The functions of stotting in Thomson's gazelles: some tests of the predictions

doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(86)80052-5

Animal Behaviour

Volume 34, Issue 3, June 1986, Pages 663-684

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(86)80052-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

Stotting in Thomson's gazelles (Gazella thomsoni) was found to have a negligible time cost in slow flights and it was normally shown in safe situations when prey were unlikely to be captured. Despite its probable energy cost and time cost during fast flights there was no evidence to show that, once a chase occurred, stotting gazelles were caught more or less often than gazelles that did not stott.

Eleven hypotheses concerning the benefits of stotting were tested using a number of predictions about the stotting individual, its conspecifics and the predator (usually cheetahs), some of which were pertinent to several hypotheses. Although a number of hypotheses were supported by some of the predictions, most were refuted by one or more pieces of evidence. Only two were satisfactorily supported by all of them: stotting appears to inform the predator that it has been detected, but it does not invite or deter the predator from pursuing the gazelle. In neonate Thomson's gazelles, stotting probably has a different function, it informs the mother that the neonate has been disturbed and is in need of defence. In addition, mothers whose neonates escaped capture by cheetahs stotted significantly more during the attempt than mothers whose neonates were caught. Hypotheses concerning the prey signalling its health, startling or confusing the predator; group cohesion; anti-ambush behaviour; play in young animals; warning of conspecifics; and pursuit invitation or deterrence were dismissed by data presented here.

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The functions of stotting in Thomson's gazelles: some tests of the predictions

Abstract

Anim. Behav.

Anim. Behav.

Anim. Behav.

Living in groups: predators and prey

Why white-tailed deer flag their tails

Am. Nat.

Aspects of the ecology of the Thomson's gazelle in the Serengeti National Park Tanzania

A Study of the Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsonii Gunther) in Tanganvika

Play in ungulates

Male cheetahs of the Serengeti

Nat. Geog. Res.

On the improbability of pursuit invitation signals in mammals

Am. Nat.

On the evidence for a ‘pursuit deterrent’ function of alarm signals of swamphens

Am. Nat.

The comparative behavior of Grant's and Thomson's gazelles

J. Mammal.

Prey selection and hunting behaviour of the African wild dog

J. Wildl. Mgmt

A new theory of mammalian rump patch evolution

Behaviour

Zur Biologie und Psychologie der Flucht bei Tieren

Biol. Zbl.

Evolution of alarm signals in ungulates with special reference to white-tailed deer

Am. Nat.

Reproduction and herd structure of two Thomson's gazelle populations

Mammalia