Vulnerability to predation and water constraints limit behavioural adjustments of ungulates in response to hunting risk

Crosmary, William-Georges; Makumbe, Peter; Côté, Steeve D.; Fritz, Hervé

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.03.004

Cited by 32 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Our analyses show that roe deer selected habitat in a manner that may reduce their predation risk to hunters in daytime and lynx at night, during the relevant risk seasons as assessed from the predators habitat‐specific activity peaks. African ungulates similarly adjust their use of watering holes according to contrasting temporal patterns in risk between hunters and natural predators (Crosmary et al , b). That these ungulates, in contrast to our findings, are unable to avoid both hunters and natural predators when they occur together is because water is an essential but limited resource to these animals, and the study only looks at temporal variation in access to this resource.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal variation in habitat selection breaks the catch‐22 of spatially contrasting predation risk from multiple predators

Lone

Mysterud

Gobakken

et al. 2016

Oikos

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Predator avoidance depends on prey being able to discern how risk varies in space and time, but this is made considerably more complicated if risk is simultaneously present from multiple predators. This is the situation for an increasing number of mammalian prey species, as large carnivores recover or are reintroduced in ecosystems on several continents. Roe deer Capreolus capreolus in southern Norway illustrate a case in which prey face two predators with contrasting patterns of predation risk. They face a catch‐22 situation: spatially avoiding the risk from one predator (lynx Lynx lynx in dense habitat) implies exposure to the other (hunters in open habitat). Using GPS‐data from 29 roe deer, we tested for daily and seasonal variation in roe deer selection for habitat with respect to the habitats’ year‐round average risk level. Generally, roe deer altered their habitat selection between night and day in a pattern consistent with being able to avoid predicted risk from the nocturnal lynx during night and predicted risk from human hunters during day. However, seasonal variation in habitat selection only partially corresponded with the predicted seasonal variation in risk. Whereas roe deer avoided areas with high risk from hunters more strongly during the hunting season than in other seasons, there was a lack of selection towards areas and time periods lowering the risk of lynx predation during winter. It seems likely that the risk of starvation and thermal stress constrain roe deer habitat selection during this energetically challenging season with cold temperatures, snow cover and limited natural forage. The habitat selection pattern of roe deer fits thus only partly with the two contrasting risk gradients they face. Adjusting risk‐avoidance behavior temporally can be an adaptive response in the case of several predators whose predation patterns differ in space and time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal variation in habitat selection breaks the catch‐22 of spatially contrasting predation risk from multiple predators

Lone

Mysterud

Gobakken

et al. 2016

Oikos

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“…On the other hand, other animals are known to follow the opposite strategy (Crosmary et al. ). For example, common wombats ( Vombatus ursinus ) decreased the vigilance time with increasing distance to cover, maximizing food intake during that time (Favreau et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, animals may forage away from the refuge to fulfill the energetic demands, and thus, they might follow two different strategies: (i) increase the vigilance rates to increase the detection of a potential attack or (ii) minimize the exposure time, increasing the foraging effort (Lima ; Crosmary et al. ). For instance, Dall's sheep ( Ovis dalli dalli ), increased vigilance as they increased the distance to the nearest cliff, a location where they are safe from predators (Frid ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Yellow‐Bellied Marmots Perceive Enhanced Predation Risk When they are Farther from safety? An experimental study

2015

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Whereas there are many studies of the time allocated to antipredator vigilance while animals forage, the vast majority of these studies remain correlative. This is potentially problematic because a variety of factors other than variation in perceived risk might influence putative antipredator behaviors such as time allocated to vigilance and foraging. We conducted an experimental study of yellow‐bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) antipredator behavior while marmots foraged at a replicated set of feeding stations established 1, 5, 10, and 20 m from their main burrows. Marmots appeared to perceive a reduced risk of predation when they foraged in the presence of other marmots; they allocated more time to foraging and decreased the time allocated to vigilance. When they foraged farther from their burrows, marmots initiated foraging after a substantially greater amount of time, tended to increase the frequency of their bouts of vigilance, and decreased the duration of each bout. Yearling marmots took less time to begin foraging than adults. Marmot flight initiation distance at our feeding trays was independent of the distance they foraged away from the burrow. Taken together, these experimental results demonstrate that marmots' perceptions of risk increased with distance to the burrow and decreased when other individuals were within 10 m of them while they foraged.

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“…It is possible that the social pressure exerted during foraging by the simultaneous presence of several groups in the vega, could be such that animals even increase their harvest rate as competitor density increases (Shrader et al, 2007;Courant and Fortin, 2012). In contrast to the seasonal waterholes found in other arid environments where animals go only to drink (Crosmary et al, 2012), the vegas in the Puna environments receive a ground-water supply all year round. These conditions promote the formation of moist soils in which grass grows abundantly (Rabinovich et al, 1998), making vegas an excellent source of water and high quality forage for vicuñas (Renaudeau d'Arc et al, 2000;Mosca Torres and Puig, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Vigilance behaviour of the year-round territorial vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) outside the breeding season: Influence of group size, social factors and distance to a water source

Torres

Puig

Novillo

et al. 2015

Behavioural Processes

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Vulnerability to predation and water constraints limit behavioural adjustments of ungulates in response to hunting risk

Cited by 32 publications

References 56 publications

Temporal variation in habitat selection breaks the catch‐22 of spatially contrasting predation risk from multiple predators

Temporal variation in habitat selection breaks the catch‐22 of spatially contrasting predation risk from multiple predators

Do Yellow‐Bellied Marmots Perceive Enhanced Predation Risk When they are Farther from safety? An experimental study

Vigilance behaviour of the year-round territorial vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) outside the breeding season: Influence of group size, social factors and distance to a water source

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