Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joseph G. Mine, Katie E. Slocombe, Erik P. Willems, Ian C. Gilby, Miranda Yu, Melissa Emery Thompson, Martin N. Muller, Richard W. Wrangham, Simon W. Townsend, Zarin P. Machanda
Summary: Cooperation and communication likely coevolved in humans, and this relationship is not unique to humans but also present in our last common ancestor with chimpanzees. The study finds that bark vocalizations in wild chimpanzees serve as reliable signals of behavioral motivation and are associated with greater hunter recruitment and more effective hunting.
Article
Biology
Ashley N. Peterson, Matthew J. McHenry
Summary: This study examines the strategy of red lionfish in pursuing faster prey. The behavior of successfully capturing prey is defined as the "persistent-predation strategy", which includes pure pursuit, uninterrupted motion, and high success rate in strike.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Isa Aleixo-Pais, Filipa Borges, Nazie Sesay, Mustapha Songe, Mamadu Cassama, Iaia T. Camara, Catarina Ramos, Benjamin Barca, Brima S. Turay, Mohamed Swaray, Aissa Regalla de Barros, Queba Quecuta, Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva, Amelia Frazao-Moreira, Michael William Bruford, Tania Minhos
Summary: Food distribution and abundance play a crucial role in shaping the dietary variation of non-human primates. This study used DNA metabarcoding to analyze the diet of the western red colobus in both well-preserved and degraded forests, revealing dietary flexibility in degraded environments.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sean M. Lee, Gottfried Hohmann, Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Barbara Fruth, Carson M. Murray
Summary: Lactating chimpanzees exhibit reduced gregariousness compared to lactating bonobos in fission-fusion dynamics, but maintain a social budget comparable to bonobos without incurring additional foraging costs. Despite spending less time interacting with their own offspring, lactating chimpanzees allocate more time to interacting with other individuals, suggesting potential compensatory strategies for maintaining social connections.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kara K. Walker, Steffen Foerster, Carson M. Murray, Deus Mjungu, Anne E. Pusey
Summary: The study evaluated 13 infanticidal attacks by female chimpanzees over 47 years at Gombe National Park in Tanzania, supporting the adaptive hypotheses of exploitation of infant as a food resource, resource competition, and low cost of female-led infanticide. Females usually consumed the carcass, attacked others with high core area overlap, and attacked when risks to the perpetrator were low.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
K. E. Moseby, H. M. McGregor
Summary: Introduced predators are a major cause of decline in island vertebrates. This study investigates how feral cats use fine-scale prey cues and microhabitat features in an arid environment. Video collars and GPS were used to track the cats' activity, and it was found that they focused on prominent prey cues such as burrows and foraging digs. Cats also spent more time in areas with high vegetation cover. These findings suggest that prey species with conspicuous cues are at higher risk of predation, and knowledge of fine-scale movement patterns is crucial for predator management.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biology
M. J. Hansen, R. H. J. M. Kurvers, M. Licht, J. Haege, K. Pacher, F. Dhellemmes, F. Trillmich, F. R. Elorriaga-Verplancken, J. Krause
Summary: The open ocean provides ideal conditions for the occurrence of multi-species predator aggregations. However, the mechanisms and functions of these aggregations are largely unknown.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
David Duneau, Nicolas Buchon
Summary: This study examined whether sick individuals are more likely to be preyed upon by predators. Using Drosophila melanogaster flies as manipulable prey, the researchers found that flies chronically infected with a bacterium were not selectively preyed upon by jumping spiders. However, flies with induced colon cancer had a higher incidence of predation. The results suggest that disease can have lethal consequences through predation, even in invertebrates.
Article
Biology
Mariano Rodriguez-Recio, Camilla Wikenros, Barbara Zimmermann, Hakan Sand
Summary: Wolves are returning to regions in Europe, which has led to opposition due to their predatory habits on game species. Using data on prey selection, kill rates, and territory size, researchers estimated the impact of wolf recolonization in southern Sweden. The study showed that the current five-ungulate species system in southern Sweden could potentially support a higher wolf density. Such research can help anticipate and address conservation conflicts that arise with the return of large carnivores to the wild.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Irene Castaneda, Marie-Amelie Forin-Wiart, Benoit Pisanu, Nathalie de Bouillane de Lacoste
Summary: This study investigates the factors influencing the predation behavior of domestic cats in metropolitan France. The research finds that geographical characteristics, climate conditions, anthropogenic impact, and individual traits such as age and sex, all contribute to the types and seasons of prey brought home by cats. The study reveals that shrews are most commonly brought home during summer, rodents during summer-autumn, birds in spring-summer and autumn, and lizards in spring and late summer. Younger cats are more likely to bring home shrews, birds, and reptiles.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Harry Olgun, Mzee Khamis Mohammed, Abbas Juma Mzee, M. E. Landry Green, Tim R. B. Davenport, Alexander Georgiev
Summary: Roads have negative impacts on wildlife, especially in tropical habitats. We studied the roadkill along a road in a national park in Tanzania and assessed its impact on the endangered Zanzibar red colobus monkey population. The overall effect of roadkill on the colobus population is unknown, but installing speedbumps has significantly reduced the number of collisions, suggesting further actions could bring conservation benefits.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Goran Kovacevic, Daniela Petrinec, Petra Tramontana Ljubicic, Siegfried Reipert, Damir Sirovina, Maria Spoljar, Petra Peharec Stefanic, Davor Zeljezic
Summary: This study utilized the microcosm approach to investigate predator-prey interactions in freshwater environments and proposed a mechanism for microalgal hunting net formation. The findings contribute to our understanding of species interactions and highlight the role of microalgae in the dynamics of freshwater ecosystems.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mohamed J. Kibaja, Addisu Mekonnen, Trond Reitan, Cuthbert L. Nahonyo, Matana Levi, Nils Chr. Stenseth, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar
Summary: The majority of primate species are facing the threat of extinction due to human activities. The ability of primate populations to adapt to different habitats plays a crucial role in their survival. Studying the behavior and ecology of endangered primate species in different habitats is important for conservation strategies. In this study, we compared the habitat quality, activity budget, and ranging ecology of Ashy red colobus monkeys in savanna woodland and forest mosaic habitats, finding significant differences in behavior between the two groups. These findings provide insights into colobine flexibility and help in formulating effective conservation strategies.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kimberley J. Hockings, Benjamin Mubemba, Charlotte Avanzi, Kamilla Pleh, Ariane Dux, Elena Bersacola, Joana Bessa, Marina Ramon, Sonja Metzger, Livia V. Patrono, Jenny E. Jaffe, Andrej Benjak, Camille Bonneaud, Philippe Busso, Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann, Moussa Gado, Sebastien Gagneux, Roch C. Johnson, Mamoudou Kodio, Joshua Lynton-Jenkins, Irina Morozova, Kerstin Matz-Rensing, Aissa Regalla, Abilio R. Said, Verena J. Schuenemann, Samba O. Sow, John S. Spencer, Markus Ulrich, Hyacinthe Zoubi, Stewart T. Cole, Roman M. Wittig, Sebastien Calvignac-Spencer, Fabian H. Leendertz
Summary: This study found leprosy-like lesions in wild populations of western chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau and Cote d'Ivoire, caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The chimpanzee strains were identified as belonging to rare genotypes, suggesting leprosy may be circulating in more wild animals than previously suspected.
Article
Ecology
Nathalie R. R. Sommer, Yara A. A. Alshwairikh, A. Z. Andis Arietta, David K. K. Skelly, Robert W. W. Buchkowski
Summary: Predation risk leads to various responses in prey, including changes in life history and habitat shifts. Metabolism, being a ubiquitous trait, provides a way to study the effects of predators and generate generalizable outcomes. In this study, we examined the metabolic responses of different functional groups of terrestrial and aquatic prey to predator cues. We found that constitutively defended prey did not show any metabolic responses, while deimatic and freeze-flight prey exhibited cue type and predator hunting mode-dependent metabolic responses. Consistent with previous research on nonconsumptive effects, ambush predators elicited metabolic responses, while active predators did not. We propose that future research should continue to use a metabolic approach as a unified, scalable response variable to study the sensory ecology of nonconsumptive effects and identify additional systems to evaluate predator hunting mode and prey antipredator defenses more comprehensively.