Dietary opportunism in side‐striped jackals <i>Canis adustus</i> Sundevall

Atkinson, R. P. D.; Macdonald, David W.; Kamizola, R.

doi:10.1017/s0952836902000729

Cited by 59 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(19 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The similarity in passage rates of the different prey species corresponds to earlier studies on wolves (Floyd et al 1978). Wild dogs are strictly carnivorous and passage rates would be less uniform among food items of omnivorous canids such as red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (Reynolds & Aebischer 1991) or sidestriped jackals Canis adustus (Atkinson et al 2002). The small sample sizes included in this study precluded any rigorous determination of interspecific variation in detection windows.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reducing Potential Sources of Sampling Bias When Quantifying the Diet of the African Wild Dog Through Scat Analysis

Davies‐Mostert

Kent²,

Macdonald³

2010

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To develop guidelines for the collection of independent field samples of scats for the quantification of wild dog (Lycaon pictus) diet we determined the passage rates of different wild dog prey items from feeding trials on a captive pack held at Marakele National Park, Limpopo Province. The minimum time to first detection was 5.5 hours after feeding (S.E. ± 1.52, n = 5) and prey items remained in the gut for an average of 79.4 hours (S.E. ± 6.00, n = 3). Differential passage rates of prey species were not pronounced. Observed passage rates were used to devise a sampling protocol for scats collected during a field study where scats were separated by a minimum period of 120 hours to ensure independence of samples. Comparison of the percentage occurrence of prey species in field-collected scats with the percentage occurrence from direct observations of kills illustrated the tendency for small prey to be underrepresented in the latter. However, the strong correlation between percentage occurrences in diet as determined by the two methods (r s = 0.85, P < 0.01, 13 d.f.) suggests that both methods can reliably determine the relative importance of prey in the diets of obligate carnivores such as wild dogs. The determination of maximum passage rates and subsequent guidelines for collection of independent faecal samples in the field could be a valuable tool for reducing inherent biases in carnivore diet studies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…honey badgers Mellivora capensis, Begg et al 2003; and African wild cats Felis silvestris, Herbst & Mills 2010) and has become progressively more sophisticated since Lockie (1959) first suggested correcting for differential digestibility (e.g. Atkinson et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Potential Sources of Sampling Bias When Quantifying the Diet of the African Wild Dog Through Scat Analysis

Davies‐Mostert

Kent²,

Macdonald³

2010

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Floyd, Mech & Jordan, 1978), while small commonly eaten items (e.g. insects and fruit) may be overestimated (Atkinson et al, 2002). An alternative method is to determine the biomass eaten from the volume of food remaining in the scat (Floyd et al, 1978;Meriwether & Johnson, 1980;Putman, 1984).…”

Section: Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Niche separation in sympatric jackals (Canis mesomelas and Canis adustus)

Loveridge¹,

Macdonald²

2003

Journal of Zoology

Self Cite

136

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Niche separation (along habitat use, activity and dietary axes) between two sympatric jackal species, Canis adustus and Canis mesomelas, was investigated in north-west Zimbabwe. Diet of the two jackal species was flexible and opportunistic and dietary overlap between the jackal species was high. However, C. mesomelas ate more springhares Pedetes capensis, and C. adustus ate more safari camp refuse. To a large extent, differences in diet reflect availability within home ranges. Although interspecific home ranges overlapped by up to an average of 26%, the two species did not intensively use the same areas, and favoured different habitats. Canis mesomelas defended territories in the grassland habitat, which was also the favoured habitat of springhares, the predominant vertebrate prey species in the area. Canis adustus centred their home ranges on centres of human activity, benefiting from the regular, but low quality, anthropogenic food resources. In this study, C. adustus, with the more generalist dentition, had a broader niche than C. mesomelas (dietary diversity C. adustus = 4.14; C. mesomelas = 3.45). Within sympatric areas, differing activity times may further operate to decrease competition, allowing these canids to co-exist. The activity times of the two species differed, with C. adustus being almost entirely nocturnal. Canis mesomelas, while mostly nocturnal, was also active during the morning and in the late afternoon. The jackals in this study did not have clear-cut niches and it is probable that the extreme flexibility of canids in both diet and behaviour allows these species to co-exist sympatrically over part of their range.

show abstract

“…Golden jackals are reported to prey primarily upon rodents (Lanszki and Heltai 2002), including bandicoot rats (Khan and Beg 1986). Rodents are also an important prey for side-striped jackals (C. adustus; Atkinson et al 2002). The importance of rodents in the annual diet is unknown for the agro-ecosystems of Bangladesh, where it is reported that jackals are primarily scavengers of human refuse (Poché et al 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Daytime cover, diet and space-use of golden jackals (Canis aureus) in agro-ecosystems of Bangladesh

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Golden jackals are locally common in Bangladesh despite intensive cultivation and high human densities. We studied the relative importance of seasonal flooding, rodent prey-base, and daytime cover on the occurrence of golden jackals in the two major agro-ecosystems in Bangladesh, one with annual monsoon flooding and the other without. Jackals were less common throughout the year where floodwaters occurred that would have excluded them for 1-3 months during their pup-rearing season. Diets of jackals were similar in the two agro-ecosystems. Rodents were the most common food type in scats throughout the year. The occurrence of burrowing rats in scats peaked seasonally when these rats were most concentrated in ripening cereals, suggesting that jackals are beneficial for rat control. Radiotelemetry of seven jackals in the non-flooded agro-ecosystem over an 11-month period indicated that sugarcane was the preferred type of daytime cover, despite representing only 2-4% of the area. There was a day-to-day return rate of 67% to the same 1-ha patch of cover. Evidently, sugarcane provides daytime cover for avoiding humans and for feeding on roof rats (Rattus rattus), which concentrate in this crop. Evidence suggests that breeding pairs of jackals were annual residents that defended cover (average of 37.3 ha) but not foraging areas beyond.

show abstract

Dietary opportunism in side‐striped jackals Canis adustus Sundevall

Cited by 59 publications

References 20 publications

Reducing Potential Sources of Sampling Bias When Quantifying the Diet of the African Wild Dog Through Scat Analysis

Reducing Potential Sources of Sampling Bias When Quantifying the Diet of the African Wild Dog Through Scat Analysis

Niche separation in sympatric jackals (Canis mesomelas and Canis adustus)

Daytime cover, diet and space-use of golden jackals (Canis aureus) in agro-ecosystems of Bangladesh

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About