Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| topological effects of network structure on long-term social network dynamics in a wild mammal. | social structure influences ecological processes such as dispersal and invasion, and affects survival and reproductive success. recent studies have used static snapshots of social networks, thus neglecting their temporal dynamics, and focused primarily on a limited number of variables that might be affecting social structure. here, instead we modelled effects of multiple predictors of social network dynamics in the spotted hyena, using observational data collected during 20 years of continuous f ... | 2015 | 25975663 |
| 'neanderthal bone flutes': simply products of ice age spotted hyena scavenging activities on cave bear cubs in european cave bear dens. | punctured extinct cave bear femora were misidentified in southeastern europe (hungary/slovenia) as 'palaeolithic bone flutes' and the 'oldest neanderthal instruments'. these are not instruments, nor human made, but products of the most important cave bear scavengers of europe, hyenas. late middle to late pleistocene (mousterian to gravettian) ice age spotted hyenas of europe occupied mainly cave entrances as dens (communal/cub raising den types), but went deeper for scavenging into cave bear den ... | 2015 | 26064624 |
| measuring faecal epi-androsterone as an indicator of gonadal activity in spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta). | enzyme immunoassays (eia) that measure faecal testosterone metabolites (ftm) are useful tools to monitor gonadal activity. the aim of this study was to validate an "in-house" epiandrosterone eia to monitor ftm in spotted hyenas. ftm were characterised in a male and a female hyena that each received an injection of 3h-testosterone. high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc) analyses revealed a cluster of highly polar enzyme-hydrolysable hormone metabolite conjugates. we performed hydrolysis us ... | 2015 | 26107516 |
| what do sex, twins, spotted hyenas, adhd, and sexual orientation have in common? | the otoacoustic emissions (oaes) measured in a collection of special populations of humans and certain nonhuman species suggest that oaes may provide a window into some processes of human prenatal development and sexual differentiation. for reasons that are unclear, oaes appear to be highly sensitive to events occurring during prenatal development that seem to be related to the degree of exposure to androgens a fetus receives. the (largely circumstantial) evidence for a relationship between andr ... | 2008 | 26158951 |
| markedly elevated antibody responses in wild versus captive spotted hyenas show that environmental and ecological factors are important modulators of immunity. | evolutionary processes have shaped the vertebrate immune system over time, but proximal mechanisms control the onset, duration, and intensity of immune responses. based on testing of the hygiene hypothesis, it is now well known that microbial exposure is important for proper development and regulation of the immune system. however, few studies have examined the differences between wild animals in their natural environments, in which they are typically exposed to a wide array of potential pathoge ... | 2015 | 26444876 |
| complex sources of variance in female dominance rank in a nepotistic society. | many mammalian societies are structured by dominance hierarchies, and an individual's position within this hierarchy can influence reproduction, behaviour, physiology and health. in nepotistic hierarchies, which are common in cercopithecine primates and also seen in spotted hyaenas, crocuta crocuta, adult daughters are expected to rank immediately below their mother, and in reverse age order (a phenomenon known as 'youngest ascendancy'). this pattern is well described, but few studies have syste ... | 2014 | 26997663 |
| why do some males choose to breed at home when most other males disperse? | dispersal is a key driver of ecological and evolutionary processes. despite substantial efforts to explain the evolution of dispersal, we still do not fully understand why individuals of the same sex of a species vary in their propensity to disperse. the dominant hypothesis emphasizes movements and assumes that leaving home (dispersal) and staying at home (philopatry) are two alternative strategies providing different fitness. it suggests that only individuals of high phenotypic quality can purs ... | 2016 | 27034982 |
| lions as bone accumulators? paleontological and ecological implications of a modern bone assemblage from olduvai gorge. | analytic models have been developed to reconstruct early hominin behaviour, especially their subsistence patterns, revealed mainly through taphonomic analyses of archaeofaunal assemblages. taphonomic research is used to discern which agents (carnivores, humans or both) generate the bone assemblages recovered at archaeological sites. taphonomic frameworks developed during the last decades show that the only large-sized carnivores in african biomes able to create bone assemblages are leopards and ... | 2016 | 27144649 |
| spatial patterns of african ungulate aggregation reveal complex but limited risk effects from reintroduced carnivores. | the "landscape of fear" model, recently advanced in research on the non-lethal effects of carnivores on ungulates, predicts that prey will exhibit detectable antipredator behavior not only during risky times (i.e., predators in close proximity) but also in risky places (i.e., habitat where predators kill prey or tend to occur). aggregation is an important antipredator response in numerous ungulate species, making it a useful metric to evaluate the strength and scope of the landscape of fear in a ... | 2016 | 27349090 |
| landscape-level movement patterns by lions in western serengeti: comparing the influence of inter-specific competitors, habitat attributes and prey availability. | where apex predators move on the landscape influences ecosystem structure and function and is therefore key to effective landscape-level management and species-specific conservation. however the factors underlying predator distribution patterns within functional ecosystems are poorly understood. predator movement should be sensitive to the spatial patterns of inter-specific competitors, spatial variation in prey density, and landscape attributes that increase individual prey vulnerability. we in ... | 2016 | 27375849 |
| accuracy of mandibular force profiles for bite force estimation and feeding behavior reconstruction in extant and extinct carnivorans. | mandibular force profiles apply the principles of beam theory to identify mandibular biomechanical properties that reflect the bite force and feeding strategies of extant and extinct predators. while this method uses the external dimensions of the mandibular corpus to determine its biomechanical properties, more accurate results could potentially be obtained by quantifying its internal cortical bone distribution. to test this possibility, mandibular force profiles were calculated using both exte ... | 2016 | 27634400 |
| divergent sapovirus strains and infection prevalence in wild carnivores in the serengeti ecosystem: a long-term study. | the genus sapovirus, in the family caliciviridae, includes enteric viruses of humans and domestic animals. information on sapovirus infection of wildlife is limited and is currently lacking for any free-ranging wildlife species in africa. by screening a large number of predominantly fecal samples (n = 631) obtained from five carnivore species in the serengeti ecosystem, east africa, sapovirus rna was detected in the spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta, family hyaenidae), african lion (panthera leo, f ... | 2016 | 27661997 |
| correction: measuring faecal epi-androsterone as an indicator of gonadal activity in spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta). | [this corrects the article doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128706.]. | 2017 | 27662588 |
| the middle pleistocene vertebrate fauna from khok sung (nakhon ratchasima, thailand): biochronological and paleobiogeographical implications. | the fluviatile terrace deposits of khok sung, nakhon ratchasima province, have yielded more than one thousand fossils, making this the richest pleistocene vertebrate fauna of thailand. the excellent preservation of the specimens allows precise characterization of the faunal composition. the mammalian fauna consists of fifteen species in thirteen genera, including a primate, a canid, a hyaenid, proboscideans, rhinoceroses, a suid, cervids, and bovids. most species correspond to living taxa but gl ... | 2016 | 27667928 |
| serosurvey for selected viral pathogens among sympatric species of the african large predator guild in northern botswana. | the recent increase in the creation of transboundary protected areas and wildlife corridors between them lends importance to information on pathogen prevalence and transmission among wildlife species that will become connected. one such initiative is the kavango zambezi transfrontier conservation area of which botswana's okavango delta constitutes a major contribution for wildlife and ecosystems. between 2008 and 2011, we collected serum samples from 14 lions ( panthera leo ), four leopards ( pa ... | 2017 | 27763827 |
| socioecological predictors of immune defences in wild spotted hyenas. | social rank can profoundly affect many aspects of mammalian reproduction and stress physiology, but little is known about how immune function is affected by rank and other socio-ecological factors in free-living animals.in this study we examine the effects of sex, social rank, and reproductive status on immune function in long-lived carnivores that are routinely exposed to a plethora of pathogens, yet rarely show signs of disease.here we show that two types of immune defenses, complement-mediate ... | 2016 | 27833242 |
| measuring fecal testosterone metabolites in spotted hyenas: choosing the wrong assay may lead to erroneous results. | enzyme-immunoassays (eia) that detect fecal testosterone metabolites (ftm) are powerful tools to monitor gonadal activity non-invasively. however, a challenge with testosterone eias might be their potential for cross-reactivities with structurally similar glucocorticoid metabolites. therefore, we aimed to verify the capability of four different testosterone eias to monitor ftm without reflecting changes in adrenocortical activity in spotted hyenas by analyzing fecal samples following testosteron ... | 2017 | 27854157 |
| ecology and demography of free-roaming domestic dogs in rural villages near serengeti national park in tanzania. | free-roaming dogs (canis lupus familiaris) are of public health and conservation concern because of their potential to transmit diseases, such as rabies, to both people and wildlife. understanding domestic dog population dynamics and how they could potentially be impacted by interventions, such as rabies vaccination, is vital for such disease control efforts. for four years, we measured demographic data on 2,649 free-roaming domestic dogs in four rural villages in tanzania: two villages with and ... | 2016 | 27893866 |
| piroplasms in brown hyaenas (parahyaena brunnea) and spotted hyaenas (crocuta crocuta) in namibia and south africa are closely related to babesia lengau. | the objective of our study was identification and molecular characterization of piroplasms and rickettsias occurring in brown (parahyaena brunnea) and spotted hyaenas (crocuta crocuta) from various localities in namibia and south africa. whole blood (n = 59) and skin (n = 3) specimens from brown (n = 15) and spotted hyaenas (n = 47) were screened for the presence of babesia, theileria, ehrlichia and anaplasma species using the reverse line blot (rlb) hybridization technique. pcr products of 52/6 ... | 2017 | 27913878 |
| simplified large african carnivore density estimators from track indices. | the range, population size and trend of large carnivores are important parameters to assess their status globally and to plan conservation strategies. one can use linear models to assess population size and trends of large carnivores from track-based surveys on suitable substrates. the conventional approach of a linear model with intercept may not intercept at zero, but may fit the data better than linear model through the origin. we assess whether a linear regression through the origin is more ... | 2016 | 28028454 |
| in the absence of a "landscape of fear": how lions, hyenas, and cheetahs coexist. | aggression by top predators can create a "landscape of fear" in which subordinate predators restrict their activity to low-risk areas or times of day. at large spatial or temporal scales, this can result in the costly loss of access to resources. however, fine-scale reactive avoidance may minimize the risk of aggressive encounters for subordinate predators while maintaining access to resources, thereby providing a mechanism for coexistence. we investigated fine-scale spatiotemporal avoidance in ... | 2016 | 28031805 |
| spatial and temporal avoidance of risk within a large carnivore guild. | within a large carnivore guild, subordinate competitors (african wild dog, lycaon pictus, and cheetah, acinonyx jubatus) might reduce the limiting effects of dominant competitors (lion, panthera leo, and spotted hyena, crocuta crocuta) by avoiding them in space, in time, or through patterns of prey selection. understanding how these competitors cope with one other can inform strategies for their conservation. we tested how mechanisms of niche partitioning promote coexistence by quantifying patte ... | 2017 | 28070283 |
| bells, bomas and beefsteak: complex patterns of human-predator conflict at the wildlife-agropastoral interface in zimbabwe. | reports of livestock depredation by large predators were systematically collected at three study sites in northwestern zimbabwe from 2008-2013. we recorded 1,527 incidents (2,039 animals killed and 306 injured). lions (panthera leo) and spotted hyaenas (crocuta crocuta) were mostly responsible, and cattle and donkeys most frequently attacked. patterns of predation were variable among study sites. nevertheless, some overall patterns were apparent. predators selected livestock close to the size of ... | 2017 | 28149682 |
| genome data on the extinct bison schoetensacki establish it as a sister species of the extant european bison (bison bonasus). | the european bison (bison bonasus), now found in europe and the caucasus, has been proposed to originate either from the extinct steppe/extant american bison lineage or from the extinct bison schoetensacki lineage. bison schoetensacki remains are documented in eurasian middle pleistocene sites, but their presence in upper pleistocene sites has been questioned. despite extensive genetic studies carried out on the steppe and european bison, no remains from the fossil record morphologically identif ... | 2017 | 28187706 |
| caching reduces kleptoparasitism in a solitary, large felid. | food caching is a common strategy used by a diversity of animals, including carnivores, to store and/or secure food. despite its prevalence, the drivers of caching behaviour, and its impacts on individuals, remain poorly understood, particularly for short-term food cachers. leopards panthera pardus exhibit a unique form of short-term food caching, regularly hoisting, storing and consuming prey in trees. we explored the factors motivating such behaviour among leopards in the sabi sand game reserv ... | 2017 | 28217865 |
| first report of a mixed infection of <i>trichinella nelsoni</i> and <i>trichinella</i> t8 in a leopard (<i>panthera pardus</i>) from the greater kruger national park, south africa. | at least three trichinella species, namely trichinella nelsoni, trichinella britovi and trichinella zimbabwensis, and one genotype (trichinella t8), have been isolated from sylvatic carnivores on the african continent. with the exception of t. britovi, the other species are known to circulate in wildlife of the kruger national park (knp), south africa, and knp neighbouring game reserves (collectively known as the greater knp area). lions (panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta) appear ... | 2014 | 28235280 |
| low leopard populations in protected areas of maputaland: a consequence of poaching, habitat condition, abundance of prey, and a top predator. | identifying the primary causes affecting population densities and distribution of flagship species are necessary in developing sustainable management strategies for large carnivore conservation. we modeled drivers of spatial density of the common leopard (panthera pardus) using a spatially explicit capture-recapture-bayesian approach to understand their population dynamics in the maputaland conservation unit, south africa. we camera-trapped leopards in four protected areas (pas) of varying sizes ... | 2017 | 28331603 |
| the relationship between direct predation and antipredator responses: a test with multiple predators and multiple prey. | most species adjust their behavior to reduce the likelihood of predation. many experiments have shown that antipredator responses carry energetic costs that can affect growth, survival, and reproduction, so that the total cost of predation depends on a trade-off between direct predation and risk effects. despite these patterns, few field studies have examined the relationship between direct predation and the strength of antipredator responses, particularly for complete guilds of predators and pr ... | 2017 | 28475209 |
| cross-species transmission of canine distemper virus-an update. | canine distemper virus (cdv) is a pantropic morbillivirus with a worldwide distribution, which causes fatal disease in dogs. affected animals develop dyspnea, diarrhea, neurological signs and profound immunosuppression. systemic cdv infection, resembling distemper in domestic dogs, can be found also in wild canids (e.g. wolves, foxes), procyonids (e.g. raccoons, kinkajous), ailurids (e.g. red pandas), ursids (e.g. black bears, giant pandas), mustelids (e.g. ferrets, minks), viverrids (e.g. civet ... | 2015 | 28616465 |
| the intestinal eukaryotic and bacterial biome of spotted hyenas: the impact of social status and age on diversity and composition. | in mammals, two factors likely to affect the diversity and composition of intestinal bacteria (bacterial microbiome) and eukaryotes (eukaryome) are social status and age. in species in which social status determines access to resources, socially dominant animals maintain better immune processes and health status than subordinates. as high species diversity is an index of ecosystem health, the intestinal biome of healthier, socially dominant animals should be more diverse than those of subordinat ... | 2017 | 28670573 |
| first molecular identification of kobuviruses in wolves (canis lupus) in italy. | canine kobuviruses (cakovs) were first identified in diarrhoeic and asymptomatic dogs in 2011 in the usa. subsequent studies have demonstrated a worldwide distribution of these viruses, but it is not clear if cakovs play a role as enteric pathogens of dogs. more recently, cakov rna has been detected in wild carnivores, including red fox, golden jackal, side-striped jackal and spotted hyena. in this study, we addressed the hypothesis that wolves are susceptible to cakov infections. a total of 185 ... | 2018 | 29101539 |
| prevalence and molecular identification of trichinella species isolated from wildlife originating from limpopo and mpumalanga provinces of south africa. | trichinella species are widely distributed on all continents with the exception of antarctica, although the full spectrum of trichinella species found in sub-saharan african countries, and their hosts, has not been fully documented. this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of trichinella in wildlife from the greater kruger national park (gknp) and adjacent areas located in the limpopo and mpumalanga provinces of south africa, and to identify the species and/or genotypes of trichinell ... | 2017 | 29168444 |
| numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores. | playback experiments have proved to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. in particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the order carnivora. additionally, playback experi ... | 2017 | 29292356 |
| the occurrence of some nonblood protozoan parasites in wild and domestic mammals in south africa. | relatively little is known about protozoan parasites in african animals. here we investigated the occurrence of protozoan parasites in mammals from south africa. oocysts of protozoan parasites were detected in 13 of 56 (23%) fecal samples using conventional microscopic examination methods. cryptosporidium spp. and isospora spp. were detected in eight (14 %) and five (9 %) samples, respectively. mixed parasitic infection of cryptosporidium spp. and isospora spp. was recorded in banded mongoose ( ... | 2018 | 29369722 |
| lions, hyenas and mobs (oh my!). | understanding the factors that facilitate the emergence of cooperation among organisms is central to the study of social evolution. spotted hyenas crocuta crocuta frequently cooperate to mob lions panthera leo, approaching the lions as a tightknit group while vocalizing loudly in an attempt to overwhelm them and drive them away. whereas cooperative mobbing behavior has been well documented in birds and some mammals, to our knowledge it has never been described during interactions between 2 apex ... | 2017 | 29491990 |
| proactive behavior, but not inhibitory control, predicts repeated innovation by spotted hyenas tested with a multi-access box. | innovation is widely linked to cognitive ability, brain size, and adaptation to novel conditions. however, successful innovation appears to be influenced by both cognitive factors, such as inhibitory control, and non-cognitive behavioral traits. we used a multi-access box (mab) paradigm to measure repeated innovation, the number of unique innovations learned across trials, by 10 captive spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta). spotted hyenas are highly innovative in captivity and also display striking ... | 2018 | 29511943 |
| rabies of canid biotype in wild dog (lycaon pictus) and spotted hyaena (crocuta crocuta) in madikwe game reserve, south africa in 2014-2015: diagnosis, possible origins and implications for control. | both domestic and wild carnivore species are commonly diagnosed with rabies virus (rabv) infection in south africa. although the majority of confirmed rabies cases in wild carnivore species are reported from the yellow mongoose (cynictis penicillata), the rest are from other wild carnivores including the highly endangered wild dog (lycaon pictus). lyssavirus infection was confirmed in two wild dogs and a spotted hyaena (crocuta crocuta) in the madikwe game reserve, north west province in south a ... | 2018 | 29781673 |
| in what sense are dogs special? canine cognition in comparative context. | the great increase in the study of dog cognition in the current century has yielded insights into canine cognition in a variety of domains. in this review, we seek to place our enhanced understanding of canine cognition into context. we argue that in order to assess dog cognition, we need to regard dogs from three different perspectives: phylogenetically, as carnivoran and specifically a canid; ecologically, as social, cursorial hunters; and anthropogenically, as a domestic animal. a principled ... | 2018 | 30251104 |
| small mammal diversity of mt. kenya based on carnivore fecal and surface bone remains. | ecological dynamics and faunal diversity documentation is normally conducted by direct observation and trapping of live animals. however, surveys of carnivore scat prey and surface bone remains, which are relatively inexpensive, can provide complementary data that expand carnivore diet breadth and may improve accuracy regarding inferences of the ecological dynamics of a given ecosystem. we used this inexpensive method to document species diversity variation with elevation on the leeward (sirimon ... | 2019 | 30348933 |
| brain and body size relations among spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta). | the relationship between brain size and body size across species "from mouse to elephant" is described by a function of positive slope. almost uniformly, the relationship between brain size and body size within a species has a positive slope, though this is less steep than across species. the spotted hyena, crocuta crocuta, differs from most other mammals in a number of ways including the fact that, on average, adult females weigh more than adult males and occasionally display greater body lengt ... | 2018 | 30415261 |
| social support drives female dominance in the spotted hyaena. | identifying how dominance within and between the sexes is established is pivotal to understanding sexual selection and sexual conflict. in many species, members of one sex dominate those of the other in one-on-one interactions. whether this results from a disparity in intrinsic attributes, such as strength and aggressiveness, or in extrinsic factors, such as social support, is currently unknown. we assessed the effects of both mechanisms on dominance in the spotted hyaena (crocuta crocuta), a sp ... | 2019 | 30455441 |
| slow recovery from a disease epidemic in the spotted hyena, a keystone social carnivore. | predicting the impact of disease epidemics on wildlife populations is one of the twenty-first century's main conservation challenges. the long-term demographic responses of wildlife populations to epidemics and the life history and social traits modulating these responses are generally unknown, particularly for k-selected social species. here we develop a stage-structured matrix population model to provide a long-term projection of demographic responses by a keystone social predator, the spotted ... | 2018 | 30480102 |
| multispecies hierarchical modeling reveals variable responses of african carnivores to management alternatives. | carnivore communities face unprecedented threats from humans. yet, management regimes have variable effects on carnivores, where species may persist or decline in response to direct or indirect changes to the ecosystem. using a hierarchical multispecies modeling approach, we examined the effects of alternative management regimes (i.e., active vs. passive enforcement of regulations) on carnivore abundances and group sizes at both species and community levels in the masai mara national reserve, ke ... | 2019 | 30694574 |
| molecular identification of bloodmeal sources and trypanosomes in glossina spp., tabanus spp. and stomoxys spp. trapped on cattle farm settlements in southwest nigeria. | the interactions of host, vector and parasite in bovine trypanosomiasis transmission cycles in southwest nigeria are not yet well understood. trypanosoma (trypanosomatida: trypanosomatidae) species infection prevalences and bloodmeal sources were determined in transmitting vectors of the genera glossina (diptera: glossinidae), tabanus (diptera: tabanidae) and stomoxys (diptera: muscidae) collected using nzi traps in cattle settlements in southwest nigeria. sequenced cytochrome b mitochondrial dn ... | 2019 | 30730048 |
| evidence of high exposure to toxoplasma gondii in free-ranging and captive african carnivores. | toxoplasma gondii is an ubiquitous intracellular protozoan parasite. mammals and birds are intermediate hosts and felid species are definitive hosts. in most human altered habitats the domestic cat is the predominant definitive host. current knowledge of t. gondii infection in african ecosystems is limited. this study aimed to assess exposure to t. gondii in wild carnivores in the serengeti ecosystem in east africa. carnivores can be infected by the consumption of tissue cysts when feeding on in ... | 2019 | 30740303 |
| the hunters or the hunters: human and hyena prey choice divergence in the late pleistocene levant. | hunting preferences reveal a great deal about the life of paleolithic humans, and may reflect changes in human demography, technology, and adaptations to changing environments. however, the effects of hunting preferences and environmental availability are often conflated, stressing the need for comparisons to other predators that exploited the same environment. manot cave (israel), preserved rich early upper paleolithic (46-33 ka) human occupations, along with repeated spotted hyena (crocuta cro ... | 2019 | 30850235 |
| social alliances improve rank and fitness in convention-based societies. | social hierarchies are widespread in human and animal societies, and an individual's position in its hierarchy affects both its access to resources and its fitness. hierarchies are traditionally thought of in terms of variation in individual ability to win fights, but many are structured around arbitrary conventions like nepotistic inheritance rather than such traits as physical strength or weapon size. these convention-based societies are perplexing because position in the hierarchy appears to ... | 2019 | 30858321 |
| sex determining region y (sry) sequencing and non-invasive molecular sexing in three wild species: brown (parahyaena brunnea) and spotted (crocuta crocuta) hyenas and aardvark (orycteropus afer). | non-invasive molecular sexing methods are useful in captive breeding programs and field studies; these methods enable sex identification without immobilisation or stressful handling of animals. we developed a method enabling fast and reliable sex identification in three species with limited external sexual dimorphism: the brown and spotted hyenas and the aardvark. we used the sex determining region y (sry) gene as the male-specific sequence and the c-myc gene, highly conserved among mammals, as ... | 2019 | 30971330 |
| early life social and ecological determinants of global dna methylation in wild spotted hyenas. | environmental factors early in life can have lasting influence on the development and phenotypes of animals, but the underlying molecular modifications remain poorly understood. we examined cross-sectional associations among early life socioecological factors and global dna methylation in 293 wild spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta) in the masai mara national reserve, kenya, grouped according to three age classes (cub, subadult and adult). explanatory variables of interest included annual maternal ... | 2019 | 31291495 |
| the evolution of matrilineal social systems in fissiped carnivores. | we review matrilineal relationships in the societies of fissiped mammalian carnivores, focusing on how the most complex of these may have evolved from simpler systems. although competition for food is very intense at the trophic level occupied by most carnivores, and although most species of extant fissiped carnivores therefore lead solitary lives, some species show at least rudimentary clustering of maternal kin and matrilineal resource-sharing or transmission of critical resources between gene ... | 2019 | 31303158 |
| can hyena behaviour provide information on population trends of sympatric carnivores? | mammalian carnivores are declining worldwide owing to human activities. behavioural indicators have the potential to help identify population trends and inform conservation actions, although this area of research is understudied. we investigate whether behaviour is linked to abundance in a community of carnivores in the masai mara national reserve, kenya. anthropogenic disturbance increased exponentially in parts of the reserve between 1988 and 2017, mainly owing to daily incursions by large num ... | 2019 | 31352879 |
| parasite infections in a social carnivore: evidence of their fitness consequences and factors modulating infection load. | there are substantial individual differences in parasite composition and infection load in wildlife populations. few studies have investigated the factors shaping this heterogeneity in large wild mammals or the impact of parasite infections on darwinian fitness, particularly in juveniles. a host's parasite composition and infection load can be shaped by factors that determine contact with infective parasite stages and those that determine the host's resistance to infection, such as abiotic and s ... | 2019 | 31410280 |
| c-hmoshssa: gene selection for cancer classification using multi-objective meta-heuristic and machine learning methods. | over the last two decades, dna microarray technology has emerged as a powerful tool for early cancer detection and prevention. it helps to provide a detailed overview of disease complex microenvironment. moreover, online availability of thousands of gene expression assays made microarray data classification an active research area. a common goal is to find a minimum subset of genes and maximizing the classification accuracy. | 2019 | 31416551 |
| taphonomic bone trauma caused by southern african scavengers. | forensic anthropologists in southern africa are often confronted with post-mortem modifications of human skeletal remains caused by animal scavenging. this is troublesome as the post-mortem pseudo-trauma could be misinterpreted. this study aimed to describe the skeletal trauma caused by southern african scavengers which are of forensic interest. the scavenging animals selected for this study included wild dog, spotted hyena, lion, leopard, black-backed jackal, caracal, and porcupine housed at th ... | 2020 | 31471653 |
| patterns of livestock depredation and cost-effectiveness of fortified livestock enclosures in northern tanzania. | human-carnivore conflicts and retaliatory killings contribute to carnivore populations' declines around the world. strategies to mitigate conflicts have been developed, but their efficacy is rarely assessed in a randomized case-control design. further, the economic costs prevent the adoption and wide use of conflict mitigation strategies by pastoralists in rural africa. we examined carnivore (african lion [panthera leo], leopard [panthera pardus], spotted hyena [crocuta crocuta], jackal [canis m ... | 2019 | 31641483 |
| androgen-independent events in penile development in humans and animals. | the common view on penile development is that it is androgen-dependent, based first and foremost on the fact that the genital tubercle forms a penis in males and a clitoris in females. however, critical examination of the complex processes involved in human penile development reveals that many individual steps in development of the genital tubercle are common to both males and females, and thus can be interpreted as androgen-independent. for certain developmental events this conclusion is bolste ... | 2020 | 31783219 |
| a preliminary survey of medium and large-sized mammals from lebu natural protected forest, southwest showa, ethiopia. | this study was conducted to determine the species composition and diversity of medium and large-sized mammals from lebu natural protected forest, ethiopia. surveys were conducted to record mammals through direct observation and indirect evidence from three habitat types, namely: natural forest, bushland, and riverine forest. a total of 15 mammalian species were recorded. the species recorded were papio anubis, chlorocebus aethiops, tragelaphus scriptus, canis aureus, crocuta crocuta, panthera pa ... | 2019 | 31832163 |
| identity of spirometra theileri from a leopard (panthera pardus) and spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta) in tanzania. | in the present study, a spirometra species of tanzania origin obtained from an african leopard (panthera pardus) and spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta) was identified based on molecular analysis of cytochrome c oxidase i (cox1) and nadh dehydrogenase subunit i (nad1) as well as by morphological observations of an adult tapeworm. one strobila and several segments of a spirometra species were obtained from the intestine of an african male leopard (panthera pardus) and spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta) ... | 2019 | 31914517 |
| body site-specific microbiota reflect sex and age-class among wild spotted hyenas. | host-associated microbial communities, henceforth 'microbiota', can affect the physiology and behavior of their hosts. in mammals, host ecological, social and environmental variables are associated with variation in microbial communities. within individuals in a given mammalian species, the microbiota also partitions by body site. here, we build on this work and sequence the bacterial 16s rrna gene to profile the microbiota at six distinct body sites (ear, nasal and oral cavities, prepuce, rectu ... | 2020 | 31926016 |
| age, gender, and feeding environment influence fecal microbial diversity in spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta). | fecal microbes play an important role in the survival and health of wild animals. spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta) is one of the representative carnivores in africa. in this study, we examined the fecal microflora of spotted hyena by conducting high-throughput sequencing of the fecal microbial 16s rrna gene v3-v4 high mutation region. the effects of age, sex, and feeding environment on the fecal microbiota of spotted hyenas were determined. the results showed that the core bacteria phyla of spott ... | 2020 | 32052138 |
| exposure to toxoplasma gondii in zoo animals in spain. | a serosurvey was performed to assess exposure to toxoplasma gondii in zoo animals in spain and to determine the dynamics of seropositivity in some zoo species over time. sera from 393 zoo animals belonging to 91 species were collected in eight zoos in spain between 2007 and 2019. additionally, 39 of the 393 animals from five of the analyzed zoos were longitudinally sampled during the same study period. antibodies to t. gondii were detected in 165 (42.0 %; ci95 %: 37.1-46.9) of 393 animals by the ... | 2020 | 32109781 |
| juvenile rank acquisition is associated with fitness independent of adult rank. | social rank is a significant determinant of fitness in a variety of species. the importance of social rank suggests that the process by which juveniles come to establish their position in the social hierarchy is a critical component of development. here, we use the highly predictable process of rank acquisition in spotted hyenas to study the consequences of variation in rank acquisition in early life. in spotted hyenas, rank is 'inherited' through a learning process called 'maternal rank inherit ... | 2020 | 32126950 |
| hair cortisol analyses in different mammal species: choosing the wrong assay may lead to erroneous results. | wild animals are faced with a broad range of environmental stressors and research is needed to better understand their effect on populations. hormone analysis based on enzyme immunoassays (eias) can provide valuable information on adrenocortical activity (stress), and assessment of cortisol in hair may allow the quantification of cortisol production. to validate hair hormone analysis, we compared two eias based on antibodies against cortisol-3-cmo-bsa and cortisol-21-hs-bsa for hair glucocortico ... | 2020 | 32153782 |
| a mobile laboratory for ancient dna analysis. | mobile devices for on-field dna analysis have been used for medical diagnostics at the point-of-care, forensic investigations and environmental surveys, but still have to be validated for ancient dna studies. we report here on a mobile laboratory that we setup using commercially available devices, including a compact real-time pcr machine, and describe procedures to perform dna extraction and analysis from a variety of archeological samples within 4 hours. the process is carried out on 50 mg sam ... | 2020 | 32187203 |
| hyena paleogenomes reveal a complex evolutionary history of cross-continental gene flow between spotted and cave hyena. | the genus crocuta (african spotted and eurasian cave hyenas) includes several closely related extinct and extant lineages. the relationships among these lineages, however, are contentious. through the generation of population-level paleogenomes from late pleistocene eurasian cave hyena and genomes from modern african spotted hyena, we reveal the cross-continental evolutionary relationships between these enigmatic hyena lineages. we find a deep divergence (~2.5 ma) between african and eurasian cr ... | 2020 | 32201717 |
| cross-species transmission and evolutionary dynamics of canine distemper virus during a spillover in african lions of serengeti national park. | the outcome of pathogen spillover from a reservoir to a novel host population can range from a "dead-end" when there is no onward transmission in the recipient population, to epidemic spread and even establishment in new hosts. understanding the evolutionary epidemiology of spillover events leading to discrete outcomes in novel hosts is key to predicting risk and can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of emergence. here we use a bayesian phylodynamic approach to examine cross-speci ... | 2020 | 32306443 |
| social status mediates the fitness costs of infection with canine distemper virus in serengeti spotted hyenas. | the extent to which the fitness costs of infection are mediated by key life-history traits such as age or social status is still unclear. within populations, individual heterogeneity in the outcome of infection is the result of two successive processes; the degree of contact with the pathogen (exposure) and the immune response to infection. in social mammals, because individuals holding high social status typically interact more frequently with group members, they should be more often in contact ... | 2018 | 32313354 |
| clitoral length in immature and mature captive tufted capuchin (sapajus spp.) females: a cross-sectional study. | quantitative data on female external genital morphology are sporadic in the primate literature, and the intraspecific and interfemale variation is especially under investigated (e.g., external clitoris length). since in most anthropoid primate species female external genitals are relatively small and often hidden, for those species whose external clitoris is described as hypertrophic, external genital resemblance may represent a source of confusion in distinguishing the sexes at a distance. this ... | 2020 | 32319142 |
| a draft genome assembly of spotted hyena, crocuta crocuta. | the spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta), one of the largest terrestrial predators native to sub-saharan africa, is well known for its matriarchal social system and large-sized social group in which larger females dominate smaller males. spotted hyenas are highly adaptable predators as they both actively hunt prey and scavenge kills by other predators, and possess an enhanced hypercarnivorous dentition that allows them to crack open bones and thereby feed on nearly all parts of a carcass. here, we pr ... | 2020 | 32345970 |
| a multispecies assessment of wildlife impacts on local community livelihoods. | conflicts between the interests of agriculture and wildlife conservation are a major threat to biodiversity and human well-being globally. addressing such conflicts requires a thorough understanding of the impacts associated with living alongside protected wildlife. despite this, most studies reporting on human-wildlife impacts and the strategies used to mitigate them focus on a single species, thus oversimplifying often complex systems of human-wildlife interactions. we sought to characterize t ... | 2020 | 32496643 |
| early-life relationships matter: social position during early life predicts fitness among female spotted hyenas. | how social development in early-life affects fitness remains poorly understood. though there is growing evidence that early-life relationships can affect fitness, little research has investigated how social positions develop or whether there are particularly important periods for social position development in an animal's life history. in long-lived species in particular, understanding the lasting consequences of early-life social environments requires detailed, long-term datasets. here we used ... | 2020 | 32578217 |
| reproduction within a hierarchical society from a female's perspective. | the reproductive biology of many female mammals is affected by their social environment and their interactions with conspecifics. in mammalian societies structured by linear dominance hierarchies, such as that of the spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta), a female's social rank can have profound effects on both her reproductive success and her longevity. in this species, social rank determines priority of access to food, which is the resource limiting reproduction. due largely to rank-related variatio ... | 2020 | 32667986 |
| innovative problem-solving in wild hyenas is reliable across time and contexts. | individual differences in behavior are the raw material upon which natural selection acts, but despite increasing recognition of the value of considering individual differences in the behavior of wild animals to test evolutionary hypotheses, this approach has only recently become popular for testing cognitive abilities. in order for the intraspecific approach with wild animals to be useful for testing evolutionary hypotheses about cognition, researchers must provide evidence that measures of cog ... | 2020 | 32747691 |
| spotted hyaenas and the sexual spectrum: reproductive endocrinology and development. | the spotted hyaena (crocuta crocuta) is a unique species, even amongst the hyaenidae. extreme clitoral development in female spotted hyaenas challenges aspects of the accepted framework of sexual differentiation and reproductive function. they lack a vulva and instead urinate, copulate and give birth through a single, long urogenital canal that traverses a clitoris superficially resembling a penis. recent and historical evidence is reviewed to describe our changing understanding of the biology o ... | 2020 | 32755997 |
| an improved spotted hyena optimizer for pid parameters in an avr system. | in this paper, an improved spotted hyena optimizer (isho) with a nonlinear convergence factor is proposed for proportional integral derivative (pid) parameter optimization in an automatic voltage regulator (avr). in the proposed isho, an opposition-based learning strategy is used to initialize the spotted hyena individual's position in the search space, which strengthens the diversity of individuals in the global searching process. a novel nonlinear update equation for the convergence factor is ... | 2020 | 32987554 |
| palaeoproteomic analysis of pleistocene cave hyenas from east asia. | the spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta) is the only extant species of the genus crocuta, which once occupied a much wider range during the pliocene and pleistocene. however, its origin and evolutionary history is somewhat contentious due to discordances between morphological, nuclear, and mitochondrial data. due to the limited molecular data from east asian crocuta, also known as cave hyena, and the difficulty of extracting ancient dna from this area, here we present proteomic analysis of cave hyena ... | 2020 | 33028848 |
| the virus-host interface: molecular interactions of alphacoronavirus-1 variants from wild and domestic hosts with mammalian aminopeptidase n. | the alphacoronavirus-1 species include viruses that infect numerous mammalian species. to better understand the wide host range of these viruses, better knowledge on the molecular determinants of virus-host cell entry mechanisms in wildlife hosts is essential. we investigated alphacoronavirus-1 infection in carnivores using long-term data on serengeti spotted hyenas (crocuta crocuta) and molecular analyses guided by the tertiary structure of the viral spike (s) attachment protein's interface wit ... | 2021 | 33786949 |