Cargando…

High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore

1. The impacts of high ambient temperatures on mortality in humans and domestic animals are well‐understood. However much less is known about how hot weather affects mortality in wild animals. High ambient temperatures have been associated with African wild dog Lycaon pictus pup mortality, suggestin...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Rabaiotti, Daniella, Groom, Rosemary, McNutt, J. Weldon, Watermeyer, Jessica, O'Neill, Helen M. K., Woodroffe, Rosie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8258213/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34257912
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7601
_version_ 1783718459307196416
author Rabaiotti, Daniella
Groom, Rosemary
McNutt, J. Weldon
Watermeyer, Jessica
O'Neill, Helen M. K.
Woodroffe, Rosie
author_facet Rabaiotti, Daniella
Groom, Rosemary
McNutt, J. Weldon
Watermeyer, Jessica
O'Neill, Helen M. K.
Woodroffe, Rosie
author_sort Rabaiotti, Daniella
collection PubMed
description 1. The impacts of high ambient temperatures on mortality in humans and domestic animals are well‐understood. However much less is known about how hot weather affects mortality in wild animals. High ambient temperatures have been associated with African wild dog Lycaon pictus pup mortality, suggesting that high temperatures might also be linked to high adult mortality. 2. We analyzed mortality patterns in African wild dogs radio‐collared in Kenya (0°N), Botswana (20°S), and Zimbabwe (20°S), to examine whether ambient temperature was associated with adult mortality. 3. We found that high ambient temperatures were associated with increased adult wild dog mortality at the Kenya site, and there was some evidence for temperature associations with mortality at the Botswana and Zimbabwe sites. 4. At the Kenya study site, which had the highest human impact, high ambient temperatures were associated with increased risks of wild dogs being killed by people, and by domestic dog diseases. In contrast, temperature was not associated with the risk of snare‐related mortality at the Zimbabwe site, which had the second‐highest human impact. Causes of death varied markedly between sites. 5. Pack size was positively associated with survival at all three sites. 6. These findings suggest that while climate change may not lead to new causes of mortality, rising temperatures may exacerbate existing anthropogenic threats to this endangered species, with implications for conservation. This evidence suggests that temperature‐related mortality, including interactions between temperature and other anthropogenic threats, should be investigated in a greater number of species to understand and mitigate likely impacts of climate change. ​
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8258213
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher John Wiley and Sons Inc.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-82582132021-07-12 High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore Rabaiotti, Daniella Groom, Rosemary McNutt, J. Weldon Watermeyer, Jessica O'Neill, Helen M. K. Woodroffe, Rosie Ecol Evol Original Research 1. The impacts of high ambient temperatures on mortality in humans and domestic animals are well‐understood. However much less is known about how hot weather affects mortality in wild animals. High ambient temperatures have been associated with African wild dog Lycaon pictus pup mortality, suggesting that high temperatures might also be linked to high adult mortality. 2. We analyzed mortality patterns in African wild dogs radio‐collared in Kenya (0°N), Botswana (20°S), and Zimbabwe (20°S), to examine whether ambient temperature was associated with adult mortality. 3. We found that high ambient temperatures were associated with increased adult wild dog mortality at the Kenya site, and there was some evidence for temperature associations with mortality at the Botswana and Zimbabwe sites. 4. At the Kenya study site, which had the highest human impact, high ambient temperatures were associated with increased risks of wild dogs being killed by people, and by domestic dog diseases. In contrast, temperature was not associated with the risk of snare‐related mortality at the Zimbabwe site, which had the second‐highest human impact. Causes of death varied markedly between sites. 5. Pack size was positively associated with survival at all three sites. 6. These findings suggest that while climate change may not lead to new causes of mortality, rising temperatures may exacerbate existing anthropogenic threats to this endangered species, with implications for conservation. This evidence suggests that temperature‐related mortality, including interactions between temperature and other anthropogenic threats, should be investigated in a greater number of species to understand and mitigate likely impacts of climate change. ​ John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-06-04 /pmc/articles/PMC8258213/ /pubmed/34257912 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7601 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Rabaiotti, Daniella
Groom, Rosemary
McNutt, J. Weldon
Watermeyer, Jessica
O'Neill, Helen M. K.
Woodroffe, Rosie
High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore
title High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore
title_full High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore
title_fullStr High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore
title_full_unstemmed High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore
title_short High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore
title_sort high temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an african carnivore
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8258213/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34257912
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7601
work_keys_str_mv AT rabaiottidaniella hightemperaturesandhumanpressuresinteracttoinfluencemortalityinanafricancarnivore
AT groomrosemary hightemperaturesandhumanpressuresinteracttoinfluencemortalityinanafricancarnivore
AT mcnuttjweldon hightemperaturesandhumanpressuresinteracttoinfluencemortalityinanafricancarnivore
AT watermeyerjessica hightemperaturesandhumanpressuresinteracttoinfluencemortalityinanafricancarnivore
AT oneillhelenmk hightemperaturesandhumanpressuresinteracttoinfluencemortalityinanafricancarnivore
AT woodrofferosie hightemperaturesandhumanpressuresinteracttoinfluencemortalityinanafricancarnivore