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The Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology
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Previous PhD students: Nicola Jenner
PhD research entitled "Flexibility of black backed jackal, Canis mesomelas, social and spatial organisation with implications for disease transmission" My research forms part of The
Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London) (IOZ) Jackal Project
in Namibia, started in 2000 by Dr. Stephan M Funk, Research Fellow at
IOZ. I am based at IOZ and DICE, and am working in collaboration with
the Desert Research Foundation
Namibia (DRFN), the Durrell
Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT) Jersey and the University of Vienna.
This project will investigate the consequences of ecological flexibility
of the black backed jackal for social organisation (reproductive success,
helper system, group size, density) and spatial organisation (territoriality,
dispersal). The jackals live at high density (160-200 jackals, Gowtage et al. in prep.) and are easy to observe and are therefore an ideal study population.
Understanding these ecological parameters has important implications for disease transmission and conservation. Jackals are abundant, and have widespread distribution, which brings them into contact with sympatric endangered carnivores (e.g. lions, wild dogs), as well as into villages where they can act as critical disease vectors (Canine Distemper Virus, rabies), which may pose a zoonotic risk for humans. This multidisciplinary study draws on techniques from various fields:
Results of this work will be shared with the Namibian community to form the basis for implementing effective disease management strategies. Funding
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Jackals
are a model species for studies in evolutionary biology and behavioural
ecology. They are one of few monogamous mammals that breed cooperatively
and form an intermediate between the solitary bat-eared fox and the cooperative
pack organisation of the African wild dog. Currently little is known of
the social organisation of black-backed jackals, Canis mesomelas,
outside of Serengeti National Park in East Africa. Behavioural data indicates
that the basic social unit is the family group, composed of a monogamous
resident pair with a litter and possibly subordinate adults which have
delayed reproduction to help rear their siblings (Moehlman 1983). However
jackal social organisation is likely to be highly flexible. Firstly, mammalian
social behaviour is specifically adapted to the ecological conditions
in which the species lives. Secondly, recent genetic studies have shown
that carnivore social organisation may be more variable than behavioural
observations indicate. 
The
study focuses on a population of jackals at Cape Cross Seal Reserve on
the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. Cape Cross hosts a simple carnivore guild
comprising black backed jackals and brown hyenas which feed almost exclusively
on Cape fur seals.