Distribution, response to human disturbance, habitat preferences, and acoustic communication of tree hyraxes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Rosti, Hanna
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Bayreuth - Hemp, Andreas
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Pihlström, Henry
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Rikkinen, Jouko
dc.contributor.affiliationSokoine University of Agriculture - Kilawe, Charles
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Witting, Ossian
dc.contributor.affiliationOxford Brookes University - Bearder, Simon
dc.contributor.affiliationSenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre - Bianco, Giovanni
dc.contributor.affiliationSenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre - Hemp, Claudia
dc.contributor.authorRosti, Hanna
dc.contributor.authorHemp, Andreas
dc.contributor.authorPihlström, Henry
dc.contributor.authorRikkinen, Jouko
dc.contributor.authorKilawe, Charles
dc.contributor.authorWitting, Ossian
dc.contributor.authorBearder, Simon
dc.contributor.authorBianco, Giovanni
dc.contributor.authorHemp, Claudia
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-24T15:15:00Z
dc.date.issued2024-03-25
dc.date.issued2024-03-25
dc.descriptionThis data consists data from recordings done in Mt. Kilimanjaro. Hourly calls of tree hyraxes have been calculated between 19.00 until 06:00. Dataset also has variables collected by other research groups. We combined our data of cue count per hour with data to analyse tree hyrax density with explanatory variables to model occupancy of tree hyraxes in Kilimanjaro. Dataset was combined from several research projects conducted within the Kili-Project (Hemp et al. 2018) (Table 1). Variables included forest type, temperature (Appelhans et al. 2015) precipitation (Appelhans et al. 2016). diameter breast height (DBH), leaf density, max vegetation height, and leaf area index (LAI) (Rutten et al., 2015). We also included land use index (LUI) (Peters et al. 2019) to the dataset, which included four different variables (percentage plant biomass removal, agricultural inputs, modification of the vegetation and percentage of agricultural area in the surroundings). Abstract Limited knowledge exists of the distribution, habitat selection, behavior and response to human disturbance of many mammalian species from mountains of Africa. This is especially true for nocturnal mammals. We studied acoustically very active tree hyraxes (Dendrohyrax validus validus) from Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania mainly with bioacoustical methods. To gain understanding of the habitat preferences of tree hyraxes we combined bioacoustical data with botanical and meteorological data collected earlier by KiLi Project. According to GLMM analysis, disturbance caused by logging or forest fires significantly reduced tree hyrax calling activity. In Mt. Kilimanjaro, highest density of tree hyraxes was found from 2750 m a.s.l. It seems that extensive hunting in the past and selective logging below elevation 2500 m caused tree hyraxes to move up the mountain. Calls of tree hyraxes in Mt. Kilimanjaro resemble calls emitted by hyraxes in Taita Hills, Kenya; however, there are clear differences in their calling cultures. In Mt. Kilimanjaro tree hyraxes also sing songs, and their acoustic communication is very active and diverse. In most preferred habitats, groups of tree hyraxes may call 4500–5500 times during one night. Calling seem to have elements of turn taking and individual signatures. Future of tree hyraxes in large, 650 km2, Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park seems promising and perhaps in the future tree hyraxes will recolonize the whole park area again.
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10867521
dc.identifier.urihttps://hydatakatalogi-test-24.it.helsinki.fi/handle/123456789/9471
dc.rightsOpen
dc.rights.licensecc-by-4.0
dc.titleDistribution, response to human disturbance, habitat preferences, and acoustic communication of tree hyraxes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
dc.typedataset
dc.typedataset
Zenodo


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