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Comparative study of movement patterns and habitat use of two bison species (European bison and American bison)

Research unit

UMR 7178 - IPHC, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE)
23 rue Becquerel, 67087 STRASBOURG cedex 2

Group

Name: Ethologie Evolutive

Group leader: PETIT Odile - odile.petit@iphc.cnrs.fr

Group leader's phone: 0388107457

Website: Visit website

Group organization:
- Chercheurs: 6
- ITA: 1
- Doctorants: 5
- Post-Docs: 4
- Autres: 0

Publications of the team linked to the topic (3 last years):
1) Sueur, C., MacInstosh A.J.J., Jacobs A.T., Watanabe, K., Petit, O. 2013. Predicting leadership using nutrient requirements and dominance rank of group members. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67, 457-470.
2) Sueur, C. 2011. Group decision-making in chacma baboons: leadership, progression order and communication at departure of group movement. BMC Ecology 2011, 11:26.
3) Sueur, C., Deneubourg, J.L., Petit, O. 2011. From the first intention movement to the last joiner: Macaques combine mimetic rules to optimize their collective decisions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 278: 1697-1704.

About PhD

PhD Director: SUEUR Cédric - cedric.sueur@iphc.cnrs.fr

Phone: 0388107453

Junior advisor: non

Co-tutely: oui

Co-Director: non

About PhD topic :

Title: Comparative study of movement patterns and habitat use of two bison species (European bison and American bison)

Project: European bison live in herds composed of up to thirty individuals, the average size and structure of the groups being environment dependent. Indeed, according to the season, groups frequently meet, split and exchange some individuals (Pucek et al., 2004). In many social species, groups often divide when the food resources are limited or unpredictable, thus decreasing competition. The fusion of groups can be a response to predator risk. Moreover, the formation of sub-groups is often based on similar physiological or behavioral needs among individuals (Couzin et Laidre, 2009). This may explain sexual segregation in some species, especially ungulates. Indeed, males are often considerably larger than females, so their energy and nutrient requirements are higher (Ruckstuhl et Neuhaus, 2000). However, sexual dimorphism is not the only hypothesis to explain sexual segregation. Existing literature suggests that it can be also due to innate preferences for same-sex peers (Bon et Campan, 1996), sexual differences in predator avoidance strategies or sexual differences in activity budgets (Ruckstuhl et Neuhaus, 2000). As bison have a fission-fusion dynamic (sub-groups temporarily formed in the population), it is important to understand how this process works and identify the decisions underlying the formation of sub-groups in order to understand how bison use their habitat.
The outputs of territory of bison groups or sub-groups could be due to one or some leaders. To protect agricultural and industrial lands, identify these individuals and the application of methods to scare them would not only be as efficient as acting on the whole group, but would be quicker, cheaper, and less stressful for animals. Research on the zebu, Bos indicus (Reinhardt, 1983), cattle (Dumont and Boissy, 2000) and the American bison (Mchugh, 1958) has shown that there is no exclusive leader in these groups, but some females are often initiators of movements and are placed at the front of the group. We can hypothesize that the leadership would be shared among the members of group in the European Bison, albeit with a higher propensity in females to initiate a move. Lactating and older females could be responsible for such a large number of departure because of their greater nutritional and physiological needs. It would also be interesting to know whether a specific order of individuals within the group progression can be highlighted. Indeed, it has been observed in several animal species that juveniles are often located in the center of the group (Sueur et Petit, 2008b; Sweat et al., 2010b). For many authors, this strategy would allow better protection of young against predators, as individuals that are placed at the front or at the periphery are the most exposed (Bumann et al., 1997). Furthermore, being placed in the first position would not only allow the individual to decide more easily on the direction of movement, but also make him/her the first to access resources. Thus, understanding how environmental pressures such as predation risk or food availability affect the behavior of bison is important to understand the functioning and the organization of groups.
To identify the areas chosen by bison to fulfil their needs, we will equip some or all individuals with GPS collars, then follow the group to which the individuals belong and locate it. Their tendency to be a leader will be compared to their displacement efficiency, basing on the random walk analysis (Levy and Brownian). The different habitats will be described in terms of dominant plant species.
The results relative to the areas attended by bison and data concerning the collective displacements could be compared according to the time of day and the time of year, which will allow us to highlight a possible influence of environmental and/or seasonal conditions on the lifestyle of the bison species.

Wished skills: Field experience
Knowledge in ethology and ecology (theory and behavioural data measuring)
Knowledge of decision sciences
Being able to perform a scientific reflection
Knowledge in English

Expertises which will be acquired during the training: Behavioral sampling methods
Conservation sciences
To acquire and master statistical analyses of biological data (multivariate analysis, regressions, ACP)
Modelling
To become familiar with statistical software and social network analysis
Article drafting and scientific publications
Oral presentation, communication of scientific results at international conferences
Grant applications