Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs
Most large carnivores feed on prey infrequently and may expend large amounts of energy to locate, capture and kill their prey. This makes them probabilistically vulnerable to fluctuating rates of energy acquisition over time, especially within the increasingly human-altered landscapes that dominate...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1465094/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846136401251270656 |
|---|---|
| author | James Redcliffe Scott Creel Scott Creel Ben Goodheart Ben Goodheart Johnathan Reyes de Merkle Johnathan Reyes de Merkle Stephani S. Matsushima Michelo Mungolo Ruth Kabwe Emmanuel Kaseketi Will Donald Adrian Kaluka Clive Chifunte Matthew S. Becker Matthew S. Becker Rory Wilson |
| author_facet | James Redcliffe Scott Creel Scott Creel Ben Goodheart Ben Goodheart Johnathan Reyes de Merkle Johnathan Reyes de Merkle Stephani S. Matsushima Michelo Mungolo Ruth Kabwe Emmanuel Kaseketi Will Donald Adrian Kaluka Clive Chifunte Matthew S. Becker Matthew S. Becker Rory Wilson |
| author_sort | James Redcliffe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most large carnivores feed on prey infrequently and may expend large amounts of energy to locate, capture and kill their prey. This makes them probabilistically vulnerable to fluctuating rates of energy acquisition over time, especially within the increasingly human-altered landscapes that dominate their remaining range. Consequently, quantifying their hunting behaviors and success rates is critical, yet direct observation of these events is rarely feasible. We theorized that we could determine prey pursuit and capture in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) using a mechanistic approach by constructing Boolean algorithms applied to accelerometer data derived from collar-mounted tags. Here, we used this method and then iteratively improved algorithms by testing them on observed hunts and kills of collared packs. Using this approach on 47 days of acceleration from three wild dogs in three packs, we identified 29 hunts with 10 kills, all of which were confirmed by direct observation except for a single kill. Our results demonstrate that hunting effort and success can largely be determined from acceleration data using a mechanistic approach. This is particularly valuable when such behaviors are rarely quantified and offers a template for research on foraging in canid species, while also contributing to the expanding body of literature that employs similar methods to quantify hunting in large carnivores. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8b53e936988c4fa8a6925eb40483bacf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-8b53e936988c4fa8a6925eb40483bacf2024-12-09T06:28:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2024-12-011210.3389/fevo.2024.14650941465094Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogsJames Redcliffe0Scott Creel1Scott Creel2Ben Goodheart3Ben Goodheart4Johnathan Reyes de Merkle5Johnathan Reyes de Merkle6Stephani S. Matsushima7Michelo Mungolo8Ruth Kabwe9Emmanuel Kaseketi10Will Donald11Adrian Kaluka12Clive Chifunte13Matthew S. Becker14Matthew S. Becker15Rory Wilson16Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United KingdomDepartment of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United StatesZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaDepartment of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United StatesZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaDepartment of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United StatesZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaMusekese Conservation, Kafue National Park, Lusaka Province, ZambiaZambia Department of National Parks & Wildlife (DNPW), Mumbwa, Central Province, ZambiaZambia Department of National Parks & Wildlife (DNPW), Mumbwa, Central Province, ZambiaDepartment of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United StatesZambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, ZambiaSwansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United KingdomMost large carnivores feed on prey infrequently and may expend large amounts of energy to locate, capture and kill their prey. This makes them probabilistically vulnerable to fluctuating rates of energy acquisition over time, especially within the increasingly human-altered landscapes that dominate their remaining range. Consequently, quantifying their hunting behaviors and success rates is critical, yet direct observation of these events is rarely feasible. We theorized that we could determine prey pursuit and capture in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) using a mechanistic approach by constructing Boolean algorithms applied to accelerometer data derived from collar-mounted tags. Here, we used this method and then iteratively improved algorithms by testing them on observed hunts and kills of collared packs. Using this approach on 47 days of acceleration from three wild dogs in three packs, we identified 29 hunts with 10 kills, all of which were confirmed by direct observation except for a single kill. Our results demonstrate that hunting effort and success can largely be determined from acceleration data using a mechanistic approach. This is particularly valuable when such behaviors are rarely quantified and offers a template for research on foraging in canid species, while also contributing to the expanding body of literature that employs similar methods to quantify hunting in large carnivores.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1465094/fullAfrican wild dogsaccelerometryhuntskillsVeDBAmovement |
| spellingShingle | James Redcliffe Scott Creel Scott Creel Ben Goodheart Ben Goodheart Johnathan Reyes de Merkle Johnathan Reyes de Merkle Stephani S. Matsushima Michelo Mungolo Ruth Kabwe Emmanuel Kaseketi Will Donald Adrian Kaluka Clive Chifunte Matthew S. Becker Matthew S. Becker Rory Wilson Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution African wild dogs accelerometry hunts kills VeDBA movement |
| title | Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs |
| title_full | Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs |
| title_fullStr | Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs |
| title_short | Using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by African wild dogs |
| title_sort | using triaxial accelerometry to detect hunts and kills by african wild dogs |
| topic | African wild dogs accelerometry hunts kills VeDBA movement |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1465094/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamesredcliffe usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT scottcreel usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT scottcreel usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT bengoodheart usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT bengoodheart usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT johnathanreyesdemerkle usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT johnathanreyesdemerkle usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT stephanismatsushima usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT michelomungolo usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT ruthkabwe usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT emmanuelkaseketi usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT willdonald usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT adriankaluka usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT clivechifunte usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT matthewsbecker usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT matthewsbecker usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs AT rorywilson usingtriaxialaccelerometrytodetecthuntsandkillsbyafricanwilddogs |