Display options
Cite
Creel S, Christianson D, Schuette P. Glucocorticoid stress responses of lions in relationship to group composition, human land use, and proximity to people. Conserv Physiol. 2013;1(1):cot021doi: 10.1093/conphys/cot021.
Creel, S., Christianson, D., & Schuette, P. (2013). Glucocorticoid stress responses of lions in relationship to group composition, human land use, and proximity to people. Conservation physiology, 1(1), cot021. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot021
Creel, Scott, et al. "Glucocorticoid stress responses of lions in relationship to group composition, human land use, and proximity to people." Conservation physiology vol. 1,1 (2013): cot021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot021
Creel S, Christianson D, Schuette P. Glucocorticoid stress responses of lions in relationship to group composition, human land use, and proximity to people. Conserv Physiol. 2013 Jul 12;1(1):cot021. doi: 10.1093/conphys/cot021. eCollection 2013. PMID: 27293605; PMCID: PMC4732441.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Conserv Physiol. 2013 Jul 12;1(1):cot021. doi: 10.1093/conphys/cot021. eCollection 2013.

Glucocorticoid stress responses of lions in relationship to group composition, human land use, and proximity to people.

Conservation physiology

Scott Creel, David Christianson, Paul Schuette

Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Montana State University, 310 Lewis Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
  2. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, 325 Biological Sciences East, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.

PMID: 27293605 PMCID: PMC4732441 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cot021

Abstract

Large carnivore populations are in global decline, and conflicts between large carnivores and humans or their livestock contribute to low tolerance of large carnivores outside of protected areas. African lions (Panthera leo) are a conflict-prone species, and their continental range has declined by 75% in the face of human pressures. Nonetheless, large carnivore populations persist (or even grow) in some areas that are occupied by humans. Lions attain locally high density in the Olkiramatian and Shompole Group Ranches of Kenya's South Rift region, despite residence by pastoralist Maasai people and their sheep, goats, and cattle. We have previously found that these lions respond to seasonal movements of people by moving away from occupied settlements, shifting into denser habitats when people are nearby, and moving into a protected conservation area when people move into the adjacent buffer zone. Here, we examined lion stress responses to anthropogenic activities, using enzyme-linked immunoassay to measure the concentration of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in 136 samples collected from five lion groups over 2 years. Faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations were significantly lower for lions in the conservation area than for lions in the human-settled buffer zone, and decreased significantly with increasing distance to the nearest occupied human settlement. Faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations were not detectably related to fine-scaled variation in prey or livestock density, and surprisingly, faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations were higher in the wet season, when regional prey abundance was high. Lions coexist with people and livestock on this landscape by adjusting their movements, but they nonetheless mount an appreciable stress response when conditions do not allow them to maintain adequate separation. Thus, physiological data confirm inferences from prior data on lion movements and habitat use, showing that access to undisturbed and protected areas facilitates human-lion coexistence in a broader landscape that is used by people and livestock.

Keywords: Carnivore; Kenya; glucocorticoid; human–wildlife conflict; lion; stress

References

  1. Ecol Lett. 2013 May;16(5):635-41 - PubMed
  2. Science. 1996 Aug 9;273(5276):749-50 - PubMed
  3. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1977 Nov;86(3):489-97 - PubMed
  4. Science. 2008 Jul 4;321(5885):123-6 - PubMed
  5. PLoS One. 2009 Jun 17;4(6):e5941 - PubMed
  6. Science. 2005 Apr 29;308(5722):648-52 - PubMed
  7. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Aug 8;103(32):12005-10 - PubMed
  8. Psychosom Med. 1970 Jul-Aug;32(4):397-408 - PubMed
  9. Biol Lett. 2005 Mar 22;1(1):60-3 - PubMed
  10. J Anim Ecol. 2009 Nov;78(6):1249-58 - PubMed
  11. PLoS One. 2009 Jul 08;4(7):e6140 - PubMed
  12. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2002 Aug;128(1):1-24 - PubMed
  13. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jul 28;106(30):12388-93 - PubMed
  14. Science. 2011 Jul 15;333(6040):301-6 - PubMed
  15. Trends Ecol Evol. 2010 May;25(5):261-2; author reply 262-3 - PubMed
  16. Nature. 2005 Aug 18;436(7053):927-8 - PubMed
  17. Endocr Rev. 2000 Feb;21(1):55-89 - PubMed
  18. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e52458 - PubMed
  19. Trends Ecol Evol. 2009 Nov;24(11):634-42 - PubMed
  20. Horm Behav. 2009 Feb;55(2):329-37 - PubMed
  21. Horm Behav. 2010 Feb;57(2):105-11 - PubMed
  22. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Jun 19;98(13):7366-70 - PubMed

Publication Types