Issue16

BIOSPHERE 

RESEARCH - NEWS - PHOTOGRAPHY - EXPEDITIONS 

Skewed biological views - Research in the rain - Following wild dogs - Prairie Violence 

BIOSPHERE - 1

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Saving the sea turtle 

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A partnership between 

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4 - 5 

6 - 17 

18 - 23 

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32 - 39 

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In the Field: Squirrels & 

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How do they hunt? 

Tracking wild dogs. 

Violent encounters. 

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2 - BIOSPHERE BIOSPHERE - 3

IMAGE OF THE ISSUE 

Kyle Moore 

Here’s one of our favourite shots from this year’s Mammal Photographer 

of the Year Competition from the Mammal Society. Kyle Moore was 

the winner in the 16-18 age category. Check out the whole bunch on 

their Flickr account. 


NEW DISCOVERIES FROM 

ECOLOGY 

VEGGIE SPIDERS 

For the Bagheera kiplingi jumping spider, there is 

no web-spinning and lying in wait, nor are there 

acrobatic leaps to pounce on prey. This spider, rather 

uniquely, is vegetarian. 

A comprehensive review has discovered that, while B. 

kiplingi appears to be alone for now as a completely 

veggie spider, there may be more plant-nibbling 

arachnids on the planet than you might think. In fact, 

it appears that it might actually be quite common. 

So far, 60 species across 10 taxonomic groups have 

been identified as omnivorous, as happy to tuck into 

vegetation as they are to eat an insect. 

Spiders, of course, cannot eat solid food. Much like 

their relatives perched in a web and sucking out 

the juices of their victims, the veggie spiders have 

to somehow get around the problem of ingesting 

solids. This can be via digestive enzymes breaking 

up a leaf into manageable mush prior to eating, 

or simply sticking to the relatively easy option of 

slurping up sap or sweet nectar. 

Partially-vegetarian spiders have now been identified 

on every continent barring Antarctica, and it clearly 

opens up their ability to feed on other sources if 

traditional insect prey is scarce. While you are still 

more likely to see the classic spider and fly scenario, 

don’t be too surprised if you ever see a tiny jumping 

spider hopping from flower to flower, feasting on 

nectar, and acting as an unexpected pollinator! 

Martin Nyffeler, Olson, E, Symondson, W. (2016) Plant-eating by 

spiders. Journal of Arachnology doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1636/ 

P15-45.1 

© Maximilian Paradiz, Des Colhoun 

A SMELLY PROTECTION 

Aposematism is a well-known, widespread 

defence strategy. Warning signals let 

predators know that a toxic individual would 

not be a wise dinner choice. Often, the warning 

signal features garish, clashing colours, vivid 

reds or yellows. But what about warning 

nocturnal predators that rely more on 

their nose than vision to track down 

a meal? 

The parasite Heterorhabditis 

bacteriophora, a nematode that 

infects insect larvae, is known 

to turn its hosts red. That’s the 

visual warning covered, enough 

to deter watching birds. New 

research has highlighted how the 

nematode also avoids nocturnal 

hunters that rely on scent rather 

than visual clues, by making its host 

unappetisingly smelly. 

It is an example of not only parasite-induced 

aposematism, but an olfactory warning that 

helps to the keep the host alive long enough for 

its uninvited nematode guests to reproduce. 

Jones, R, Fenton, A, & Speed, M. (2016) Parasite-induced 

aposematism protects entomopathogenic nematode 

parasites against invertebrate enemies. Behavioural 

Ecology, doi: 10.1093/beheco/arv202 

COLONY COLLAPSE 

Ant colonies are often exploited by other 

invertebrate species. Beetles and larvae galore 

infiltrate or feed without repercussions, though the 

overall interactions are usually on a small enough 

scale not to damage the host nest. 

In the case of the parasitic moth Eublemma albifascia, 

the exploitation can lead the entire ant colony that 

hosts them to an early demise. The female moth will 

often lay eggs directly onto the ant nest, which are 

taken into the colony by worker African weaver ants 

(Oecophylla longinoda). Once inside, the larvae use 

‘cuckoo strategy’ behaviour to solicit food and receive 

far more attention from the captivated workers than 

even the queen. 

DRESSING DOWN 

Males of the avian world are famed for their 

flamboyant, flashy feathers and colourful 

displays. In contrast, females are generally more drab 

in appearance. A new theory has arisen on why this 

may be. 

The toned-down appearance of female 

birds could help their camouflage 

- many feature dull browns that 

help them disappear into the 

background. Or using resources 

on elaborate ornamentation and 

brighter colours may lower fertility 

overall. Scientists at the University 

of Exeter, however, have another 

theory: the females just want to be 

left alone. 

It certainly appears that the drab 

colouring could be part of the female 

repertoire for avoiding attention - if she were 

to advertise her sexual quality more openly with 

colours and displays, the increase in attention may 

lead to a decrease in her fecundity, according to the 

researchers. So, alongside other anti-harassment 

tactics, toning it down could be a valuable 

contribution to simply finding some much-needed 

peace and quiet. 

D.J. Hosken, S.H. Alonzo, N. Wedell. Why aren’t signals of 

female quality more common? Animal Behaviour, 2016; 114: 199 

DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.02.015 

Colonies have been found harbouring large numbers 

of these deceptive caterpillars, up to 350 in some 

cases. As the ants scurry and work to supply the 

caterpillars with the resources they need, the queen 

is fatally neglected. She starves, stops laying eggs, and 

eventually dies. With her goes the future of the colony. 

After this point, without her pheromone influence, 

only males will be produced by the remaining ants, 

and, as a result of the moth’s interference, what was 

once a thriving and industrious colony will eventually 

fade and fall to empty ruins. 

Dejean, A, Orivel, J, Azemar, F. et al. (2016) A cuckoo-like parasitic 

moth leads African weaver ant colonies to their ruin. 

Named after the 

legendary city of 

El Dorado, the frog 

Pristimantis dorado 

was found in the cloud 

forests of the Andes. 

“The Spaniards assumed 

Colombia’s wealth was 

its gold, but today we 

understand that the real 

riches of the country 

lie in its biodiversity,” 

said researcher Andrew 

Crawford. 

Alaska’s first new 

butterfly species 

in three decades. 

The Tanana Arctic 

butterfly (Oeneis 

tanana) of their aspen 

and spruce forests 

is well-camouflaged 

to its environment, 

and appears to be an 

ancient hybrid of two 

related species - Oeneis 

chryxus and Oeneis 

bore. 

NEW 

SPECIES 

LINE UP 

Micrixalus herrei is 

a dancing frog from 

India’s Western Ghats 

region. While the 

frog itself has been 

previously described, its 

tadpoles had never been 

documented. Tadpoles 

found burrowing 

through streambeds 

turned out to be the 

enigmatic young of the 

frog, famed for its legwaving 

displays. 

The land of the 

lemurs has 3 new 

primates to add to its 

repertoire. The new 

species are all mouse 

lemurs - small and 

nocturnal - and they 

can only be found in 

the south and east 

of Madagascar. Their 

discovery brings 

the total number of 

known mouse lemur 

species to twenty 

four. 



CONSERVATION 

VIRTUAL REALITY FOR JAGUAR CONSERVATION 

Formulating plans to help conserve the wild jaguars 

of South America is notoriously difficult. The 

cats are threatened, vulnerable to habitat loss, and 

incredibly secretive. Not only that, but the Amazon is 

a tricky place to work with. 

A team led by the University of Queensland, however, 

has an idea. “Since we can’t take all the experts to 

the Amazon jungle, we thought instead about ways 

that we could take the jungle to the experts,” said 

the team’s Kerrie Mengerson. 

To help conserve jaguars and give them the greatest 

chance of surviving and reproducing, wildlife 

corridors need to be created and protected. This 

way, isolated populations can reach each other and 

mingle, preserving the jaguar’s gene flow. 

So how does the team plan to achieve this, and 

how are they going to get the Amazon back to 

the world’s leading experts? The answer is by using 

virtual reality. An expedition into the rainforests can 

map and create a virtual environment, including key 

details and a wealth of information about where 

jaguars are likely to move, live, and hunt. Other 

experts can then tap in to the VR-environment and 

statistical modelling will enable the team to build 

up a knowledge base for where and how to create 

the much-needed corridors. 

It is a novel and enterprising scheme, and could be 

great news for not only the jaguars of the Amazon, 

but also future conservation efforts around the world. 

GALAPAGOS MPA 

The Galapagos Islands are about 

to benefit from a new marine 

protected area (MPA) created by 

Ecuador. 

Around the Wolf and Darwin 

islands, at the northern end of 

the archipelago, an area of 15,000 

square miles will become protected, 

approximately the size of Belgium. 

This area is home to brilliant 

biodiversity, including 34 species of 

sharks that should benefit greatly 

from the new no-take zone, as shark 

fin-harvesters may be kept at bay. 

A number of smaller MPAs dotted 

around the Galapagos have also 

been announced, bringing the 

total protected waters of the iconic 

islands to around 30%. 

“These pristine waters around the 

Galapagos archipelago are precious 

not just for Ecuadorians but for the 

whole balance of our ocean systems,” 

explained Ecuador’s Environment 

Minister Daniel Ortega Pacheco. 

“Shark populations in steep decline 

around the world come here to 

rest and breed and we want to 

guarantee complete sanctuary for 

them.” 

ASH EXTINCTION 

It is the third most common tree in Britain, and its range extends 

across Europe, from as far north as the Arctic Circle, to Turkey in 

the south, but the ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) is facing extinction 

The arrival of the emerald ash borer - a colourful invasive beetle 

- from eastern Europe is likely to decimate the widespread trees 

already hit by the impact of the fungal disease ash-dieback. 

Scientists investigating the plight of the ash believe the trees 

face an uphill battle when the two problems combine, and will 

likely be entirely wiped out. While the borer beetle itself does 

not harm ash trees, its burrowing larvae cause internal damage 

that eventually kills its host. The emerald ash borer is expected to 

arrive in western Europe and Britain within years. 

The trees are an iconic part of the landscape, common in bringing 

the sight of green to our towns and cities as well as swathes of 

woodland, and without them, the British countryside in particular 

will never look the same again. 

Thomas, P (2016. Biological Flora of the British Isles: Fraxinus excelsior, Journal 

of Ecology. doi: 10.1111.1365-2745.12566 

BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS 

Eradicating invasive mammals from islands brings 

a welcome boost to the local biodiversity. With the 

non-native rodents, feral cats, and goats that bring so 

much extra predation, competition and habitat loss 

gone, life can bloom and ecosystems can rebalance. 

And it’s worth it. The investment into removing 

the invasive species is a cost-effective conservation 

strategy, suggests the team who have undertaken 

the first global study to quantify the costs of this 

method. “Twenty one billion dollars (US) are spent 

globally each year on nature conservation,” said lead 

author Holly Jones, of the Northern Illinois University. 

conservation intervention is benefitting hundreds 

of native animals and endangered species. This is 

fantastic news in the race to prevent extinctions.” 

As a result of their findings, not to mention the invasive 

eradications that have already taken place on various 

islands, four species have been recommended to 

be downlisted on the IUCN’s red list. They are the 

island fox of California state, the Seychelles’ magpie 

robin, Cook’s petrel of New Zealand, and Mexico’s 

black-vented shearwater. Just four species among 

many that could benefit from what appears to be a 

powerful tool for cost-effective conservation. 

© Robert Pitman, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USFWS 

SEAWORLD CEASE BREEDING ORCAS 

SeaWorld have announced that they will cease all orca breeding 

programmes at their centres. 

The marine theme park chain has also stated that they will no longer 

keep any killer whales in captivity after the current generation dies. 

A total of 23 orcas remain at SeaWorld parks, including the infamous 

Tilikum, the adult male that featured in the seminal documentary, 

Blackfish. 

It is a huge breakthrough for groups who have been campaigning 

against SeaWorld due to the treatment and living conditions of the 

intelligent and highly social marine mammal. The marine parks 

appear to be well on the way to trying to counter the damage that has 

been done to their reputation and image (not to mention the captive 

orcas themselves), pledging to donate $50million to marine mammal 

rescue and rehabilitation causes over the next five years. 

“We’ve helped make orcas among the most beloved marine mammals 

on the planet,” stated the President of SeaWorld Entertainment. “As 

society’s understanding of orcas continues to change, SeaWorld’s is 

changing with it.” 

Jones, H, Holmes, N, Butchart, S. et al. (2016) Invasive mammal 

“A small fraction of this goes to eradication of invasive 

The next step will be to encourage other marine and sea-life parks 

eradication on islands results in substantial conservation gains. 

species, yet this relatively simple, cost-effective 

across the world to also adopt the same approach. 

PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1521179113 



CLIMATE CHANGE 

MASS BLEACHING 

An enormous aerial survey of the Great Barrier 

Reef (GBR) is under way, and the reports so far 

are pretty bleak. Almost 93% of reefs on Australia’s 

iconic site have been hit by bleaching, and it is 

thought to be the worst mass bleaching event the 

world has witnessed. 

Coral bleaching occurs as waters warm beyond 

their usual high summer temperatures. The algal 

symbionts that give coral its colour are lost, and it 

quickly turns bone-white. Coral can recover from 

bleaching events, but if left exposed, without its 

algae for long periods, and under the continued 

stress from high water temperatures, the reef will 

eventually die. 

SNOWSHOES FORCED OUT 

The snowshoe hare of North America could be 

forced out of its native range by climate change. 

It is a species that is perfectly adapted for life in the 

snow: the snowshoe hare is so called because of its 

delightfully over-sized feet, which allow it to move 

over deep snow with relative ease, while predators 

sink and flounder in their pursuit. Its coat, too, is 

key - it changes from brown to white in winter, 

matching its background blanket of snow. 

A warming climate changes things, however. 

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin- 

Madison have discovered that the southern 

boundaries of the snowshoe hare are shifting north. 

No snow means no hares. The animals aren’t likely 

to stick around if their historic range warms to the 

point where snowfall is minimal or non-existent, 

and those that do remain will be especially 

vulnerable and quickly picked off, for predators 

they will be an irresistible shining white beacon in 

the drab landscape. 

As is always the case if one species disappears from 

an area, the ecological consequences of the range 

shift will also likely be significant. Snowshoe hares 

are an important food source for many mammals 

and raptors of the northern wilds, and their range 

shift will undoubtedly have knock-on effects. 

Sultaire, S, Pauli, J, Martin, K. et al. (2016) Climate change 

surpasses land-use change in the contracting range boundary 

of a winter-adapted animal. Proceedings of the Royal Society 

B. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.3104 

© Denali National Park and Preserve, FarbenfroheWunderwelt 

Of over 900 individual reefs that form the GBR so 

far surveyed, only 68 have been reported to have 

escaped any instances of coral bleaching. These 

southern reefs benefitted from cooler, cloudy 

weather during the late Australian summer, and so 

appear to have dodged the worst. 

While the researchers quickly survey from the air, 

diving teams are moving in to examine each reef 

up close and confirm the spotters’ reports. Perhaps 

the divers will be able to share news that is a little 

more hopeful! 

BLOWING BUBBLES 

There may yet be a way to protect struggling reefs, 

however. By forever blowing bubbles, a new 

technique is thought to help reefs resist the effects 

of ocean acidification. 

Scientists from Stanford have suggested that 

bubbling air through seawater for just a few hours 

can enhance the transfer rate of CO2 between air and 

ocean. The process is estimated to be 30 times faster 

than the natural transfer rate, and results in a large 

reduction of CO2 present in a marine environment. 

The ‘bubble stripping’ looks to be a potentially 

affordable and useful method for lowering acidity 

in coastal ecosystems and coral reefs. In particular, 

in tropical areas, the bubbling could be run by solar 

power, further boosting the cost-effectiveness. 

“If you operate your bubbler in an area that is 

upstream of a large section of coral, you could 

reduce CO2 levels for an entire reef,” concluded 

Robert Dunbar, of Stanford University. 

A long term solution? Time will tell, but the research 

and implementation of bubblers is definitely 

something to keep an eye on, and is a cause for 

optimism. 

David A. Koweek, David A. Mucciarone, Robert B. Dunbar. Bubble 

Stripping as a Tool To Reduce High Dissolved CO2in Coastal 

Marine Ecosystems. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016; 

DOI:10.1021/acs.est.5b04733 

BIRDWATCH RESULTS ARE IN 

mild winter in the UK has seen boosts to the 

A numbers of small birds in British gardens. 

The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is a brilliant bit 

of citizen science, tapping in to a valuable resource, 

and inspiring families to engage with the life in their 

gardens and local green spaces. Every year it sees 

members of the public - citizen scientists - spending 

an hour recording bird species and numbers on 

their local patch, and, once the data is analysed, it 

allows an insight into the health of the UK’s bird 

populations. 

In its 37th year, the recent results have shown that 

milder temperatures throughout the winter appear 

to have benefitted small birds like the long-tailed tit 

(Aegithalos caudatus) and coal tit (Periparus ater), 

with their numbers up 44% and 25% respectively 

since last year’s survey. The increased numbers 

demonstrate how warmer winters will see more 

small birds survive through to the spring. In addition, 

a consistent rise in numbers of long tailed and coal 

tits seen in gardens during the Watch over recent 

years suggests they are two species that are adapting 

to garden life. Rather than remaining on the fringes 

or hidden away in the wild, they are starting to make 

the most of the food readily available on bird-tables 

and feeders. 

The boost has seen the long tailed tit return to the 

top 10 most commonly seen species for the first 

time in almost a decade. For more details on how 

other British birds fared, check out the Big Garden 

Birdwatch results. 

https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/ 

discoverandlearn/birdwatch/ 



BEHAVIOUR 

BLUFFING CRABS 

Like poker players, some fiddler crabs bluff when 

they have a weak hand, or in this case, claw. 

The crabs are famed for their huge claws on one side 

and dramatic waving as they show them off. To other 

males, it is a display of strength, a suggestion of who 

should not be messed with. To females looking on, 

the claw-waving goes hand-in-hand with the male’s 

burrow location in helping them to determine the 

quality of a mate. 

Claws, however, can fall off. Or, more likely given the 

pugnacious nature of many crabs, can be violently 

ripped off. And this is the start of a problem for male 

crabs. Yes, they can brilliantly grow the missing limb 

back, but it is weaker than its previous incarnation. 

Claw-waving stand-offs that escalate to combat 

could expose the weakness of the re-grown claw and 

leave the male crab in trouble. It could lose territory 

and potential mates, along with another long period 

of recuperation as the lost limb slowly returns. 

So, as discovered by researchers in Japan, these 

A HEADBUTT ALARM 

Honey bees have been found to use a sophisticated 

alarm system to warn each other of danger: they 

headbutt each other. 

It is actually more complex than that, of course, but 

essentially that’s how the Asian honey bee (Apis 

cerana) conveys urgent messages to its peers. The 

headbutts are in the form of short vibration pulses, 

and the length and frequency of the vibrations 

appear to correspond to different threats. A large 

predator such as a giant hornet nearby means high 

frequency butting, while a longer bout of vibrations 

appears to instead suggest an imminent threat to 

individuals turn to deception. If they have been forced 

to regenerate a limb in their lifetime, they bluff. Firstly, 

re-grown claws were often larger than original claws, 

suggesting a dishonest physical signal. Secondly, the 

behavioural bluff: the dishonest crabs start contests 

with a large amount of aggression, hoping the 

opponent will retreat, but, if an actual brawl looks 

imminent, avoidance becomes the better option, 

and they quickly back down. A fantastic example of 

dishonesty and deception in the natural world. 

“The findings are in line with current theories that 

predict that animal signals are generally honest, but 

each signalling system allows for deception,” said 

author Tsunenori Koga. 

Daisuke Muramatsu, Tsunenori Koga. (2016) Fighting with an 

unreliable weapon: opponent choice and risk avoidance in 

fiddler crab contests. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology,; DOI: 

10.1007/s00265-016-2094-2 

the hive. It is an endearing image: if a bee needs to 

stop one of its peers heading into an area it has just 

left and knows is dangerous, it will quickly perform 

its alarm-boop as a warning. 

Social mammals are well known to have an array 

of alarms, but the researchers involved believe 

they have identified the first sophisticated alarmsignalling 

system in a social insect. 

Tan, K, Dong, S, Li, X. et al. (2016) Honey bee inhibitory signaling 

is tuned to threat severity and can act as colony alarm signal. 

PLOS Biology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002423 

© http://www.nps.gov, 

PRICKLY PANIC 

Porcupines are not to be trifled with. A 

fearsome array of spines that have frustrated 

many predators’ efforts to claim a meal. Yet, it 

appears that the porcupine feels that its spines 

simply aren’t enough to make it feel safe. 

A new study from the University of Wisconsin 

has discovered that even when incredibly 

hungry, and with their brilliant defence in 

place, the North American porcupine’s 

(Erethizon dorsatum) behaviour is 

still heavily influenced by their 

predators. 

In the depths of winter, 

porcupines tend to rely more 

on their own stores of fat due 

to the scarcity of food. At this 

point, we’d perhaps expect 

porcupines to be taking more 

risks to find a meal, prioritising 

long-range foraging over 

predator avoidance. Instead, 

that inherent fear of predators 

seems to play a part in the winter 

movements of porcupines, and they 

opt against foraging further afield. 

Despite their deadly defences, and despite the 

hunger gnawing at them, porcupines still show 

great awareness of their vulnerability, and their 

movements and behaviour are driven more 

than anything by the risk of predation.. 

Pokallus, J & Pauli, J. (2016) Predation shapes the 

movement of a well-defended species, the North 

American porcupine, even when nutritionally stressed. 

Behavioural Ecology, doi: 10.1093/beheco/arv176 

MAMA’S BOYS 

Male mammals can usually be placed in one of two 

categories: those that stay at home, remaining 

part of the group they were born in, or those that 

embark on their own adventures, looking to establish 

themselves and breed elsewhere. Traditionally, the 

stay-at-home mammals have been thought of as the 

lesser males, failing to form or join groups or father 

their own offspring. But insights into the males in 

hyena societies have begun to suggest otherwise. 

Hyenas form matriarchies - the 

females dominate and hold 

all the influence in the highly 

social groups. Male spotted 

hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) that 

remain close to their mum 

appear to benefit from this 

dominance, going against 

the trend that would suggest 

they will be second-class, and 

have little to no reproductive 

success. They have instead 

BUM-DRUMMING 

new form of caterpillar communication has been 

A uncovered, and it’s novel to say the least. Masked 

birch caterpillars (Drepana arcuata) reach out to new 

friends by drumming... with their bum. 

The species forms groups, working together to build 

large silken shelters where they can all safely develop. 

But to make new friends for this enterprise, the 

caterpillars must first find each other, and at 

just 1mm in length, it isn’t an easy task. 

This is where the so-called ‘analdrumming’ 

communication comes 

to the fore. Some caterpillars 

will start to build, interspersing 

their activities with a bit of 

drumming, and any other 

nearby D. arcuata will soon be 

picking up good vibrations and 

arriving to help. 

Previously, researchers had 

identified that the caterpillars 

could rub hairs on their rear ends 

against leaves in order to generate 

vibrations. The vibrations were of 

course thought to be some form of 

signalling. Now, the latest research from 

Carleton University (as yet unpublished) appears to 

have confirmed the call-to-action use of this innovative 

addition to their repertoire. 

The study provides the first evidence that the tiny 

caterpillars use a combination of drumming and 

scraping with their bottoms to create the vibrations 

necessary to not only communicate, but to form social 

bonds and build a team. 

https://soundcloud.com/cdellamore/caterpillar-anal-drumming 

been found to be as successful in breeding as the 

males that venture off to meet other groups. 

“Mothers provide social support to their stay-home 

sons and ensure they acquire a high social rank 

among breeding males,” explains Eve Davidian of the 

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research. “This 

gives the mama’s boys privileged access to both food 

and females, allowing them to invest a lot of time 

consorting females.” 

The finding is the first time 

that, in group-living mammals, 

males that stay back rather 

than dispersing can be just as 

successful as those that leave 

home to make their own way. 

Davidian, E, Courtiol, A, Wachter, B. et 

al. (2016) Why do some males choose 

to breed at home when most other 

males disperse? Science Advances, 2 (3): 

e1501236 DOI:10.1126/sciadv.1501236 



EVOLUTION 

THE CASE OF A COMB JELLY’S POO 

It might not be the question on everyone’s lips, but 

“How do comb jellies poo?” is certainly one that 

has intrigued some evolutionary scientists and left 

others rather excited when the answer was revealed. 

Why is it so important? Well, the first animals all 

lacked an anus. They fed and excreted through the 

same hole. Even their modern-day descendants still 

do - anemones, sponges, and jellyfish. The evolution 

of a second hole brought huge benefits, as animals 

could then continue to feed even as they were 

digesting meals and ridding themselves of waste. 

Comb jellies (ctenophores) are an animal whose 

lineage evolved before other animals developed 

guts and anuses. They too were thought to feed and 

excrete through the same opening. So it came as a 

great surprise when a video by William Browne of 

the University of Miami showed the jellies expelling 

waste from a sphincter-like hole at their rear. 

The implications are that comb jellies seem to have 

independently developed guts and pores that act in 

FISH WALKS LIKE FROG 

Deep in a collection of caves on the border of 

Thailand and Myanamar lives a rather special 

fish. It is small and eyeless, common features of 

cave-dwelling animals at home in the dark. It also 

has two pairs of fins that, from above, resemble 

beautiful wings. But most significantly, this fish 

climbs waterfalls and walks like an amphibian. 

Fish dragging themselves onto land isn’t that 

unusual. It is an iconic image of evolution. However, 

they normally shift their weight by hopping with 

their pectoral fins or wiggling their way forward. 

The discovery of how Cryptotora thamicola walks 

changes things - it takes ‘steps’ in the same way 

some land vertebrates do. The fish moves one front 

fin in time with the rear fin on the opposite side, 

then alternates. This creates the same waggling 

walk as seen in amphibians such as salamanders. 

How does it achieve this? By filming and modelling the fantastic fish, scientists were able to determine that 

its pelvis and vertebral column are fused, allowing power to be shifted from its limb-like fins to its core. 

The discovery is a wonderful example of convergent evolution, as a fish, deep in caves and long-since 

separated from any lines that led to walking, independently evolved a way to waddle. 

Brooke E. Flammang, Apinun Suvarnaraksha, Julie Markiewicz, Daphne Soares. Tetrapod-like pelvic girdle in a walking cavefish. 

Scientific Reports, 2016; 6: 23711 DOI: 10.1038/srep23711 

the same way as an anus. Or, perhaps a common, 

ancient ancestor once evolved the necessary parts 

that were somehow then lost by anemones and 

sponges, as it might make sense for them to use the 

same opening if your rear is rooted to a rock! Either 

way, with the knowledge of how comb jellies poo, 

the standard view of evolution has been shaken. 

© Marsh Youngbluth, aphne Soares, Junglecat, 

PREGNANT T-REX 

Remains found in Montana, USA, have turned 

out to be those of a pregnant Tyrannosaurus 

rex, a discovery that has allowed a glimpse into the 

evolution of egg-laying from dinosaurs to modern 

birds. 

Scientists were able to identify that the T. rex was 

pregnant at the time of its death due to the presence 

of medullary bone - special tissue that is only formed 

in female birds just before and during the process of 

egg-laying. With this, birds do not need to weaken 

themselves by using calcium from their own bones 

to create egg-shell. 

The researchers involved, from North Carolina State 

University, suggest that the finding highlights how 

birds inherited egg-laying from their dinosaur 

ancestors. However, due to its fleeting appearance 

A PLASTIC PICNIC 

Plastic is everywhere. The amount produced, 

used, and then discarded is staggering. And it is 

estimated that only 10% actually gets recycled - the 

rest makes its way into landfills or as environmental 

litter. Being plastic, it doesn’t go away. 

Researchers have stumbled upon something 

with the potential to change things: a 

strain of bacteria that has evolved to 

digest plastic. Its discovery could be a 

breakthrough. 

The bacterium, Ideonella 

sakaiensis, can consume 

the most common type of 

plastic, polyethylene. It uses 

two enzymes to break the 

material down, and convert 

it to a compound that allows 

the bacteria to grow. But the 

process is a very time-consuming 

six weeks, and the bacteria isn’t 

likely to be a wondrous solution to the 

plastic problem. So far, studies have been 

conducted in laboratory conditions, and while 

the bacteria does degrade plastic, implementing it 

into the environment could prove difficult. 

However, there is room for optimism in the 

knowledge that microbes appear to be adapting 

and evolving to what we’re leaving throughout the 

environment. 

Yoshida, S, Hiraga, K, Takehana, T. et al. (2016) A bacterium 

that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate). 

Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aad6359 

before egg-laying, the chances of finding more 

medullary bone in other fossils are incredibly slim, 

so further research that investigates the blurred lines 

between birds and dinosaurs could be a while in 

coming. 

Mary Higby Schweitzer, Wenxia Zheng, Lindsay Zanno, et al. 

(2016). Chemistry supports the identification of gender-specific 

reproductive tissue in Tyrannosaurus rex. Scientific Reports, 

2016; 6: 23099 DOI: 10.1038/srep23099 

ALL ANTS ON DECK 

When facing a flood, ant colonies respond 

brilliantly. They form up to rapidly create a raft, 

using their own bodies to support each other and 

the colony’s undeveloped eggs and larvae. A new 

study has now discovered that ants remember and 

take up the same positions as occupied on previous 

rafts. 

It is a wonderful display of 

teamwork, and one that 

Formica selysi ants of Europe’s 

floodplains appear to have 

fine-tuned. Ant workers that 

survive one flood become 

veterans, and seem to 

specialise in a position on 

the raft. They remember 

where they were on 

previous assemblages, and 

take up that position again 

as the ants once more link up 

to raft themselves to safety. 

“They are just plain cool,” said author 

Jessica Purcell. “Although people have 

observed self-assemblages in the past, it’s 

exciting to make new strides in understanding how 

individuals coordinate to build these structures.” 

The finding is thought to be the first time such 

memory has been demonstrated in ants during their 

impressive rafting survival strategy. 

Avril, A, Purcell, J, Chapuisat, M. (2016) Ant workers exhibit 

specialisation and memory during raft formation. The Science 

of Nature, 10.1007/s00114-016-1360-5 



PHYSIOLOGY 

BINTURONG’S POPCORN AROMA UNRAVELLED 

The smell of warm popcorn can get most stomachsa-rumbling, 

but the source of the aroma in this 

particular case might not be quite so appetising: 

the binturong (Arctictis binturong). 

For a while, we didn’t know why 

the binturong smelled so sweet, 

but now we do. You might be 

surprised to find out that 

this mouth-watering smell 

comes, rather offputtingly, 

from the binturong’s urine. 

The researchers interested 

in these curious creatures 

spent time collecting 

samples of their urine, 

and analysed what they 

were made up of. The one 

compound that existed 

in every sample was called 

‘2AP’, and it’s the same one 

that is created when you heat 

corn, contributing to the aromas 

that get you salivating at the cinema 

desk. 

Unable to find the compound in the binturong’s own 

food, the researchers think that 2AP could be created 

by bacteria in the gut. Bacteria are responsible for 

breaking down sweat in our armpits in a similar sort 

FUNNY FEEDING 

Hydra are tiny freshwater predators, famed for 

their regenerative abilities and lack of aging. 

They anchor themselves to a surface, and stun and 

kill prey with stinging tentacles, but when it comes 

to actually eating their victims, things get especially 

interesting. 

Lacking a mouth would prove to be quite an obstacle 

for most. Not for hydra. Scientists have, for the first 

time, been able to record the 

bizarre process by which hydra 

feed. Once prey has been 

caught and paralyzed, the hydra 

contract their tentacles. As they 

do so the movement essentially 

rips open its skin to create a 

gaping maw into which the 

victim is vacuumed. The cells 

involved do not actually move 

of smelly process. 

Binturong are solitary creatures, so in order 

to communicate they leave messages 

in their environment for others. By 

soaking their feet and tail in urine, 

the binturong then spreads 

wee messages between 

the trees and bushes as it 

moves around, ready to be 

sniffed by the next passing 

binturong. 

The researchers believe 

that 2AP and other 

identified compounds 

contribute towards signals 

that tell other binturongs 

that they are around, and 

perhaps that they are ready 

to mate. 

Mystery solved. hopefully this 

story of urine, bacteria and a little 

bit of sweat won’t linger too long when 

you’re next munching on a hot bucket of buttered 

popcorn. 

Megu Gunji, Hideki Endo (2016) Functional cervicothoracic 

boundary modified by anatomical shifts in the neck of giraffe. 

Royal Society Open Science: doi:10.1098/rsos.150604. 

apart to create an opening, instead they actually 

change shape, stretching in a similar manner to how 

our pupils dilate. In some cases, the newly-created 

mouth somehow becomes larger even than the 

body of the hydra itself. 

“Evolutionarily, why do these animals have this weird 

mechanism for feeding? We don’t really have an 

answer for that yet,” says author Eva-Maria Collins of 

the University of California. 

Bizarre and mysterious, 

research into the strange 

characteristics of hydra 

continues. 

Carter, J, Hyland, C, Steele, R, 

& Collins, E-A. (2016) Dynamics 

of mouth opening in Hydra. 

Biophysical Journal. DOI: http:// 

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2016.01.008 

© jinterwas , Dominic Sherony, Przemysław Malkowski, 

FOR FLIRTING, NOT FLYING 

Alongside showy hopping dance moves and enticing songs, 

some birds have other ways of flirting, and new research has 

highlighted how, in some birds, wing muscles may develop for 

reasons other than flying. 

Scientists at Wake Forest University studied a number of South 

American birds, comparing wing muscles in species that clap their 

wings as part of their displays with birds that use more traditional 

wooing methods. “Of the species studied, only the golden-collared 

and red-capped manakins produce exceptionally rapid wing 

movements as part of their acrobatic courtship displays,” explained 

author Matthew Fuxjager. Red-capped and golden-collared 

manakins are renowned for this fast wing-clapping behaviour, and 

the sound it generates is part of their attention-seeking repertoire. 

While muscle contraction frequency needed for a manakin to fly 

is approximately 25Hz, the wing muscles of the red-capped and 

golden-collared manakins are capable of contracting at closer to 

100Hz, which is rapid, to say the least. The finding suggests that 

the speedy capabilities of the wing muscles involved - the major 

humeral retractor - have evolved not for flight, but to impress 

females. 

Fuxjager, M, Goller, F, Dirkse, A. et al. (2016) Select forelimb muscles have evolved 

superfast contractile speed to support acrobatic social displays. eLife, DOI: 

10.7554/eLife.13544 

TRAP-JAW SPIDER 

The jaws of the trap-jaw spiders may be tiny, but 

they are incredibly fast, and snap shut in a manner 

similar to bear-traps. 

Spiders of the Mecysmaucheniidae family of New 

Zealand really are very small, often only growing as 

large as 2mm in length, so studying the mechanics 

of their speedy bite is not a simple task. But by 

using a combination of high-speed cameras and 

DNA analysis, scientists from Smithsonian Institute 

have managed just that. They report that the force 

at which the jaws snap shut is likely too strong for 

muscle-power alone. Instead, it is suspected that 

some form of stored energy is involved, such as is 

seen in a recurve bow, for example. When released, 

it allows the lightning fast movements that clamp 

EXPLOSIVE ESCAPE 

Moths have a number of ways of 

escaping the clutches of hungry 

bats. Some use distracting tails, 

while some fight back with sonarjamming 

noises, disrupting a bat’s 

ability to target them. For most, 

though, once caught, it is over. 

But not for a remarkable, newlydiscovered 

species of tiger moth. 

The moth, of the Arctiinae family, 

has a unique, and somewhat 

explosive, defence. When attacked, 

grabbed, or otherwise threatened, 

it produces an eruption of a sticky, 

silk-like substance from all over its 

body. Understandably, predators 

are likely to be a bit put off by this 

unexpected turn of events, and 

quickly drop the moth. 

The substance is so far unstudied, 

and the moth not yet officially 

described, but scientists are on 

the case to learn more about this 

remarkable defence. Theories 

include it being used as more of 

a distraction - think of a smokebomb 

allowing escape - or as a 

noxious, toxic substance that a bat 

will immediately spit out. Either 

way, the silk-like explosion is a novel 

and intriguing survival strategy. 

down on prey. It is the first time these physical 

characteristics have been found in an arachnid. 

Due to their size, and the difficulties observing them 

hunting in the wild, no-one is entirely sure what the 

spiders are actually clamping those fearsome jaws 

shut on - the current theory is that the spiders’ prey 

of choice is the springtail, tiny invertebrates of the 

Colembolla family. 

“This research shows how little we know about spiders 

and how much there is still to discover,” concluded 

Hannah Wood, of the Smithsonian National Museum. 

Wood, H, Parkinson, D, Griswold, C. et al. (2016) Repeated 

evolution of power-amplified predatory strikes in trap-jaw 

spiders. Current Biology, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.029 


OPINION 

OPINION 

© Moni Sertel, Jean-Jacques Boujot 

SKEWING 

our perception 

What would you like to study 

next year? The Bengal tiger, or 

the African water rat? It is an 

important question, for rarely, 

it seems, is there an impetus 

to study species that are 

highly successful, numerous or 

considered “ordinary”. This continued momentum 

towards the weird, wonderful and endangered can 

frequently be driven by the fact that endangered and 

exotic species attract funding, high journal impact 

and equally importantly, publicity. “Ordinary”, “less 

cute” species do not. 

From the perspective of species conservation and 

biodiversity, there has been much discussion about 

the prevalence of prioritising large, highly-visible and 

aesthetically pleasing species over smaller, more 

everyday animals. Habitat conservation typically 

does benefit all species that live within a preserved 

area, and so flagship animals, which are often used to 

front campaigns and high-profile research projects, 

do help support other species by attracting public 

support – and money – to the cause. But scientists 

must be careful not to overlook our planet’s other, 

less “glamorous” creatures. They are vital to our 

understanding of biology. 

With finite time, money and resources, preference 

currently is given to those species in critical danger 

of persecution or immediate need of protection: 

pandas, tigers, rhinos. But the impact of this on our 

knowledge of animal biology – their physiology, 

energetics, ecology and behaviour – is not yet fully 

understood. A scientific study on the physiology 

of the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana), for 

example, is unlikely to inform greatly on that of the 

African water rat (Dasymys incomtus) despite the 

fact that they frequently share the same habitat. 

Steve Portgual 

argues that a bias 

towards the weird 

and wonderful could 

skew our perception 

of animal biology. 


OPINION 

OPINION 

We know much about 

long distance athletes like 

godwits (left) but what 

about the more ‘boring 

‘species like the dunnock 

(right)? 

Indeed, there is a chance that our focus on these exotic 

and endangered species is biasing our knowledge of 

animal biology. A recent review revealed that 42% of 

studies published in the selected journals focused 

on species listed as threatened. Conversely, only 4% 

involved research into those categorised as nonthreatened. 

more common and “successful” species are seemingly 

able to adapt and change to these pressures, and the 

mechanisms, characteristics and traits that enable 

them to do so. 

Where should we be looking? 

Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of an organism to 

change its observable traits in response to changes 

in the environment, has received much deserved 

attention in recent years, particularly in birds. 

cope better with climate and habitat change. Early 

studies on phenotypic plasticity have, as perhaps a 

logical starting point, focused on nature’s extremists 

and athletes, in line with the fascination for studying 

exotic and endangered species. 

Examples include long distance migratory shore 

birds, such as godwits, groups of which can migrate 

up to 11,000km over the open ocean without 

stopping. That these species are able to undertake 

such extensive and impressive migrations suggests 

a natural predisposition for plasticity of the body’s 

organs throughout the annual cycle, enabling them 

to cope with such energetically challenging and 

demanding events. Indeed, these species show 

much propensity for change in their digestive organs, 

muscles and fat stores. 

Other species have shown very rapid changes in their 

migratory habits and routes. Classic examples, which 

have attracted considerable attention, are blackcaps 

(Sylvia atricapilla) and chiffchaffs (Phylloscopus 

collybita) – both passerine birds which have, over the 

last 50 years, gradually begun moving from central 

Europe to overwinter in the UK, halting their migration 

post-breeding to sub-Saharan Africa, some 7,000km 

away. Why these unusual species would show this 

trait while other similarly-sized, closely-related birds 

with similar diets don’t is not fully understood. More 

work is needed on less “extraordinary” birds. 

Currently, the extent of this flexibility and what 

initiates such changes is unclear. Of course plasticity 

can only go so far in response to change. For 

example, metabolic rate cannot increase or decrease 

indefinitely, and at some juncture, anatomical factors 

will impose a limit on what degree of change is 

possible. This plasticity, however, has not been tested 

extensively in what one might consider a more 

“typical” or “ordinary” species, and particularly not in 

This means that we tend to study those animals 

that are struggling to adapt and modify under the 

pressures of human activity worldwide. And as a 

consequence, we spend less time discovering how It has been suggested that these species may well 

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their natural environment. 

Looking ahead 

It is possible that these “normal” species are capable 

of demonstrating equally admirable plasticity in 

their characteristics, but the environmental scenario 

which requires its exhibition has not yet arisen. 

Share your research 

experiences with 

BIOSPHERE 

© daddyboskeazy, 

Evolutionary ecologist Massimo Pigliucci has 

suggested a potential reason why there are few 

studies on this: “This field often relies on studies 

that are low-tech and tedious to carry out, and yet 

demanding high personnel costs and long periods 

of time, a combination that is sometimes difficult 

to justify to funding agencies when compared 

with more ‘high-tech’ science.” Understanding the 

potential and capacity for change in particular 

species is vital for predicting the responses of 

different species to anticipated changes in the 

climate and general landscape. 

A firm basis for understanding the capacity of a 

species to change can only come from a sound 

platform of good general knowledge of animal 

biology, in particular from those species which are 

numerous, prosperous, and operate successfully 

within a changing environment. Of course, 

important and vital research must continue into 

endangered species, but a longer and larger-scale 

outlook is critical if we are to recognise fully the 

extent of change that may take place in response to 

shifts in the climate. “Ordinary” should no longer be a 

dirty word when it comes to what is recognised and 

endorsed by funders and researchers. 

Steve Portgual is a Lecturer in Animal Biology 

and Physiology at Royal Holloway University, 

London. 

From The Conversation. Read here: http:// 

theconversation.com/how-a-bias-towards-theweird-and-wonderful-skews-our-perception-ofanimal-biology-53701 

INSPIRE THE NEXT 

GENERATION OF 

SCIENTISTS 

info@biospheremagazine.co.uk 


BEHAVIOUR 

Lighting 

When the needs of 

people and turtles 

collide, how can we 

reduce the conflict? 

Tanja Suarez Yana has 

been testing a new 

technology, with great 

success. 

the 

way 

O 

n my very first fishing trip, I was laden with all of the equipment 

for our research. Thermometers, a secchi disc, GPS units, watches, 

notebooks, tape measures and of course, the green LED lights 

were packed into countless bags and boxes. There is no port for 

the boats to dock in Sechura Bay, north-western Peru, no jetty 

for us to easily hop aboard. Instead, rafts made of only four or 

five tree trunks would facilitate our arrival to the vessel. You have 

to wait for the tide before jumping on to the raft and reaching the fishing boat. 

As you can imagine, it is essential that you have great balance, especially with 

such cumbersome equipment. That first time, great balance was not something I 

exhibited when a wave covered me to the top of my head, soaking not just me, but 

all of the equipment! The fishermen laughed with me – I hope not at me – each of 

the three times that I fell. I had not brought a change of clothes and it was a cold, 

windy morning. 

I was soaking wet and cold aboard this boat in the hopes of finding a practical 

solution to sea turtle conservation. To do this, it is essential to determine the main 

threats to the population you want to help. In Peru, small-scale bycatch are a 

serious problem as the government exerts little control and the existing laws 

are not enforced to a high level. Gillnets, a wall of netting that hangs in the water 


© ProDelphinus

BEHAVIOUR 

Knowing that 

sea turtles were 

visually oriented 

in this way led 

us to explore 

the possibilities 

of a visual cue 

that could deter 

sea turtles from 

harm’s way. 

Bemba seeds 

(Gilbertiodendron 

dewevrei) 

BEHAVIOUR 

10metres apart. The LED lights illuminate the 

net at a different wavelength of light than the 

target catch of guitarfish, flounders and rays can 

see. This was extremely important so fishermen 

would not lose out when trying to protect turtles, 

and ensured they were eager to experiment with 

the lights. Fishermen set the nets overnight, wait 

for the fish to become caught, and haul them 

in the next morning, so we have a lot of time to 

chat. I remember telling them how important 

conservation of marine endangered species was 

for me, not only because it was my job but also 

because I wanted them to get to know me as a 

friend and as a collaborator. Mr Chicona and his 

son Pedro have worked on this boat forever. Mr 

Chicona is a grumpy man, but a wonderful cook, 

and often cooked the best rice I have ever tasted! 

Several hours later, it was time to haul the nets. 

On my first trip they caught a large number of 

guitarfishes and one green sea turtle, which was 

still alive. That first moment when I saw that turtle 

is unforgettable for me. I was very excited. All of 

the species, whether they were target catch or 

bycatch, were recorded for the study. Their length 

and whether they were sexually mature was 

significant. We also noted the hours and duration 

of each set and haul, so we could infer which 

gillnet set were easier to work – those with lights 

or those without. 

in order to catch fish that get their gills caught, 

are commonly used in fisheries around the globe; 

however, they don’t just catch fish. When a sea 

turtle becomes caught on it, it usually drowns. In 

Sechura Bay, it has been calculated an average of 

321 green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are caught 

in gillnets every year. In fact, in one hauling you 

can get from 10 to even 30 turtles on board! These 

losses are detrimental, but few solutions have been 

tested. 

How can we help this sea turtle population to 

recover? These reptiles are opportunistic with their 

diet; basically they eat whatever they see to be a fit 

meal. Knowing that sea turtles were visually oriented 

in this way led us to explore the possibilities of a 

visual cue that could deter sea turtles from harm’s 

way. We decided to experiment with a light-emitting diode (LED) 

light to illuminate the nets and reduce the bycatch number. This 

dispositive was developed by John Wang who experiment with LED 

lights in gillnets fisheries in Mexico, obtaining positive results.Cheap, 

simple, robust and resistant to sea water, these LED lights wouldn’t 

affect target catch, so it could be a win-win for fishers and turtles 

alike. But would it work? 

This is what we aimed to find out, as well as calculating the cost 

of saving a sea turtle. In order to do it, we set two sets of gillnets, 

one with and one without lights. A gillnet has a floatline that floats 

along the surface of the water to create the upper edge of the 

barrier. Along this floatline, an average of 221 lights were placed 

©Eva Leuf 

I, as an observer, could not intervene on hauling 

procedures, only watch, and try not to disturb their 

work. When a sea turtle was hauled in, the size 

of its shell was recorded, as well as the location 

using GPS loggers. We also noted the state we 

found them (alive or dead) and which part of its 

body had become entangled. Many came to the 

surface already drowned. All of these turtles were 

given first aid, inclining the body with the turtle’s 

head pointing down in order to expulse any foam. 

The nets remain in the sea approximately 16 hours 

so it is understandable that some turtles just could 

not survive. No matter if it was morning, afternoon 

or night, Pedro helped me to measure the size of 

each turtle. He learned how to tag the turtles and 

understood the importance of protecting them 

from his fishing. That was one of my personal 

biggest satisfactions. 

Indeed, one of our enquiries was if fishermen were 

willing to use the LED lights after the research 

finishes. At the beginning of the study, they 

thought lights were reducing the target catch. In 

the end, the results demonstrate that they caught 

the same amount of fish and rays, but green sea 

turtle bycatch reduced by over 60%. Not only is 

this good for the turtles, but this means less time 

and effort spent by the fishermen recovering sea 

turtles who have become entangled. The effort 

to recover their target catch remained the same. 

Even though this tool was intended to prevent 


©Tanja Suarez Yana

BEHAVIOUR 

BEHAVIOUR 

green sea turtle bycatch, three hawksbills 

(Eretmochelys imbricata) and one olive 

ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) were caught 

incidentally during the research. 

However, the monetary cost for these LED 

lights is expensive. The LEDs we used in this 

study cost $10 (US Dollars), but in the near 

future there should be similar lights available 

for about $2. We estimated that the total cost 

for a typical fishing boat in this area would be 

about $1155 to $3003, and the whole fishery 

from $9200 to $24000. This is the first year 

cost, with the LED lights having a useful life 

of about three years before they would need 

to be replaced. Consequently, the costs 

needed for the second and third year would 

be significantly lower. 

Each trip the fishermen make a profit of 

about $82, so it is beyond their reach to buy 

the lights themselves. It is necessary to spread 

this research to governmental institutions 

and international non-profit organizations so 

they can support the implementation of this 

sea turtle conservation strategy. If 321 turtles 

“I prefer working with sea turtles,” he said 

to me once. Hearing those words made me 

feel it is possible to make a real change. 

© Tania Suarez Yana 

Left: Tania 

releasing a sea 

turtle. 

Right: Pedro 

measuring the 

shell of a turtle. 

©Tanja Suarez Yana 

are currently caught in gillnets each year in 

this bay, 202 turtles would be prevented from 

capture with this technology. That would 

mean cost prevention per turtle would be 

between $34 to $119. Surely, these results are 

encouraging for everyone. If solar-powered 

LEDs were developed, an ideal solution 

would be found. 

I observed Mr Chicona and Pedro in one vessel. 

But in total 8 fleets in Constante participated 

in this study. When we brought these results 

to the Constante community, the majority of 

fishermen were keen to use the LED lights in 

their set of gillnets. I think they see the benefit 

in less effort spent untangling sea turtles and 

also less time repairing the nets. Mr. Chicona 

had many sets of bottom gillnets unused 

because they were damaged, perhaps partly 

due to sea turtles becoming entangled. 

This was the first time LEDs were tested in 

active gillnet fishery. Researchers from all 

over the world that we have spoken to so 

far were very enthusiastic to know about 

this great potential tool with wide-scale 


BEHAVIOUR 

©ProDelphinus 

implementation. We are now testing them in 

other net fisheries in Peru and Ecuador to see 

if we can replicate our findings in Constante. 

From this, we can gain even wider feedback 

from these fishermen and encourage many 

more stakeholders to get involved with it. 

Pedro is now a collaborator of ProDelphinus. 

He calls us when he recaptures a sea turtle. 

Furthermore, he releases the turtles and notes 

their capture locations. “I prefer working with 

sea turtles,” he said to me once. Hearing those 

words made me feel it is possible to make a 

real change, even though it can take us many 

months or even years. 

This research is a single but good episode of 

my experiences as a wildlife veterinarian so far. 

It gave me the opportunity to talk with coastal 

communities, know their issues and pass along 

information about sea turtle conservation. Now, 

the fishermen know that when a sea turtle is 

caught it suffers a long-term entanglement and 

consequently, stress. This place, Sechura Bay, is 

a wonderful source of food for these creatures. 

On every trip while awaiting tomorrow’s 

hauling, we could see several turtles coming up 

to the surface to breathe. Nature is wonderful 

and calming in these moments. 

Mangel, J. C., Ortiz, N., Wang, J., Alfaro-Shigueto, 

J., Pingo, S., Jimenez, A., ... & Godley, B. J. (2016). 

Reducing green turtle bycatch in small-scale 

fisheries using illuminated gillnets: The Cost of 

Saving a Sea Turtle. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 

545:251-259 DOI: 10.3354/meps11610 


ECOLOGY 

ECOLOGY 

Could a fungus and a 

woodpecker be working 

together to accomplish 

mammoth tasks in the 

pine forests? Michelle 

Jusino investigates. 

© Michelle Jusino 

T 

he longleaf pine ecosystem 

of the southeastern United 

States is an amazing place, 

but sadly there is very little of 

it left. It generally consists of 

multi-aged longleaf pines in 

a sea of diverse herbaceous 

groundcover. Picture an open grass 

savannah with majestic pines. Fire is critical 

to maintaining the open forest structure. 

This was the setting of my research, and it 

was beautiful. 

These unique forests are home to an 

incredible diversity of native plants, 

fungi, arthropods, reptiles, amphibians, 

mammals, and birds, each connected 

to the other by the land they share and 

the resources they need. The focus of this 

story is on one particular bird species, 

only found in the longleaf pine ecosystem, 

the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides 

borealis). Red-cockaded woodpeckers are 

cooperatively breeding birds who live in 

family groups and are federally endangered 

in the United States. Their populations 

suffered huge losses with the degradation 

and subsequent lack of management of 

their endemic habitat, the longleaf pine 

ecosystem. 

Aside from being imperiled by human 

activities, these fascinating birds have 

traits that have enamoured behavioral 

researchers for decades. One set of 

behaviours that is most interesting, is 

designed to secure the one thing they need 

above all else to be successful: a place to 

live and to raise their young. 

Similar to many other woodpeckers, redcockaded 

woodpeckers nest and roost 

in cavities within trees. However, redcockaded 

woodpeckers do something that 

no other woodpecker does. They exclusively 

excavate through the outer sapwood and 

into the heartwood of relatively healthy 

living pine trees. This means the cavities are 

rooms housed entirely in the heartwood of 


ECOLOGY 

ECOLOGY 

Right: A red 

cockaded 

woodpecker. 

Below: The fruiting 

body of red heart rot. 


would have with tree resin, or sap. Although some can 

complete their cavities within a year, it takes these little 

birds on average about 8 years, and sometimes up to 20 

years or more! But, once a cavity is complete, it can be 

used by red-cockaded woodpeckers for decades. After 

they are done with a cavity, either by choice, or by force 

(the cavities are a coveted resource), it can be used for 

many more years by other cavity-users. So red-cockaded 

woodpecker excavations are more than just a hole in 

a tree. They are homes not only to the woodpeckers, 

but also to a wonderful diversity of other cavity-using 

birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, arthropods, and 

perhaps even fungi. 

In turns out that some of these fungi could be unexpected 

bedfellows for the woodpeckers, who could be enlisting 

the help of the fungi in their excavation efforts. For many 

years, red-cockaded woodpeckers have been thought 

to be associated with one fungus in particular, which 

goes by the name of ‘red heart rot’, or more officially, 

Fungi 

could be 

unexpected 

bedfellows 

for the 

woodpeckers 

living trees, with a hallway that goes through the 

sapwood. The cavities are very cozy and are built for 

just one, so every bird in a group requires its own 

cavity and one of these is used as the nest each year 

within a group, as the birds within a group help each 

other to raise young. 

Roosting and nesting in living pine trees offers 

additional home-security benefits to red-cockaded 

woodpeckers. The birds maintain active resin wells 

all around their cavities, so sap leaks from their trees, 

making them look like giant melting candle-sticks in 

the woods. This might help them to avoid predators 

like the carnivorous rat snake. The resin may hinder 

this and other raiders of bird nests, preventing them 

from climbing the tree and devouring the delicious 

birds inside. 

While the benefits of excavating living pines are 

evident, in practice it is a herculean undertaking for 

these diminutive creatures. Try to imagine being a bird 

that weighs about 50 grams (1.8 ounces), and using 

your face to drill a cavity into a living pine tree. Imagine 

the time it would take, and imagine the problems you 

Porodaedalea pini. Early researchers hypothesised that 

this fungus could help the woodpeckers by softening the 

tree tissues through which they excavate. If this was the 

case, the woodpeckers could perhaps help the fungus 

find new trees to colonize. While this story of symbiosis 

is intuitive and appealing, the evidence remained 

tenuous for decades. Links between the woodpeckers 

and red heart rot were largely based on limited visual 

observations of the fungus on the trees in which redcockaded 

woodpecker’s cavities were found. 

This is where I joined the story. When I started my doctoral 

work at Virginia Tech, I wanted to understand whether 

red-cockaded woodpeckers had a true symbiosis with 

red heart rot. Though neither of us were mycologists, I 

convinced my advisor and avian behavioural ecology 

expert, Jeff Walters, that the project was well worth 

exploring. 

We had a rocky start. Following the lead of previous 

researchers, we initiated a large-scale fruiting body 

survey on red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees. A 

fruiting body is what you see when the conditions are 


ECOLOGY 

We found 

decay fungi in 

my samples. 

And there 

were A LOT. 

just right in order for a fungus to reproduce – the 

mushrooms and toadstools you see growing in the 

autumn are the fruiting bodies of the fungi that 

grow beneath the soil. Similarly, wood decay fungi 

are often found fruiting on wood. To my dismay, after 

surveying countless cavity trees, we found very, very 

few fungi fruiting on red-cockaded woodpecker 

cavity trees. Sadly, fruiting body surveys are limited to 

identifying what is actually fruiting at any given time, 

so examining and identifying the fungi found fruiting 

on cavity trees is not the best way to determine which 

fungi, if any, are associated with the constructor of 

the cavities, as most of the fungi cannot be seen in 

this way. I needed to sort out a better way to sample 

red-cockaded woodpecker excavations for fungi. 

Because red-cockaded woodpecker cavities are 

critical to the birds, the sampling process had to be 

gentle on the trees. With the help of our collaborators, 

we designed a sampling device that could collect 

wood shavings within cavities. But it still wasn’t 

straightforward from here. The excavations that 

red-cockaded woodpeckers make are so far from 

the ground that getting to them required Swedish 

climbing ladders, a climbing harness, and a tree 

strap. When I finally hand my sampling device in 

hand, I was able to start collecting samples, but still 

needed a way to identify the fungi that I found. It is 

possible to grow some of the fungi in my samples to 

a level that I would be able to identify them, but it 

is a difficult process, and many fungi can be missed 

this way, so I wanted to explore other options. 

I decided it would be a good idea to explore DNAbased 

techniques…when you are already outside of 

your comfort zone nothing seems unrealistic! This is 

where Daniel Lindner, Mark Banik and the United 

States Forest Service Center for Forest Mycology 

Research come in. Dan and Mark were using DNAbased 

techniques to determine the fungi present 

in wood – it was exactly what I needed. We very 

quickly discovered that red-cockaded woodpecker 

excavations were inhabited by not one, but many 

species of fungi, and we set off to identify the decay 

fungi. Decay fungi were what we were looking for, 

because that’s what might help to break down the 

cavities with the woodpeckers. Easy, right? Well, 

not really, but after a fair amount of tweaking and 

adjusting our methods, we found decay fungi in my 

samples. And there were A LOT. 

Instead of just looking for one fungus – red heart 

rot – I now knew I was looking at many more taxa 


of fungi than I expected. For each family group of 

red cockaded woodpeckers, there is a cluster of 

trees containing cavities and started cavities known 

as ‘cavity starts’. We selected 15 of these clusters in 

our study site in coastal North Carolina. I sampled 

every complete red-cockaded woodpecker-made 

cavity that the birds within these 15 groups were 

using, as well as all of the cavity starts. We sterilely 

drilled human-made cavity starts in 4 living longleaf 

pine trees in each of the 15 clusters and I sampled 

those new excavations as well, to represent a 

control group in previously non-excavated trees. 

We put steel screens over all of the human-drilled 

cavity starts to make them inaccessible to the birds 

following drilling. The screens were large enough to 

allow invertebrates and fungal spores in, but small 

enough to keep birds out. The initial sample of 15 

clusters were part of an initial survey to see if the 

fungal communities found in cavities, starts, and 

non-excavated trees were similar to each other. It 

turns out that the different excavations housed 

different fungal communities, though there was 

overlap between the cavities and the starts, but the 

human-drilled, previously non-excavated trees were 

completely different. 

We then set out to determine if the birds could 

somehow directly or indirectly influence the 

differences we saw in the fungal communities, so 

we swabbed adult red-cockaded woodpeckers at 

our study site for fungi. Additionally, after the resin 

from the fresh wounds in our screened human- 


ECOLOGY 

in the cavity starts that we drilled, fungal communities 

in both accessible and inaccessible starts become 

more diverse over time. 

Additionally, the fungal communities in the starts 

that birds could access closely resembled those 

found in the cavities made by the birds, while those in 

inaccessible starts did not. So, the birds facilitate fungi 

indirectly by simply making a cavity start in a tree, 

and directly by continuing to visit that start. Needless 

to say, it was exciting to realise that red-cockaded 

woodpeckers are associated with many fungi, not just 

red heart rot. 

Taken all together, these results strongly suggest 

that red-cockaded woodpeckers have a symbiotic 

association with the fungi found in their excavations. 

Interestingly, the part of the story that we have 

evidence for, the part about the birds helping the 

fungi, is the part that was the most doubted, and the 

part that has long been thought to be true, the part 

about the fungi helping the birds, that is still untested! 

Red-cockaded woodpeckers are endangered, and 

are restricted by habitat. Humans can and do help 

red-cockaded woodpeckers by either drilling artificial 

cavities or by putting cavity insert boxes into living 

trees. These very special cavities, so important for redcockaded 

woodpeckers and a diverse community of 

other organisms, take such a long time to make that 

the birds just cannot make cavities fast enough - do 

the fungi present or absent in a tree somehow limit 

the rate of cavity excavation? 

drilled starts was dry, we were able to un-screen half of the drilled 

starts to make them accessible and available to the birds. In each 

of the 15 clusters, we un-screened two starts and left two screened, 

so we had a total of 30 accessible experimental drilled starts and 30 

that were inaccessible. I then proceeded to climb and sample each 

of those 60 trees once every six months for nearly two and a half 

years. I would do it all again sixty times. 

A little over two years after the starts were drilled, I sampled the 

trees one last time. What I found was incredible. So incredible that I 

re-analysed everything; I double and triple checked, and even tried 

different analyses. But no matter what I did, the result was the same. 

The woodpeckers have an incredible diversity of fungi on them, 

including many wood-decay fungi, and the fungal communities on 

the birds closely resembles those found in their complete cavities 

and to a lesser extent, those found in their cavity starts. Furthermore, 

If the fungi actually do quicken the very lengthy 

excavation process, then the symbiotic association 

my colleagues and I described could be a mutualism, 

where both species are helping one another. That test 

is top on my list. Another aspect I hope to explore 

in the future is whether red-cockaded woodpeckers 

specifically select trees already infected with certain 

fungal communities. And of course, we are left with the 

age-old question of which came first, the woodpecker 

or the fungus? 

We described an interesting symbiosis between one 

woodpecker and multiple fungi in one ecosystem. This 

association could be an evolutionary accident, unique 

to this ecosystem, or perhaps it’s a more common and 

widespread occurrence. I can’t wait to find out. 

Jusino, M. A., Lindner, D. L., Banik, M. T., Rose, K. R., & 

Walters, J. R. (2016, March). Experimental evidence of 

a symbiosis between red-cockaded woodpeckers and 

fungi. In Proc. R. Soc. B (Vol. 283, No. 1827, p. 20160106). 

The Royal Society. 


IN THE FIELD 

Mammals 

in 

MIST 

the 

Catherine McNicol spends her field seasons 

in the Welsh rain, trying to understand the 

relationship between two of the UK’s mammals, 

one of which does not belong here. 

It’s not even lunchtime, I’ve fallen over about six 

times already and the weather would suggest 

I’m inside a cloud. But the less-than-graceful 

show goes on and I won’t be stopping until I have 

checked all of my squirrel traps and collared 

their slightly irritated occupants. This is fieldwork 

in the Welsh woods in a nutshell. Sometimes I 

wonder how on earth I found myself here. 

“I’m never working in the UK,” a past version of myself 

would say, “no way am I doing another degree.” 

Now with two degrees under my belt I find myself 

commencing a 3 year PhD working with a native 

species in the UK. Didn’t see that coming. 

My work focuses on the impact of reintroducing the 

native European pine marten (Martes martes) on a 

species that doesn’t naturally belong here: the grey 

squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Introduced in the late 

1800’s by Victorians who thought they looked nice, 

this invasive species thrived in the absence of natural 

predators and within 30 years was found in almost 

every corner of the UK. By the 1920’s, people realised 

these pesky Greys shouldn’t be introduced anymore 

and eventually strategies to control and eradicate 

their populations were implemented. These still 

continue today. But the trapping and dispatching 

of squirrels is highly labour intensive and draws 

parallels to painting the Forth Road Bridge: Once 

© Peter G W Jones 


IN THE FIELD 

IN THE FIELD 

© Nik Hubbard 

you’ve finished, you have to start all over again. The 

ability of this species to colonise and repopulate 

areas is phenomenal, and culling efforts can be 

thwarted when juveniles from nearby areas quickly 

replace the squirrels that have been removed. 

This is where the pine marten comes in. Now, the 

pine marten is not a bird, nor is it a tree. I’m talking 

about the large cat-meets-ferret-meets-stoat-meetsfur-stole. 

With me? Good. 

These beautiful and elusive creatures, once common 

across the UK, have suffered huge population declines 

as a result of persecution, hunting for the fur industry 

and loss of their woodland habitat. As a result, their 

distribution is sparse and pretty patchy with the 

exception of Scotland, and remaining individuals are 

struggling to re-establish self-sustaining populations. 

Enter the Vincent Wildlife Trust. By boosting the 

residual and highly elusive population in mid-Wales, 

the Trust aims to restore pine marten numbers to 

healthy levels. 

These two species come together due to the results 

from a study in Ireland that found there were less 

grey squirrels in areas that pine martens existed. 

In the fashion of true science, we needed to find 

out if this was a one off occurrence or a UK-wide 

trend – this meant replication, improvement and 

investigation. The project is now underway - with 17 

Scottish martens roaming the Welsh woods since 

their introduction in September 2015, and 20 more 

due to arrive this summer. Summer, that small 

window of the year where it doesn’t rain, for about 

one week. 

Welsh rain is the kind of rain that doesn’t look so bad, 

but soaks you through. It’s the “I wish I’d brought a 

coat,” rain, the “it’s too warm for a coat but too wet 

for anything else,” rain, the “not heavy enough to stop 

the midges” rain. In Wales you can’t wait for the rain 

to stop, so here I am, slipping down muddy banks 

trying to catch and put radio collars on unsuspecting 

grey squirrels. 

Having never worked with squirrels before, or 

pine martens, or any wild mammal for that 

matter, the whole experience has been 

a steep learning curve. With my last 

rodent-related incident involving 

being bitten by my pet rabbit at 

the age of 12, I knew I had multiple 

hurdles in my way. But after some 

expert training by Mark Ferryman 

from the Forestry Commission 

(my funding organisation), I knew 

how to trap, collar and tag even 

the most unwilling of squirrels. 

So with 53 telemetry collars, fitted 

with GPS loggers, I was launched 

into the back of beyond to live in 

some unpronounceable village in 

mid Wales. Goodbye social life, goodbye 

civilisation, goodbye sanity. 

I was immediately faced with issue number one: 

I was 

immediately 

faced 

with issue 

number one: 

Nature. 

Nature. Apparently squirrels will not go into your 

traps for food if there is food elsewhere. In 

hind-sight this is obvious, but at the time 

I was positive I’d failed before I’d even 

seen a single squirrel. Lesson: make 

sure the timings of your fieldwork 

are appropriate for the species you 

are working with. And buy lots of 

cobnuts. Squirrels love cobnuts. 

Issue number two raised its ugly face 

very soon after: Nature. Apparently 

there are other animals in the 

woods apart from squirrels. After a 

week of being positively terrified and 

confused about why my traps were 

being uncovered and disturbed every 

night (visions of a creepy man in an anorak 

filled my mind) I discovered a nosey fox was 

to blame. Lesson: think about the ecosystem in 

which you are working and the other animals that 

live there. Foxes are very smart; some may even say 

© Andrej Chudý 


IN THE FIELD 

fantastic. 

After nut-gate and fox-gate my collaring picked up 

and I became the pied piper of Pont-rhyd-y-groes. 

I developed a reputation as the ‘squirrel lady’ after 

chance encounters with dog-walkers, farmers and 

foresters in random patches of woodland. I drove 

around the valleys with a box of peanuts, maize 

and sunflower seeds in my boot and squirrel traps 

in my back seat. Even the staff in Screw-Fix knew 

about my squirreling after I explained to them why I 

needed so many zip-ties. 

© Nik Hubbard 

But then…issue number three appeared like a slap in 

the face: Technology. Nature had done its worst and 

now it was time for man-made devices to stamp on 

my optimism. Two months after I began collaring, I 

started to re-trap the squirrels to get the data from 

the GPS units I had applied to them. The six weeks 

worth of data I expected from them turned out 

to be two at best due to battery and signal issues. 

Insert emotional breakdown at the prospect of 

another two months alone in the woods with some 

crazy rodents. However, after the time and effort I 

had already sacrificed, I refused to be beaten and 

replaced the GPS units to collect another 2 weeks of 

data. Lesson: check your technology, check it again, 

check it in the field, then half your expectations. 

By this point I was teetering on the edge of insanity. 

My weekly food shopping was the only activity 

that reminded me what day it was and that it was 

socially unacceptable to only wear waterproofs or 

pyjamas. When winter storms began to arrive and 

I was banned from the woods due to risk of deathby-falling-tree 

I would spend my days worrying 

about my sites and the time that was running out. 

Trapping in stormy weather is risky and unadvisable, 

the animals can die of exposure to the elements if 

they are left in traps for too long. Sudden changes in 

the forecast would send me into a panic and result 

in frantic driving along country-lanes to close traps 

at my sites. 

If this wasn’t the PhD for me I think I would have 

sacked it in after one month. It truly is a labour 

of love, mixed with fear of failure, or simply fear. 

Some days, on the very rare occasions when the 

rain has stopped and the sun is shining, I do have 

those “I’m so fortunate” moments. I spend every 

day outside surrounded by the sights and sounds 

of true British nature, something we overlook every 

day. The ancient beech woodland, the unexpected 

waterfalls, the red kites soaring above the valleys, 

the noisy jays squabbling in the undergrowth 

and the curious blue tits following me from trap 

to trap. I will admit, I don’t feel this way when it’s 

dark and raining and one leg has just sunk into a 

bog up to my thigh. But as biologists we often forget 

how much we know and how lucky we are to work 

with wildlife. The random encounters with dogwalkers 

or ramblers in the woods, and the resulting 

conversations always surprise me. In my mind, for 

conservation projects to be successful, they need 

to be understood and supported by surrounding 

communities and affected individuals. These simple 

conversations about what a pine marten is or why 

grey squirrels are detrimental are really important for 

the lifespan of the project. When there is a common 

understanding and a vested interest in supporting 

a conservation project, its continuation and success 

is more likely. Word-of-mouth is a great tool, and if 

I can get someone excited about the pine marten 

project, the positive attitude is contagious. 

Yes, the science is important, that’s why I spend 

countless days ploughing through data at my desk 

while the sun shines outside. It’s not all wandering 

through woodland with an aerial, chasing the blips 

coming from a radio collar. But fundamentally, if the 

work on the ground is not supported and sustained 

then what we are doing is bound to fail. So my wellies 

and waterproofs are always in my car boot, awaiting 

their next call of duty in the valleys. 

Catherine McNichol is a PhD researcher at the University 

of Exeter. Her research is in collaboration with the 

Vincent Wildlife Trust and Forestry Commission. Check 

out her blog: http://walkingwithaliens.blogspot.co.uk 


THE 

THRILL 

OF 

THE 

HUNT 

How do African wild dogs 

hunt? We thought we knew, 

but their dominant habitats 

are changing, and with it 

comes a change in strategy. 

Maja Lorenc discusses the 

latest research into this 

Endangered species. 

© Charlesjsharp 


BEHAVIOUR 

BEHAVIOUR 

Coloured dots snake their way 

around the screen, over and over 

again. Sometimes they end up 

in completely different places. 

Sometimes they converge, and that’s 

when they’ve made their kill. 

Each dot represents the GPS position of a member 

of an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) pack in 

northern Botswana. There are six in total – Kobe the 

dominant male, Timbuktu the dominant female, MJ 

and Scorpion, the subdominant males, and Accra 

and Kigali, the subdominant females. Thousands 

of miles away in Hertfordshire, Dr. Tatjana Hubel, a 

researcher in the Structure and Motion Laboratory 

at the Royal Veterinary College, reconstructs their 

hunts by animating the GPS points that showed the 

dogs’ position and speed. 

The GPS position and instantaneous velocity signals 

come from special collars worn by each dog. These are 

no ordinary GPS tracking collars: they are completely 

decked out with a three-axis accelerometer module 

to provide specific force data, a dual-axis gyroscope 

to measure roll and pitch rotation rate, and a singleaxis 

gyroscope to measure rate of change in the 

direction of forward motion. Two batteries, one 

partially charged by in-built solar cells, power the 

collar and a micro-SD flash memory card provides 

on-board data storage. A microcontroller running 

custom software controls all this equipment and 

manages power consumption in an extremely 

unique and effective manner— but more about that 

later. 

You may recognise some of these terms if you are 

familiar with flight dynamics. It might seem like 

overkill to equip a wild dog as you would an aircraft, 

but the high-resolution data collected from these 


© Ben Yexley

collars gives researchers detailed insight into hunting 

dynamics as well as an estimate of how much energy 

is used during the hunt. For the endangered African 

wild dog, which is thought to live on the ‘knife’s edge’ 

in terms of energy balance, such information could 

be crucial for its conservation. 

© Tatjana Hubel 

Studies on this subject have been done previously. 

Anywhere you search for ‘African wild dogs’ online, 

you will find that they are long-distance endurance 

hunters, working collaboratively to bring down prey. 

The investment of multiple dogs in chasing and 

bringing down a single prey leaves them with a small 

energy margin for survival. Though they tend to hunt 

with a deadly efficiency that scores them a large 

animal to feast on, thieving hyenas could swoop in 

and steal the kill. If that happens, the dogs will have 

wasted a load of precious energy without any food to 

replenish their resources. 

In grassland habitats such as the open plains of East 

Africa, direct observation of hunts often shows these 

principles to be true. However, habitat fragmentation, 

disease outbreaks, and human persecution that are 

driving the decline of African wild dogs left most of the 

remaining population in mixed woodland savannah. 

Due to the dense vegetation and low visibility of this 

habitat, the means by which packs in this particular 

environment approach and attack their prey is not 

well documented aside from observations made 

out in the bush. The hunting strategy of woodland 

savannah packs appears to differ from that of packs 

in open grassland, but no one had quantified exactly 

how. 

To solve this problem, an amazing collaboration 


BEHAVIOUR 

BEHAVIOUR 

between the Structure and Motion Laboratory (SML) and the Botswana 

Predator Conservation Trust (BPCT) was formed. Together, the BPCT 

and SML teams recorded and characterised the interaction between a 

pack of woodland savannah-dwelling African wild dogs during a hunt 

and determined how this affects the balance of energy invested in the 

hunt and energy gained from feeding on a kill. 

African wild dog wearing a 

collar with a unique design, 

allowing for the collection of 

high speed chase data. Solar 

panels in the top box and a 

rechargeable battery in the 

bottom box extend the life 

span of the collar. 

© Julia Myatt 

Dr. J. Weldon “Tico” McNutt, director of the BPCT and Dr. Neil Jordan, 

a BPCT researcher, provided local African wild dog expertise from the 

ecology, behaviour and conservation perspective and proposed criteria 

for the careful selection of the study group based on pack size and 

composition, established the field research and monitored the study 

pack. To complement these expertise, Professor Alan Wilson, Dr Tatjana 

Hubel, Dr Julia Myatt and Dr Oliver Dewhirst, 

researchers from the SML, approached the question 

from the side of biomechanics, locomotion 

dynamics and energetics. The SML also provided 

the in-house built collars and analysed the data 

downloaded from them at regular intervals. 

This brings us back to those fancy tracking collars. 

Thanks to some clever programming, the collars 

recorded brilliantly fine-scale hunting data 

without wasting precious battery power. They were 

programmed to switch dynamically between four 

different operating states, dependent on animal 

activity level and the time of the day. This meant 

the collars would record just once an hour when 

the wild dogs were pretty inactive, increasing to 

every five minutes when the dogs were moderately 

active. When the collars sensed a chase, GPS fixes 

were recorded 5 times per second, adding highresolution 

accelerometer and gyroscope data for 

fine movement detail. 

Over the course of five months, the researchers 

gathered round-the-clock information on the 

dogs’ activity, with high-resolution details of entire 

chases, from the first few running steps to the 

consumption of prey. The result is a conclusive 

dataset on position and speed from all members 

of a pack— the first of its kind. 

The original plan was to observe hunts as a visual 

backup to collar data. “Initially Julia travelled out 

to Botswana to do a ‘labeling’ study with Neil 

– physically observing the dogs in the wild and 

then matching behaviours to GPS signals so that 

we [the data analysis group] would have an idea 

of what we were looking at,” says Tatjana. “Though 

we got some information from this, it was nearly 

impossible to observe a hunt from start to finish 

because of the trees.” 

Interestingly, the collar data showed that in this 

mixed woodland savannah environment, African 

wild dogs actually do not display any signs of 

collaboration when bringing down their prey. 

What the researchers found instead was that 

although the dogs set out on a hunt together, they 

split up into multiple, short, simultaneous chases 

as they approached a herd of prey, such as impala. 

Usually an individual and sometimes a smaller 

group would chase after the nearest impala, 

bringing it down if successful and summoning the 

rest of the pack to feast. If a dog missed its target, 

it’s no big deal— the likelihood that at least one 

other member of the pack had made a kill was 

high. Being the social animals that they are, African 

wild dogs generously share their meal with the 

rest of their pack. This is extremely advantageous 

as the dogs do not waste energy combining their 

efforts to make a single kill, but they all benefit by 

getting to eat. A 40-kg impala would feed the pack 

without the individual that killed it losing out, and, 

since the dogs eat only as much as they need and 

leave the carcass behind, group feeding greatly 

reduces wasted meat. 

Using information including the dogs’ hunt 

distance and kill rate data from the collars, pack 

composition, and estimated prey intake, the 

researchers populated an energy balance model 

to compare the energy gained from a kill with the 

cost of the hunt. What they discovered was that 

by engaging in multiple frequent, short hunts as 

well as group feeding, the dogs actually ended up 

with a surplus of energy. The margin was entirely 

sufficient to survive and support dependents, like a 

denning mother, young pups, guards, and injured 

pack members. Being energetically robust allows 

the pack to bounce back after a misfortune such 

as the theft of their kill— it looks like that ‘knife 

edge’ isn’t so sharp. 


BEHAVIOUR 

BEHAVIOUR 

© Neil Jordan, Tatjana Hubel 

pack during the hunt. Sadly, Kobe became gravely 

injured or ill and died, and the collar signal told the 

researchers exactly on which day. “It was really sad,” 

recalls Tatjana. “His little dot didn’t move far from the 

den those last few days, and then it just stopped.” 

With access to the continuous storyline of the dogs’ 

movements and daily rituals, it is almost easy to 

forget that Tatjana, the lead author of the study, 

did not see African wild dogs roaming free in their 

natural habitat until well after beginning the project. 

She felt like she knew them, but it did not prepare 

her for the moment she first spotted the beautiful, 

lethal predators in the bush. “We were on our way to 

find a place for the night, it was late and we still had 

to set up the tents, but coming around a bend in the 

road we were stopped by a pack of African Wild dogs 

sprawled out on the road. Admittedly they did not 

do anything particularly exciting, but the memory 

and rather bad pictures (due to the low light) will 

accompany me for a long time. I was never able to 

see them hunting in real life, but was privileged to 

observe them playing, resting, and having staring 

contests with hippos in the wild. And after all, I 

always have my little dots on my screen to stare at if I 

want to know about their hunting strategies.” 

Tatjana Y. Hubel, Julia P. Myatt, Neil R. Jordan, 

Oliver P. Dewhirst, J. Weldon McNutt & Alan M. 

Wilson (2016). Additive opportunistic capture 

explains group hunting benefits in African wild 

dogs. Nature Communications. DOI:10.1038/ 

ncomms11033 

“My first opportunity to observe African wild dogs in 

How did the dogs manage to achieve relative success them. There was a fence between us and them, but 

the Okavango delta came after I had already stared 

in this environment? “We think it’s because they it was still a very …peculiar feeling being chased by 

for months at small GPS points representing their 

generally hunt medium sized prey,” says Tatjana. these predators. I can only imagine how their prey 

position. Tiny little dots that I had animated to show 

A larger animal would be difficult to take down must feel.” 

the position and movement of every single member of 

alone. This is a reassuring fact, since although they 

a pack chasing (for me invisible) prey. I had extracted Tatjana Y. Hubel, Julia P. Myatt, Neil R. Jordan, 

sometimes play like domestic puppies and have Data collected from the collars also gave the 

numbers and statistics in order to characterize their Oliver P. Dewhirst, J. Weldon McNutt & Alan M. 

colourful splotches and cute giant ears, African wild researchers some insight into the daily lives of the 

chases, read books about their behavior, discussed Wilson (2016). Energy cost and return for hunting 

dogs are deadly. Tatjana recalls: “[A PhD student] pack: Timbuktu was heavily pregnant and remained 

findings and ideas with co-authors and collected in African wild dogs and cheetahs. Nature 

and I once ran in front of a pack of captive wild dogs in the den much of the time, Kigali had a healed 

data on captive animals, but never encountered one Communications. DOI:10.1038/ncomms11034 

in order to motivate them to run so we could film leg injury and hung back towards the rear of the 

in the wild before,” she says. 


BEHAVIOUR 

When 

COMPETITORS 

collide 

Herbivores. 

Harmless, right? Not so for the 

white tailed prairie dog. John Hoogland 

witnessed an event that astonished him, 

even after over four decades of studying 

these animals. Why did it happen? 

For 4 months every year for the past 43 years, 

I have observed prairie dogs every day, from 

dawn until dusk. Prairie dogs are rabbit-sized, 

herbivorous rodents that live in large colonies in 

the grasslands of western United States. When 

they start to wake up from hibernation in early 

March, I start my field season by capturing every 

prairie dog at my study-site, inserting numbered eartags 

for permanent identification, and then painting a unique 

marking on each side for identification from a distance. 

Several research assistants and I sit in observation towers 

and record all their social interactions until early July, 

after we have captured and eartagged the last baby. One 

day in May 2007 I witnessed a shocking event that I had 

never seen before in over 30 years of study. 

Prairie dogs are not peaceful grazers. Amicable 

interactions sometimes occur, but fights, chases, and 

territorial disputes are far more common. Adults of two 

prairie dog species that I had previously studied commonly 

kill and cannibalise each other’s juvenile offspring. I was 

watching closely for such infanticide when I saw Head- 

6, a female white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus, 

hereafter “prairie dog”), violently and repeatedly attack a 

juvenile until it stopped moving. And then Head-6 just 

walked away. I assumed she had just killed a baby prairie 

dog, so I hurried from my tower to 

document my first case of infanticide 

for this prairie dog species. 

I was flabbergasted to find that the 

White tailed 

prairie dog. 

© Sandy Nervig 


BEHAVIOUR 

BEHAVIOUR 

© Nick Vitale 

Top: A colony of 

white tailed prairie 

dogs around their 

burrow. 

© Sandy Nervig, 

Bottom: A white 

tailed prairie dog 

with a Wyoming 

ground squirrel in its 

jaws. Killings involve 

violent shaking and 

repeated biting. 

©John Hoogland 

victim was a baby Wyoming ground squirrel 

(Urocitellus elegans, hereafter “ground 

squirrel”) rather than a baby prairie dog. I 

scrutinised that baby again and again because 

I kept telling myself, “It must be a juvenile 

prairie dog.” But it wasn’t. The victim’s long tail 

proved that it was definitely a baby ground 

squirrel. As I slowly returned to my tower, I 

thought to myself, “This must be a fluke. We’ll 

never see another between-species killing 

again.” But Head-6 killed another ground 

squirrel the next day, and later in that same 

day one of my assistants saw a second prairie 

dog kill a ground squirrel. 

Within their large colonies, prairie dogs live 

in territorial family groups called clans. The 

typical clan contains a single adult male, 

between two and five adult females, one or 

two sexually immature males, and in late spring 

and summer, between five and ten juveniles. 

Females generally remain in the territory 

where they were born for their entire lives, but 

males usually disperse when they reach sexual 

maturity, which allows them to avoid incest by 

finding unrelated females with whom to mate. 

Like prairie dogs, ground squirrels are diurnal, 

herbivorous rodents that live in territorial 

family groups. They look remarkably similar 

and display many of the same behaviours as 

prairie dogs, but are only about half the size. 

Ground squirrels commonly live in the same 

meadows with prairie dogs, and the diets of 

the two species are almost identical. 

Once my assistants and I knew what to look 

for, we started seeing killings everywhere. In 

a typical killing, the marauder would catch 

a fleeing ground squirrel, viciously shake 

and repeatedly bite the ground squirrel in 

the head, neck, or thorax for several minutes 

until death, and then would calmly abandon 

the victim and resume foraging on nearby 

vegetation. Over the next 6 years following the 

first killing by Head-6, we observed a total of 

101 unambiguous killings. 

In over a third of these killings, an avian 

scavenger - either an American crow or a 

California gull - landed near the fresh carcass, 

seized it with its beak, and then flew away with 

it. We observed 58 additional cases of an avian 

scavenger picking up and flying away with a 

fresh carcass, and 4 more cases of a recently 

killed (un-scavenged) carcass aboveground 

with wounds similar to those after an observed 

killing. These 62 cases probably involved 

killings for which we did not observe the actual 

execution. If these inferences are correct, the 

total number of killings at our study-colony 

in a six-year period was a whopping 163! 

The interesting anecdote that began with 

Head-6 in May 2007 evolved, one kill at a 

time, into a robust database of violence 

between species. 

Killings were not the work of a few 

idiosyncratic individuals. Rather, we 

identified 47 different killers. Some of 

these killers were males, but three times 

as many were females. Most prairie dog 

killers struck only once, but 19 ‘serial killers’ 

dispatched two or more ground squirrels. 

One female, whom we dubbed the gold 

medallist, killed 9 ground squirrels over 4 

years. The silver medallist struck 7 times in 

a single day, eliminating an entire litter of 

ground squirrels. And the bronze medallist 

killed 6 ground squirrels over 5 years. In 3 

of the 6 years of our research, the number 

of ground squirrels killed by prairie dogs 

was higher than the number killed by the 

combined efforts of 15 mammalian and 

avian predators like American badgers, 

coyotes, long-tailed weasels, prairie falcons, 

short-eared owls, and Swainson’s hawks. 

Our tracking of marked prairie dogs 

allowed us to document that 30% of 

females killed at least one ground squirrel 

during their lifetimes. Lactating females 

were responsible for 79% of killings, males 

for another 17%, and non-lactating females 

for the remaining 4%. Probably because 

ground squirrel juveniles cannot run fast 

and are easy to overpower, 96% of victims 

were juveniles. Our results raise several 

provocative questions. Why do prairie dogs 

chase and kill ground squirrels? Does this 

hostility contribute to their reproductive 

success? And why do ground squirrels 

continue to live in prairie dog colonies 

despite the high rate of killing? 

Prairie dogs benefit from their colonies in 

many ways. With so many animals living 

together, the probability of detecting a 

predator such as an American badger, 

coyote, or prairie falcon is high, and the first 

prairie dog to see the enemy commonly 

warns neighbours by giving an alarm call. 

Prairie dogs work together to excavate 

burrows, which can be as deep as 5 meters 

and extend horizontally as far as 30 meters, 

and they use these burrows to rear families 

and escape from predators and harsh 

weather. Further, prairie dogs cultivate 

the vegetation in their home territories by 

trimming tall and undesirable plants, and 


BEHAVIOUR 

Top: Woodstork nest 

Bottom: Tricoloured 

heron nest 

© Nick Vitale 

BEHAVIOUR 

Left: White tailed 

prairie dog. 

© Richard Reading 

Right: Wyoming 

ground squirrel. 

© JTchagbele 

they fertilise the home turf with 

their urine and faeces. 

Ground squirrels frequently 

live in the same meadows 

with prairie dogs. They use 

the burrows that prairie dogs 

have dug for short periods as 

temporary refuge from predators, or for longer 

periods as a place to spend the night, 

or rear offspring. Further, the ground 

squirrels eat much of the same 

vegetation that the prairie dogs have 

carefully cultivated. Finally, ground 

squirrels respond to prairie dog 

alarm calls by increasing vigilance 

or submerging into a burrow. 

Ground squirrels thus parasitise the 

benefits of prairie dog coloniality, 

while offering nothing in return. 

How does killing of ground squirrels 

benefit prairie dogs? The most likely 

explanation is that killing reduces 

competition from the ground squirrels 

for food near the killer’s home-burrow. 

Killing leads to more vegetation not only for the 

mother herself, but also for her weaned offspring. 

Tellingly, 96% of killings occurred within 20 meters 

of the killer’s home-burrow, where the mother and 

her offspring do much of their foraging. 

I was astonished 

to learn that 

killing of ground 

squirrels by 

prairie dogs 

occurs, and is so 

common. 

killing might increase reproductive success. In my 

early analysis, I found that killers produce more 

offspring per year than non-killers. But this analysis 

did not consider seven other factors that might affect 

killing—age, body mass, clan size, and aggressiveness, 

for example. To examine the confounding effects of 

these other factors, I recruited Charles Brown, a good 

friend and my former graduate student who is now a 

Professor at the University of Tulsa. Brown has 

worked with large, complicated datasets 

for decades, and was just what my 

investigation of interspecific killing 

needed. 

Brown examined both ‘annual 

fitness,’ which was a combination 

of a mother’s survivorship and 

the number of offspring she 

produced within one year, and 

‘lifetime fitness,’ which was the 

number of offspring that survive 

for at least one year over a female’s 

lifetime. We discovered that killings 

per se dramatically increased both 

estimates of fitness. Indeed, the number 

of killings by a female prairie dog was the 

only significant predictor that we could identify 

of both her annual and lifetime fitness. Killing was 

even a stronger predictor of lifetime fitness than 

how long the female lived, which is the major factor 

that affects lifetime fitness for hundreds of other 

species. Annual fitness was two times higher for 

serial killers than for nonkillers, and lifetime fitness 

was three times higher for serial killers than for 

nonkillers. Killing of competitors of another species 

I was astonished to learn that killing of ground 

squirrels by prairie dogs occurs, and is so common. 

I was astounded once again when I learned that 


White tailed 

prairie dog. 

© Sandy Nervig 

BEHAVIOUR 

has been documented 

before, but rarely among 

herbivores, and never in a way 

that has demonstrated that 

killing confers a reproductive 

advantage under natural 

conditions. The coupling of killing with increased 

fitness makes a persuasive story for prairie dogs. 

Killings of ground squirrels were subtle, quick, 

unpredictable, and unanticipated. Probably for 

this reason, my students and I did not detect 

a single killing in our first 4 years of research 

before the killing by Head-6. Charles Brown and 

I are optimistic that our story will encourage 

other behavioural ecologists to consider the 

possibility that their study-animals sometimes 

might covertly kill, or get killed by, competing 

individuals of other species. We hope our 

colleagues will now report such interspecific 

killings that previously seemed too bizarre to 

mention. 

Our optimism is already being rewarded. In the 

six weeks since the publication of our article, 

Professor Dirk Van Vuren of the University of 

California at Davis has informed me that he is 

suspicious that members of one species of large 

ground squirrels in his study-area in Colorado 

might be killing members of another species 

of smaller ground squirrels. And Lynda Watson, 

who has been live trapping and rearing blacktailed 

prairie dogs for over 30 years, has just 

informed me that she has observed, but has 

not previously reported, that black-tailed prairie 

dogs in southern Texas frequently kill Mexican 

ground squirrels. 

Our research might suggest that prairie dogs are 

savage, senseless killers of ground squirrels. But 

from another perspective, perhaps we should 

view the killers as excellent parents. Prepared to 

protect their offspring and the resources their 

families need to survive, prairie dogs are not 

so different from the way many people would 

react when faced with a trespassing nonhuman 

animal. Our investigation underscores two of the 

most compelling lessons I have learned from my 

four decades of research. First, long term research 

and careful analyses are crucial and decisive for 

understanding the ecology and social behaviour 

of animals as complex as prairie dogs. Second, 

when you spend a lifetime studying a captivating 

animal like I have, you have the opportunity to 

make fascinating discoveries that lead to novel, 

far-reaching conclusions. 

Hoogland, J. L., & Brown, C. R. (2016, March). 

Prairie dogs increase fitness by killing 

interspecific competitors. In Proc. R. Soc. B 

(Vol. 283, No. 1827, p. 20160144). The Royal 

Society. 


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