Dataset Information

Role of mass-kill hunting strategies in the extirpation of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the northern Levant.

ABSTRACT: Continuous and intensive exploitation of wildlife resources by early agricultural societies had major ecological consequences in the ancient Near East. In particular, hunting strategies of post-Neolithic societies involving the mass killing of wild ungulates contributed to the eventual extirpation of a number of wild species. A remarkable deposit of bones of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutarosa) from fourth millennium BCE levels at Tell Kuran in northeastern Syria provides insight into the unsustainable hunting practices that disrupted gazelle migratory patterns and helped set the course for the virtual extinction of this species and possibly other steppe species in the Levant. The social context of mass kills conducted during periods when people relied primarily on domestic livestock for animal resources sets them apart from the more targeted and sustainable practices of earlier periods, when wild animals were the major or sole source of animal protein.

SUBMITTER: Bar-Oz G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3088574 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Role of mass-kill hunting strategies in the extirpation of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the northern Levant.

Bar-Oz Guy G Zeder Melinda M Hole Frank F

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20110418 18

Continuous and intensive exploitation of wildlife resources by early agricultural societies had major ecological consequences in the ancient Near East. In particular, hunting strategies of post-Neolithic societies involving the mass killing of wild ungulates contributed to the eventual extirpation of a number of wild species. A remarkable deposit of bones of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutarosa) from fourth millennium BCE levels at Tell Kuran in northeastern Syria provides insight into the unsus ...[more]

PMID: 21502520

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Project description:Background:Tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) are fast running predatory insects preying on different small insects and other terrestrial arthropods. Prey is located by sight and captured after short and fast pursuit interspersed with pause-and-look behaviour. At least some tiger beetle species can recognise the size and location of prey using memory, which probably allows them to achieve greater hunting success. Material and Methods:Two eurytopic tiger beetle species known to occur in different types of habitat were used in the study: Cicindela hybrida hybrida, a very common central European beetle found even in artificial habitats such as sandy roads or gravel pits, and Calomera littoralis nemoralis, a species widely distributed in southern European countries and occurring on sandy sea beaches, in salt marshes, as well as on sandy banks of rivers and lakes. Both species are very similar in body size. Specimens used in the study were collected in the field and later tested in the laboratory. We checked whether tiger beetles use different hunting strategies when attacking prey of different sizes and abilities to escape as well as whether the sex of the studied species makes a difference in its hunting behaviour. Results:The hunting strategies of both tiger beetle species consist of the following main phases: identification, pursuit (often with stops), attack, and optional release of the prey, and then the secondary attack, abandonment of the prey, or consumption of the prey. Considerable differences were noticed in hunting behaviour depending on the type of prey, its movement ability and escape potential. Caterpillars were attacked without pursuit, in the head or directly behind the head where a concentration of nerves and main muscles responsible for walking are located. Effective attacks on beetles were executed at the connection between the thorax and the abdomen. Calomera littoralis strongly preferred slow moving prey, while Cicindela hybrida preferred in equal measure slow moving prey and medium-sized fast moving prey. The experiment on the preferred size of prey indicated small beetles and small caterpillars as favoured by Calomera littoralis, while Cicindela hybrida preferred medium-sized fast moving prey and large caterpillars. Discussion:The hunting behaviour of Calomera littoralis and Cicindela hybrida is complicated and includes a number of phases allowing to locate, capture and kill the prey. Beetles are able to discriminate between different types of prey and apply different behavioural tactics to hunt it. As the particular strategies are used to increase hunting success, and as a result allow to accumulate energy for future activity of the predator, it can be expected that such a type of hunting behaviour is characteristic also of other tiger beetle species.

Project description:Harvest, through its intensity and regulation, often results in selection on female reproductive traits. Changes in female traits can have demographic consequences, as they are fundamental in shaping population dynamics. It is thus imperative to understand and quantify the demographic consequences of changes in female reproductive traits to better understand and anticipate population trajectories under different harvest intensities and regulations. Here, using a dynamic, frequency-dependent, population model of the intensively hunted brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in Sweden, we quantify and compare population responses to changes in four reproductive traits susceptible to harvest-induced selection: litter size, weaning age, age at first reproduction, and annual probability to reproduce. We did so for different hunting quotas and under four possible hunting regulations: (i) no individuals are protected, (ii) mothers but not dependent offspring are protected, (iii) mothers and dependent offspring of the year (cubs) are protected, and (iv) entire family groups are protected (i.e., mothers and dependent offspring of any age). We found that population growth rate declines sharply with increasing hunting quotas. Increases in litter size and the probability to reproduce have the greatest potential to affect population growth rate. Population growth rate increases the most when mothers are protected. Adding protection on offspring (of any age), however, reduces the availability of bears for hunting, which feeds back to increase hunting pressure on the nonprotected categories of individuals, leading to reduced population growth. Finally, we found that changes in reproductive traits can dampen population declines at very high hunting quotas, but only when protecting mothers. Our results illustrate that changes in female reproductive traits may have context-dependent consequences for demography. Thus, to predict population consequences of harvest-induced selection in wild populations, it is critical to integrate both hunting intensity and regulation, especially if hunting selectivity targets female reproductive strategies.

Dataset Information

Role of mass-kill hunting strategies in the extirpation of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the northern Levant.

Publications

Role of mass-kill hunting strategies in the extirpation of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the northern Levant.

Similar Datasets

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