Communication hubs of an asocial cat are the source of a human - carnivore conflict and key to its solution

Melzheimer, Joerg (author), Heinrich, Sonja K. (author), Wasiolka, Bernd (author), Mueller, Rebekka (author), Thalwitzer, Susanne (author), Palmegiani, Ivan (author), Weigold, Annika (author), Portas, Ruben (author), Roeder, Ralf (author), Krofel, Miha (author), Hofer, Heribert (author), Wachter, Bettina (author)

Human%wildlife conflicts occur worldwide. Although many nonlethal mitigation solutions are available, they rarely use the behavioral ecology of the conflict species to derive effective and long-lasting solutions. Here, we use a long-term study with 106 GPS-collared free-ranging cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) to demonstrate how new insights into the socio-spatial organization of this species provide the key for such a solution. GPS-collared territory holders marked and defended communication hubs (CHs) in the core area of their territories. The CHs/territories were distributed in a regular pattern across the landscape such that they were not contiguous with each other but separated by a surrounding matrix. They were kept in this way by successive territory holders, thus maintaining this overdispersed distribution. The CHs were also visited by nonterritorial cheetah males and females for information exchange, thus forming hotspots of cheetah activity and presence. We hypothesized that the CHs pose an increased predation risk to young calves for cattle farmers in Namibia. In an experimental approach, farmers shifted cattle herds away from the CHs during the calving season. This drastically reduced their calf losses by cheetahs because cheetahs did not follow the herds but instead preyed on naturally occurring local wildlife prey in the CHs. This implies that in the cheetah system, there are %problem areas,% the CHs, rather than %problem individuals.% The incorporation of the behavioral ecology of conflict species opens promising areas to search for solutions in other conflict species with nonhomogenous space use.

• Language: English
• Keywords: cheetah, movement ecology, intraspecific communication, human-wildlife conflict
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: Str.
• Numbering: Vol. , iss.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-124036
• UDC: 591
• ISSN on article: 0027-8424
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2002487117
• COBISS.SI-ID: 43724035
• Publication date in RUL: 21.12.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
• Shortened title: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• ISSN: 0027-8424
• COBISS.SI-ID: 286487

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.
• Licensing start date: 21.12.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: gepard, ekologija gibanja, znotrajvrstne interakcije, znotrajvrstna komunikacija, konflikti