Survival and behaviour of captive‐born weasels (<i>Mustela nivalis nivalis</i>) released in nature

Hellstedt, Paavo; Kallio, Eva R.

doi:10.1017/s0952836905006618

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…They were provided with ad libitum water via a nipple drinker and approximately ad libitum food once daily. Non-enriched (NE) mink (N = 32) lived in unmodified versions of these, which resembled the smallest, least enriched enclosures that are used for breeding endangered mustelids [2] , [15] , [84] ). Every alternate cage was an enriched (E) cage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…American mink ( Neovison vison ) were ideal model Carnivores because the enrichments that are beneficial for their welfare are well understood (e.g. [80] , [81] ); female behaviour and physiology suggest mate choosiness [82] ; their stereotypies are known to be accompanied by increased perseveration [71] , [83] ; and small enclosures are commonly used for breeding endangered mustelids [2] , [15] , [84] ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmentally Enriched Male Mink Gain More Copulations than Stereotypic, Barren-Reared Competitors

et al. 2013

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Wild carnivores in zoos, conservation breeding centres, and farms commonly live in relatively small, unstimulating enclosures. Under these captive conditions, in a range of species including giant pandas, black-footed ferrets, and European mink, male reproductive abilities are often poor. Such problems have long been hypothesized to be caused by these animals' housing conditions. We show for the first time that rearing under welfare-improving (i.e., highly valued and stress-reducing) environmental enrichments enhances male carnivores' copulatory performance: in mate choice competitions, enriched male American mink (Neovison vison) mated more often than non-enriched males. We screened for several potential mediators of this effect. First was physiological stress and its impact on reproductive physiology; second, stress-mediated changes in morphology and variables related to immunocompetence that could influence male attractiveness; and third, behavioural changes likely to affect social competence, particularly autistic-like excessive routine and repetition (‘perseveration’) as is reflected in the stereotypies common in captive animals. Consistent with physiological stress, excreted steroid metabolites revealed that non-enriched males had higher cortisol levels and lower androgen levels than enriched conspecifics. Their os penises (bacula) also tended to be less developed. Consistent with reduced attractiveness, non-enriched males were lighter, with comparatively small spleens and a trend to greater fluctuating asymmetry. Consistent with impaired social competence, non-enriched males performed more stereotypic behaviour (e.g., pacing) in their home cages. Of all these effects, the only significant predictor of copulation number was stereotypy (a trend suggesting that low bodyweights may also be influential): highly stereotypic males gained the fewest copulations. The neurophysiological changes underlying stereotypy thus handicap males sexually. We hypothesise that such males are abnormally perseverative when interacting with females. Investigating similar problems in other taxa would be worthwhile, since many vertebrates, wild and domestic, live in conditions that cause stereotypic behaviour and/or impair neurological development.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmentally Enriched Male Mink Gain More Copulations than Stereotypic, Barren-Reared Competitors

et al. 2013

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“…November 2010 539 PREDATOR MANIPULATION EXPERIMENT IMPACTS REVIEWS effective but illegal in many countries because of ethical concerns or effects on non-target species (Glen et al 2007). Increasing predator densities via experimental introduction is even less popular as predators usually emigrate swiftly or, if captive-born and raised, experience high mortality because of poor hunting skills and naivety towards other predators (Sundell 2003, Hellstedt andKallio 2005). Despite these challenges, 77% of openarea experiments (56 of 73) achieved ''high'' efficiency.…”

Section: Experimental Design and The Efficiency Of Predator Manipulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator manipulation experiments: impacts on populations of terrestrial vertebrate prey

Salo

Banks

Dickman

et al. 2010

Ecological Monographs

149

184

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Quantifying the relative impacts of top‐down vs. bottom‐up control of ecosystems remains a controversial issue, with debate often focusing on the perennial question of how predators affect prey densities. To assess predator impacts, we performed a worldwide meta‐analysis of field experiments in which the densities of terrestrial vertebrate predators were manipulated and the responses of their terrestrial vertebrate prey were measured. Our results show that predation indeed limits prey populations, as prey densities change substantially after predator manipulations. The main determinant of the result of an experiment was the efficiency of predator manipulation. Positive impacts of predator manipulation appeared to increase with duration of the experiment for non‐cyclic prey, while the opposite was true for cyclic prey. In addition, predator manipulation showed a large positive impact on cyclic prey at low prey densities, but had no obvious impact at peak prey densities. As prey population densities generally respond predictably to predator manipulations, we suggest that control of introduced vertebrate predators can be used to effectively conserve and manage native wildlife. However, care should be taken when controlling native predators, especially apex species, owing to their importance as strong interactors and the biodiversity value of their habitats. We discuss gaps in our knowledge of predator–prey relationships and methodological issues related to manipulation experiments. An important guideline for future studies is that adequate monitoring of predator numbers before and during the experiment is the only way to ensure that observed responses in prey populations are actually caused by changes in predation impacts.

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“…Two main types of factors may influence survival and dispersal of released individuals: (1) the release method, including soft vs. hard release (Green et al 2005), captive-reared vs. wild-reared individuals (Maxwell andJamieson 1997, Mathews et al 2005), the prerelease experience (Biggins et al 1999), or familiarity (Armstrong 1995, Armstrong andCraig 1995); and (2) individual characteristics, such as age, sex, and origin (Wauters et al 1997, Doligez et al 2004b, Schaub et al 2004, Hardman and Moro 2006. Some studies agree that animals that have spent a long time in captivity suffer a demographic cost in survival and may tend to over-disperse, mainly because of stress and inexperience in the new habitat (Curio 1996, Caro 1999, Hellstedt and Kallio 2005, Mathews et al 2005; but see Berry 1998, White et al 2005. Effects of release methods and individual characteristics are, contrarily, more variable and species-dependent (Armstrong 1995, Maxwell and Jamieson 1997, Ellis et al 2000, Hardman and Moro 2006vs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ROLES OF SURVIVAL AND DISPERSAL IN REINTRODUCTION SUCCESS OF GRIFFON VULTURE (GYPS FULVUS)

Gouar

Robert

Choisy³

et al. 2008

Ecological Applications

106

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The success of reintroduction programs greatly depends on the amount of mortality and dispersal of the released individuals. Although local environmental pressures are likely to play an important role in these processes, they have rarely been investigated because of the lack of spatial replicates of reintroduction. In the present study, we analyzed a 25-year data set encompassing 272 individuals released in five reintroduction programs of Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) in France to examine the respective roles of survival and dispersal in program successes and failures. We use recent developments in multi-strata capture-recapture models to take into account tag loss in survival estimates and to consider and estimate dispersal among release areas. We also examined the effects of sex, age, time, area, and release status on survival, and we tested whether dispersal patterns among release areas were consistent with habitat selection theories. Results indicated that the survival of released adults was reduced during the first year after release, with no difference between sexes. Taking into account local observations only, we found that early survival rates varied across sites. However when we distinguished dispersal from mortality, early survival rates became equal across release sites. It thus appears that among reintroduction programs difference in failure and success was due to differential dispersal among release sites. We revealed asymmetrical patterns of dispersal due to conspecific attraction: dispersers selected the closest and the largest population. We showed that mortality can be homogeneous from one program to another while, on the contrary, dispersal is highly dependent on the matrix of established populations. Dispersal behavior is thus of major interest for metapopulation restoration and should be taken into account in planning reintroduction designs.

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Survival and behaviour of captive‐born weasels (Mustela nivalis nivalis) released in nature

Cited by 20 publications

References 36 publications

Environmentally Enriched Male Mink Gain More Copulations than Stereotypic, Barren-Reared Competitors

Environmentally Enriched Male Mink Gain More Copulations than Stereotypic, Barren-Reared Competitors

Predator manipulation experiments: impacts on populations of terrestrial vertebrate prey

ROLES OF SURVIVAL AND DISPERSAL IN REINTRODUCTION SUCCESS OF GRIFFON VULTURE (GYPS FULVUS)

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