Title
Severe drought and calf survival in elephants
Author(s)
Foley, C.; Pettorelli, N.; Foley, L.
Published
2008
Publisher
Biology Letters
Abstract
Climate change in Africa is expected to lead to a higher occurrence of severe droughts in semi-arid and arid ecosystems. Understanding how animal populations react to such events is thus crucial for addressing future challenges for wildlife management and conservation. We explored how gender, age, mother's experience and family group characteristics determined calf survival in an elephant population during a severe drought in Tanzania in 1993. Young males were particularly sensitive to the drought and calf loss was higher among young mothers than among more experienced mothers. We also report high variability in calf mortality between different family groups, with family groups that remained in the National Park suffering heavy calf loss, compared with the ones that left the Park. This study highlights how severe droughts can dramatically affect early survival of large herbivores and suggests that extreme climatic events might act as a selection force on vertebrate populations, allowing only individuals with the appropriate behaviour and/or knowledge to survive. © 2008 The Royal Society.
Keywords
arid environment; climate change; comparative study; drought; ecosystem response; elephant; extreme event; group behavior; herbivore; mortality; national park; nature conservation; semiarid region; sensitivity analysis; survival; young population; age; animal behavior; animal society; article; calf (mammal); female; gender; mother; nonhuman; priority journal; survival; Tanzania; vertebrate; wildlife conservation; Animal Migration; Animals; Climate; Elephants; Male; Maternal Age; Natural Disasters; Sex Factors; Africa; East Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Animalia; Elephantidae; Loxodonta africana; Vertebrata; Matriarchs
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