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Vegetation and predator interactions affect northern bobwhite behavior
Author(s) -
McGrath Diana J.,
Terhune Theron M.,
Martin James A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.1002/jwmg.21441
Subject(s) - colinus , predator , vegetation (pathology) , predation , wildlife , affect (linguistics) , context (archaeology) , ecology , bobwhite quail , geography , biology , psychology , communication , medicine , quail , archaeology , pathology
Anti‐predator behavior can be costly to prey species and the consequences of these decisions may affect survival. Interactions between humans and hunted species can lead to behavioral shifts in the animal that affect hunter satisfaction and possibly fitness of the animals. We assessed the influence of multiple factors that may affect anti‐predator behavior in a commonly harvested game bird, the northern bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus ), during October 2013–March 2015 on a private plantation in South Carolina, USA. We monitored bobwhite‐hunter interactions during hunting events ( n = 40) using radio‐telemetry and behavioral observations. We investigated bobwhite anti‐predator behavior in 2 contexts, choice of evasive tactic and timing of tactic deployment (i.e., level of wariness), using a combination of linear regression and multinomial models in a Bayesian framework. Our results indicate the approach style of the hunter (i.e., pointing dog) and vegetation density affect the evasive tactic used. Dense vegetation at 0.6 m above ground height promoted hiding behavior of bobwhites, whereas approaching pointing dogs (i.e., not holding point) promoted flushing. Also, dense vegetation at 0.3 m above ground height and previous exposure to a discharged firearm elicited an earlier anti‐predator response. Our results imply that bobwhites make context‐specific decisions regarding hunter evasion, which may be a result of associative learning. Managers may be able to increase bobwhite‐hunter encounters and improve hunter satisfaction by maintaining vegetation structure between 0.6 and 1.3 m to promote hiding behavior throughout the hunting season. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.