Impact of tourism on the vigilance behavior of the Cyprus rock agama(Laudakia cypriaca)

Escape behavior is a common antipredator strategy among wild animals.Here,we investigated the effect of four factors on the vigilance behavior of the endemic Cyprus rock agama(Laudakia cypriaca).Flight initiation distance(FID,the minimum distance to which an observer can approach a lizard before it flees)was measured in relation to the type of location(tourist vs.nontourist area),the observer’s starting distance,air temperature,and substrate temperature.We collected data for 39 agamas in tourist areas and 34 of these lizards in nontourist areas.As a whole,the mean starting distance was 10.5 m and the FID was 3.6 m.The average substrate temperature was 34.0℃ and the average air temperature 29.6℃.Only the type of area affected the agamas’escape decisions with FID being 1.8 m shorter in tourist areas than in nontourist areas(2.7 m vs.4.5 m).This is probably due to the habituation of lizards to the presence of humans in the former areas.This study shows that tourism strongly affects the behavior of lizards,which may have consequences for the functioning of the population.Tourists can increase the safety of lizards by creating a human shield to deter predators.Once the tourist season is over,lizards may become more vulnerable to predators.

Plateau pikas near roads are bold and silent when facing a potential predator

Human disturbance,particularly road traffic,is one of the greatest threats to wildlife.Considering the association between alerting behavior and the survival of animals,it is important to study the effects of road traffic on alerting behavior of wildlife.Previous studies assessing the shortterm impact of road traffic on alerting behavior of wildlife have focused on vigilance distances.However,studies on the use of alarm calls are scarce,and it is unclear whether such behavioral responses change after repeated exposure to road traffic.We assessed the alerting behavior of plateau pikas(Ochotona curzoniae)who were near or far from roads when facing a potential predator.We found that pikas near roads exhibited shorter vigilance and tolerance distances,and produced fewer alarm calls than those relatively far away from roads.Furthermore,both vigilance and tolerance distances of plateau pikas were significantly positively correlated with the distance from the burrow to the road.Road traffic reduced antipredator responses and shaped alerting behavior;that is,pikas near roads were bolder and more silent compared to those far away from roads.Our findings suggest that increasing urbanization will have corresponding effects on animal behavior,which may have significant fitness effects in the future.