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Social Dynamics of Exotic Dama Gazelles (Nanger dama) on Texas Ranch Land

Received: 7 February 2022     Accepted: 26 February 2022     Published: 9 March 2022
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Abstract

This project examines social dynamics of North African dama gazelles (Nanger dama ruficollis) under different combinations in a large, 202 ha, rangeland pasture in Central Texas, USA. There are many wildlife ranches in this part of Texas that keep herds of these critically endangered dama gazelles. Therefore, an increased understanding of how these pasture animals may assort themselves under different social combinations can not only help managers sustain and grow their herds but also bolster the numbers that give the species a better chance to remain viable while status in their native countries remains precarious. Investigated were: (1) 7 adult females with one adolescent male and one young adult male, (2) the same adult females and immature male without any adult males, (3) the same adult females and the young, now maturing, male with multiple adult males. It was shown that multiple adult males can co-exist in large pastures with minimal aggression, even when females are present, provided there is informed management. All the gazelles wore GPS-radio collars (7 adult females, 1 immature male, and 1-to-3 adult males depending on phase of the project). Locations were recorded every 3 hr. Visual observations were made monthly. Project duration was December 19, 2014, until June 30, 2016. Without the initial adult male, the female herd split and association values declined. With new adult males added, 2 divided the pasture, thus, separating spatially. The maturing male kept his core area where the main female group stayed, but now separated temporally. Adult males focused on areas favored by females but did not direct the movements of the females. These males did not associate as closely with females as females did with each other. Estimating maximum possible adult males for a pasture must allow for slope, vegetation density, and sites favored by females. The only two similar studies determined larger core areas under more xeric conditions, but these other studies could not assess group dynamics in detail without collars on more animals.

Published in International Journal of Animal Science and Technology (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12
Page(s) 6-20
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Addra, Africa, Conservation, Core Area, Endangered Species, Texas Ranches

References
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[2] Mungall, E. C., ed. 2018a. The Dama Gazelles: Last Members of a Critically Endangered Species. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, USA. 252 pp.
[3] Mallon, D. 2018. Introduction. In: E. C. Mungall, ed. The Dama Gazelles: Last Members of a Critically Endangered Species. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, USA. Pp. xiii-xiv.
[4] Mungall, E. C. 2018c. Species numbers through the years. Exotic Wildlife. 6: 61-62.
[5] Brito, J. C., S. M. Durant, N. Pettorelli, J. Newby, S. Canney, W. Algadafi, T. Rabeil, P-A. Crochet, J. M. Pleguezuelos, T. Wacher, K. de Smet, D. V. Gonçalves, M. J. F. da Silva, F. Martinez-Freiría, T. Abáigar, J. C. Campos, P. Comizzoli, S. Fahd, A. Fellous, H. H. M. Garba, D. Hamidou, A. Harouna, M. H. Hatcha, A. Nagy, T. L. Silva, A. S. Sow, C. G. Vale, Z. Boratyński, H. Rebelo, and S. B. Carvalho. 2018. Armed conflicts and wildlife decline: challenges and recommendations for effective conservation policy in the Sahara-Sahel. Conservation Letters. 11: e12446. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12446.
[6] Barbosa, A., and G. Espresso. 2005. International Studbook Gazelle dama mhorr. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cienrificas Press, Madrid, Spain.
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[9] Mungall, E. C. 2018b. Growing up and growing old: Physical and social development. In: E. C. Mungall, ed. The Dama Gazelles: Last Members of a Critically Endangered Species. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, USA. Pp. 62-88.
[10] Mungall, E. C., and S. M. Cooper. 2021. Home range size of male dama gazelles, Nanger dama, in an ex situ population in West Texas. African Zoology. 56 (2): 124-132. DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2021.1908845.
[11] Mungall, E. C. 2004. Dama gazelle phone census. Exotic Wildlife, January−February. Pp. 11–12.
[12] Ofstad, E. G., I. Herfindal, E. J. Solberg, and B-E. Sæther. 2016. Home ranges, habitat and body mass: simple correlates of home range size in ungulates. Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20161234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.123.
[13] Larkin, T. J., and G. W. Bomar. 1983. Climatic atlas of Texas. LP192. Department of Water Resources, Austin Texas. http://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/reports/limited_printing/doc/LP192.pdf. (Accessed Oct. 2, 2021).
[14] Weather Underground. 2016. http://www.wunderground.com/history. (Accessed Oct. 2, 2021).
[15] USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Soils. 2014. http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/ (Accessed Oct. 2, 2021).
[16] Mungall, E. C., and S. M. Cooper. 2020. Habitat selection by exotic dama gazelles (Nanger dama ruficollis) in Texas. Texas Journal of Science. 72 (1): 101-129. DOI.org/10.32011/txjsci_1_Article7.
[17] Wright, B., R. Lyons, S. Cooper, and J. Cathey. 2002. White-tailed deer browse preferences for South Texas and the Edwards Plateau. Texas Cooperative Extension Publication B-6130.
[18] Perotto-Baldivieso, H. L., S. M. Cooper, A. F. Cibils, M. Figueroa-Pagán, K. Udaeta, and C. Rubio. 2012. Detecting autocorrelation problems from GPS collar data in livestock studies. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 136: 117–125.
[19] Ginsberg, J. R., and T. P. Young. 1992. Measuring associations between individuals or groups in behavioural studies. Animal Behaviour 44: 377-370.
[20] Whitehead, H. 2008. Analyzing Animal Societies: Quantitative Methods for Vertebrate Analysis. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. IL.
[21] Seaman, D. E., and R. A. Powell. 1996. An evaluation of the accuracy of kernel density estimators for home range analysis. Ecology. 77: 2075–2085.
[22] Cooper, S. M., H. L. Perotto-Baldivieso, M. K. Owens, M. G. Meek, and M. Figueroa-Pagán. 2008. Interaction between white-tailed deer and cattle in a semi-arid grazing -system. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 127: 85-92.
[23] Abáigar, T., E. Rodríguez-Caballero, C. Martínez, Z. Amaouch, M. L. Samlali, F. Aparicio, T. El Balla, A. Essalhi, J. Fernández, F. García, M. Haya, A. M´Bareck, H. M´Bareck, L. M. González, and P F. de Larrínoa. 2019. The first reintroduction project for Mhorr gazelle (Nanger dama mhorr) into the wild: knowledge and experience gained to support future conservation actions. Global Ecology and Conservation. 19: e00680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecko.2019.e00680. (Accessed Sept. 23, 2021).
[24] Abáigar, T., C. Martínez, Z. Amaouch, M. Alifal, A. Lemdimigh, S. El Makki, M. El Mokhtar, M. L. Samlali, P F. de Larrínoa, and E. Rodríguez-Caballero. 2020. Habitat requirements of the mhorr gazelle: What does this species need to survive in the wild? Global Ecology and Conservation. 20: e01389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01389. (Accessed Sept. 24, 2021).
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Elizabeth Cary Mungall, Susan Margaret Cooper. (2022). Social Dynamics of Exotic Dama Gazelles (Nanger dama) on Texas Ranch Land. International Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 6(1), 6-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12

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    ACS Style

    Elizabeth Cary Mungall; Susan Margaret Cooper. Social Dynamics of Exotic Dama Gazelles (Nanger dama) on Texas Ranch Land. Int. J. Anim. Sci. Technol. 2022, 6(1), 6-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12

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    AMA Style

    Elizabeth Cary Mungall, Susan Margaret Cooper. Social Dynamics of Exotic Dama Gazelles (Nanger dama) on Texas Ranch Land. Int J Anim Sci Technol. 2022;6(1):6-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12,
      author = {Elizabeth Cary Mungall and Susan Margaret Cooper},
      title = {Social Dynamics of Exotic Dama Gazelles (Nanger dama) on Texas Ranch Land},
      journal = {International Journal of Animal Science and Technology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {6-20},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijast.20220601.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijast.20220601.12},
      abstract = {This project examines social dynamics of North African dama gazelles (Nanger dama ruficollis) under different combinations in a large, 202 ha, rangeland pasture in Central Texas, USA. There are many wildlife ranches in this part of Texas that keep herds of these critically endangered dama gazelles. Therefore, an increased understanding of how these pasture animals may assort themselves under different social combinations can not only help managers sustain and grow their herds but also bolster the numbers that give the species a better chance to remain viable while status in their native countries remains precarious. Investigated were: (1) 7 adult females with one adolescent male and one young adult male, (2) the same adult females and immature male without any adult males, (3) the same adult females and the young, now maturing, male with multiple adult males. It was shown that multiple adult males can co-exist in large pastures with minimal aggression, even when females are present, provided there is informed management. All the gazelles wore GPS-radio collars (7 adult females, 1 immature male, and 1-to-3 adult males depending on phase of the project). Locations were recorded every 3 hr. Visual observations were made monthly. Project duration was December 19, 2014, until June 30, 2016. Without the initial adult male, the female herd split and association values declined. With new adult males added, 2 divided the pasture, thus, separating spatially. The maturing male kept his core area where the main female group stayed, but now separated temporally. Adult males focused on areas favored by females but did not direct the movements of the females. These males did not associate as closely with females as females did with each other. Estimating maximum possible adult males for a pasture must allow for slope, vegetation density, and sites favored by females. The only two similar studies determined larger core areas under more xeric conditions, but these other studies could not assess group dynamics in detail without collars on more animals.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Social Dynamics of Exotic Dama Gazelles (Nanger dama) on Texas Ranch Land
    AU  - Elizabeth Cary Mungall
    AU  - Susan Margaret Cooper
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    AB  - This project examines social dynamics of North African dama gazelles (Nanger dama ruficollis) under different combinations in a large, 202 ha, rangeland pasture in Central Texas, USA. There are many wildlife ranches in this part of Texas that keep herds of these critically endangered dama gazelles. Therefore, an increased understanding of how these pasture animals may assort themselves under different social combinations can not only help managers sustain and grow their herds but also bolster the numbers that give the species a better chance to remain viable while status in their native countries remains precarious. Investigated were: (1) 7 adult females with one adolescent male and one young adult male, (2) the same adult females and immature male without any adult males, (3) the same adult females and the young, now maturing, male with multiple adult males. It was shown that multiple adult males can co-exist in large pastures with minimal aggression, even when females are present, provided there is informed management. All the gazelles wore GPS-radio collars (7 adult females, 1 immature male, and 1-to-3 adult males depending on phase of the project). Locations were recorded every 3 hr. Visual observations were made monthly. Project duration was December 19, 2014, until June 30, 2016. Without the initial adult male, the female herd split and association values declined. With new adult males added, 2 divided the pasture, thus, separating spatially. The maturing male kept his core area where the main female group stayed, but now separated temporally. Adult males focused on areas favored by females but did not direct the movements of the females. These males did not associate as closely with females as females did with each other. Estimating maximum possible adult males for a pasture must allow for slope, vegetation density, and sites favored by females. The only two similar studies determined larger core areas under more xeric conditions, but these other studies could not assess group dynamics in detail without collars on more animals.
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Author Information
  • Second Ark Foundation, Kerrville, USA

  • Wildlife Ecology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Uvalde, USA

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