Mammalian Behavioral Development Under Contrasting Regimes of Interspecific Competition

种间竞争下的哺乳动物行为发育。摘要：对于哺乳动物在整个生命周期中从事危险行为的倾向是如何变化的，或者幼年哺乳动物的行为是如何随着生态环境的变化而变化的，目前所知甚少。在非洲大部分地区，狮子（Panthera leo）和斑点鬣狗（Crocuta Crocuta）是最常见的大型食肉动物，这两个物种经常争夺食物。这里的假设将被测试，表明自由生活的鬣狗表现出的风险敏感行为受到年龄和与狮子的竞争互动的影响。自然发生的变异将被记录在鬣狗在与狮子争夺食物时表现出的范围行为、警惕性和危险行为中。此外，两项回放实验将探究年龄和当地狮子密度如何影响鬣狗决定是否接近或避开隐藏扬声器播放的记录狮子吼声。将测量鬣狗粪便中排泄的应激激素的浓度，以确定这些动物的应激生理是否受到年龄或当地与狮子竞争的影响。在两个肯尼亚国家公园里，鬣狗与狮子的比例差别很大，研究人员将对处于三个不同发育阶段的鬣狗的自然行为、实验结果和激素浓度进行比较。最后，与肯尼亚野生动物管理局合作，将开发有效监测大型食肉动物的方法，这些方法随后将应用于肯尼亚其他几个国家公园。因此，这项研究将把专注于行为发展的强大基础科学与直接应用于管理和保护大型非洲食肉动物，包括那些稀有和濒临灭绝的动物结合起来。

Mammalian behavioral development under contrasting regimes of interspecific competition.Proposal # IBN0343381PIs: Kay E. Holekamp, Michigan State University Laura Smale, Michigan State University Jeffrey A. French, University of Nebraska at Omaha NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Little is currently known about how the tendency to engage in risky behavior varies across the life-span in mammals, or how the behavior of young mammals varies with ecological circumstances. In most parts of Africa, lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are the most common large carnivores, and these two species compete regularly for food. Here hypotheses will be tested suggesting that risk-sensitive behavior exhibited by free-living hyenas is affected by age and by competitive interactions with lions. Naturally-occurring variation will be documented in ranging behavior, vigilance, and risky behaviors shown by hyenas during interactions with lions over food. In addition, two playback experiments will inquire how age and local lion density influence hyenas' decisions regarding whether to approach or avoid recorded lion roars when these are broadcast from a hidden speaker. Concentrations of excreted stress hormones will be measured in hyena feces to determine whether stress physiology in these animals is affected by age or by local competition with lions. Measures of naturally-occurring behavior, experimental results, and hormone concentrations will be compared among hyenas at three different developmental stages in two Kenyan national parks in which ratios of resident hyenas to lions differ greatly. Finally, in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service, methods will be developed for effective monitoring of large carnivores, and these methods will later be applied in several other national parks in Kenya. This research will thus combine strong basic science focused on behavioral development with direct applications to management and conservation of large African carnivores, including those that are rare and endangered.