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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on June 14, 2007
Behavioral Ecology 2007 18(4):725-729; doi:10.1093/beheco/arm036
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Habitat use and movements of plains zebra (Equus burchelli) in response to predation danger from lions

Ilya R. Fischhoffa, Siva R. Sundaresana,b, Justine Cordingleya,c and DI Rubensteina

a Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA b Department of Conservation Biology, Denver Zoological Foundation, 2300 Steele Street, Denver, CO 80205, USA c Ol Pejeta Conservancy, PO Box 167, Nanyuki, Kenya

Address correspondence to I.R. Fischhoff. E-mail: ifischho{at}princeton.edu.


  Abstract

Prey species must adapt their behavior to avoid predation. As a key prey item for lions (Panthera leo), plains zebras (Equus burchelli) were expected to respond to immediate threats posed by lions in their area. In addition, zebras were predicted to exhibit behavior tuned to reduce the potential for encounters with lions, by modifying their movement patterns in the times of day and habitats of greatest lion danger. We studied a population of approximately 600 plains zebra living in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. We found that zebra abundance on or near a grassland patch was lower if lions had also been observed on that patch during the same day. Predation danger was highest in grassland habitat during the night, when lions were more active. Zebra sightings and global positioning system radio collar data indicated that zebras also reduced their use of grassland at night, instead using more woodland habitat. Zebras moved faster and took sharper turns in grassland at night. It is hypothesized that these more erratic movements assist zebras in avoiding detection or capture by lions.

Key words: antipredator behavior, habitat choice, ungulates.

Received 11 October 2006; revised 27 March 2007; accepted 1 April 2007.


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