Current Projects

1. Group composition and behavior of reintroduced Equus hemionus in the Negev Desert. The Asiatic Wild Ass, Equus hemionus, was once abundant in western Asia. The species declined due to hunting and habitat loss. Between 1982-93 38 E. hemionus that originated from Iran and Turkmenistan were reintroduced to the Negev Desert, Israel. The current population in the Negev is estimated at more than 250 individuals, yet, their current social and genetic structures were not known. Since 2010 we record and videotape group composition and behavior of E. hemionus in the Negev. We analyze data from individual profiles (based on photos) record in which groups were they videotaped and construct a social network. Based on the group composition we evaluate the degree of fission-fusion and the reproductive success of females. The results of this study will be combined with ongoing genetic work (in collaboration with Shirli Bar-David) and will contribute to management decisions for this population.

. Social structure, leadership roles and movements in free-roaming horses. Social interactions in group-living animals are complex and involve diverse aspects of the groups and the individuals that form them. We observed behavior and movement of two populations of horses in the wild: 1. Konik horses (Equus caballus) in a Dutch reserve in order to determine the initiators of movements and the individuals taking the lead in these moves. We then relate our findings to the social structure of the groups. The social network is analyzed based on positive affiliation and proximity, after aggressive interactions are removed. All 22 horses (not counting foals) are individually recognized and they are clustered in two harem groups and two bachelor male groups. Some network parameters predicted changes in group composition that eventually occurred after the initial study period. 2. Dynamic social network and movement of Retuerta horses in the Doñana Biological Reserve, Andalucia, Spain. A population of about 120 horses was studied for a year. Horses were individually recognized, and group composition was monitored over the different seasons. The movements of 30 individuals were followed thanks to GPS collars, and we analyze the overlap in group home ranges at different seasons. In addition, we videotaped the activity and behavior of horses throughout the study period

3. Nesting behavior, genetic structure and population connectivity of chameleons in Israel. We follow the population dynamics, habitat use and nesting behavior of Chamaeleo chamaeleon in sandy habitats in the Negev Desert. Blood samples are collected from different populations and the divergence between populations (all over the country) is tested using several molecular methods (in collaboration with Dan Mishmar).

4. Sustainable management of coastal dunes for biodiversity conservation. Although partially protected, the southern coastal dunes of Israel have been modified by bush encroachment, leading to changes in their unique species composition. In collaboration with botanists and entomologists we characterize species composition in various types of dunes and in dunes from which we have partially removed the vegetation in a large scale experiment. We monitor rodents and reptiles and investigate impacts of habitat management both on distribution and on the behavior of species.

5. The conservation value of translocating Uromastyx aegyptia lizards: effects on the transferred lizards and on resident lizards. Loss of habitat is one of the main challenges that the population of U. aegyptia faces in the Arava Valley, in addition to hunting and road kills. Just before an area is destroyed, Uromastyx lizards are being removed by the Nature and Parks Protection and transferred to protected areas. However, till now, the fate of translocated lizards was not monitored. We study the habitat selection of the lizards to maximize translocation success and will attach GPS devices to translocated and resident lizards to evaluate the effects of translocation.

6. Evaluating the impact of Oil-Spill in the Evrona Reserve on reptile populations. We monitor the distribution of reptiles in a variety of habitats in the southern Arava Valley. Some of the plots are within the area affected by the oil spill and these are compared to adjacent control plots.

Recent Publications

Giotto, N., J-F. Gerard, A. Ziv, A. Bouskila, S. Bar-David. 2015, Space-use patterns of the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus): complementary insights from displacement, recursion movement and habitat selection analyses, PloS one, 10(12): e0143279.

Rotem, G., Y. Gavish, B. Shacham, I. Giladi, A. Bouskila, and Y. Ziv. 2016. Combined effects of climatic gradient and domestic livestock grazing on reptile community structure in a heterogeneous agroecosystem. Oecologia 180(1), 231-224.

Bouskila, A., E. Lourie, S. Sommer, H. de Vries, Z.M. Hermans and M. van Dierendonck, 2016. Similarity in sex and reproductive state, but not relatedness, influence the strength of association in the social network of feral horses in the Blauwe Kamer Nature Reserve, Israel Journal of Ecology & Evolution 61(2), 106-113.

Keren-Rotem, T., Levy, N., Wolf, L., Bouskila, A. and Geffen, E., 2016. Male preference for sexual signalling over crypsis is associated with alternative mating tactics. Animal Behaviour, 117, 43-49.

Keren-Rotem, T., Levy, N., Wolf, L., Bouskila, A. and Geffen, E., 2016. Alternative Mating Tactics in Male Chameleons (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) Are Evident in Both Long-Term Body Color and Short-Term Courtship Pattern. PloS one, 11(7), p.e0159032.

Ph.D. University of California, Davis, 1993