Effects of Captivity on Foraging Behavior and Survival in the Wild of Microtus Pennsylvanicus
File(s)
Date
2012-05Author
Kozuch, Amaranta E
Advisor(s)
McPhee, Misty
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Human activity has caused wildlife populations worldwide to decline making it imperative for conservation biologists to develop captive breeding and reintroduction programs. These programs, however, have had limited success. Captivity has been shown to select for behavioral
traits that are maladaptive in the wild, such as
inability to recognize optimal food resources, thereby minimizing survival. I developed this study to explore the mechanisms involved with
behavioral change in a systematic and hypothesis-driven framework.
I captured, housed and later tested meadow voles
(Microtus pennsylvanicus) in a foraging test to
measure behavioral differences as a function of environment and time. Animals were housed in either a simple or complex environment for greater
than or less than 1.5 months. Analysis of behavioral data from the foraging test suggests
the complex environment may maintain appropriate
foraging behaviors for sexes and a short time in
a simple environment may maintain appropriate
responses to unpredictability. All subjects along
with a wild cohort were subsequently released
into outdoor enclosures and survival was monitored. Analysis of mark-recapture data suggests environment and time do affect survival
and recapture of individuals differently; animals
housed in complex environments (for less than 1.5
months) maintained similar survival rates as
wild individuals. My study suggests that captive
individuals may benefit from additional complexity
(for short time intervals) within the captive
environment to maintain wild behaviors and
increase survival upon reintroduction.
Subject
Microtus pennsylvanicus
Voles
Captive wild animals
Adaptation - Biology
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/62206Description
A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science-Biology