Biology subjects

Silovsky, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Silovsky, V..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Impact of winter enclosures on energy expenditure and movement activity of european reed deer

The management of red deer enclosures, combined with supplementary feeding, can reduce the energy expenditure of confined animals. These enclosed individuals minimize their spatio-temporal movement and energy usage during their time inside the winter enclosure compared to those living in free range during the same period. The datasets used in this study were based on biologging technology. All measured animals (n=11) were equipped with GPS collars and Daily Dairy sensors to record Vectorial Dynamic Body Acceleration (VeDBA). The study revealed differences in the daily summary and daily mean of VeDBA parameters between enclosed and free-living animals in the study area. Energy expenditure was similar for both groups only at the moment of winter enclosure release. After the enclosure was opened, the released individuals increased their movement and energy expenditure. The use of winter enclosures for red deer management can reduce animal movement and minimize potential damage to young forest stands and seedlings. The opening of the winter enclosure must be synchronized with the availability of natural food resources in the locality. The management of winter enclosures should be carried out with a system of supplementary feeding inside.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Individual identity and environmental conditions explain different aspects of sleep behaviour in wild boar

Sleep is a fundamental behaviour as it serves vital physiological functions, yet how the sleep of wild animals is constrained by environmental conditions is poorly understood. Using non-invasive multi-sensor high-resolution biologgers and a robust classification approach, we quantified multiple dimensions of sleep in wild boar (Sus scrofa), a nocturnally active mammal, monitored for up to a full annual cycle. In support of the hypothesis that environmental conditions determining thermoregulatory challenges regulate sleep, we show that on warmer, longer, and more humid days sleep quality and quantity are reduced, whilst greater snow cover and rainfall promote sleep quality. Importantly, our study reveals large inter-and intra-individual variation in sleep durations, suggestive of pace-of-life syndromes. Given the major role that sleep plays in health, our results suggest that global warming and the associated increase in extreme climatic events are likely to negatively impact sleep, and consequently health in wildlife, particularly in nocturnal animals.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Animal lifestyle changes acceptable mass limits for attached tags

O_LIAnimal-attached devices have transformed our understanding of vertebrate ecology. To minimize tag-related harm for these studies, researchers have long advocated that tag masses should not exceed 3% of the animals body mass. However, this proposition ignores tag forces generated as a result of animal movement. C_LIO_LIUsing data from collar-attached accelerometers on diverse free-ranging terrestrial animals, we detail a tag-based acceleration method (TbAM) in which we quantify animal athleticism in terms of fractions of animal movement time devoted to different collar-recorded accelerations. The varying accelerations are converted to forces imposed on the animals based on the acceleration and tag mass and allow derivation of defined force limits, including those amounting to 3% of the animals mass, for specified fractions of any animals active time. C_LIO_LIWe demonstrate how species athleticism is the principal determinant of tag forces, whereas body mass is of little importance. Forces exerted by 3% tags were mostly equivalent to 4-19% of the animals masses during moving, with a maximum of 54% in a hunting cheetah. Cumulative frequency curves of tag acceleration for periods when animals were active, all showed a characteristic sigmoid pattern, which was displaced further to the right as higher acceleration activities accounted for an increasing proportion of any animals time. Specifying that tags should exert forces that are less than 3% of the animals body mass for 95% of the time led to corrected tag masses constituting between 1.6% and 2.98% of our study animals masses, with values depending on animal athleticism. C_LIO_LIRecognition that animal athleticism affects tag forces of their carriers fundamentally changes how acceptable tag mass limits should be determined by ethics bodies. In order to have a scientifically robust acceptable threshold to limit the forces experienced by an animal carrier, we suggest practitioners derive a similar cumulative acceleration profile for their study species and use a minimum of the 95% limits on the plot (although higher limits may be more appropriate). C_LI

zoology↗

bioRxiv2020

Path tortuosity changes the transport cost paradigm in terrestrial animals

Animal movement paths are variously tortuous, with high turn rates predicted to be energetically costly, especially at high speeds. Animals travel most efficiently at the speed that gives the lowest cost of transport (COT), a well-defined point for movement in fluid media. However, theoretically, land animals should travel at their maximum speed to minimize COT, which they do not, instead travelling at walking pace. We measured oxygen consumption in humans to demonstrate that the energetic costs of turning increase disproportionately with both speed and angular velocity. This resulted in the minimum COT speed occurring at very low speeds, which reduced with increased path tortuosity. Data on turn rates from six free-ranging terrestrial species underpinned this because all individuals turned faster at the slowest speeds across the full speed range. The optimum movement speed for minimum COT in land animals thus depends on the environment and behavior since both affect track tortuosity.

ecology↗