Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.

<h4>Background</h4>Group dynamics of gregarious ungulates in the grasslands of the African savanna have been well studied, but the trade-offs that affect grouping of these ungulates in woodland habitats or dense vegetation are less well understood. We examined the landscape-level distrib...

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Autores principales:	Maria Thaker, Abi T Vanak, Cailey R Owen, Monika B Ogden, Rob Slotow
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/0f6f4d5a8106477caf0f09816419665a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0f6f4d5a8106477caf0f09816419665a2021-11-18T06:35:01ZGroup dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0012758https://doaj.org/article/0f6f4d5a8106477caf0f09816419665a2010-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20862216/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Group dynamics of gregarious ungulates in the grasslands of the African savanna have been well studied, but the trade-offs that affect grouping of these ungulates in woodland habitats or dense vegetation are less well understood. We examined the landscape-level distribution of groups of blue wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, and Burchell's zebra, Equus burchelli, in a predominantly woodland area (Karongwe Game Reserve, South Africa; KGR) to test the hypothesis that group dynamics are a function of minimizing predation risk from their primary predator, lion, Panthera leo.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using generalized linear models, we examined the relative importance of habitat type (differing in vegetation density), probability of encountering lion (based on utilization distribution of all individual lions in the reserve), and season in predicting group size and composition. We found that only in open scrub habitat, group size for both ungulate species increased with the probability of encountering lion. Group composition differed between the two species and was driven by habitat selection as well as predation risk. For both species, composition of groups was, however, dominated by males in open scrub habitats, irrespective of the probability of encountering lion.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Distribution patterns of wildebeest and zebra groups at the landscape level directly support the theoretical and empirical evidence from a range of taxa predicting that grouping is favored in open habitats and when predation risk is high. Group composition reflected species-specific social, physiological and foraging constraints, as well as the importance of predation risk. Avoidance of high resource open scrub habitat by females can lead to loss of foraging opportunities, which can be particularly costly in areas such as KGR, where this resource is limited. Thus, landscape-level grouping dynamics are species specific and particular to the composition of the group, arising from a tradeoff between maximizing resource selection and minimizing predation risk.Maria ThakerAbi T VanakCailey R OwenMonika B OgdenRob SlotowPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 5, Iss 9 (2010)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Maria Thaker Abi T Vanak Cailey R Owen Monika B Ogden Rob Slotow Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
description	<h4>Background</h4>Group dynamics of gregarious ungulates in the grasslands of the African savanna have been well studied, but the trade-offs that affect grouping of these ungulates in woodland habitats or dense vegetation are less well understood. We examined the landscape-level distribution of groups of blue wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, and Burchell's zebra, Equus burchelli, in a predominantly woodland area (Karongwe Game Reserve, South Africa; KGR) to test the hypothesis that group dynamics are a function of minimizing predation risk from their primary predator, lion, Panthera leo.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using generalized linear models, we examined the relative importance of habitat type (differing in vegetation density), probability of encountering lion (based on utilization distribution of all individual lions in the reserve), and season in predicting group size and composition. We found that only in open scrub habitat, group size for both ungulate species increased with the probability of encountering lion. Group composition differed between the two species and was driven by habitat selection as well as predation risk. For both species, composition of groups was, however, dominated by males in open scrub habitats, irrespective of the probability of encountering lion.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Distribution patterns of wildebeest and zebra groups at the landscape level directly support the theoretical and empirical evidence from a range of taxa predicting that grouping is favored in open habitats and when predation risk is high. Group composition reflected species-specific social, physiological and foraging constraints, as well as the importance of predation risk. Avoidance of high resource open scrub habitat by females can lead to loss of foraging opportunities, which can be particularly costly in areas such as KGR, where this resource is limited. Thus, landscape-level grouping dynamics are species specific and particular to the composition of the group, arising from a tradeoff between maximizing resource selection and minimizing predation risk.
format	article
author	Maria Thaker Abi T Vanak Cailey R Owen Monika B Ogden Rob Slotow
author_facet	Maria Thaker Abi T Vanak Cailey R Owen Monika B Ogden Rob Slotow
author_sort	Maria Thaker
title	Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
title_short	Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
title_full	Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
title_fullStr	Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
title_full_unstemmed	Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
title_sort	group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2010
url	https://doaj.org/article/0f6f4d5a8106477caf0f09816419665a
work_keys_str_mv	AT mariathaker groupdynamicsofzebraandwildebeestinawoodlandsavannaeffectsofpredationriskandhabitatdensity AT abitvanak groupdynamicsofzebraandwildebeestinawoodlandsavannaeffectsofpredationriskandhabitatdensity AT caileyrowen groupdynamicsofzebraandwildebeestinawoodlandsavannaeffectsofpredationriskandhabitatdensity AT monikabogden groupdynamicsofzebraandwildebeestinawoodlandsavannaeffectsofpredationriskandhabitatdensity AT robslotow groupdynamicsofzebraandwildebeestinawoodlandsavannaeffectsofpredationriskandhabitatdensity
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Group dynamics of zebra and wildebeest in a woodland savanna: effects of predation risk and habitat density.

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