Abstract The Arabian gazelle ( Gazella arabica ) population in Israel has experienced a turbulent conservation history and repeatedly faced local extinction. Low fawn survival was considered the main cause for constant decline. In our study, we analyzed instantaneous mortality rates, using binomial coding at three different developmental stages, i.e., rates to 3 months after parturition (weanin...

The extent to which a species responds to environmental changes is mediated not only by extrinsic processes such as time and space, but also by species-specific ecology. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau uplifted approximately 3000 m and experienced at least four major glaciations during the Pleistocene epoch in the Quaternary Period. Consequently, the area experienced concurrent changes in geomorpho...

Climatic change, population pressure, and environmental stress are frequently cited as major catalysts for the adoption of agriculture. The role of these factors immediately prior to the agricultural transition in the southern Levant is here explored by reconstructing human economic and demographic conditions in the Natufian period. Thorough processing of gazelle carcasses for edible products i...

Predators alter prey dynamics by direct killing and through the costs of antipredator responses or risk effects. Antipredator behavior includes proactive responses to long-term variation in risk (e.g., grouping patterns) and reactive responses to short-term variation in risk (e.g., intense vigilance). In a 3-year field study, we measured variation in antipredator responses and the foraging cost...

To test whether free-living desert ungulates employ heterothermy to reduce water loss, we measured core body temperature (T(b)) of six free-living Arabian sand gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa marica), a small desert antelope (12-20 kg) that lives in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, where air temperature (T(a)) often exceeds 40 degrees C. We found that the mean daily T(b) varied by 2.6+/-0.8 degrees ...