The use of scats as social signals in a solitary, endangered scincid lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron L. Fenner ◽  
C. Michael Bull
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Random Pattern ◽  
Nearest Neighbour ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Solitary Living ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Common Behaviour

Context The deliberate accumulation of faeces or scats in one location is a common behaviour used for social signalling. The endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis, is a solitary-living species that appears to use scats as social signals. Previous studies have found that these lizards approach burrows more cautiously if there is a conspecific scat present and behave differently to scats from male and female conspecifics, indicating that these lizards can recognise scat-based conspecific cues. For endangered species, understanding how an animal uses and responds to chemical cues has the potential to become a powerful tool in conservation management. Aims To investigate whether these solitary lizards might be using scats as social signals by testing whether scats were being deposited in a non-random pattern designed to maximise their exposure to the nearest neighbour conspecifics. Method In the present study, we investigated the spatial pattern of scatting behaviour by pygmy bluetongue lizards in the field. Results Scats were consistently deposited in one direction that was significantly aligned with the nearest occupied burrow of a neighbouring lizard. The same deposition sites were used when previous scats were either destroyed by rain, or experimentally moved to a different location. Male lizards deposited scats significantly closer to their own burrows when neighbours were closer. Key conclusions The results were consistent with the lizards using scats to advertise their presence and status. The scat-deposition patterns observed in the present study suggest that scats are used as an olfactory signal associated with social organisation of pygmy bluetongue lizards. Implications Current plans for the conservation management of this endangered species include translocations. By understanding how these lizards respond to, and use chemical cues, we may be able to use this knowledge to aid in translocation programs, e.g. by pre-establishing territories for individuals before they are introduced into the population.

scholarly journals Predator recognition and responses in the endangered Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica)

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Culum Brown ◽  
Jennifer Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Introduced Species ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Perca Fluviatilis ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Perch Perca Fluviatilis ◽  
Threatening Processes

Macquarie perch, Macquaria austalasica, is an endangered species endemic to southern Australia whose distribution is highly fragmented and continues to decline. Key threatening processes include habitat destruction, dams and weirs, overfishing and interactions with introduced species. Here, we examined the responses of small and large Macquarie perch to two native predators and to the introduced redfin perch, Perca fluviatilis. Our results showed that Macquarie perch generally avoided large-bodied native predators but was attracted to small-bodied native predators. Responses to large and small redfin perch lay between these two extremes, suggesting that the Macquarie perch does treat these foreign fish as potential threats. Macquarie perch relied on both visual and chemical cues to identify predators, although its response tended to be stronger when exposed to visual cues. The results suggest that Macquarie perch has the capacity to recognise and respond to invasive species in a threat-sensitive manner, which has positive implications for the conservation management of the species.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in the Vocal Communication of Malayan Tapirs (Tapirus indicus) Considering Familiarity and Relatedness

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1026
Author(s):  
Robin Walb ◽  
Lorenzo von Fersen ◽  
Theo Meijer ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Solitary Living ◽  
Low Visibility ◽  
Living Species ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Tapirus Indicus

Studies in animal communication have shown that many species have individual distinct calls. These individual distinct vocalizations can play an important role in animal communication because they can carry important information about the age, sex, personality, or social role of the signaler. Although we have good knowledge regarding the importance of individual vocalization in social living mammals, it is less clear to what extent solitary living mammals possess individual distinct vocalizations. We recorded and analyzed the vocalizations of 14 captive adult Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) (six females and eight males) to answer this question. We investigated whether familiarity or relatedness had an influence on call similarity. In addition to sex-related differences, we found significant differences between all subjects, comparable to the individual differences found in highly social living species. Surprisingly, kinship appeared to have no influence on call similarity, whereas familiar subjects exhibited significantly higher similarity in their harmonic calls compared to unfamiliar or related subjects. The results support the view that solitary animals could have individual distinct calls, like highly social animals. Therefore, it is likely that non-social factors, like low visibility, could have an influence on call individuality. The increasing knowledge of their behavior will help to protect this endangered species.

scholarly journals METAPHOR ANALYSIS OF THE PERCEPTIONS OF "GLOBAL WARMING" AS A CONCEPT

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-64
Author(s):  
Pelin Üretici
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Demographic Information ◽  
Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenology ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
Living Species

The environmental problem, defined as "global warming" in recent years, has developed as a result of human activities. This problem affects humanity with its economic, social and cultural dimensions as well as many other living species. Policies​ are being developed at national and international levels to cope with this problem and various opinions and practices are put forward. However, studies show that individuals have misconceptions about this issue. For this purpose, this study aims to understand the perceptions of 87 participants, 65 women and 22 men living in the TRNC, about global warming through a "metaphor analysis". The study was conducted using a qualitative phenomenology design. The data obtained were evaluated by content analysis method. Semi-structured forms were distributed for data collection. The first part of the form is based on demographic information, and the second part is to determine the perceptions of the participants about global warming. The analyzed metaphors were gathered under 13 different conceptual categories. Since this study does not consist of an equal number of male and female participants, gender differences should not be taken into account in the findings. Keywords: Global warming, environmental management, metaphor analysis, environmental education  

scholarly journals Differences in Orientation Behavior and Female Attraction by Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) in a Homogeneous Resource Patch

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick M G Cordeiro ◽  
James F Campbell ◽  
Thomas Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Aggregation Pheromone ◽  
Rhyzopertha Dominica ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Random Pattern ◽  
Upward Movement ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Wheat Kernel ◽  
Movement Orientation ◽  
And Control

Abstract The objectives of the study are to understand how naïve beetles disperse after emerging as an adult in a homogeneous resource patch. We compared the movement of adult male and female Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) using a laboratory and a field-collected strain during the first 2 d after their emergence from the wheat kernel in which they developed. We first asked if naïve male and female beetles show any innate orientation pattern. Males showed an upward orientation bias during the first day, but not in the second, whereas females had a random pattern of orientation in both days of evaluation. No significant differences were observed between the two strains. Given that males release an aggregation pheromone, we next asked if the upward movement of males improved their ability to be found by a naïve female. The presence of a male, whether above or below a newly emerged female, changed the females’ movement direction from random to bias towards the male. In contrast, free-walking males exhibited the same upward movement bias on the first day regardless of the position of the caged male. Only on the second day did male movement change to the opposite direction of the caged male. Here, we report differences between males and females’ movement orientation strategies and their response to males producing aggregation pheromone within the grain mass. Our data may improve our understanding of pheromone attraction and help us to develop better monitoring and control tools.

Lizard behaviour suggests a new design for artificial burrows

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehregan Ebrahimi ◽  
Aaron L. Fenner ◽  
C. Michael Bull
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Surface Activity ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Internal Space ◽  
Normal Behaviour ◽  
Natural Behaviour ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Occasional Occurrence ◽  
Common Strategy

Context The use of artificial refuges is a common strategy for the conservation management of endangered species. However, artificial refuges may alter an animal’s natural behaviour that in turn may be detrimental to the species. The endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard from Australia is one species that will accept artificial burrows. Aims The aim of the present research was to determine whether the normal behaviour of the pygmy bluetongue lizards differed between artificial and natural burrows, so as to determine whether the existing artificial burrow is an optimal design for this species. Methods In the present study, we filmed the behaviour of lizards as they entered artificial and natural burrows. We compared the number of times a lizard entered a burrow, the time that lizards spent inspecting burrows, and the behaviours that lizards used when entering artificial and natural burrows. Key results We found that in natural burrows, lizards always entered head first, and then usually reversed direction inside, using an enlarged basal chamber, to sit with their head uppermost in the entrance. In artificial burrows, however, lizards had to enter head first, then reverse tail-first back out, and then reverse tail-first back into the burrow (so as to have their head facing upwards) We called this behaviour reversing from outside. Key conclusion The stereotyped reversing-from-outside behaviour when entering artificial burrows, and its occasional occurrence in natural burrows, suggest that it has evolved to allow lizards to use narrow burrows as well as those with a chamber, even though it can increase lizard’s surface activity and exposure to predation. Implication The reversing behaviour from outside the artificial burrow increases exposure to potential predators, and our observations suggest that a re-design of artificial burrows to incorporate internal space for turning around may improve their effectiveness in conservation management interventions.

Chemical cues and group association preferences in a subsocial cockroach, Panesthia australis

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zacariah D. Billingham ◽  
David G. Chapple ◽  
Paul Sunnucks ◽  
Bob B. M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Restricted Gene Flow ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Wood Boring

An ability to recognise and discriminate between group and non-group members is essential for most group-living species. Several different sensory modalities may be utilised for social recognition, the most notable of which is olfaction. Among insects, members of the order Blattodea (cockroaches, termites) exhibit a diverse range of social systems and provide an excellent model for examining the role of chemical communication in group discrimination. We experimentally tested the importance of chemical cues in the association preferences of the subsocial Australian wood-boring cockroach, Panesthia australis. Using a series of dichotomous choice trials, we found that individuals preferred conspecific odour cues over those of an unscented peatmoss control. We then gave cockroaches a choice between the odour cues of cockroaches from different logs, and found that they did not exhibit a preference for the cues of individuals from their own log versus those from different logs within the same locality. However, cockroaches exhibited a strong preference for cues taken from individuals from a geographically distant population. Our findings suggest that P. australis engages in group discrimination, and that patterns of association may reflect an underlying preference for unfamiliar and/or genetically dissimilar individuals in a species encumbered by restricted gene flow.

scholarly journals Z4-11Al mediates olfactory attraction and courtship in Drosophila melanogaster

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Borrero-Echeverry ◽  
Marit Solum ◽  
Federica Trona ◽  
Erika A. Wallin ◽  
Marie Bengtsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Active Components ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Upwind Flight ◽  
Female Pheromone

Specific mate communication and recognition underlies reproduction and hence speciation. Mate communication evolves during adaptation to ecological niches and makes use of social signals and habitat cues. Our study provides new insights in Drosophila melanogaster premating olfactory communication, showing that female pheromone Z4-11Al and male pheromone cVA interact with food odour in a sex-specific manner. Furthermore, Z4-11Al, which mediates upwind flight attraction in both sexes, also elicits courtship in experienced males. Twin variants of the olfactory receptor Or69a are co-expressed in the same olfactory sensory neurons, and feed into the same glomerulus in the antennal lobe. Female pheromone Z4-11Al is perceived via Or69aB, while the food odorant (R)-linalool is a main ligand for the other variant, Or69aA. That Z4-11Al mediates courtship in experienced males, not (R)-linalool, is probably due to courtship learning. Behavioural discrimination is reflected by calcium imaging of the antennal lobe, showing distinct glomerular activation patterns by these two compounds. Male sex pheromone cVA is known to affect male and female courtship at close range, but does not elicit upwind flight attraction as a single compound, in to contrast to Z4-11Al. A blend of cVA and the food odour vinegar attracted females, while a blend of female pheromone Z4-11Al and vinegar attracted males instead. Sex-specific upwind flight attraction to blends of food volatiles and male and female pheromone, respectively, adds a new element to Drosophila olfactory premating communication and is an unambiguous paradigm for identifying the behaviourally active components, towards a more complete concept of food-pheromone odour objects.

scholarly journals Taxonomic revision of the threatened African genus Pseudohydrosme Engl. (Araceae), with P. ebo, a new, Critically Endangered species from Ebo, Cameroon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Cheek ◽  
Barthelemy Tchiengue ◽  
Xander van der Burgt
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Taxonomic Revision ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Critically Endangered Species ◽  
The Usa ◽  
African Genus

ABSTRACTThis is the first revision in nearly 130 years of the African genus Pseudohydrosme, formerly considered endemic to Gabon. Sister to Anchomanes, Pseudohydrosme is distinct from Anchomanes because of its 2–3-locular ovary (not unilocular), peduncle concealed by cataphylls at anthesis and far shorter than the spathe (not exposed, far exceeding the spathe), stipitate fruits and viviparous (vegetatively apomictic) roots (not sessile, roots non-viviparous). Three species, one new to science, are recognised, in two sections. Although doubt has previously been cast on the value of recognising Pseudohydrosme buettneri, of Gabon, it is here accepted and maintained as a distinct species in the monotypic section, Zyganthera. However, it is considered to be probably globally extinct. Pseudohydrosme gabunensis, type species of the genus, also Gabonese, is maintained in Sect. Pseudohydrosme together with Pseudohydrosme ebo sp.nov. of the Ebo Forest, Littoral, Cameroon, the first addition to the genus since the nineteenth century, and which extends the range of the genus 450 km north from Gabon, into the Cross-Sanaga biogeographic area. The discovery of Pseudohydrosme ebo resulted from a series of surveys for conservation management in Cameroon, and triggered this paper. All three species of Pseudohydrosme are morphologically characterised, their habitat and biogeography discussed, and their extinction risks are respectively assessed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), Endangered and Critically Endangered using the IUCN standard. Clearance of forest habitat for logging, followed by agriculture or urbanisation are major threats. One of the species may occur in a formally protected areas and is also cultivated widely but infrequently in Europe and the USA for its spectacular inflorescences.

scholarly journals The Use of Genomics in Conservation Management of the Endangered Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons)

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rascha J. M. Nuijten ◽  
Mirte Bosse ◽  
Richard P. M. A. Crooijmans ◽  
Ole Madsen ◽  
Willem Schaftenaar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Threatened And Endangered Species ◽  
Captive Populations ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Recent Developments

The list of threatened and endangered species is growing rapidly, due to various anthropogenic causes. Many endangered species are present in captivity and actively managed in breeding programs in which often little is known about the founder individuals. Recent developments in genetic research techniques have made it possible to sequence and study whole genomes. In this study we used the critically endangered Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons) as a case study to test the use of genomic information as a tool in conservation management. Two captive populations ofS. cebifronsexist, which originated from two different Philippine islands. We found some evidence for a recent split between the two island populations; however all individuals that were sequenced show a similar demographic history. Evidence for both past and recent inbreeding indicated that the founders were at least to some extent related. Together with this, the low level of nucleotide diversity compared to otherSusspecies potentially poses a threat to the viability of the captive populations. In conclusion, genomic techniques answered some important questions about this critically endangered mammal and can be a valuable toolset to inform future conservation management in other species as well.

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