The main objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of the diet, activity pattern and habitat use of the golden and silver-backed jackal in the Serengeti Ecosystem. The research is focused on both diurnal and nocturnal behaviour of jackals in both the dry and wet seasons. The project is expected to provide new and detailed information on diet, activity pattern and habitat use by these two jackal species which is important information for long-term monitoring and conservation of the jackal populations in the southern portion of the Serengeti ecosystem. This research project is part of Steven Temu’s PhD study registered at the University of Dar es Salaam and supervised by Dr. Patricia Moehlman, Dr. Marion East and Dr. Cuthbert Nahonyo.
Currently, knowledge of the African wild dog population in the vast Ruaha ecosystem in Tanzania is limited. The aim of this project is to provide relevant knowledge for evidenced based conservation of the important population of this endangered species in Ruaha National Park. A citizen science approach is used to monitor wild dog demography which involves obtaining photographs of dispersing groups and packs of wild dogs encountered by tourists and National Park staff. These records currently span a period from 2010 to 2019 and are used to track the fate of individuals and packs over time. Road transects are used to assess the abundance of ungulate prey to monitor seasonal change, particularly in relation to the loss of surface water from the Great Ruaha River during the dry-season. Scats of domestic dogs are collected to determine diet, virus and gastrointestinal parasite infections. Human-wildlife conflict is studied in areas surrounding Ruaha National Park to gain insights on the contribution of wild dogs to livestock losses, and the contribution of wire snares and other human activities to mortality of wild dogs outside the National Park. Talks on African wild dogs are presented to students in local schools and in villages to raise awareness of this endangered species.
Currently little is known about the factors determining individual heterogeneity in parasite infections in unmanaged wild mammal populations, including the gastrointestinal community of most wildlife species. In particular, the eukaryotic proportion of the biome, the eukaryome, remains largely unknown, and little is known about the fitness consequences which parasite infections impose on their hosts. In my research I primarily focus on individually known spotted hyenas in three large clans in the Serengeti NP. I aim to investigate determinants of gastrointestinal parasite infections of this wild social mammal and to assess the fitness consequences of infection. I hypothesise that individual variation of parasite infections is determined by 1) life-history traits; 2) social, ecological and abiotic environmental factors; 3) host immune-competence and 4) gastrointestinal community.
Stipend by the Research Training Group GRK2046 – Parasite
infections: From experimental models to natural systems.
Assessing both infection and the associated
immune responses in free-ranging wildlife is challenging, as is the assessment
of the consequences of infection on components of Darwinian fitness throughout
the life-span of an individual. Our research aims to investigate the effect of the
infection load of energetically costly intestinal parasites on host immune
function and assess whether they have an effect on components of Darwinian
fitness. We will combine results from longitudinal measures of parasite load,
faecal hormone concentrations and measures of immunological responses in faeces
from individually known spotted hyenas with information on their social rank
and components of Darwinian fitness (age of first reproduction, longevity and life-time
reproductive reproductive success) in our study population in the Serengeti
National Park. This project is funded by the Research Training Group 2046
“Parasite Infections: from experimental models to natural systems”, Freie
Universität Berlin”.
The
developmental period is a particularly sensitive window during which the
phenotypic effects of the environment are particularly marked. This means that
the conditions experienced during development can have both immediate and
delayed effects on life history traits and fitness. Very little is known
about these effects in free-ranging populations. My research will use long-term
detailed data from individually known free-ranging spotted hyenas (Crocuta
crocuta) in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Social status significantly affects
Darwinian fitness by altering health, life history, and physiological
trade-offs. Because social status is usually stable throughout life and is a behaviourally transmitted trait, social
inequalities persist within and across generations. Even so, the molecular
mechanisms underlying these social effects are poorly understood. We
hypothesize that DNA-methylation is a main epigenetic pathway through which an
individual’s social environment regulates gene expression and hence
physiological responses and life-history trade-offs. We predict that
methylation patterns in individuals experiencing social stability will promote
status-specific trade-offs. We further predict that when the social environment
results in status changes as when high (low) born offspring are reared by
a low (high) status surrogate mother, plasticity in methylation patterns should
match the gene regulatory pathways, life-history trade-offs and fitness to the
new social conditions. We test our hypothesis using long-term data obtained
from spotted hyenas in the Serengeti National Park. To assess the impact of
status-specific methylation patterns on health, we will measure faecal
immunoglobulin, cytokine levels and eukaryome diversity, and will control for
the possible confounding effect of gut microbiomes. By linking for the first
time in a wild social mammal changes in social status to DNA-methylation,
fitness and health, this project will shed light on gene pathways underpinning
social inequalities, their plasticity, health consequences and potential
implications for humans.
