Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are threatened primarily by habitat loss and human–elephant conflict. In addition to establishing protected areas and corridors for wildlife, empowering farmers to protect their crops is crucial for Asian elephant conservation [1,2]. Elephants can habituate to arti...
| Үндсэн зохиолчид: | , , , , , , |
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| Формат: | Journal article |
| Хэвлэсэн: |
Elsevier
2018
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| _version_ | 1826264793624870912 |
|---|---|
| author | King, L Pardo, M Weerathunga, S Kumara, T Jayasena, N Soltis, J de Silva, S |
| author_facet | King, L Pardo, M Weerathunga, S Kumara, T Jayasena, N Soltis, J de Silva, S |
| author_sort | King, L |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are threatened primarily by habitat loss and human–elephant conflict. In addition to establishing protected areas and corridors for wildlife, empowering farmers to protect their crops is crucial for Asian elephant conservation [1,2]. Elephants can habituate to artificial deterrents, hence natural biological alternatives are of great interest [2,3]. African elephants (Loxodonta africana) avoid African honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata), inspiring ‘beehive fences’ as a successful means of small-scale crop protection [4,5]. Here, we used a recording of a disturbed hive of cavity-dwelling Asian honey bees (Apis cerana indica) and conducted sound playbacks to 120 wild elephants in 28 different groups resting under trees in Uda Walawe National Park in Sri Lanka. Elephants responded by moving significantly further away from their resting site in bee playback trials compared to controls. Elephants also increased vocalization rates, as well as investigative and reassurance behaviours in response to bee sounds, but did not display dusting or headshaking behaviour. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:13:33Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:2b6460a9-2af3-4023-80ea-5baa3334f8c6 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:13:33Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:2b6460a9-2af3-4023-80ea-5baa3334f8c62022-03-26T12:30:40ZWild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey beesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:2b6460a9-2af3-4023-80ea-5baa3334f8c6Symplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2018King, LPardo, MWeerathunga, SKumara, TJayasena, NSoltis, Jde Silva, SAsian elephants (Elephas maximus) are threatened primarily by habitat loss and human–elephant conflict. In addition to establishing protected areas and corridors for wildlife, empowering farmers to protect their crops is crucial for Asian elephant conservation [1,2]. Elephants can habituate to artificial deterrents, hence natural biological alternatives are of great interest [2,3]. African elephants (Loxodonta africana) avoid African honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata), inspiring ‘beehive fences’ as a successful means of small-scale crop protection [4,5]. Here, we used a recording of a disturbed hive of cavity-dwelling Asian honey bees (Apis cerana indica) and conducted sound playbacks to 120 wild elephants in 28 different groups resting under trees in Uda Walawe National Park in Sri Lanka. Elephants responded by moving significantly further away from their resting site in bee playback trials compared to controls. Elephants also increased vocalization rates, as well as investigative and reassurance behaviours in response to bee sounds, but did not display dusting or headshaking behaviour. |
| spellingShingle | King, L Pardo, M Weerathunga, S Kumara, T Jayasena, N Soltis, J de Silva, S Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees |
| title | Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees |
| title_full | Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees |
| title_fullStr | Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees |
| title_short | Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees |
| title_sort | wild sri lankan elephants retreat from the sound of disturbed asian honey bees |
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