainfall for six ungulate species inhabiting the Masai Mara National Reserve (Mara) of Kenya, using cross-correlation analysis and distributed lag non-linear models. We compare the phenology and synchrony of breeding among the Mara ungulates with those for other parts of equatorial East Africa, with bimodal rainfall and less seasonal forage variation, and for subtropical southern Africa, with unimodal rainfall distribution and greater seasonal forage variation.Key results. Births were more synchronised for topi, warthog and zebra than for hartebeest, impala and giraffe in the Mara, and for impala and hartebeest in southern than in eastern Africa. This pattern is likely to reflect regional differences in climate and plant phenology, hider-follower dichotomy and grazing versus browsing. All six species except the browsing giraffe apparently time the conception to occur in one wet season and births to occur just before the onset or during the next wet season, so as to maximise high-quality forage intake during conception and parturition. Fecundity and recruitment rates among the African ungulates peak at intermediate levels of rainfall and are reduced at low or excessive levels of rainfall. Fecundity rate is most strongly positively correlated with rainfall pre-conception, during conception and during early gestation, followed by rainfall at about the time of parturition for all the grazers. For giraffe, fecundity rate is most strongly correlated with rainfall during the gestation period.Conclusions. Rainfall seasonality strongly influences reproductive seasonality and juvenile recruitment among African ungulates. The interaction of the rainfall influence with life-history traits and other factors leads to wide interspecific and regional variation.Implications. Global climate change, especially widening annual rainfall variation expected to result from global warming, could reduce the predictability of the timing of peak forage availability and quality based on meteorological cues, the length of time with adequate nutrition or both, and hence reduce reproductive success among tropical ungulates.

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Reproductive biology and life history traits of Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) founder females reintroduced to Mahazat as-Sayd, Saudi Arabia

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

Habitat preference of reintroduced dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas neglecta) in North Ferlo, Senegal

Habitat preference of reintroduced dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas neglecta) in North Ferlo, Senegal

Living on the edge: Daily, seasonal and annual body temperature patterns of Arabian oryx in Saudi Arabia

Reproductive seasonality in African ungulates in relation to rainfall

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