The characteristics and consequences of African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) den site selection
The characteristics and consequences of African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) den site selection
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DOI：
10.1007/s00265-021-03047-8
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发表时间：
2021-07-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Jordan, N. R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alting, B. F.;Bennitt, E.;Jordan, N. R.
许多物种在固定的地点养育后代，经常返回提供它们，这些地点的选择在生命周期中是一个关键的决定，因为它们在某些情况下可能会增加对捕食者的敏感性。非洲野狗是一种群居的大型食肉动物，它们在固定的地方抚养后代，在出生后的3个月里在洞穴里喂养依赖的幼崽。在可能的情况下，非洲野狗会选择岩石地形中的巢穴，据推测，这是因为它们的主要捕食者狮子通常会避开这些栖息地。在博茨瓦纳的奥卡万戈三角洲，缺乏岩石地形，这为评估狮子是否会影响洞穴的选择提供了机会。来自7只黑斑羚和4只狮子的GPS项圈数据显示，这两种物种都喜欢居住在草原和混合林地栖息地，这表明这些是非洲野狗的高风险/高回报地区。利用8年来来自16个非洲野狗群的GPS项圈数据，我们的研究描述了116个野外确定的非洲野狗窝点。狮群更喜欢在茂木林地中筑巢，这是狮子所避免的，而且随着狮群距离草地和混合林地的距离增加，它们每天从洞穴中通勤的距离也越来越远，这表明它们更喜欢在这个栖息地狩猎。我们的研究结果表明，非洲野狗在通勤成本和捕食风险之间进行了权衡，因此通勤成本越长，安全性越高。利用洞穴、巢穴或其他固定地点养育后代的物种必须在保护幼崽免受捕食者侵害的需要与为自己和幼崽获取资源的需要之间取得平衡。穴址的选择对于使动物能够满足这两个要求并成功地养育后代是相当重要的。我们对非洲野狗的研究表明，它们选择在资源匮乏地区的洞穴，这可能会最大限度地减少与主要捕食者狮子的互动。这增加了到猎物丰富地区的距离，因此增加了狩猎的成本。因此，在考虑适合非洲野狗保护的景观、繁殖的能量限制和家园范围指数时，适宜狩猎和筑巢的栖息地的可用性是很重要的。
Many species rear offspring in fixed sites, returning frequently to provision them, and the selection of these sites is a critical decision in the life cycle, as they may in some instances increase susceptibility to predators. African wild dogs are a groupliving large carnivore that rear their offspring in fixed sites, provisioning dependent pups in dens for 3 months post-birth. Where possible, African wild dogs select den sites in rocky terrain, and it is hypothesised that this is because lions, their main predators, generally avoid this habitat. In the Okavango Delta, Botswana, there is a lack of rocky terrain, providing an opportunity to assess whether lions drive den site selection. GPS collar data from 7 impala and 4 lions revealed that both species prefer to reside in grassland and mixed woodland habitats, demonstrating that these are high risk/reward areas for African wild dogs. Using GPS collar data from 16 African wild dog packs over 8 years, our study characterised 116 African wild dog den sites identified in the field. Packs showed a preference for denning in mopane woodland, which lions avoid, and packs commuted further from the den each day as the den's distance to grassland and mixed woodland increased, suggesting a preference for hunting in this habitat. Our results suggest that African wild dogs trade-off the costs of commuting and predation risk, such that longer commuting costs confer increased safety. Significance statement Species which utilise dens, nests, or other fixed sites to rear offspring must balance the need to protect their young from predators with the need to acquire resources for themselves and their young. The selection of den sites is expected to be of considerable importance to enable the animal to meet these two requirements and successfully raise young. Our study of African wild dogs indicates that they select dens in resource-scarce areas which are likely to minimise interactions with their main predator, lions. This increases the distance to prey-rich areas and therefore the cost of hunting. Availability of appropriate habitat for both hunting and denning is therefore important when considering landscapes appropriate for African wild dog conservation, energetic constraints of breeding, and home-range indices.