Aposematic Behaviour in the Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis

Autor:	Serge Lartviere, François Messier
Rok vydání:	2010
Předmět:	Vegetation height Ecology biology.animal Mustelidae Zoology Animal Science and Zoology Aposematism Biology Striped skunk biology.organism_classification Skunk Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics
Zdroj:	Ethology. 102:986-992
ISSN:	1439-0310 0179-1613
DOI:	10.1111/j.1439-0310.1996.tb01176.x
Popis:	From April to August, 1993 to 1995, we studied the aposematic behaviour patterns of striped skunks, Mephitis mephitis, incidentally while ground-tracking radio-marked animals. During 2668 h of tracking, 207 defensive postures were displayed by 34 radio-collared (27 females, 7 males) and 21 unidentified skunks. Skunks most often advertised their noxiousness using Tail-up (69.1 % occurrence) and Stomp (17.4%). Encounters were frequently (42.5 %) terminated by the skunk running away from the source of disturbance. Most warning behaviour was directed at radio-trackers (95.7 %), and the remainder was displayed to a variety of predatory and non-predatory animals or objects. Stomp occurred more frequently in taller vegetation, where visual advertisement was limited. Reaction distance of skunks disturbed by observers (median = 6 m) was not affected by wind, movement or vegetation height. The small awareness circle and high tolerance of skunks to disturbance are consistent with the life history traits of aposematic animals.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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