Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size
Nonlethal human disturbances have been confirmed to have a negative effect on wildlife in a variety of ways, including on behaviors. In many studies, the impact of human disturbances on gregarious species of wildlife is assessed through changes in their social organization and vigilance. In our stud...
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| author | Wenxuan Xu Muyang Wang David Blank António Alves da Silva Weikang Yang Kathreen E. Ruckstuhl Joana Alves |
| author_facet | Wenxuan Xu Muyang Wang David Blank António Alves da Silva Weikang Yang Kathreen E. Ruckstuhl Joana Alves |
| author_sort | Wenxuan Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nonlethal human disturbances have been confirmed to have a negative effect on wildlife in a variety of ways, including on behaviors. In many studies, the impact of human disturbances on gregarious species of wildlife is assessed through changes in their social organization and vigilance. In our study in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve, China, we wanted to estimate the impacts of differing levels of human disturbances on two different group types (mixed-sex and all-male) of goitered gazelle, <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i>, living in three functional zones (experimental, buffer, and core zones), which represent high, medium, and low human disturbance levels, respectively. In addition, we studied the time spent vigilant as a function of group size with different levels of human disturbances in the three zones. In general, mixed-sex gazelle groups were of similar sizes in the three different zones, while all-male groups slightly differed in their sizes between the experimental and buffer zones. This may indicate that human disturbances have varying effects on the different group types, with smaller-sized, single-sex groups being more significantly affected by human disturbances than larger-sized, mixed-sex groups. Goitered gazelle showed higher vigilance levels in the experimental zone than in the two other zones. A trend of decreasing vigilance varying linearly with group size was also found in the three zones, and the rate of decrease was higher in the experimental zone. Increased habitat fragmentation and human activities brought goitered gazelle and humans closer together in the core zone. Therefore, stopping mining activities and returning the reserve to a continuous habitat with fewer environmental disturbances is the best way to establish and protect a stable population of this endangered species of gazelle. |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:00:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
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| series | Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b2b707af6d08489499d88fcb6f4eb82f2023-12-01T23:26:37ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372022-08-01118123610.3390/biology11081236Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group SizeWenxuan Xu0Muyang Wang1David Blank2António Alves da Silva3Weikang Yang4Kathreen E. Ruckstuhl5Joana Alves6State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaResearch Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Bishkek 720001, KyrgyzstanCentre for Functional Ecology (CFE), TERRA Associate Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, PortugalState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaCentre for Functional Ecology (CFE), TERRA Associate Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, PortugalNonlethal human disturbances have been confirmed to have a negative effect on wildlife in a variety of ways, including on behaviors. In many studies, the impact of human disturbances on gregarious species of wildlife is assessed through changes in their social organization and vigilance. In our study in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve, China, we wanted to estimate the impacts of differing levels of human disturbances on two different group types (mixed-sex and all-male) of goitered gazelle, <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i>, living in three functional zones (experimental, buffer, and core zones), which represent high, medium, and low human disturbance levels, respectively. In addition, we studied the time spent vigilant as a function of group size with different levels of human disturbances in the three zones. In general, mixed-sex gazelle groups were of similar sizes in the three different zones, while all-male groups slightly differed in their sizes between the experimental and buffer zones. This may indicate that human disturbances have varying effects on the different group types, with smaller-sized, single-sex groups being more significantly affected by human disturbances than larger-sized, mixed-sex groups. Goitered gazelle showed higher vigilance levels in the experimental zone than in the two other zones. A trend of decreasing vigilance varying linearly with group size was also found in the three zones, and the rate of decrease was higher in the experimental zone. Increased habitat fragmentation and human activities brought goitered gazelle and humans closer together in the core zone. Therefore, stopping mining activities and returning the reserve to a continuous habitat with fewer environmental disturbances is the best way to establish and protect a stable population of this endangered species of gazelle.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/8/1236Kalamailimining activities<i>gazella subgutturosa</i>human disturbance |
| spellingShingle | Wenxuan Xu Muyang Wang David Blank António Alves da Silva Weikang Yang Kathreen E. Ruckstuhl Joana Alves Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size Biology Kalamaili mining activities <i>gazella subgutturosa</i> human disturbance |
| title | Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size |
| title_full | Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size |
| title_fullStr | Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size |
| title_full_unstemmed | Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size |
| title_short | Goitered Gazelle <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size |
| title_sort | goitered gazelle i gazella subgutturosa i responded to human disturbance by increasing vigilance rather than changing the group size |
| topic | Kalamaili mining activities <i>gazella subgutturosa</i> human disturbance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/8/1236 |
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