Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Tidière, Morgane
• Müller, Peter
• Sliwa, Alexander
• Siberchicot, Aurélie
• Douay, Guillaume

Titel

Sex‐specific actuarial and reproductive senescence in zoo‐housed tiger (Panthera tigris): The importance of sub‐species for conservation

Ist Teil von

• Zoo biology, 2021-07, Vol.40 (4), p.320-329

Ort / Verlag

United States: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Quelle

Wiley Online Library - AutoHoldings Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A fifth of all known species are currently classified as threatened in the wild: the rate of biodiversity loss is rapid, continuous, and mostly due to anthropogenic activities. To slow down this decline, the accurate estimation of demographic parameters for threatened species is critical. With this aim, zoo institutions play an important role, giving access to data on zoo‐housed animals, which aids researchers working on species life‐history traits and intrinsic factors influencing the fitness of both sexes, such as age. While tigers (Panthera tigris) are particularly threatened in their natural environment, few of their demographic parameters have been determined because of their solitary and elusive nature as well as low population density. Using individual‐based information for more than 9200 tigers (from 1938 to 2018) recorded in the International Tiger Studbook 2018, we aimed to determine sub‐species and sex‐specific variability of survival and reproductive parameters with age. No significant sex‐difference in actuarial senescence (i.e., decline of survival probabilities with age) was observed but males tended to have a higher juvenile mortality and a faster senescence than females. Reproductive senescence (i.e., decline of reproductive parameters with age) was more pronounced in females than males. Moreover, we observed sub‐species‐specific variation in mortality and reproductive patterns, pointing out the necessity to consider them independently for conservation goals. Our findings can provide meaningful improvements to the husbandry of zoo‐housed tigers, emphasizing the importance of adult breeding females of 7–9 years‐old to control zoo‐housed population size, but also providing accurate demographic estimates, crucial to set up effective conservation plans. Actuarial senescence occurs in scientifically managed zoo‐housed tigers of both sexes with very low adult mortality rate and a progressive increase of mortality rate after 10 years of age, leading to a longevity of 19 years. However, females only undergo reproductive senescence after 7–9 years of age. Photo credits: Alexander Sliwa. Research Highlights Accurate estimation of tiger demographic rates is needed to apply effective conservation plans. Females of 7–9 years of age are crucial to consider controlling populations size. Tiger sub‐species might be considered separately for conservation goals.