from Part IV - Behavioral indicators
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2016
INTRODUCTION
Animals inhabit environments that are rapidly changing due to anthropogenic activities, such as the destruction and fragmentation of habitats, the introduction of exotic species and the alteration of local and global climate regimes. These changes are stretching the capacity of animals to cope, with conditions potentially outside the bounds of those experienced over the recent evolutionary history of the species. For managers of protected areas and endangered populations to respond in time to the threats posed by changing environments, these threats must be recognized early on, when still relatively benign, so as to be able to mitigate or counteract the adverse consequences of the altered environment. Coping takes place most immediately through behavioral responses, perhaps followed at a later stage by adjustments in physiology, and maybe over generational scales by shifts in morphology. This means that changes in animal behavior are potentially sensitive indicators that can provide the necessary early warning. Such behaviors must be documented in such a way that the changes will be revealed. In Chapter 11, Kotler et al. describe in detail how managers can use the behavior of animals as an indicator for their population's status and as a monitoring tool for the success of management programs aimed to assist these populations. However, behavioral indicators can tell us even more.
Animals in the wild do not live their life in isolation. They are a part of a complex ecosystem that includes many different species as well as various abiotic features. All species in a given system interact, to some extent, either directly or indirectly. There are many types of biological interactions between species: The most common ones are competition (either direct competition through interference or indirect through the utilization of shared resources), predation, parasitism and mutualism (e.g. pollination or seed dispersal). In addition, animals interact with their abiotic environment. The environment provides resources such as food and shelter, as well as constraints that may limit the behavior of animals (e.g. barriers that limit movement, the chemical composition of the water that can affect the behavior of aquatic species or noise that can limit communication between individuals). There is a constant feedback between animals and their environment, which, depending on existing conditions, may be either positive or negative.
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