Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi)
Observations were carried out in the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya, which is the northern part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem in Kenya and Tanzania. Activity and behaviour of Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) was recorded with one-minute intervals for con...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Otro |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2009
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/12346/ |
| _version_ | 1855572046456553472 |
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| author | Adolfsson, Ulrika |
| author_browse | Adolfsson, Ulrika |
| author_facet | Adolfsson, Ulrika |
| author_sort | Adolfsson, Ulrika |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | Observations were carried out in the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern
Kenya, which is the northern part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem in
Kenya and Tanzania. Activity and behaviour of Masai giraffes (Giraffa
camelopardalis tippelskirchi) was recorded with one-minute intervals for
continuous periods of approximately twelve hours per day for two weeks in
February and March 2007. The total observation time was 200 hours in females,
116 hours in males and 99 hours in offspring. The aim of the study was to
investigate diurnal behaviour of the Masai giraffe and in particular their use of
shade.
Adult giraffes in my study spent more than a third of their daytime
foraging. The male giraffes in the study spent about the same time foraging as the
females. The giraffes showed a peak of foraging in the late afternoon. Standing
was observed mostly in the first half of the day. Lying was observed almost
exclusively in offspring, mainly in early afternoon.
The giraffes did not use the shade in a very great extent neither for
standing nor foraging. When they did use the shade it was during the hottest hours
after noon. I suggest that giraffes save energy by minimizing energy-consuming
activities at the most demanding hours of the day in favour of less energyconsuming
activities such as standing. The use of shadow in my study was much
lower than in other animals in the study area, e.g. wildebeest and zebra. |
| format | Otro |
| id | RepoSLU12346 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish Inglés |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publishDateSort | 2009 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU123462017-10-18T11:25:16Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/12346/ Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) Adolfsson, Ulrika Animal ecology Observations were carried out in the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya, which is the northern part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem in Kenya and Tanzania. Activity and behaviour of Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) was recorded with one-minute intervals for continuous periods of approximately twelve hours per day for two weeks in February and March 2007. The total observation time was 200 hours in females, 116 hours in males and 99 hours in offspring. The aim of the study was to investigate diurnal behaviour of the Masai giraffe and in particular their use of shade. Adult giraffes in my study spent more than a third of their daytime foraging. The male giraffes in the study spent about the same time foraging as the females. The giraffes showed a peak of foraging in the late afternoon. Standing was observed mostly in the first half of the day. Lying was observed almost exclusively in offspring, mainly in early afternoon. The giraffes did not use the shade in a very great extent neither for standing nor foraging. When they did use the shade it was during the hottest hours after noon. I suggest that giraffes save energy by minimizing energy-consuming activities at the most demanding hours of the day in favour of less energyconsuming activities such as standing. The use of shadow in my study was much lower than in other animals in the study area, e.g. wildebeest and zebra. Studien utfördes i sydvästra Kenya, i nationalparken Masai Mara. Parken utgör den norra fortsättningen av Serengetis ekosystem i Tanzania. Studiens syfte var att undersöka Masai giraffens (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) dygnsrytm och dess nyttjande av skugga. Giraffernas beteende antecknades en gång per minut, under vanligtvis cirka 12 timmar per dag under två veckors tid i februari och mars 2007. Det totala antalet observationstimmar för honor var 200, respektive 115 timmar för hanar samt 99 timmar för avkomman. Födosök var den dominerande sysselsättningen, vilket hos vuxna giraffer upptog mer än en tredjedel av deras tid och det fanns inga skillnader mellan hanar och honor. På eftermiddagarna sågs en tydlig ökning i andelen tid som lades på födosök. Girafferna använde inte skuggan i någon större utsträckning. När de väl gjorde detta var det under timmarna mitt på dagen när temperaturen är som högst. Det var tydligt att girafferna sparade energi mitt på dagen genom att vila. Giraffernas nyttjande av skugga var avsevärt lägre jämfört med andra djur i samma område, ex. gnu och zebra. 2009-09-18 Other NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/12346/1/adolfsson_u_171018.pdf Adolfsson, Ulrika, 2009. Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi). UNSPECIFIED, Uppsala. Uppsala: (VH) > Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-880.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-7989 eng |
| spellingShingle | Animal ecology Adolfsson, Ulrika Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| title | Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| title_full | Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| title_fullStr | Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| title_short | Diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| title_sort | diurnal behaviour and utilization of shade in masai giraffes (giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) |
| topic | Animal ecology |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/12346/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/12346/ |