Cheetahs become more nocturnal on hot days. Climate change may up conflicts among Africa's big cats.
Submitted 1 year ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to science@mander.xyz
Submitted 1 year ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to science@mander.xyz
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 1 year ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Unfortunately for endangered cheetahs, that sets them up for more potential conflicts with mostly nocturnal competing predators such as lions and leopards, say the authors of research published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Hunting at different times of the day is one long-evolved strategy to reduce encounters between the multiple predator species that share northern Botswana’s mixed savannah and forest landscape.
“There’s a greater chance for more unfriendly encounters and less food for the cheetahs,” said co-author Kasim Rafiq, a biologist at the University of Washington and the nonprofit Botswana Predator Conservation Trust.
For the current study, researchers placed GPS tracking collars on 53 large carnivores — including cheetahs, lions, leopards and African wild dogs — and recorded their locations and hours of activity over eight years.
While seasonal cycles explain most temperature fluctuations in the study window of 2011 to 2018, the scientists say the observed behavior changes offer a peek into the future of a warming world.
In the next phase of research, the scientists plan to use audio-recording devices and accelerometers — “like a Fitbit for big cats,” said Rafiq — to document the frequency of encounters between large carnivores.
The original article contains 491 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!