Zhang, Y., Cao, Q. S., Rubenstein, D. I., Zang, S., Songer, M., Leimgruber, P., et al. (2015). Water Use Patterns of Sympatric Przewalski's Horse and Khulan: Interspecific Comparison Reveals Niche Differences. Plos One, 10(7), e0132094.
Abstract: Acquiring water is essential for all animals, but doing so is most challenging for desert-living animals. Recently Przewalski's horse has been reintroduced to the desert area in China where the last wild surviving member of the species was seen before it vanished from China in the1960s. Its reintroduction placed it within the range of a close evolutionary relative, the con-generic Khulan. Determining whether or not these two species experience competition and whether or not such competition was responsible for the extinction of Przewalski's horses in the wild over 50 years ago, requires identifying the fundamental and realized niches of both species. We remotely monitored the presence of both species at a variety of water points during the dry season in Kalamaili Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Przewalski's horses drank twice per day mostly during daylight hours at low salinity water sources while Khulans drank mostly at night usually at high salinity water points or those far from human residences. Spatial and temporal differences in water use enables coexistence, but suggest that Przewalski's horses also restrict the actions of Khulan. Such differences in both the fundamental and realized niches were associated with differences in physiological tolerances for saline water and human activity as well as differences in aggression and dominance.
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Grönemann, K. (2015). Konfliktfeld Pferd und Wolf – Eine Untersuchung zu Einstellungen, Erwartungen und Befürchtungen von Pferdehaltern und Reitsportlern in Niedersachsen. Master's thesis, University Hildesheim, Hildesheim.
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Passilongo, D., Mattioli, L., Bassi, E., Szabó, L., & Apollonio, M. (2015). Visualizing sound: counting wolves by using a spectral view of the chorus howling. Front. Zool., 12(1), 22.
Abstract: Monitoring large carnivores is a central issue in conservation biology. The wolf (Canis lupus) is the most studied large carnivore in the world. After a massive decline and several local extinctions, mostly due to direct persecutions, wolves are now recolonizing many areas of their historical natural range. One of the main monitoring techniques is the howling survey, which is based on the wolves' tendency to use vocalisations to mark territory ownership in response to howls of unknown individuals. In most cases wolf howling sessions are useful for the localisation of the pack, but they provide only an aural estimation of the chorus size.
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Stecken, P. (2015). Bemerkungen und Zusammenhänge.
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Lee, P. C., & de Antonio, C. A. (2015). Necessity, unpredictability and opportunity: An exploration of ecological and social drivers of behavioral innovation. Animal Creativity and Innovation, , 317–333.
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Grönemann, C. (2015). Konfliktfeld Pferd und Wolf – Eine Untersuchung zu Einstellungen, Erwartungen und Befürchtungen von Pferdehaltern und Reitsportlern in Niedersachsen. Master's thesis, Universität Hildesheim, Hildesheim.
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Ahrendt, L. P., Labouriau, R., Malmkvist, J., Nicol, C. J., & Christensen, J. W. (2015). Development of a standard test to assess negative reinforcement learning in horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 169, 38–42.
Abstract: Most horses are trained by negative reinforcement. Currently, however, no standardised test for evaluating horses' negative reinforcement learning ability is available. The aim of this study was to develop an objective test to investigate negative reinforcement learning in horses. Twenty-four Icelandic horses (3 years old) were included in this study. The horses were tested in a pressure-release task on three separate days with 10, 7 and 5 trials on each side, respectively. Each trial consisted of pressure being applied on the hindquarter with an algometer. The force of the pressure was increased until the horse moved laterally away from the point of pressure. There was a significant decrease in required force over trials on the first test day (P<0.001), but not the second and third day. The intercepts on days 2 and 3 differed significantly from day 1 (P<0.001), but not each other. Significantly stronger force was required on the right side compared to the left (P<0.001), but there was no difference between first and second side tested (P=0.56). Individual performance was evaluated by median-force and the change in force over trials on the first test day. These two measures may explain different characteristics of negative reinforcement learning. In conclusion, this study presents a novel, standardised test for evaluating negative reinforcement learning ability in horses.
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Burton, A. C., Neilson, E., Moreira, D., Ladle, A., Steenweg, R., Fisher, J. T., et al. (2015). REVIEW: Wildlife camera trapping: a review and recommendations for linking surveys to ecological processes. J Appl Ecol, 52(3), 675–685.
Abstract: Summary Reliable assessment of animal populations is a long-standing challenge in wildlife ecology. Technological advances have led to widespread adoption of camera traps (CTs) to survey wildlife distribution, abundance and behaviour. As for any wildlife survey method, camera trapping must contend with sources of sampling error such as imperfect detection. Early applications focused on density estimation of naturally marked species, but there is growing interest in broad-scale CT surveys of unmarked populations and communities. Nevertheless, inferences based on detection indices are controversial, and the suitability of alternatives such as occupancy estimation is debatable. We reviewed 266 CT studies published between 2008 and 2013. We recorded study objectives and methodologies, evaluating the consistency of CT protocols and sampling designs, the extent to which CT surveys considered sampling error, and the linkages between analytical assumptions and species ecology. Nearly two-thirds of studies surveyed more than one species, and a majority used response variables that ignored imperfect detection (e.g. presence?absence, relative abundance). Many studies used opportunistic sampling and did not explicitly report details of sampling design and camera deployment that could affect conclusions. Most studies estimating density used capture?recapture methods on marked species, with spatially explicit methods becoming more prominent. Few studies estimated density for unmarked species, focusing instead on occupancy modelling or measures of relative abundance. While occupancy studies estimated detectability, most did not explicitly define key components of the modelling framework (e.g. a site) or discuss potential violations of model assumptions (e.g. site closure). Studies using relative abundance relied on assumptions of equal detectability, and most did not explicitly define expected relationships between measured responses and underlying ecological processes (e.g. animal abundance and movement). Synthesis and applications. The rapid adoption of camera traps represents an exciting transition in wildlife survey methodology. We remain optimistic about the technology's promise, but call for more explicit consideration of underlying processes of animal abundance, movement and detection by cameras, including more thorough reporting of methodological details and assumptions. Such transparency will facilitate efforts to evaluate and improve the reliability of camera trap surveys, ultimately leading to stronger inferences and helping to meet modern needs for effective ecological inquiry and biodiversity monitoring.
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Brinkmann, L., Gerken, M., & Riek, A. (2015). Energetic adaptations of Shetland pony mares. In Proceedings of the 3. International Equine Science Meeting.
Abstract: Recent results suggest that wild Northern herbivores exhibit signs of a hypometabolism during times of low ambient temperature and food shortage in order to reduce their energetic needs. However, there are speculations that domestic animals lost the ability to reduce energy expenditure. To examine energetic and behavioural responses 10 Shetland pony mares were exposed to different environmental conditions (summer and winter). During winter ponies were allocated into two groups receiving two different food quantities (60% and 100% of maintenance energy requirement). We measured the field metabolic rate, water turn over, body temperature, locomotor activity, lying time, resting heart rate, body mass and body condition score.
In summer, the field metabolic rate of all ponies (FMR; 63.4±15.0 MJ/day) was considerably higher compared with food restricted and control animals in winter (24.6±7.8 and 15.0±1.1 MJ/day, respectively). Furthermore, during summer, locomotor activity, resting heart rate and total water turnover were significantly elevated (P<0.001) compared with winter. Animals receiving a reduced amount of food (N=5) reduced their FMR by 26% compared with control animals (N=5) to compensate for the decreased energy supply. Furthermore, resting heart rate, body mass and body condition score were lower(29.2±2.7 beats/min, 140±22 kg and 3.0±1.0 points, respectively) than in control animals (36.8±41 beats/min, 165±31 kg, 4.4±0.7 points; P<0.05). While no difference could be found in the observed behaviour, nocturnal hypothermia was elevated in restrictively fed animals. Our results indicate that ponies adapt to different climatic conditions by changing their metabolic rate, behaviour and some physiological parameters. When exposed to energy shortage, ponies, like wild herbivores, exhibited hypometabolism and nocturnal hypothermia.
Keywords:
Body temperature, Energy expenditure, Food restriction, Hypometabolism, Locomotor activity, Shetland pony
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Meek, P. D., Ballard, G. - A., & Fleming, P. J. S. (2015). The pitfalls of wildlife camera trapping as a survey tool in Australia. Aust. Mammal., 37(1), 13–22.
Abstract: Camera trapping is a relatively new addition to the wildlife survey repertoire in Australia. Its rapid adoption has been unparalleled in ecological science, but objective evaluation of camera traps and their application has not kept pace. With the aim of motivating practitioners to think more about selection and deployment of camera trap models in relation to research goals, we reviewed Australian camera trapping studies to determine how camera traps have been used and how their technological constraints may have affected reported results and conclusions. In the 54 camera trapping articles published between 1991 and 2013, mammals (86%) were studied more than birds (10%) and reptiles (3%), with small to medium-sized mammals being most studied. Australian camera trapping studies, like those elsewhere, have changed from more qualitative to more complex quantitative investigations. However, we found that camera trap constraints and limitations were rarely acknowledged, and we identified eight key issues requiring consideration and further research. These are: camera model, camera detection system, camera placement and orientation, triggering and recovery, camera trap settings, temperature differentials, species identification and behavioural responses of the animals to the cameras. In particular, alterations to animal behaviour by camera traps potentially have enormous influence on data quality, reliability and interpretation. The key issues were not considered in most Australian camera trap papers and require further study to better understand the factors that influence the analysis and interpretation of camera trap data and improve experimental design.
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