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132 results for “large carnivores”

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Data from: Quantifying risk and resource use for a large carnivore in an expanding urban-wildland interface

Large carnivores, though globally threatened, are increasingly using developed landscapes. However, most of our knowledge of their ecology is derived from studies in wildland systems; thus, for effective conservation and management, there is a need to understand their behavioural plasticity and risk of mortality in more developed landscapes. We examined cougar Puma concolor foraging ecology and survival in an expanding urban–wildland system in Colorado from 2007 to 2013. For GPS-collared individuals, we related diet (n = 41; isotopic analysis) to age–sex class and fine-scale space use, with regard to levels of habitat development. We also examined how habitat development impacted risk of mortality (n = 49), using hazards models and records of cougar–human conflict. Cougars obtained 63–82% of assimilated biomass from native herbivores, and adult females consistently showed higher use of native herbivores than other age–sex classes. Individuals using the most highly developed areas obtained approximately 20% more of their diet from alternative prey (synanthropic wildlife and domestic species) than those in the least developed areas. Overall, survival of adult females was higher than adult males. Yet, use of developed areas substantially increased cougar risk of mortality; for every 10% increase in housing density, risk of mortality increased by 6·5%, regardless of sex. Synthesis and applications. Cougars showed flexibility in diet, taking advantage of human-associated prey items, but had high rates of mortality, suggesting that human tolerance, rather than adaptability, may be the limiting factor for range expansion by cougar and other large carnivores. Thus, large carnivore conservation will not only depend upon adequate prey resources, but also limiting potential conflict resulting from depredation of synanthropic wildlife and domestic animals.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

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Data from: Do wild ungulates experience higher stress with humans than with large carnivores?

Predation is a major selective pressure for prey; however, the stress response to predation risk and the relative importance of natural versus anthropogenic stress factors in wild populations of animals have rarely been studied. We investigated the level of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) in 6 populations of red deer and roe deer exposed to potentially different levels of stress, resulting from both natural (predator presence, forest cover, undergrowth, ungulate density, and temperature) and anthropogenic (hunting harvest, percentage of build-up areas, and road density) factors. We found the highest and most variable FGM concentrations in both ungulates in areas without large carnivores, and the lowest and least variable FGM levels in areas with wolf and lynx. Anthropogenic factors (hunting harvest, roads, and built-up area) positively correlated with the gradient of FGM levels in both species. Both the mean and the variance of the FGM concentrations measured within populations of both red deer and roe deer were affected positively by variation in hunting harvest and negatively by the minimum temperature. The variance in the roe deer FGM was also positively influenced by the percentage of built-up areas. The results indicate that stress in wild ungulate populations is lower and less variable in areas utilized by large carnivores than in carnivore-free areas where human-related factors predominate. This may be explained by evolutionary adaptations of prey animals constantly exposed to the risk of natural predation and their inability of adapting to the risk from humans probably due to its high intensity and erratic occurrence.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

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Data from: Understanding patch departure rules for large carnivores: lion movements support a patch-disturbance hypothesis

We test two hypotheses that could account for patch departure by large mammalian carnivores. One hypothesis is the unsuccessful hunt hypothesis, where carnivores leave an area after an unsuccessful hunt but continue hunting in the same area after a successful hunt. The second hypothesis is the patch disturbance hypothesis, where carnivores depart the area after a successful hunt because of behavioral responses of prey to predator presence. We used GPS-collars to monitor the movements of African lions (Panthera leo) and identified their kill sites to distinguish between these two hypotheses. Lions moved to a different area (>5 km) after 87 percent of the kills, which supports the patch disturbance hypothesis for patch departure behavior of large mammalian carnivores.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →

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Data from: Land‐sharing potential of large carnivores in human‐modified landscapes of western India

The current Protected Area (PA)network is not sufficient to ensure long-term persistence of wide-ranging carnivore populations.Within India, this is particularly the case for species that inhabit non-forested areas since PAs disproportionately over-represent forested ecosystems. With growing consideration of human-use landscapes as potential habitats for adaptable large carnivores, India provides a model for studying them in densely populated landscapes, where there is little understanding about human-carnivore interactions in shared spaces. Using key informant interviews and an occupancy modeling framework, we assessed the distribution of three large carnivore species, the leopard Panthera pardus, Indian grey wolf Canis lupus pallipes and striped hyena Hyaena hyaena, across a ~89,000 km2 semi-arid multi-use landscape in western India, and quantified ecological drivers of their presence.The three species occupied 57% (leopard), 64% (wolf) and 75% (hyena) of the landscape of which only 2.6% area is protected as national parks or wildlife sanctuaries. Presence of the three carnivores was differentially favored by certain types of agriculture,while populations of domestic livestock supported them in this landscape with low densities of large wild prey. Our results demonstrate the adaptability of large carnivores in human-modified landscapes and we call for an expansion of the current conservation narratives which currently focus on forested protected areas,to include the high potential that anthropogenic landscapes offer as habitats where people and predators can co-adapt and persist.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

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Dietary shifts may underpin the recovery of a large carnivore population

Supporting the recovery of large carnivores is a popular yet challenging endeavour. Estuarine crocodiles in Australia are a large carnivore conservation success story, with the population having extensively recovered from past heavy exploitation. Here, we explored if dietary changes had accompanied this large population recovery by comparing the isotopes δ13C and δ15N in bones of crocodiles sampled 40 to 55 years ago (small population) with bones from contemporary individuals (large population). We found that δ13C and δ15N values were significantly lower in contemporary crocodiles compared to the historical cohort, inferring a shift in prey preference away from marine and into terrestrial food webs. We propose that an increase in intraspecific competition within the recovering crocodile population, alongside an increased abundance of feral ungulates occupying the floodplains, may have resulted in the crocodile population shifting to feed predominantly upon terrestrial food sources. The number of feral pigs consumed to sustain and grow crocodile biomass may help suppress pig population growth and increase the flow of terrestrially derived nutrients into aquatic ecosystems. The study highlights the significance of prey availability in contributing to large carnivore population recovery.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

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Dataset for analysing spatiotemporal dynamics of large carnivores in Kasungu National Park, Malawi

Effective conservation management requires an understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics driving large carnivore density and resource partitioning. In African ecosystems, reduced prey populations and the loss of competing guild members, most notably lion (Panthera leo), are expected to increase levels of competition between remaining carnivores. Consequently, intraguild relationships can be altered, potentially increasing the risk of further population decline. Kasungu National Park (KNP), Malawi, is an example of a conservation area that has experienced large-scale reductions in both carnivore and prey populations, leaving a resident large carnivore guild consisting of only leopard (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). Here we quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of these two species and their degree of association, using a combination of co-detection modelling, time-to-event analyses, and temporal activity patterns from camera trap data. Detection of leopard and spotted hyaena was significantly associated with the detection of preferred prey and competing carnivores, increasing the likelihood of species interaction. Temporal analyses revealed sex-specific differences in temporal activity, with female leopard activity patterns significantly different to those of spotted hyaena and male conspecifics. Heightened risk of interaction with interspecific competitors and male conspecifics may have resulted in female leopards adopting temporal avoidance strategies to facilitate co-existence. Female leopard behavioural adaptations increased overall activity levels and diurnal activity rates, with potential consequences for overall fitness and exposure to sources of mortality. As both species are currently found at low densities in KNP, increased risk of competitive interactions, that infer a reduction in fitness, could have significant implications for large carnivore demographics. Protection of remaining prey populations is necessary to mitigate interspecific competition and avoid further alterations to the large carnivore guild.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

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Data from: Harvest is associated with the disruption of social and fine-scale genetic structure among matrilines of a solitary large carnivore

Harvest can disrupt wildlife populations by removing adults with naturally high survival. This can reshape sociospatial structure, genetic composition, fitness, and potentially affect evolution. Genetic tools can detect changes in local, fine-scale genetic structure (FGS) and assess the interplay between harvest-caused social and FGS in populations. We used data on 1,614 brown bears, Ursus arctos, genotyped with 16 microsatellites, to investigate whether harvest intensity (mean low: 0.13 from 1990-2005, mean high: 0.28 from 2006-2011) caused changes in FGS among matrilines (8 matrilines; 109 females ≥ 4 years of age), sex-specific survival and putative dispersal distances, female spatial genetic autocorrelation, matriline persistence, and male mating patterns. Increased harvest decreased FGS of matrilines. Female dispersal distances decreased and male reproductive success was redistributed more evenly. Adult males had lower survival during high harvest, suggesting that higher male turnover caused this redistribution and helped explain decreased structure among matrilines, despite shorter female dispersal distances. Adult female survival and survival probability of both mother and daughter were lower during high harvest, indicating that matriline persistence was also lower. Our findings indicate a crucial role of regulated harvest in shaping populations, decreasing differences among 'groups', even for solitary-living species, and potentially altering the evolutionary trajectory of wild populations.

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

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Large carnivore conservation and traditional pastoralism: An economic analysis on the efficacy of bear-reindeer predation mitigation measures: Dataset for 2014–2016 corralling versus forest treatment analysis

While wildlife and cultural preservation goals can be either complimentary or counteractive, the goals of large carnivore conservation and traditional pastoralist lifestyles are often at odds. Livestock depredation can negatively impact the economies of livestock herders, while subsequent lethal removals contribute to local carnivore population declines. Here, we collaborated with two Sámi reindeer herding communities (2010–2016) situated in Sweden's boreal forest to evaluate the efficacy and economic feasibility of three brown bear predation mitigation measures: corralling pregnant reindeer during parturition, lethal bear management removals, and public bear-license hunting. Calving corrals increased survival for reindeer calves born to average-sized females by 7% to 15% and by 14% to 30% for calves born to small females. However, the realized cost of implementing calving corrals outweighed the financial gain for both our study areas (net losses ranged between €1,111 and €6,210 per calf saved from bear predation per year when using the updated 2021 calf value), as well as for almost every theoretical scenario we explored (net losses €234 and €13,995 per calf saved from bear predation). The exception was the theoretical scenario where small herding communities overlapped large bear populations, which crossed the breakeven efficacy bear/reindeer ratio of 13.5 bears/100 reindeer and had a potential net gain of €36 per saved calf. Similarly, the cost of lethal management removals of bears also outweighed the potential financial gain from saved calves, with net losses between €75 and €239 per calf. License hunting, where the hunters voluntarily incur the monetary costs of removing bears, is in most cases the only economically viable mitigation measure where the cost of mitigation did not outweigh the financial gain from increased reindeer survival. While the annual public license hunt was the most cost-effective mitigation measure, it may be less biologically effective, i.e., bear hunting occurs in the fall and reindeer parturition the following spring which leaves time for the empty niche of harvested bears to be filled by survivors. Economically and biologically effective predation mitigation measures are key for promoting coexistence, and we suggest that potential mitigation measures should be studied in collaboration with local people.

opencc-zeroMay 2023View details →

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