Foraging Time and Vigilance in Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis), a Social Forager
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Authors
Petterson, Kerry
Issue Date
1999
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Numerous factors affect the foraging ecology of animals, of which group size and
foraging habitat have been the most extensively researched. Our study, conducted in
Tsavo West National Park, Kenya, examined how different factors alter the foraging
behavior of rock hyraxes, Procavia capensis. The main factors investigated were group
size, distance from nearest shelter, vegetation cover, and period of the day (morning,
midday, afternoon). Our data were collected by observing a hyrax for at least two
minutes and tape recording all of the actions performed within that time span, primarily
foraging, vigilance, and watching (handling food while scanning for predators). The
tapes were later replayed and timed, thereby providing the data needed to calculate the
percent time allocated to each activity and the average length of each activity (bout). Of
all the variables, we found that group size exhibited the most significant relationships,
correlating positively with percent time foraging and negatively with percent time
vigilant and watching. Distance from nearest shelter and vegetation cover also had
significant relationships with foraging behavior and watching behavior, although not
vigilance behavior. Other variables that were recorded (foraging patch, date of
observation, size of hyrax, and time of day) were negligible in their correlations, although
they did reveal some interesting trends discussed in the paper.
Description
v, 36 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.