From individuals to populations: how climate, humans, and sociality shape spotted hyena life histories and resilience

Sarah Benhaiem Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin Abstract: Predicting the effects of environmental disturbances on wildlife = populations remains one of the major conservation challenges of the twenty-= first century. Long-term studies of free-ranging animals provide rich indiv= idual-based data that can be used to examine how environmental changes affe= ct individuals and populations, and to uncover the mechanisms underlying th= eir resilience. In this talk, I will focus on the factors influencing free-= ranging spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in the Serengeti National Park, Ta= nzania, based on a continuous study of three clans initiated in 1987. In th= e first part, I will discuss how climate change, prey availability, human a= ctivity, and intra-group competition shape individual life histories and be= haviour. In the second, shorter, part, I will take a population-level persp= ective and explore how these individual processes scale up to affect popula= tion dynamics. Together, these approaches aim to provide an integrative vie= w of the factors that modulate the effects of environmental disturbances on= wildlife populations and their resilience to ongoing ecological change.