Animal Behaviour in Conservation

Question 1

why is behaviour important for conservation?

Answer 1

• behaviour mediates between organism + environment
• provides flexibility to the environment
• limits - can’t always adapt to extreme changes

Question 2

How do traits evolve through natural selection?

Answer 2

1. variation in traits
2. differential reproduction
3. heredity
4. end results - if process continues all individuals in population will have the variation in traits

Question 3

do behaviours evolve?

Answer 3

yes

Question 4

what happens to animal populations when environment changes faster than animals can adapt?

Answer 4

decrease

Question 5

what is Lifetime Reproductive Success (LRS)?

Answer 5

number of an individual’s offspring surviving to maturation

Question 6

what traits increase LRS?

Answer 6

adaptations or adaptive traits

Question 7

what is the concern if LRS is declining under current conditions?

Answer 7

population is of conservation concern

Question 8

How to measure LRS?

Answer 8

• count all surviving offspring over lifespan
• copulation rate
• production of fertilised eggs/newborns
• independent offspring
• RS over one breeding season
• change of survival
• access to food

Question 9

What are most behaviours related to?

Answer 9

• reproduction
• surviving
• foraging
• movement and space use

Question 10

Reproduction

Answer 10

attracting a male, courtship, mating, parental care etc. Includes mating system and social organisation

Question 11

Surviving

Answer 11

avoiding being eaten (vigilance, hiding, ‘flight’, defence etc)

Question 12

Foraging

Answer 12

finding food (where to eat, how long to forage for, what prey to attack etc)

Question 13

movement and space

Answer 13

migration, homing and navigation, communication (maintaining group cohesion)

Question 14

what do behaviours change with?

Answer 14

physical / social environment
- e.g. pup care in banded mongooses

Question 15

Example of individual consistency in many behaviour

Answer 15

e.g. some banded mongooses have ‘helpful’ personalities

Question 16

what setting is personality important in?

Answer 16

conservation settings
e.g. boldness and habituation in captive breeding and human wildlife conflict

Question 17

How does training occurr?

Answer 17

takes advantage of natural learning process:
- stimulus -> response
can be used to mitigate human-wildlife conflict

Question 18

when can training be used?

Answer 18

1. protect crops + farmed animals from wild animals - e.g. livestock guardian dogs
2. locate animals of conservation concern - e.g. dogs and African pouched rats can be trained to detect faeces from specific animals, or the animals themselves

can be used for in-situ conservation in the field, and to detect illegal wildlife trafficking

Question 19

What are anthropogenic impacts on behaviour caused by?

Answer 19

• direct human disturbances (e.g. overharvesting, nuisance disturbance, habitat fragmentation)
• indirect disturbances (e.g. changes in community structure, invasive species)

Question 20

what is the effect of human-altered environments?

Answer 20

fitness values of existing behaviours change
can be major problem if behaviours are inflexible
e.g. nocturnal navigation using light (moon stars) is now hampered by modern lighting

Question 21

what is the effect of changing behaviours?

Answer 21

consequences for individual, species or ecological community
e.g. timing of reproduction in caterpillars - responded to climate change, but same trait in great tits has not changes
probably different mechanistic triggers of reproduction
led to mis-timing of reproduction

Question 22

What is behavioural-sensitive management?

Answer 22

incorporate behaviour into conservation decision-making protocols and management plans
e.g. reserve design, corridor planning, wildlife epidemiology, reintroductions, translocations, population management, control of invasive species

Question 23

What is behavioural modifications?

Answer 23

change the behaviour of a target population
applied where behaviour itself is of conservation concern
e.g. training captive bred individuals pre-release, teaching wild animals to use overpasses

Question 24

What are the two main functions of behavioural indicators?

Answer 24

1. detecting anthropogenic threats - e.g. monitoring elephant behaviour in response to tourist numbers
2. Monitoring conservation intervention success - e.g. monitoring the response of reintroduced wild ass to artificial water sources