Foraging behaviour and sensory ecology of the bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)
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Date
2016-12
Authors
Renda, Samantha
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
In the wild, foraging animals face challenges that affect foraging success, including conditions
which influence the usefulness of the sensory input they receive from their environment.
Nocturnal foragers must cope with diminished light availability and may come to rely on
sensory modalities other than vision in order to locate prey. The auditory mode is particularly
useful under such conditions; however, various environmental variables may affect this sense
as well. Ambient noise for example, may negatively affect foraging success in these hunters.
Bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) are small, nocturnal insectivores noted anecdotally to
rely primarily on acoustic cues in prey detection, though this has not been empirically tested.
The aim of the current study was therefore to determine the relative importance of three
common sensory modalities (audition, olfaction and vision) to foraging bat-eared foxes and
to examine the effect of naturally occurring ambient noise on the auditory sense in particular.
In the first instance, it was predicted that auditory cues would be most salient to foraging
foxes while visual cues would be least so. In the second case, it was predicted that wind noise
would have a deleterious effect on foraging rate outside termite patches and that foxes would
spend a greater amount of time in termite patches under windy conditions. To test sensory
perception of prey-generated cues, foxes were presented with a choice experiment in which
sensory cues were manipulated. To determine the effect of wind, foraging and meteorological
data collected over the course of a year were analysed. The predictions in the first case were
proven correct but foxes continued to be able foragers even under windy conditions, thus
refuting the predictions in the second. Foxes may therefore be able to exploit the temporal
structure of natural noise to overcome foraging challenges imposed or may simply modify
their foraging behaviour to avoid the effects of masking noise. Future work on the effect of
noise from other sources, such as anthropogenic noise, as well as determination of the
auditory thresholds of these specialised canids will serve to clarify the mechanisms underlying bat-eared fox aural sensitivity.
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Keywords
Audition, Bat-eared fox, Foraging, Olfaction, Prey detection, Sensory ecology, Vision, Wind, Animals -- Sense organs, Foraging behavior, Foxes -- Effect of noise on, Dissertation (M.Sc. (Zoology and Entomology))--University of the Free State, 2016