The environment matters: season and female contact affect the behavior of captive Addax nasomaculatus male antelope

Abstract

The addax antelope (Addax nasomaculatus) is a species under serious threat of extinction, as it is more abundant in captivity than in the wild. However, little is known about its basic biology. The aims of this study were to determine how locomotor, feeding, aggressive, marking, and sexual behavior of male addax allocated in all-male groups vary with season and with female contact (i.e., biostimulation). The study was conducted in captive conditions, in two groups of adult males: one with no-physical contact with females, aside from visual and olfactory interactions (CF group, n = 4), and another group completely isolated from females (IF group, n = 4). The frequency of behaviors was recorded during the daytime, 4 days per season (total time of observation = 256 h). Lying, standing, walking, aggressive, marking, grazing, and ruminating behaviors as well as water and supplement consumptions varied with season (all p < 0.05). The lying, walking, marking, grazing, and ruminating behaviors were more frequently observed for CF than IF males (all p < 0.05). Also, all behaviors, except for marking, varied with the interaction between the group and seasons (all p < 0.05). Sexual behavior was extremely scarce, so it was not possible to analyze how it varied with seasons and the group. The present study suggests that management program and housing conditions, especially in ex situ breeding plans, should consider the influence of the season and the sociosexual context on the behavior of addax males.

Keywords: Biostimulation; Endangered; Ex situ conservation; Female effect; Ruminant.

Fig. 1

Frequencies of lying (a), standing (b), and walking (c) behaviors in all-male addax (Addax nasomaculatus) groups, allocated in contact to females (black square) or isolated from them (grey square) (CF and IF groups, respectively). Different letters represent differences between the seasons p < 0.05. Asterisks represent differences between the groups: *p<0.05; **p<0.0001. Total time of observation = 256 h

Fig. 2

Frequencies of aggressive (a) and marking (b) behaviors in all-male addax (Addax nasomaculatus) groups, allocated in contact with females (black square) or isolated from them (grey square) (CF and IF groups, respectively). Different letters represent differences between the seasons p < 0.05. Total time of observation = 256 h

Fig. 3

Frequencies of grazing (a), consuming supplement (b), consuming water (c), and rumination (d) in all-male addax (Addax nasomaculatus) groups, allocated in contact with females (black square) or isolated from them (grey square) (CF and IF groups, respectively). Different letters represent differences between the seasons p < 0.05. Asterisks represent differences between the groups: *p<0.05; **p<0.0001. Total time of observation = 256 h