Many wild animals quickly lose the fear of predators once they start facing humans.
Most wild animals show a sweetness of predatory avoidance behaviors such as vigilance, cold and fleeing. Published on September 22, 2020 by MRBBEC. According to a study led by Benjamin Gafroy of the Institute Marine Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation, this has rapidly declined since animals came into contact with humans through captivity, rearing or urbanization. Open-access journal PLOS Biology.
An international team of researchers analyzed the results of 173 peer-reviewed studies examining antiprider traits (behavior and physiology) in 102 species of domestic, captive and urbanized mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and mollusks. Tree of life.
An “urbanized” Nubian ebac (Capra nubiana) tolerating a nearby human approach in the Israeli town of Mitzep Ramon. Credit: Adi Ainav, 2020
Scientists have found that contact with humans rapidly damages the antipyretic properties of animals, but at the same time, individuals initially have a variability and then gradually decline in human-to-human contact. The authors believe that this two-step process is due to the reduced pressure of natural selection resulting from living in a safe environment, followed by artificial selection by humans in the case of rearing.
Animals showed immediate changes in antipyretic responses in the first pay generation after contact with humans, suggesting that the initial response is the result of behavioral relief, which may also be accompanied by genetic changes if the contact continues for several pay generations later. Researchers have also found that pet antipyretic responses have changed three times faster than urbanization, while captivity has changed more slowly. The results also showed that herbivores changed behavior faster than carnivores, and that solitary species changed group-living animals more quickly.
These studies show that pets and urbanization exert equal pressure on animals and can quickly lead to behavioral changes. Loss of anti-hunting behaviors can cause difficulties when those domesticated or urbanized species face predators or when captive animals are put back into the wild. Understanding how animals react to interactions with humans contains important suggestions for conservation and urban planning, captive breeding programs, and livestock management.
Dr .. Gafroy adds, “While it is known that the fact that humans protect them reduces antipridator ability in animals, we did not know how quickly this happens and how comparable this is between contexts! We also integrated physical characteristics into the study, but they were less in number of behavioral symptoms. We believe that they should be systematically investigated to draw a global pattern of what is happening at the individual level. We need more data to understand if this only happens with the presence of tourists. “
Reference: “Evolutionary Dynamics in the Anthropocene Scene: A History of Life and the Intensity of Human Contact-Shaped Antipridator Reactions” by Benjamin Gafroy, Bastian Sadaul, Brianna J. Putman, Oded Burger-Tal, Lásle Xzolt Garmzegi, Ersnders Pep Mલરller and Daniel T. Bloomstein. September 22, 2020 PLOS Biology.
DOI: 10.1371 / Journal.PBO.3000818
Funding: DTB is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Australian Research Council. But funding had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of manuscript.
