秦岭羚牛中独栖现象的初步观察

在群栖的秦岭羚牛种群中,存在着少数单独活动的羚牛,称为独牛。野外见到独牛５０只次,占见到羚牛总数的４５９％。独牛中有老年雄性个体、青壮年雄性个体、雌性个体、亚成体和幼仔。在繁殖季节独牛出现的次数最多,其中大部分是雄性个体,也有雌性个体。与羚牛的四川亚种不同,在秦岭亚种中很少见到公牛集群的现象。羚牛种群中独牛的形成主要与繁殖有关,同时还与疾病及防御迁移有关。独牛在不同季节、不同生境内均可见到,绝大多数老年独牛活动区域的海拔高度低于集群的羚牛活动的高度。老年独牛在离群活动后,其活动节律与群体中的雄牛有一定的差异,这种差异在夜间的活动时间和活动率方面表现得更加明显。     

四川羚牛繁殖期集群类型及海拔分布

为了探究繁殖期四川羚牛Budorcas taxicolor tibetana的集群特征,于2012年7月在四川唐家河国家级自然保护区开展了羚牛集群类型与海拔分布的研究。在唐家河的8条监测样线(总长度约68.2 km)上记录到39群469头次,其中完整辨别群结构的有36群448头次。群体可定义为独牛、家群、混合群、社群和公牛群,研究期间大部分集群(83.33%)的个体数≤20。除独牛和公牛群外,群体平均大小为(14.70±2.63)头,各类型集群大小差异显著(F2,27=8.463,P=0.001)。独牛、家群、混合群和社群的记录海拔之间存在显著的差异(F3,31=11.8488,P<0.001),除公牛群外羚牛集群的平均海拔为(2015.37±89.74)m。羚牛集群记录的海拔与集群大小之间存在显著的线性相关(y=29.76x+1465,R2=0.802,P<0.001)。研究认为,繁殖期集群类型的变化与繁殖活动密切相关,聚集群和独牛是繁殖期雄性成体不同繁殖策略的体现。     

秦岭羚牛的集群类型

１９９５年７～１１月,１９９６年３～８月在陕西佛坪国家级自然保护区用野外直接观察和无线电跟踪器追踪的方法,对秦岭羚牛（Ｂｕｄｏｒｃａｓｔａｘｉｃｏｌｏｒｂｅｄｆｏｒｄｉ）的集群类型进行了观察。工作期间共记录到羚牛１４６群次,按群体大小和结构可将羚牛群分为家群、混合群、社群、聚集群和独牛５种类型。在野外记录到的家群共３２群次,混合群１５次,社群４７次,聚集群２次,独牛５０次。家群的成员是具有亲缘关系的个体,在羚牛各类型的集群中占据核心的地位,是构成其它类型的羚牛群的基本单位。混合群的成员或是以家群为核心混杂以多只亚成体组成、或全部由亚成体和性成熟不久的年轻成体组成,是介于家群和社群之间的一种集群方式;其形成与羚牛幼仔在成长过程中社会习性的形成和完善有关。社群是由多个家群构成的相对比较稳定的一种群体,在各季节中出现的比例均很稳定,是羚牛群栖的主要形式。聚集群仅见于夏季,是临时聚集的一种不稳定的集群类型,其形成与采食和繁殖活动有关。独牛是羚牛集群的一种特殊形式,繁殖季节出现的频率高于非繁殖季节     

秦岭羚牛的繁殖生物学

通过观察并综合有关文献,介绍了秦岭羚牛的性成熟、发情、繁殖期,雄牛的繁殖行为、繁殖策略及雌牛产仔等情况,为今后进一步研究秦岭羚牛的繁殖生物学及遗传生物学提供参考。     

羚牛防御行为的观察

１９９５年８月到１９９６年８月对陕西佛坪自然保护区境内的７２群次羚牛（独牛３１只次,羚牛群４１次）的防御行为进行了观察。羚牛的防御行为包括发现、警觉、示警、御敌４种方式。羚牛通过视觉、嗅觉和听觉发现异常情况,但其听觉更为敏锐。羚牛十分警觉,稍有异常就会进入警觉状态,警觉行为持续的时间为１８．２６±１８．０８ｓ。所有的羚牛个体均能通过声音和动作向同伴进行示警,但３龄以下的个体发出的示警行为往往不能得到重视。御敌行为包括聚集、威吓、护幼、攻击、逃跑。逃跑是羚牛躲避敌害的主要手段,在７２群次中逃跑的羚牛占９５．８％。羚牛逃跑时往往进行长距离的迁移并具有分群的现象,但仍会返回原地。群体的大小对羚牛的分群行为有影响,群体越大,分群逃跑的可能性也越大。羚牛具有明显的护幼行为,当群体中有幼仔时羚牛的攻击性增大。独牛攻击人的可能性要比群牛大。     

云南无量山印支灰叶猴社会结构初步研究

乌叶猴属物种主要以一雄多雌的小群活动,其群体大小一般不超过20只。泰国东北部的印支灰叶猴生活在一雄多雌或多雄多雌群的小群中,而云南无量山的印支灰叶猴却生活在多雄多雌的大群中,有些群大小超过100只,但是对无量山印支灰叶猴的社会结构缺乏研究。2012年9月至2015年7月,在云南无量山国家级自然保护区大寨子片区开展一群习惯化印支灰叶猴的社会结构研究。采用10 min间隔的焦点动物瞬时记录法,记录焦点成年雄性5 m范围内不同性别年龄个体的数量。观察期间共有594次准确识别焦点雄性5 m范围内其它个体年龄性别的有效数据(至少有1只其他个体)。其中,焦点雄性周围出现其它成年雄性的几率为44.2%,数量为(0.62±0.85)只;同时出现成年雄性和成年雌性的几率是32.5%。取食时焦点雄性周围出现其它雄性的比例(60.0%)和数量(平均0.93只)都大于休息和移动时,数量最多为5只成年雄性。结果表明该群灰叶猴的社会结构不是由多个OMU和AMU组成的重层社会,而是多雄多雌的社会结构。无量山印支灰叶猴群内成年雄性间相互容忍度较高,个体的空间分布在取食时尤其密集,说明无量山印支灰叶猴的食物丰富(至少在某些季节),这也部分解释了为什么无量山印支灰叶猴能够生活在大群中。本文为进一步研究亚洲疣猴社会结构的多样性和进化提供了重要的基础资料。     

繁殖盛期雄性普通东方小蛙的个体大小不影响交配成功率

通过比较抱对和非抱对普通东方小蛙(Crinia signifera) 的吻尾干骨长(体长) 和检测个体较大或状态较好的雄体是否为成功繁殖个体, 检测雌蛙体长与交配成功的雄蛙的体长和相对状态(体重/体长) 之间是否存在线形关系, 评估交配与个体大小之间的关系。在实验室内, 令未交配雌体选择随机选出的雄体, 观测雌体是否与最大的雄体交配; 将抱对的蛙暴露于其它雄蛙, 观测其它较大或较小的雄蛙是否取代已抱对的雄蛙。结果表明: 抱对雄蛙和雌蛙的个体大小无显著的关系, 成功交配的雄蛙并不比未交配的雄蛙大, 其它雄蛙不能取代已抱对的雄蛙。在这一C. signifera种群中, 繁殖盛期雄性个体的大小似乎不影响交配成功率, 在此期间即便存在配偶选择, 亦决定于与雄性个体大小无关的其它因素。在更长的繁殖期内, 雄性个体大小则与交配成功率有关, 这是该种的典型特征。     

秦岭羚牛群体分离与重组的变化

对 4只佩戴无线电颈圈的羚牛进行直接观察的结果表明 ,羚牛群体的结构和组成是经常发生变化的。在羚牛各集群类型中 ,家群的稳定性最高 ,社群次之 ,混合群较差。虽然家群具有较高的稳定性 ,但是除母牛及其幼仔外 ,家群的其它成员也经常变化 ,羚牛的亚成体也不是构成家群的稳定成员。繁殖是羚牛集群类型变化的主要原因之一。在繁殖期中健壮的成年雄性个体因寻找配偶离开原群 ,在各群间游荡 ,成为羚牛群中最不稳定的成员。亚成体在其母亲产下幼仔后可能会中断与母牛间的关系 ,进入混合群和社群。羚牛反捕食策略和护幼行为也会影响羚牛群的分群和重组     

河南陕西两地白冠长尾雉的集群行为

20 0 1年 4月至 2 0 0 3年 6月 ,在河南董寨国家级自然保护区和陕西佛坪县瓦寨子对白冠长尾雉 (Syr maticusreevesii)的集群行为进行了研究。对 17只遥测个体的跟踪结果和 32 8次集群活动的野外记录分析表明 ,白冠长尾雉雌雄两性的集群方式有极显著的差异 ( χ2 =18 177,df=3,P =0 0 0 0 )。雄鸟有很强的领域性 ,优势个体全年以单独活动或双雄共同活动的方式占据稳定的活动区 ,很少与其他雄性个体集群 ;雌鸟有很强的集群倾向 ,除繁殖季节因孵卵、育雏而离开群体单独活动外 ,通常以 4～ 6只的群体游荡于雄性个体的活动区之间 ,与该活动区的雄鸟形成不稳定的混合群 ,偶尔与其他群体形成暂时性的、更大的混合群。两性集群方式的差异可能与其各自经受的捕食压力和交配竞争强度 (雄 >雌 )差异有关     

黄鼬(Mustela sibirica)体型大小的性二型及地理变异

本文报道黄鼬体型大小的性二型及其与地理变异的关系。个体大小的性二型现象很可能与繁殖行为有关,许多在繁殖季节有争偶行为的一雄多雌兽类,雄性都有较大的个体。     

Male-female interactions of sika deer (cervus nippon) in nara park through allogrooming during breeding and rutting seasons

The frequency and pattern of interactions between males and females of sika deerCervus nippon were surveyed in 3 sites of Nara Park, central Japan, mainly via observation of allogrooming frequency and aggressive behavior throughout the breeding and rutting seasons. In the breeding season, the Daibutsuden group contained several adult males while Ukimido and Hakuba groups contained only a few. Most allogroomers were adult and subadult females. Females groomed the same sex more than the opposite sex at Daibutsuden, but at the other 2 sites, there was no such difference. In general, male-female interactions through allogrooming frequencies in the breeding season were not significantly fewer than intra-sex interactions. Males that attacked females tended to be groomed by females in the breeding season. In the rutting season, all adult males identified in the breeding season were absent at the usual observation sites, and newly arrived males showed defensive and/or mating behaviors. Females groomed adult males in the rutting season regardless of group status or display of sexual interactions. This suggests that male-female allogrooming in the breeding season does not relate to mating in the following rutting season, but may reduce tension in the group during the current breeding season.     

Behavioural and hormonal responses of male rhesus monkeys introduced to females in the breeding and non-breeding seasons.

Six adult male rhesus monkeys were introduced individually to an all-female group for 10 days during the mating season. The initial aggressive responses of the females were rapidly replaced by positive social behaviour, and each male achieved alpha status and had access to social and sexual partners. A repetition of this paradigm in the non-breeding season produced significantly more female aggression, and no male attained high rank or engaged in sexual or other social behaviour. Male testosterone levels rose following introduction to the females in both seasons, but were significantly higher during the breeding season. Hormonal levels following removal from the females suggest a complex interplay between social, sexual and seasonal variables and recent social experiences. The differences in female social behaviour with newly introduced males, as a function of season, suggest an explanation for the seasonal limitation of male troop transfers.     

Animal‐borne video systems provide insight into the reproductive behavior of the Asian black bear

Previous studies on the mating system of the Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) have been limited to observations of captive populations and estimations of multiple paternities. Hence, the mating system of wild bears remains poorly understood. Animal‐borne camera systems (i.e., cameras mounted on animals) provide novel tools to study the behavior of elusive animals. Here, we used an animal‐borne video system to record the activities of wild bears during the mating season. Video camera collars were attached to four adult Asian black bears (male “A” and “B,” and female “A” and “B”) captured in Tokyo, central Japan, in May and June 2018. The collars were retrieved in July 2018, after which the video data were downloaded and analyzed in terms of bear activity and mating behavior. All the bears were found to interact with other uniquely identifiable bears for some of the time (range 9–22 days) during the deployment period (range 36–45 days), and multiple mating in males was documented. Both males and females exhibited different behaviors on social days (i.e., days when the bear interacted with conspecifics) compared with solitary days (i.e., days with no observed interactions with conspecifics). Compared with solitary days, the bears spent a lower proportion of time on foraging activities and higher proportion of time on resting activities on social days. Our results suggest that Asian black bears have a polygamous mating system, as both sexes consort and potentially mate with multiple partners during a given mating season. Furthermore, bears appeared to reduce their foraging activities on social days and engaged more in social interactions.     

Gender effects on aggression, dominance rank, and affiliative behaviors in a flock of captive adult cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus)

Agonistic and affiliative behaviors and spatial positioning were studied in a small psittacine species, Nymphicus hollandicus. Subjects studied were flock-housed breeders including five hens and seven cocks. Fifteen-minute focal animal samples were collected for the entire flock in a randomly distributed order during mate selection and the onset of the breeding season. All agonistic behaviors were recorded, including the winner and loser of each interaction, along with allopreening and copulation behavior. Point samples were recorded every 60s to determine social spacing. Rates of aggression were significantly higher for male cockatiels than female cockatiels. Results based on dyadic agonistic interactions showed males to rank significantly higher in the social hierarchy than females. Associations within the flock were not random. Individual birds associated more with specific birds than would be predicted by chance. Analysis of spatial data revealed that there were both same-sex and opposite-sex preferred associations within the flock. Male cockatiels engaged in allopreening behavior with females significantly more than with other males. Observations of breeding and nesting behaviors revealed pairs, a triad, and extra-pair mating.     

Mating system and genetic variance in a polygynous mustelid, the European polecat.

The population genetic implications of mating system were investigated in European polecat Mustela putorius populations from western France, combining radiotracking survey and allozyme variation analysis. Mating period occurred from February to June and polecats showed a strategy of successive polygyny, a male consorting with 1.44 females during a brief period (2.9 days). Relatedness was largely sex biased, females (21%) being almost twice more related than males (13%) suggesting a natal philopatry. Nonetheless, breeding dispersal pattern appeared relatively complex. Males were the sex dispersing but the main strategy for male polecats consisted of short-term mating excursions in adjacent females ranges whereas long-distance dispersal only constituted an alternative breeding strategy. Despite their allozymic polymorphism level reaching 24% at p<0.05 for 38 scored loci, populations showed a high heterozygote deficiency as revealed by the F(IS) index averaging F(IS) = 0.383. Thus the mating system of such solitary mustelids may be poorly efficient to prevent inbreeding within populations.     

Effects of reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size on vigilance patterns in Przewalski's gazelle

Background

Quantifying vigilance and exploring the underlying mechanisms has been the subject of numerous studies. Less attention has focused on the complex interplay between contributing factors such as reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size. Reproductive status and social rank are of particular interest due to their association with mating behavior. Mating activities in rutting season may interfere with typical patterns of vigilance and possibly interact with social rank. In addition, balancing the tradeoff between vigilance and life maintenance may represent a challenge for gregarious ungulate species rutting under harsh winter conditions. We studied vigilance patterns in the endangered Przewalski''s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) during both the rutting and non-rutting seasons to examine these issues.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Field observations were carried out with focal sampling during rutting and non-rutting season in 2008–2009. Results indicated a complex interplay between reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size in determining vigilance in this species. Vigilance decreased with group size in female but not in male gazelles. Males scanned more frequently and thus spent more time vigilant than females. Compared to non-rutting season, gazelles increased time spent scanning at the expense of bedding in rutting season. During the rutting season, territorial males spent a large proportion of time on rutting activities and were less vigilant than non-territorial males. Although territorial males may share collective risk detection with harem females, we suggest that they are probably more vulnerable to predation because they seemed reluctant to leave rut stands under threats.

Conclusions/Significance

Vigilance behavior in Przewalski''s gazelle was significantly affected by reproductive status, social rank, sex, group size and their complex interactions. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying vigilance patterns and the tradeoff between vigilance and other crucial activities.     

Social cues and hormone levels in male Octodon degus (Rodentia): a field test of the Challenge Hypothesis

Social interactions are important factors determining and regulating individual behaviors. Testosterone has been related to agonistic interactions, while glucocorticoids have been related to social stress, especially during interactions of dominance. We compared testosterone and cortisol concentrations in male degus (Octodon degus, Rodentia) under laboratory conditions without male social interactions, with data from wild males in nature. Under natural conditions, males should present higher levels of testosterone during the breeding season due to social interactions (Challenge Hypothesis). Alternatively, intense social instability could act as a stressing environment, raising glucocorticoids, which inhibit testosterone concentrations. Our results show a significant increase in agonistic interactions between males during the breeding season, and disappearance of non-agonistic male interactions during this period. Hormone levels in breeding season show nonsignificant differences between laboratory groups, but testosterone concentrations in field males were significantly higher than in laboratory males. Testosterone levels were similar among pre-breeding and breeding periods, but in field animals the concentration was approximately 30% higher than in laboratory degus. In field animals, we found two different mating strategies: resident males, with territorial behavior, and transient males, displayed an opportunistic approach to females. Finally, cortisol presents a similar pattern in both laboratory and field animals; pre-breeding values of cortisol are higher than during the breeding season. This suggests that social interactions in O. degus activate a rise in testosterone, supporting the Challenge Hypothesis, and could be considered as partial support of the Social Stress Hypothesis.     

Mate and territory availability affect breeding dispersal and divorce in a resident Southern House Wren Troglodytes aedon musculus population

Breeding dispersal is the movement of an individual between breeding attempts and is usually associated with the disruption of the social pair bond, although mates may disperse together as a social unit. In monogamous territorial species, the decision to disperse may be affected by individual attributes such as sex, age and condition of the disperser. However, environmental and social contexts may also play a crucial role in the decision to disperse. We analysed capture‐resighting data collected over 9 years to study breeding dispersal and divorce rates of a Southern House Wren Troglodytes aedon musculus population in South Temperate Argentina. Between‐season dispersal was more frequent than within‐season dispersal, with females dispersing more often than males, both between and within seasons. Both within‐season and between‐season breeding dispersal probability was affected by territory availability, but not by previous breeding success. When the adult sex ratio (ASR) was more skewed towards males, male between‐season dispersal was also affected by mating status, with widowed and single males dispersing more often than paired males. Within‐season divorce increased the reproductive success of females but not males, and was affected by the availability of social partners (with increasingly male‐skewed ASR). Our results suggest that territorial vacancies and mating opportunities affect dispersal and divorce rates in resident Southern House Wrens, highlighting the importance of social and environmental contexts for dispersal behaviour and the stability of social pair bonds.     

Causes of a male-biased operational sex ratio in the fiddler crab<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Uca crenulata</Emphasis>

This research investigates the causes of a male-biased operational sex ratio in a population of the California fiddler crab, Uca crenulata. Mensurative studies revealed there were almost twice as many adult males as females, mating occurred across half of the days within the breeding season, and females had much longer individual reproductive cycles than males. Therefore, many more males than females were available for mating on each breeding day. Perhaps as a consequence, males spent a large proportion of their time fighting with neighbors and rapidly waving their large claws when females passed by. Electronic Publication     

Differential grooming rate and tick load of territorial male and female impala, Aepyceros melampus

During the breeding season in Zimbabwe territorial male impalawere found to engage in much less self oral grooming and allogroomingthan females, presumably as a reflection of the need to remainvigilant in herding females and repulsing challenging bachelormales. Territorial males spent an average of 11 min engagedin all types of grooming during a 12-h day, compared with 40min grooming by females. Rutting activity and time spent scanningpeaked in May, while self oral grooming and feeding by territorialmales was lowest at this time. The decrement in grooming bymales (relative to females) represented half of all time devotedto rutting behaviors. Territorial males appeared to sacrificefeeding and grooming time in exchange for more time devotedto vigilant activities essential to mating success. In a comparableregion of Zimbabwe, territorial males were also found to harborabout six times as many adult ticks as the females on the sameterritories during the breeding season. Because grooming isunderstood to be effective in removing ticks, the higher tickload of territorial males was attributed to their reduced groomingbehavior. However, testosterone and adrenal cortical steroids,which are elevated in territorial male impala, are known todepress the immune system, and so may be important in controllingparasite infections. Sexually active males of many species aregenerally found to harbor more parasites than females. The differencein tick load between territorial male and female impala mayreflect both behavioral and hormonal parameters.