Pollen analysis of present-day striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) scats from central Iran: Implications for dryland paleoecology and animal paleoethology

Abstract

The striped hyena is the largest living omnivorous scavenger in SW Asia. It generally lives in semi-arid desert steppe regions, often denning in small caves, rock shelters, and burrows close to human settlements. Bone fragments of wild and domestic animals and desiccated scats are frequently found in the hyena dens. In this study, eight striped hyena desiccated scats were subjected to pollen analysis. All scats were rich in pollen and the exine was well-preserved with no visible sign of corrosion. Pollen spectra revealed interesting information on the regional and local vegetation, as well as the foraging behavior and diet of the animal. They reflected an array of different landscapes ranging from natural/semi-natural xerophytic desert steppes, agricultural fields, and grazing pastures. Some scats contained certain pollen taxa very rarely observed in wetland sediments, indicating the high potential of hyena "copropalynology"in providing detailed information on the past floristic composition of the landscape. When comparing with archeobotanical data from the area, the hyena scat assemblages show that the general physiognomy of the landscape has remained almost unchanged since the 6th millennium B.C., with only minor changes in the composition or density of the woody components of the desert steppe. As most of the Holocene fossil coprolites in archeological and paleontological sites of SW Asia would have been left by striped hyena, the study of the modern analogs of such accumulations in extant hyena dens is helpful to correctly interpret the fossil faunal assemblages to reconstruct the paleolandscapes, land-use change, and animal paleoethology.

Sex Differences Dictate the Movement Patterns of Striped Hyenas, Hyaena hyaena, in a Human-Dominated Landscape

“…Agricultural lands were also extensively used by hyenas of both sexes. Other than in Israel (Kruuk, 1976;Nissim D, personal communication, January 21, 2022), the use of agricultural areas by striped hyenas was documented in India (Karanth and Chellam, 2009;Athreya et al, 2013), Turkey (Akay et al, 2011), and Iran (Djamali et al, 2020). This is another indication of the importance of keeping connectivity outside of protected areas, and the significance of integrating agricultural areas within ecological corridors (Gastón et al, 2016;Gantchoff et al, 2020).…”

Status, Distribution, and Threats of Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758) in Nepal: A Review

“…Striped hyena plays a vital role to maintain forest and grassland ecosystem as an opportunistic predator, as a scavenger by clearing carcasses and by ingestion of plants and flowers which helps in remodeling of vegetation directly or indirectly (Singh, 2008;Bhandari et al, 2021;Djamali et al, 2020). The conservation activities in Nepal are more skewed towards the flagship mammals and other non-flagship mammals are given less importance (Katuwal et al, 2018).…”