How territoriality affects the density of an egg predator: Habitat renovation and reintroduction as a method of conserving two endangered desert spring fish
Conservation?of?endangered?sympatric?species?must?be?carefully?executed?to?ensure?that?the?protection?of?one?species?does?not?negatively?impact?the?survival?of?another.?Critically?endangered?Pecos?gambusia?Gambusia?nobilis?and?Leon?Springs?pupfish?Cyprinodon?bovinus,?which?are?endemic?to?a?threatened?desert?spring?habitat,?exemplify?one?such?scenario.?Recently,?this?habitat?has?been?expanded,?and?captively?bred?C.?bovinus?were?released?to?repopulate?an?area?historically?known?to?contain?this?species.?A?previous?study?suggested?that?G.?nobilis?are?detrimental?to?C.?bovinus?populations,?due?to?their?tendency?to?congregate?near?spawning?pairs?and?feed?on?their?eggs.?Whether?G.?nobilis?are?attracted?to?territorial?C.?bovinus,?regardless?of?spawning?behavior,?remains?unclear.?To?determine?this,?the?number?of?G.?nobilis?in?occupied?and?unoccupied?breeding?territories?of?both?wild?and?captively?bred?C.?bovinus?was?measured.?Gambusia?nobilis?densities?were?similar?between?unoccupied?and?occupied?territorial?sites,?suggesting?that?they?do?not?show?a?preference?for?C.?bovinus?territories.?Regardless?of?habitat?location?or?prior?captivity,?territorial?C.?bovinus?significantly?excluded?G.?nobilis?within?their?direct?vicinity?(5?cm),?but?not?from?their?entire?territory.?Decreased?G.?nobilis?density?within?the?habitat?may?allow?C.?bovinus?to?defend?their?breeding?territories?more?readily?during?the?summer?spawning?season.?This?study?provides?empirical?evidence?of?captively?raised?individuals?behaving?similarly?to?wild?indi-?viduals?upon?reintroduction?to?their?natural?habitat?and?support?for?conservation?methods?that?focus?on?common?limiting?factors?between?endangered?species?[Current?Zoology?60?(4):?527-533,?2014].
Timothy PACIOREK Layla AL-SHAER Murray ITZKOWITZ - 动物学报(英文版)
文章来源： 万方数据
