Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants
Formic acid was investigated as a potential repellant for African savanna elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) as a semiochemical option for managing elephant movements and interactions with human infrastructure. Formic acid is a naturally occurring compound, used as an alarm pheromone...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/10/1079 |
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| author | Mark G. Wright Irene Gatti Michelle G. Au Juliana Salehi Craig R. Spencer Paul Allin Agenor Mafra-Neto |
| author_facet | Mark G. Wright Irene Gatti Michelle G. Au Juliana Salehi Craig R. Spencer Paul Allin Agenor Mafra-Neto |
| author_sort | Mark G. Wright |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Formic acid was investigated as a potential repellant for African savanna elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) as a semiochemical option for managing elephant movements and interactions with human infrastructure. Formic acid is a naturally occurring compound, used as an alarm pheromone and as a defensive chemical in Formicine ants, and thus a potentially desirable option compared to introducing exogenous deterrents that are foreign to the elephants’ natural habitats. Although most elephants observed (85%) did not interact with treatments containing formic acid, of the cohort of individuals (<i>n</i> = 38) that did respond, the majority showed a mild to moderate avoidance response, while a small proportion of elephants were distinctly repelled when experiencing formic acid cues, in some cases causing whole herds to evacuate an area. The potential for using formic acid as an elephant repellant to modulate elephant behavior in field situations is discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:19:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f154ec4fab4f4284bbba4a8362707b1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:19:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-f154ec4fab4f4284bbba4a8362707b1c2023-11-19T16:14:46ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-10-011510107910.3390/d15101079Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna ElephantsMark G. Wright0Irene Gatti1Michelle G. Au2Juliana Salehi3Craig R. Spencer4Paul Allin5Agenor Mafra-Neto6Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, 3050 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USATransfrontier Africa, Olifants West Nature Reserve, Hoedspruit 1380, South AfricaDepartment of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, 3050 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USADepartment of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, 3050 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USATransfrontier Africa, Olifants West Nature Reserve, Hoedspruit 1380, South AfricaTransfrontier Africa, Olifants West Nature Reserve, Hoedspruit 1380, South AfricaISCA Inc., 1230 Spring Street, Riverside, CA 92507, USAFormic acid was investigated as a potential repellant for African savanna elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) as a semiochemical option for managing elephant movements and interactions with human infrastructure. Formic acid is a naturally occurring compound, used as an alarm pheromone and as a defensive chemical in Formicine ants, and thus a potentially desirable option compared to introducing exogenous deterrents that are foreign to the elephants’ natural habitats. Although most elephants observed (85%) did not interact with treatments containing formic acid, of the cohort of individuals (<i>n</i> = 38) that did respond, the majority showed a mild to moderate avoidance response, while a small proportion of elephants were distinctly repelled when experiencing formic acid cues, in some cases causing whole herds to evacuate an area. The potential for using formic acid as an elephant repellant to modulate elephant behavior in field situations is discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/10/1079human-elephant conflictbehavior modificationolfactory cue |
| spellingShingle | Mark G. Wright Irene Gatti Michelle G. Au Juliana Salehi Craig R. Spencer Paul Allin Agenor Mafra-Neto Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants Diversity human-elephant conflict behavior modification olfactory cue |
| title | Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants |
| title_full | Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants |
| title_short | Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants |
| title_sort | evaluating formic acid as a behavioral modifier in african savanna elephants |
| topic | human-elephant conflict behavior modification olfactory cue |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/10/1079 |
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