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Cheetah communication at scent-marking sites can be inhibited or delayed by predators

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Abstract

Scent-marking is a way for individuals to indirectly communicate; however, the information is not exclusive to a single species and can be informative to a whole community. Prey or competitively inferior species can use scent-marks from predators/dominant species to avoid interactions. Cheetahs are a subordinate member of the large carnivore guild in Africa, yet olfactory communication in this guild has yet to be explored. We explore whether intraguild or intraspecific communication is occurring at cheetah scent-marking sites as well as whether dominant predator avoidance by cheetah occurs in response to predator presence or predator scent-marking. We recorded cheetah behaviour with video recording camera traps at cheetah scent-marking sites where a ‘landscape of fear’ was provided through natural predator presence or manipulated cues of predator presence. We found that cheetah took longer to return to scent-marking sites when a lion or a leopard was the previous species to visit the site. Moreover, cheetah increased the amount of time that they spent sniffing at scent-marking sites when another predator, as opposed to a cheetah, was the previous visitor. Finally, we noted that females never visited a scent-marking site after a predator was present nor when a predators’ scent-mark was present. Our results demonstrate that cheetahs use scent-marking sites for intraspecific communication, but also obtain intraguild information at these sites. Dominant predators can inhibit or at least delay important intraspecific communication around estrous events that occurs between cheetah at scent-marking sites, a novel form of interference competition.

Significance statement

Competition occurs between species, and dominant species deprive subordinate species from key resources. Individuals are able to avoid the cost of direct interactions with competitors by using cues (both direct and indirect) such as scents to assess such risks. Using video recording cameras at cheetah scent-marking sites, we provide novel insight into how dominant predator species shape cheetah behaviour through the use of avoidance by cheetah to the presence of dominant predators. Scent-marking sites are important to cheetah communication around reproduction opportunities and territory maintenance; however, dominant predator species’ cues blocked female reproductive signalling at the sites and delay male visitation. This serves as a novel form of interference competition for cheetah, but we suggest that cheetahs maintain communication through the use of multiple sites.

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The data will be available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Phinda Habitat Research Team, Wildlife ACT, and Wayne Cornhill for their help with data collection. We thank the editor T. Stankowich and two anonymous reviewers for their guidance that improved this manuscript. In addition, we thank Joris Cromsigt for the loan of camera traps and Nelson Mandela University for bursary support for KLC.

Funding

Funding was received from a Graduate Research Bursary from the Nelson Mandela University.

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Correspondence to Kristina L. Cornhill.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All institutional, national, and international guidelines for the use of wild animals were followed. Specifically, the Nelson Mandela University Research Ethics Committee: Animal approved all methods used in the study (A16-SCI-ZOO-006). Park management in both HiP (E/5119/02) and Phinda gave consent to conduct this work within their reserves.

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Communicated by T. Stankowich

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Cornhill, K.L., Kerley, G.I.H. Cheetah communication at scent-marking sites can be inhibited or delayed by predators. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 74, 21 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-2802-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-2802-9

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