A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Taming age mortality in semi-captive Asian elephants
Tekijät: Jennie A. H. Crawley, Mirkka Lahdenperä, Zaw Min Oo, Win Htut, Hnin Nandar, Virpi Lummaa
Kustantaja: Nature Publishing Group
Julkaisuvuosi: 2020
Journal: Scientific Reports
Artikkelin numero: 1889
Vuosikerta: 10
Numero: 1
Sivujen määrä: 8
ISSN: 2045-2322
eISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58590-7
Verkko-osoite: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58590-7.pdf
Rinnakkaistallenteen osoite: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/45358967
Understanding factors preventing populations of endangered species from being self-sustaining is vital for successful conservation, but we often lack sufficient data to understand dynamics. The global Asian elephant population has halved since the 1950s, however >25% currently live in captivity and effective management is essential to maintain viable populations. Here, we study the largest semi-captive Asian elephant population, those of the Myanma timber industry (~20% global captive population), whose population growth is heavily limited by juvenile mortality. We assess factors associated with increased mortality of calves aged 4.0–5.5 years, the taming age in Myanmar, a process affecting ~15,000 captive elephants to varying degrees worldwide. Using longitudinal survival data of 1,947 taming-aged calves spanning 43 years, we showed that calf mortality risk increased by >50% at the taming age of four, a peak not seen in previous studies on wild African elephants. Calves tamed at younger ages experienced higher mortality risk, as did calves with less experienced mothers. Taming-age survival greatly improved after 2000, tripling since the 1970’s. Management should focus on reducing risks faced by vulnerable individuals such as young and first-born calves to further improve survival. Changes associated with reduced mortality here are important targets for improving the sustainability of captive populations.
Ladattava julkaisu This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |