High-ranking mares of captive plains zebra Equus burchelli have greater reproductive success than low-ranking mares

Pluháček, Jan; Bartoš, Luděk; Čulík, Luděk

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2005.11.003

Cited by 38 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Pluhá!ek and colleagues (Pluhá!ek & Barto" 2000;Pluhá!ek et al 2006) were able to study known individual animals in the zoo environment but to our knowledge, there are no long-term observations of the behaviour of individual plains zebras living in the wild. Where studies of wild individual zebras have been undertaken, they have been short-term (three month study; Neuhaus and Ruckstuhl 2002) or have focused on specific aspects of behaviour (movement patterns; Brooks and Harris (2008) or reproductive state and leadership; Fischhoff et al 2007a) or on groups where not all of the individuals were identified (Neuhaus and Ruckstuhl 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some similarities in both social organisation and time budgets of captive and wild zebras were noted but conclusions were limited by paucity of data and stressful methods of food provision for the captive population. Other studies have found social factors can influence the reproductive success of plains zebras in zoos with higher-ranked females having shorter inter-birth intervals than those of lowrank (Pluhá!ek et al 2006) and males newly-introduced to breeding females more likely to show infanticide than fathers (Pluhá!ek & Barto" 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social structure, vigilance and behaviour of plains zebra (Equus burchellii): a 5-year case study of individuals living on a managed wildlife reserve

2011

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This is a copy of the authors' accepted version of this manuscript, and the definitive published version in Acta Theriologica may have changed slightly in response to editing. This version is made available on the University of Bristol's repository, complying with Springer's policy on selfarchiving (7th April 2008).The original article is available at springerlink.com. Please see http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13364-011-0061-x for the definitive version, and details of how to cite this work ABSTRACT Most studies of plains zebra (Equus burchellii) have focused on population ecology and have not included long-term observations of identified individuals. Over a five year period we studied the crepuscular activities of 13 individual zebras within a focal group held within a managed game reserve. We also examined individual residency within the group by recording births, mortalities and longevity of group membership by adults. Residency of individuals living in other groups on the reserve was similarly monitored to examine variability in social structure within this closed population over an extended period of time. Stable, female groups were the mainstay of group sociality with male mean residency at 31.6 months being variable in length or even absent. Social interactions across all categories of zebra were free from aggression. Despite an absence of nonhuman predators, the proportion of dusk time-budget allocated to vigilance was high, at 41% for males during periods when they accompanied stable female groups and 12% for females during these same periods. Female vigilance increased significantly to 19% when males were not resident. Females spent 70% of the time grazing and males just 36%. Due to its long-term nature, we concluded this study established a base line for plains zebra activity that could assist in understanding the factors that influence the successful management and conservation of healthy populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social structure, vigilance and behaviour of plains zebra (Equus burchellii): a 5-year case study of individuals living on a managed wildlife reserve

2011

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“…This may be due to the small numbers of young (5) and senescent (5) individuals. In captive Plains zebras, age (and/or dominance) leads to shorter intervals (Pluhacek et al, 2006). If this result is general, then there was no trade-off between growth or body condition and reproduction, so even young and senescent females had abundant resources in these zebras in Hwange and in the captive population.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies on free-ranging horses and captive plains zebras showed that reproduction in mares, including birth sex-ratios, can be affected by factors such as maternal age, which can have a powerful influence on investment in reproduction by mares (Pluhacek et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter-birth interval in zebras is longer following the birth of male foals than after female foals

Barnier¹,

Grange²,

Ganswindt³

et al. 2012

Acta Oecologica

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Mammalian reproductive rates vary among individuals for physiological and environmental reasons. This study aims to determine reproductive rates from an individually monitored population of wild Plains zebras Equus quagga, and to assess the sources of variability in inter-birth intervals. The animals were monitored, where possible, every six months from 2004 to 2011. Thirty nine intervals corresponding to 65 births in 26 mares were identified, using direct observations and faecal steroid monitoring. Mean foaling rate of the population is 0.74 foal/year, and comparable with the literature. There was no significant effect of mother's 2 age, nor of the season of previous birth on the length of inter-birth intervals. Inter-birth interval was significantly longer when the first foal was a male. This finding indicates that additional costs of having a son may delay future reproduction and thus reduce the total number of offspring a mare can have during her lifetime. Individually-based data provide critical information on the determinants of reproductive rates, and are therefore a key to understanding the causes of variations in life-history traits.

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“…Characteristics of the estrous cycle in Przewalski's horse [50] and Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) [45] have been determined by monitoring hormone metabolites in urine and feces. Reproductive characteristics in other wild equids, such as Plains zebras (Equus burchelli) [51,52], Persian onagers (Equus hemionus onager) [53], and kulan (Equus hemionus kulan) [54] have been determined by observing behavior. Although reproductive ultrasonography is used routinely in domestic equids, it has had limited use in wild equids.…”

Section: Ai and Related Technologies In Wild Equidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial insemination in South American camelids and wild equids

et al. 2009

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An overview of the present status of the use of artificial insemination (AI) in South American camelids and wild equids is offered. Technical aspects of semen collection, dilution and cryopreservation have limited the development and use of AI in camelid and equid species. To-date, efficiency is low but progress has been made and viable offspring have been produced through the use of AI in domestic South American camelids using both fresh and frozen semen. The origin, composition, and function of the viscous component of camelid seminal plasma remain a mystery and an obvious area for future research. A better understanding of the normal constituents of seminal plasma will enable the rational design of semen extenders suitable for camelids. Post-thaw sperm viability is very low, and studies are needed to address questions of optimal freezing and thawing procedures as well as the insemination dose. The basis for differences in reported pregnancy rates with sexed and frozen semen in domestic equids, and the ultimate success of AI in wild equids will require continued research into the ''stallion effect'', extenders and cryoprotectants, optimal volume and number of spermatozoa, temperatures during handling, processing an transport, and insemination techniques. In both camelids and equids, research on domestic species under controlled conditions provides and excellent opportunity to develop effective semen handling techniques for application in wild and endangered species of the respective families. #

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High-ranking mares of captive plains zebra Equus burchelli have greater reproductive success than low-ranking mares

Cited by 38 publications

References 56 publications

Social structure, vigilance and behaviour of plains zebra (Equus burchellii): a 5-year case study of individuals living on a managed wildlife reserve

Social structure, vigilance and behaviour of plains zebra (Equus burchellii): a 5-year case study of individuals living on a managed wildlife reserve

Inter-birth interval in zebras is longer following the birth of male foals than after female foals

Artificial insemination in South American camelids and wild equids

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