A Social Network Analysis of Social Cohesion in a Constructed Pride: Implications for Ex Situ Reintroduction of the African Lion (Panthera leo)

Abell, Jackie; Kirzinger, Morgan W. B.; Gordon, Yvonne; Kirk, Jacqui; Kokés, Rae; Lynas, Kirsty; Mandinyenya, Bob; Youldon, David

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082541

Cited by 22 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, SNA has implications for reintroduction programmes, where the (re)construction of cohesive social structures in a captive setting would be necessary for the return of the focal species to the wild (Abell et al. ). Studies of the relationships between individuals, therefore, can help us to understand how social behaviour is influenced by a variety of factors and, hence, provide an additional means by which practitioners can build an evidence base to address conservation questions.…”

Section: Emerging Directions In Camera‐based Conservation Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of camera trapping for conservation behaviour research

Caravaggi

Banks

Burton

et al. 2017

Remote Sens Ecol Conserv

225

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An understanding of animal behaviour is important if conservation initiatives are to be effective. However, quantifying the behaviour of wild animals presents significant challenges. Remote-sensing camera traps are becoming increasingly popular survey instruments that have been used to non-invasively study a variety of animal behaviours, yielding key insights into behavioural repertoires. They are well suited to ethological studies and provide considerable opportunities for generating conservation-relevant behavioural data if novel and robust methodological and analytical solutions can be developed. This paper reviews the current state of camera-trap-based ethological studies, describes new and emerging directions in camera-based conservation behaviour, and highlights a number of limitations and considerations of particular relevance for camerabased studies. Three promising areas of study are discussed: (1) documenting anthropogenic impacts on behaviour; (2) incorporating behavioural responses into management planning and (3) using behavioural indicators such as giving up densities and daily activity patterns. We emphasize the importance of reporting methodological details, utilizing emerging camera trap metadata standards and central data repositories for facilitating reproducibility, comparison and synthesis across studies. Behavioural studies using camera traps are in their infancy; the full potential of the technology is as yet unrealized. Researchers are encouraged to embrace conservation-driven hypotheses in order to meet future challenges and improve the efficacy of conservation and management processes.

show abstract

Section: Emerging Directions In Camera‐based Conservation Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of camera trapping for conservation behaviour research

Caravaggi

Banks

Burton

et al. 2017

Remote Sens Ecol Conserv

225

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Social interactions for each matrix were standardized by dividing the number of interactions collected per pair of lions by the total number of hours each pair was observed together, per pride. Pride composition was compiled into a symmetrical matrix, prior to using a modified ratio index detailed in Abell et al. (2013a) to generate individual association within the pride.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2009 ). Abell et al. (2013a) provided the first SNA of a captive-bred origin lion pride, determining that the analysis was effective in assessing individuals and the pride as a whole.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of a keystone adult female within a lion pride and whether this individual is consistent within captive origin and wild prides is unknown. Whether the results found by Abell et al. (2013a) are consistent with captive-bred origin and wild prides remains unknown; an area which we endeavored to investigate to provide continued assessment of prides within an ex situ reintroduction program.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An assessment of African lionPanthera leosociality via social network analysis: prerelease monitoring for an ex situ reintroduction program

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The wild population of the African lion Panthera leo continues to decline, requiring alternate conservation programs to be considered. One such program is ex situ reintroduction. Prior to release, long-term monitoring and assessment of behavior is required to determine whether prides and coalitions behave naturally and are sufficiently adapted to a wild environment. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to provide insight into how the pride as a whole and individuals within it, function. Our study was conducted upon 2 captive-origin prides who are part of an ex situ reintroduction program, and 1 wild pride of African lion. Social interactions were collected at all occurrence for each pride and categorized into greet, social grooming, play, and aggression. Betweenness centrality showed that offspring in each pride were central to the play network, whereas degree indicated that adults received (indegree) the greatest number of overall social interactions, and the adult males of each pride were least likely to initiate (outdegree) any interactions. Through the assessment of individual centrality and degree values, a social keystone adult female was identified for each pride. Social network results indicated that the 2 captive-origin prides had formed cohesive social units and possessed relationships and behaviors comparable with the wild pride for the studied behaviors. This study provided the first SNA comparison between captive-bred origin and a wild pride of lions, providing valuable information on individual and pride sociality, critical for determining the success of prides within an ex situ reintroduction program.

show abstract

“…This analysis was first applied to a captive-origin pride by Abell et al. (2013), 9 prior to use in comparing captive-origin and wild prides by Dunston et al. (2016) 10 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral correlates between daily activity and sociality in wild and captive origin African lions

Dunston

Abell

Freire

2016

Communicative & Integrative Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Study of behavioral correlations within and across populations has long been of interest to ethologists. An exploration of behavioral correlations between sociality and behavior of African lions (Panthera leo) was undertaken to examine if this approach is better able to reveal important aspects of lion behavior not easily discernible by looking at these behaviors separately. Resting behavior and received play interactions were correlated in 2 captive-origin prides and one wild pride, attributable to the involvement of cubs and sub-adults. Direct and exploratory movement was negatively correlated with groom centrality in 2 of the 3 prides, due to adults engaging in high levels of both of these activities. Exploration of these behavioral correlations highlighted the differences between age-groups in activity and sociality, facilitating the understanding of the complex behavior and interactions of lions. In addition, the finding of similar behavioral correlations between captive-origin and the wild prides provides confidence in the suitability if captive-origin candidates for ex-situ release. This is imperative to ensure the success of sub-groups and prides under an ex-situ reintroduction program.

show abstract

A Social Network Analysis of Social Cohesion in a Constructed Pride: Implications for Ex Situ Reintroduction of the African Lion (Panthera leo)

Cited by 22 publications

References 27 publications

A review of camera trapping for conservation behaviour research

A review of camera trapping for conservation behaviour research

An assessment of African lionPanthera leosociality via social network analysis: prerelease monitoring for an ex situ reintroduction program

Behavioral correlates between daily activity and sociality in wild and captive origin African lions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About