Response of Madagascar's Endemic Carnivores To

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Response of Madagascar's Endemic Carnivores To RESPONSE OF MADAGASCAR’S ENDEMIC CARNIVORES TO FRAGMENTATION, HUNTING, AND EXOTIC CARNIVORES ACROSS THE MASOSALA-MAKIRA LANDSCAPE. Zachary J. Farris Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Fish & Wildlife Sarah M. Karpanty, Co-Chair Marcella J. Kelly, Co-Chair Dean F. Stauffer Steig E. Johnson November 24, 2014 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: behavior, bushmeat, camera trap, community ecology, co-occurrence, demographics, lemur biology, occupancy, poaching, temporal activity Copyright © 2014 Zach J. Farris RESPONSE OF MADAGASCAR’S ENDEMIC CARNIVORES TO FRAGMENTATION, HUNTING, AND EXOTIC CARNIVORES ACROSS THE MASOSALA-MAKIRA LANDSCAPE. Zach J. Farris ABSTRACT The carnivores of Madagascar are likely the least studied of the world’s carnivores, thus little is known about threats to their persistence. I provide the first long-term assessment of Madagascar’s rainforest carnivore community, including: 1) how multiple forms of habitat degradation (i.e., fragmentation, exotic carnivores, human encroachment, and hunting) affect native and exotic carnivore occupancy; 2) how native and exotic carnivore temporal activity overlap and how body size and niche explain these patterns; 3) how native and exotic carnivores spatially co-occur across the landscape and which variables explain these relationships; and 4) how native and exotic carnivores and humans co-occur with lemurs across Madagascar’s largest protected landscape: the Masoala-Makira landscape. From 2008 to 2013 I photographically sampled carnivores and conducted line- transect surveys of lemurs at seven study sites with varying degrees of degradation and human encroachment, including repeat surveys of two sites. As degradation increased, exotic carnivores showed increases in activity and occupancy while endemic carnivore, small mammal, and lemur occupancy and/or activity decreased. Wild/feral cats (Felis sp.) and dogs (Canis familiaris) had higher occupancy (0.37 ± SE 0.08 and 0.61 ± SE 0.07, respectively) than half of the endemic carnivore species across the landscape. Additionally, exotic carnivores had both direct and indirect negative effects on native carnivore occupancy. For example, spotted fanaloka (Fossa fossana) occupancy (0.70 ± SE 0.07) was negatively impacted by both wild/feral cat (beta = -2.65) and Indian civets (beta = -1.20). My results revealed intense pressure from hunting (ex. n = 31 fosa Cryptoprocta ferox consumed per year from 2005-2011 across four villages), including evidence that hunters target intact forest where native carnivore and lemur occupancy and/or activity are highest. I found evidence of high temporal overlap between native and exotic carnivores (ex. temporal overlap between brown-tail vontsira Salanoia concolor and dogs is 0.88), including fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) avoiding dogs and humans across all seasons. However, I found no evidence of body size or correlates of ecological niche explaining temporal overlap among carnivores. Estimates of spatial co-occurrence among native and exotic carnivores in rainforest habitat revealed strong evidence that native and exotic carnivores occur together less often than expected and that exotic carnivores may be replacing native carnivores in forests close to human settlements. For example, falanouc show a strong increase in occupancy when dogs are absent (0.69 ± SE 0.11) compared to when they are present (0.23 ± SE 0.05). Finally, the two-species interaction occupancy models for carnivores and lemurs, revealed a higher number of interactions among species across contiguous forest where carnivore and lemur occupancy were highest. These various anthropogenic pressures and their effects on carnivore and lemur populations, particularly increases in exotic carnivores and hunting, have wide-ranging, global implications and demand effective management plans to target the influx of exotic carnivores and unsustainable hunting affecting carnivore and primate populations across Madagascar and worldwide. iii Dedicated to Alisha, aka “Skinny love” Oliver, “Tiny prancer” & & Fletcher “Stinky Pete” Nothing will ever compare to the great joy of being a part of your lives. Your humor, excitement, and outright craziness made this experience a blast! Thanks for being part of this crazy ride. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am truly grateful to my wife Alisha and two boys, Oliver and Fletcher. Your amazing support and ridiculous humor helped me stay sane. I would follow you three anywhere! I am thankful to my advisers Sarah Karpanty and Marcella Kelly for this amazing opportunity. From your last minute edits, to your miraculous and mysterious sources of funding, to your encouraging and kind emails after a tough day, you both went above and beyond your role as an adviser. I consider you both as great mentors, colleagues, and friends. I am thankful to my additional committee members, Dean Stauffer and Steig Johnson. Dean, you indeed live by the motto that has accompanied your emails all these years, “Integrity is when what you think, say, and do are all in alignment.” Steig, you played a big role in shaping my career early on as a researcher in Madagascar. I am grateful that you were able to serve as one of my committee members. I am thankful to all the members of the Whapa lab (L. Rich, A. Hillborne, M. Kane. K. Thapa, D. Montague, D. Morin, E. Poor, C. Wultsch, C. Tredick, M. St. Germain, Sunarto, C. Rowe, C. Satter, B. Augustine, B. Mesa, and C. Proctor), the Karpanty lab (K. Davis, T. and K. Geider, A. Murphy, M. Wura, B. Gerber, M. Kotschwar, K. Ray, and M. Hillman), and Fraser lab (S. Ritter, A. DeRose-Wilson, D. Catlin, J. Cohen, J. Felio, D. Fraser, K. Hunt, M. Friedrich, and J. Fraser) for their friendship, v encouragement, humor, and support these many years. I am also thankful to all the remaining staff, faculty, and students of Virginia Tech FiW for their role they have played over the last five years to help me get to this point. I am grateful to Tom (“Tboy”) who played a massive role in making this experience really enjoyable for me and my family (not so much my kids though as you have scarred them for life). The truly immense data set collected from 2008 to 2013 in Madagascar would not have been possible without the assistance of countless organizations and their supporting staff. I am indebted to Chris Holmes and his family for providing this opportunity, for offering his unending support, and for looking out for my family while in Madagascar. The numerous researchers and staff of the Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar Program are the reason all these data and subsequent results are coming to light. Felix Ratelolahy is a fearless researcher and true friend. Vonjy Andrianjakarivelo, I am thankful for your extensive insight and impressive knowledge of the Masoala-Makira landscape and its diverse wildlife. To the remaining staff and researchers of WCS Madagascar your fingerprints are all over these vitally important results on the worlds least known and most threatened carnivores. Your tireless work to conserve Madagascar’s biodiversity is truly inspiring and does not go unnoticed. I am truly thankful to Donah, Marka’Helin, and Wilson for their amazing work ethic and their fabulous sense of humor all those days and nights as we trekked through impenetrable rainforest and suffered through some of the hardest conditions imaginable. I am also thankful to the numerous Malagasy assistants that played a significant role in this vi project (C.B. Beandraina, B.A. Salofo, R.C. Christian, Didice, B. Papin, Rabeson, Tobey, Cressent, J. Fernando, and Sassid). I am grateful to each student who sacrificed their lives, their budgets, and their sanity to travel to Madagascar to assist on this project (Andi Evans, Toby Nowlan, Kat Miles, Hunter Doughty, Kate Galbreath, Chelsea Miller, Joe Larson, and Hanna Davis) Further, without the countless Virginia Tech undergraduate volunteers who helped enter the plethora of photos and ID carnivores I would have been here another 10 years. I am thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with Chris Golden and his well-qualified team, as well as with Brian Gerber. I would like to acknowledge my numerous funders including: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, European Association for Zoos and Aquariums, Idea Wild, National Geographic Society- Waitts grant (#W96-10), Peoples Trust for Endangered Species, Virginia Tech Chapter of Sigma Xi, Virginia Tech McGinnis fellowship and Mosby fellowship, as well as logistical and financial support from the Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar Program. In addition, I acknowledge the funders would supported the bushmeat surveys by Chris Golden and his team, including: Margot Marsh Biodiversity Fund (grant #023815), Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (grant #1025935), National Geographic Society Conservation Trust (grant #C135-08), National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement grant (#1011714) and Coupled Human Natural Systems grant (NSF-GEO 1115057). I would not be where I am today without my family. Jeff, Josh, Jonathan, and Jonah, your continued friendship means the world to me. I could not envision a more ridiculous or vii rewarding way to be brought up. To my grandparents, you paved the way allowing me to have this opportunity. I am so happy to continue following in your footsteps. Becca and Judge, thank you both for your friendship and your valuable insight. Mom, thank you for your unwavering love and support. Your amazing sacrifices you have made and continue to make to ensure our family (and other random families in need) are taken care of will never be fully realized. Your faith continues to amaze me. Dad, I cannot thank you enough for the passion you gave me for the natural world. Clearly I would not be where I am without all your insane, backwoods family camping and floating trips. I have always loved and will continue to love all the time we have been able to share exploring and hiking together.
Recommended publications
  • Table 7: Species Changing IUCN Red List Status (2014-2015)
    IUCN Red List version 2015.4: Table 7 Last Updated: 19 November 2015 Table 7: Species changing IUCN Red List Status (2014-2015) Published listings of a species' status may change for a variety of reasons (genuine improvement or deterioration in status; new information being available that was not known at the time of the previous assessment; taxonomic changes; corrections to mistakes made in previous assessments, etc. To help Red List users interpret the changes between the Red List updates, a summary of species that have changed category between 2014 (IUCN Red List version 2014.3) and 2015 (IUCN Red List version 2015-4) and the reasons for these changes is provided in the table below. IUCN Red List Categories: EX - Extinct, EW - Extinct in the Wild, CR - Critically Endangered, EN - Endangered, VU - Vulnerable, LR/cd - Lower Risk/conservation dependent, NT - Near Threatened (includes LR/nt - Lower Risk/near threatened), DD - Data Deficient, LC - Least Concern (includes LR/lc - Lower Risk, least concern). Reasons for change: G - Genuine status change (genuine improvement or deterioration in the species' status); N - Non-genuine status change (i.e., status changes due to new information, improved knowledge of the criteria, incorrect data used previously, taxonomic revision, etc.); E - Previous listing was an Error. IUCN Red List IUCN Red Reason for Red List Scientific name Common name (2014) List (2015) change version Category Category MAMMALS Aonyx capensis African Clawless Otter LC NT N 2015-2 Ailurus fulgens Red Panda VU EN N 2015-4
    [Show full text]
  • Galidictis Grandidieri, Grandidier's Vontsira
    The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ ISSN 2307-8235 (online) IUCN 2008: T8834A45198057 Galidictis grandidieri, Grandidier’s Vontsira Assessment by: Hawkins, F. View on www.iucnredlist.org Citation: Hawkins, F. 2015. Galidictis grandidieri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T8834A45198057. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T8834A45198057.en Copyright: © 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale, reposting or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holder. For further details see Terms of Use. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London. If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown in this document, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided. THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™ Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Animalia Chordata Mammalia Carnivora Eupleridae Taxon Name: Galidictis grandidieri Wozencraft, 1986 Common Name(s): • English: Grandidier’s Vontsira, Giant-striped Mongoose, Grandidier's Mongoose Assessment Information Red List Category & Criteria: Endangered B1ab(i,ii,iii,v) ver 3.1 Year Published: 2015 Date Assessed: March 2, 2015 Justification: This species is listed as Endangered under B1ab(i,ii,iii,v).
    [Show full text]
  • The Disastrous Impacts of Trump's Border Wall on Wildlife
    a Wall in the Wild The Disastrous Impacts of Trump’s Border Wall on Wildlife Noah Greenwald, Brian Segee, Tierra Curry and Curt Bradley Center for Biological Diversity, May 2017 Saving Life on Earth Executive Summary rump’s border wall will be a deathblow to already endangered animals on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. This report examines the impacts of construction of that wall on threatened and endangered species along the entirety of the nearly 2,000 miles of the border between the United States and Mexico. TThe wall and concurrent border-enforcement activities are a serious human-rights disaster, but the wall will also have severe impacts on wildlife and the environment, leading to direct and indirect habitat destruction. A wall will block movement of many wildlife species, precluding genetic exchange, population rescue and movement of species in response to climate change. This may very well lead to the extinction of the jaguar, ocelot, cactus ferruginous pygmy owl and other species in the United States. To assess the impacts of the wall on imperiled species, we identified all species protected as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, or under consideration for such protection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“candidates”), that have ranges near or crossing the border. We also determined whether any of these species have designated “critical habitat” on the border in the United States. Finally, we reviewed available literature on the impacts of the existing border wall. We found that the border wall will have disastrous impacts on our most vulnerable wildlife, including: 93 threatened, endangered and candidate species would potentially be affected by construction of a wall and related infrastructure spanning the entirety of the border, including jaguars, Mexican gray wolves and Quino checkerspot butterflies.
    [Show full text]
  • OCELOT CLUB Volume 18, Number 1454 Fleetwood Drive East January - February 1974 Mobile, Alabama 36605 OCELOT CLUB
    Contents: Yukon Lynx Man ....................... Page 3 Pacific Northwest Report. ............ Page 4 Bengals, Bottles & Bleed II...... ....Page 5 Endangered Species Act. .............. Page 7 Readers Write. .......................Page 9 Greater New York Report.. ............Page 10 President's Statement. ............... Page 11 "El Tigre ............................. Page 12 Cougar Country ....................... Page 13 Florida Report ....................... Page 15 I- I LONG ISLAND OCELOT CLUB volume 18, Number 1454 Fleetwood Drive East January - February 1974 Mobile, Alabama 36605 OCELOT CLUB SULTAN, with Dave Salisbury of Cocoa, Florida. Our main interest was to see if it was possible to take a big cat, raise it as a loving pet and train it to perform. We've spent 14 months training Sultan to perform in our own act. Sultan is now four years old and weighs 143 pounds. Dave uses only the reward system to train Sultan and says that with Sultan's love of beef you need only to convey to him what has to be done in order to obtain the reward. Sultan has appeared in Life Magazine and on What's My Line? television show. Look for Sultan in the June or July issue of Playboy where he appears attired in hi-s sleek black coat. His co-star Miss Helen Rooney appears in a necklace. Dave is past President of the Florida Chapter and received a Lotty in 1969 for his work in LIOC. Branch Representatives: A. C. E. C. - Mrs. Ginny Story, 2475 Las Palomas, La Habra Heights, California 90631 CANADA - Mrs. Janet Thomas R.R.1, Box 602, Manotick, Ontario, (613j 692-4095 692-3728 CANADA - WEST- Doug Fletcher, 11431 73rd Ave., Delta, B.C., Canada Coordinator - Evelyn Dyck, 4911 Union St., North Burnaby, B.C.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Forest Logging and Fragmentation on Carnivore Species Composition, Density and Occupancy in Madagascar’S Rainforests
    The impact of forest logging and fragmentation on carnivore species composition, density and occupancy in Madagascar’s rainforests B RIAN D. GERBER,SARAH M. KARPANTY and J OHNY R ANDRIANANTENAINA Abstract Forest carnivores are threatened globally by Introduction logging and forest fragmentation yet we know relatively little about how such change affects predator populations. arnivores are one of the most threatened groups of 2009 This is especially true in Madagascar, where carnivores Cterrestrial mammals (Karanth & Chellam, ). have not been extensively studied. To understand better the Declines of predators are often attributed to habitat loss effects of logging and fragmentation on Malagasy carnivores and fragmentation but few quantitative studies have we evaluated species composition, density of fossa examined how carnivore populations and communities 2002 Cryptoprocta ferox and Malagasy civet Fossa fossana, and change with habitat loss or fragmentation (Crooks, ; 2005 carnivore occupancy in central-eastern Madagascar. We Michalski & Peres, ). This is particularly true for ’ photographically-sampled carnivores in two contiguous Madagascar s carnivores, with knowledge lacking about ff (primary and selectively-logged) and two fragmented rain- their ecology and the e ects of anthropogenic disturbances 2010 forests (fragments , 2.5 and . 15 km from intact forest). (Irwin et al., ), especially in the eastern rainforest where Species composition varied, with more native carnivores in only short-term studies have been conducted (Gerber et al., 2010 16 the contiguous than fragmented rainforests. F. fossana was ). With only % of the original primary forests extant absent from fragmented rainforests and at a lower density in Madagascar and those remaining becoming smaller and 2007 in selectively-logged than in primary rainforest (mean more isolated over time (Harper et al., ), habitat loss −2 1.38 ± SE 0.22 and 3.19 ± SE 0.55 individuals km , respect- and fragmentation are serious threats to many endemic 2010 ively).
    [Show full text]
  • Controlled Animals
    Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Fish and Wildlife Policy Division Controlled Animals Wildlife Regulation, Schedule 5, Part 1-4: Controlled Animals Subject to the Wildlife Act, a person must not be in possession of a wildlife or controlled animal unless authorized by a permit to do so, the animal was lawfully acquired, was lawfully exported from a jurisdiction outside of Alberta and was lawfully imported into Alberta. NOTES: 1 Animals listed in this Schedule, as a general rule, are described in the left hand column by reference to common or descriptive names and in the right hand column by reference to scientific names. But, in the event of any conflict as to the kind of animals that are listed, a scientific name in the right hand column prevails over the corresponding common or descriptive name in the left hand column. 2 Also included in this Schedule is any animal that is the hybrid offspring resulting from the crossing, whether before or after the commencement of this Schedule, of 2 animals at least one of which is or was an animal of a kind that is a controlled animal by virtue of this Schedule. 3 This Schedule excludes all wildlife animals, and therefore if a wildlife animal would, but for this Note, be included in this Schedule, it is hereby excluded from being a controlled animal. Part 1 Mammals (Class Mammalia) 1. AMERICAN OPOSSUMS (Family Didelphidae) Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana 2. SHREWS (Family Soricidae) Long-tailed Shrews Genus Sorex Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew Episoriculus macrurus North American Least Shrew Cryptotis parva Old World Water Shrews Genus Neomys Ussuri White-toothed Shrew Crocidura lasiura Greater White-toothed Shrew Crocidura russula Siberian Shrew Crocidura sibirica Piebald Shrew Diplomesodon pulchellum 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Photographic Evidence of a Jaguar (Panthera Onca) Killing an Ocelot (Leopardus Pardalis)
    Received: 12 May 2020 | Revised: 14 October 2020 | Accepted: 15 November 2020 DOI: 10.1111/btp.12916 NATURAL HISTORY FIELD NOTES When waterholes get busy, rare interactions thrive: Photographic evidence of a jaguar (Panthera onca) killing an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) Lucy Perera-Romero1 | Rony Garcia-Anleu2 | Roan Balas McNab2 | Daniel H. Thornton1 1School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA Abstract 2Wildlife Conservation Society – During a camera trap survey conducted in Guatemala in the 2019 dry season, we doc- Guatemala Program, Petén, Guatemala umented a jaguar killing an ocelot at a waterhole with high mammal activity. During Correspondence severe droughts, the probability of aggressive interactions between carnivores might Lucy Perera-Romero, School of the Environment, Washington State increase when fixed, valuable resources such as water cannot be easily partitioned. University, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA. Email: [email protected] KEYWORDS activity overlap, activity patterns, carnivores, interspecific killing, drought, climate change, Funding information Maya forest, Guatemala Coypu Foundation; Rufford Foundation Associate Editor: Eleanor Slade Handling Editor: Kim McConkey 1 | INTRODUCTION and Johnson 2009). Interspecific killing has been documented in many different pairs of carnivores and is more likely when the larger Interference competition is an important process working to shape species is 2–5.4 times the mass of the victim species, or when the mammalian carnivore communities (Palomares and Caro 1999; larger species is a hypercarnivore (Donadio and Buskirk 2006; de Donadio and Buskirk 2006). Dominance in these interactions is Oliveria and Pereira 2014). Carnivores may reduce the likelihood often asymmetric based on body size (Palomares and Caro 1999; de of these types of encounters through the partitioning of habitat or Oliviera and Pereira 2014), and the threat of intraguild strife from temporal activity.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Camera Trapping
    Choosing the right camera traps based on interests, goals, and species Marcella J. Kelly- Professor, Virginia Tech Dept of Fish and Wildlife Conservation WildLabs Community – Tech Tutors July 15, 2021 Remote-Camera Trapping Background Remote cameras/camera traps/game cameras Been around since the late 1890s. But using trip wires and track pads and gave single shots only. 1980s deer hunters => scout hunting grounds 1990s biologists expanded techniques using multiple shot film cameras - film 2000s (mid) brought affordable digital camera technology Remote Camera Applications - Today Scientific Studies Mammals – especially for monitoring of various forest carnivores (e.g. American marten, fisher, wolverine, lynxes, tigers, jaguars, etc.), but also for big game, and large-mammal movement across highways, prey studies, denning behavior (black bears); physical condition of animals (sun bears) Birds – count and monitor ground bird; avian nest predation Herps: e.g. monitoring of timber rattlesnakes. But few herp studies. Remote Wildlife Photography Recreational users (e.g. hunters etc.) Camera Types Cameras now use mostly passive (PIR) infrared sensors PIR –triggers by motion/heat differential when moving object differs in temperature from the environment and moves in front of the sensor Up and coming– remotely download to a base station or satellite uplink Things to consider Do you need protection from wildlife? White flash or infrared? Do you need to lock cameras due to theft? User-friendliness? Do you have a price range? Still photos or video? How long do you need them to last? Protection from the weather? One camera or two per station? How often can you checK them? Battery life Memory card size Kelly et al.
    [Show full text]
  • PICA Project Report (Action A2.2 & 2.3)
    PICA Project Report (Action A2.2 & 2.3) Investigation of Pallas’s cat activity patterns and temporal interactions with sympatric species Authors: Katarzyna Ruta, Gustaf Samelius, David Barclay, Emma Nygren PICA - “Conservation of the Pallas’s cat through capacity building, research, and global planning” 1. Introduction: 1.1 Activity patterns of wild felids: Activity patterns form a part of species’ adaptation to their environment (Beltran & Delibes, 1994) and are therefore a fundamental aspect of animal behaviour (Nielsen, 1983; Weller & Bennett, 2001). Felids are generally considered to be crepuscular and nocturnal in their activity (Kitchener, 1991), although they are well adapted to function in a wide range of light conditions (Sunquist & Sunquist, 2002). Numerous abiotic pressures and biotic interactions are known to shape the temporal behaviour of (cat-like) carnivores (Marinho et al., 2018), including changes in temperature (Beltran & Delibes, 1994; Podolski et al., 2013), light (Huck et al., 2017; Heurich et al., 2014) and season (Podolski et al., 2013; Manfredi et al., 2011), sex and reproductive status of the animal (Kolbe & Squires, 2007; Schmidt, 1999; Schmidt et al., 2009), predation risk (Caro, 2005; Farías et al., 2012) and human disturbance (Wolf & Ale, 2009; Ale & Brown, 2009). Owing to the dietary constraints of carnivores whose preys have their own well-defined circadian rhythms (Halle, 2000; Zielinski, 2000), the availability and vulnerability of prey is, however, considered as one of the main influences on predator temporal activity (Zielinski, 1988; Lodé, 1995). According to Optimal Foraging Theory, predators are expected to synchronize their daily activity with the activity of their most profitable prey, increasing the probability of encounters while reducing energy expenditure (MacArthur & Pianka, 1966; Monterroso et al., 2013; Emmons, 1987).
    [Show full text]
  • Asiatic Golden Cat in Thailand Population & Habitat Viability Assessment
    Asiatic Golden Cat in Thailand Population & Habitat Viability Assessment Chonburi, Thailand 5 - 7 September 2005 FINAL REPORT Photos courtesy of Ron Tilson, Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program (golden cat) and Kathy Traylor-Holzer, CBSG (habitat). A contribution of the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Traylor-Holzer, K., D. Reed, L. Tumbelaka, N. Andayani, C. Yeong, D. Ngoprasert, and P. Duengkae (eds.). 2005. Asiatic Golden Cat in Thailand Population and Habitat Viability Assessment: Final Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, MN. IUCN encourages meetings, workshops and other fora for the consideration and analysis of issues related to conservation, and believes that reports of these meetings are most useful when broadly disseminated. The opinions and views expressed by the authors may not necessarily reflect the formal policies of IUCN, its Commissions, its Secretariat or its members. The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. © Copyright CBSG 2005 Additional copies of Asiatic Golden Cat of Thailand Population and Habitat Viability Assessment can be ordered through the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, 12101 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, MN 55124, USA (www.cbsg.org). The CBSG Conservation Council These generous contributors make the work of CBSG possible Providers $50,000 and above Paignton Zoo Emporia Zoo Parco Natura Viva - Italy Laurie Bingaman Lackey Chicago Zoological Society Perth Zoo Lee Richardson Zoo -Chairman Sponsor Philadelphia Zoo Montgomery Zoo SeaWorld, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2008 IUCN Red Listings of the World's Small Carnivores
    The 2008 IUCN red listings of the world’s small carnivores Jan SCHIPPER¹*, Michael HOFFMANN¹, J. W. DUCKWORTH² and James CONROY³ Abstract The global conservation status of all the world’s mammals was assessed for the 2008 IUCN Red List. Of the 165 species of small carni- vores recognised during the process, two are Extinct (EX), one is Critically Endangered (CR), ten are Endangered (EN), 22 Vulnerable (VU), ten Near Threatened (NT), 15 Data Deficient (DD) and 105 Least Concern. Thus, 22% of the species for which a category was assigned other than DD were assessed as threatened (i.e. CR, EN or VU), as against 25% for mammals as a whole. Among otters, seven (58%) of the 12 species for which a category was assigned were identified as threatened. This reflects their attachment to rivers and other waterbodies, and heavy trade-driven hunting. The IUCN Red List species accounts are living documents to be updated annually, and further information to refine listings is welcome. Keywords: conservation status, Critically Endangered, Data Deficient, Endangered, Extinct, global threat listing, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable Introduction dae (skunks and stink-badgers; 12), Mustelidae (weasels, martens, otters, badgers and allies; 59), Nandiniidae (African Palm-civet The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the most authorita- Nandinia binotata; one), Prionodontidae ([Asian] linsangs; two), tive resource currently available on the conservation status of the Procyonidae (raccoons, coatis and allies; 14), and Viverridae (civ- world’s biodiversity. In recent years, the overall number of spe- ets, including oyans [= ‘African linsangs’]; 33). The data reported cies included on the IUCN Red List has grown rapidly, largely as on herein are freely and publicly available via the 2008 IUCN Red a result of ongoing global assessment initiatives that have helped List website (www.iucnredlist.org/mammals).
    [Show full text]
  • Fun Facts: • Ocelot Ankles Rotate to Climb Down Head First • Tail Is Half
    Fun Facts: • Ocelot ankles rotate to climb down head first • Tail is half the length of the body, which is very long! • They have two types of teeth: pointed teeth or biting and blade- like teeth for tearing food. They do not have molars like us to chew food so they have to swallow the chunks • They are cats, so they have a rough tongue. Theirs are a bit rougher than your average housecat though. This is so they can lick bones clean of all the meat • They use their sense of sight and hearing to capture prey as they operate at night time • They are on the smaller side in cat world – only about 2x the size of an average house cat (or the same size as my very very large housecat! Ha! - so larger cats like pumas will eat them along with anacondas and birds of prey like eagles) • So sleek and sneaky! Ocelots are awake at night, but primarily dusk and dawn and are very secretive. They can survive in a vast terrain, but need something with vegetation cover with lots of places to hide. • Able to catch prey in trees and on the ground • Ocelots prey mainly on small rodents, but are also known to eat birds, snakes, iguanas and other lizards, baby peccaries, young deer, rabbits, and even fish and crabs • If they have a pet cat, that would be a good thing to compare to the Ocelot. What is the same? / What is different? Do they notice the whiskers, paws, or the way the cat moves as similarities? • Ocelots have similar body language as housecats.
    [Show full text]