The chemical ecology of elephants: 21st century additions to our understanding and future outlooks

BA Schulte, CA LaDue - Animals, 2021 - mdpi.com
Simple Summary Among all taxa, messages transmitted via chemical signals are the oldest
and most universal. For Asian and African elephants, odors convey information between …

Plant defences as functional traits: A comparison across savannas differing in herbivore specialization

TJ Massad - Journal of Ecology, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Top‐down and bottom‐up forces in tropical savannas have shaped the evolution of traits
that enable plants to thrive in environments where soils are poor, dry seasons are long, fire …

Mechanisms of dietary resource partitioning in large‐herbivore assemblages: A plant‐trait‐based approach

AB Potter, MC Hutchinson, J Pansu… - Journal of …, 2022 - Wiley Online Library
Sympatric large mammalian herbivore species differ in diet composition, both by eating
different parts of the same plant and by eating different plant species. Various theories …

The olfactory landscape concept: a key source of past, present, and future information driving animal movement and decision-making

PB Finnerty, C McArthur, P Banks, C Price… - …, 2022 - academic.oup.com
Odor is everywhere, emitted across the landscape from predators, prey, decaying carcasses,
conspecifics, vegetation, surface water, and smoke. Many animals exploit odor to find food …

Visit, investigate, ignore: Olfactory misinformation reduces browsing damage to valued seedlings by a mammalian herbivore

LS Grant, C McArthur, PB Banks, M Possell… - Biological …, 2024 - Elsevier
Foraging by mammalian herbivores critically impacts threatened plants and ecosystems
globally, resulting in numerous conservation challenges. Like many animals, herbivores …

Sweet tooth: elephants detect fruit sugar levels based on scent alone

O Nevo, MH Schmitt, M Ayasse… - Ecology and …, 2020 - Wiley Online Library
The ability to assess food quality is crucial to all organisms. Fleshy fruits are a major source
of nutrients to various animals, and unlike most food sources, have evolved to be attractive …

The sensory ecology of fear: African elephants show aversion to olfactory predator signals

K Valenta, MH Schmitt, M Ayasse… - … Science and Practice, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Human–elephant conflict is a persistent problem across elephant home ranges, that results
in economic damage to commercial and subsistence farmers, and physical harm and death …

Differentiated plant defense strategies: Herbivore community dynamics affect plant–herbivore interactions

C Perkovich, D Ward - Ecosphere, 2022 - Wiley Online Library
Plant–herbivore interactions account for much of the biodiversity observed in an ecosystem.
Plants may alter defense expression dependent on the specific herbivore present. Many …

Mass die-off of African elephants in Botswana: pathogen, poison or a perfect storm?

S Azeem, R Bengis, R Van Aarde… - African Journal of Wildlife …, 2020 - journals.co.za
Reports of a mass die-off of~ 350 elephants (Loxodonta africana) in northern Botswana over
a period of two months (May–June 2020), has fuelled speculation and concern regarding …

Are there phylogenetic differences in salivary tannin‐binding proteins between browsers and grazers, and ruminants and hindgut fermenters?

D Ward, MH Schmitt, AM Shrader - Ecology and Evolution, 2020 - Wiley Online Library
While feeding, mammalian browsers (primarily eat woody plants) encounter secondary
metabolites such as tannins. Browsers may bind these tannins using salivary proteins …