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23 results for “mesocarnivores”
Mesocarnivore community structuring in the presence of Africa's apex predator
<p>Apex predator reintroductions have proliferated across southern Africa, yet their ecological effects and proposed umbrella benefits of associated management lack empirical evaluations. Despite a rich theory on top-down ecosystem regulation via mesopredator (<20kg) suppression, a knowledge gap exists relating to the influence of lions (<em>Panthera leo</em>) over Africa's diverse mesocarnivore communities. We investigate how geographical variation in mesocarnivore community richness and occupancy across South African reserves is associated with the presence of lions. An interesting duality emerged: lion reserves held more mesocarnivore-rich communities, yet mesocarnivore occupancy rates and evenness-weighted diversity were lower in the presence of lions. Human population density in the reserve surroundings had a similarly ubiquitous negative effect on mesocarnivore occupancy. The positive association between species richness and lion presence corroborated the umbrella species concept but translated into small differences in community size. Distributional contractions of mesocarnivore species within lion reserves, and potentially corresponding numerical reductions, suggest within-community mesopredator suppression by lions, likely as a result of lethal encounters and responses to a landscape of fear. Our findings offer empirical support for theoretical understanding of processes underpinning carnivore community assembly and are of conservation relevance under current large-predator orientated management and conservation paradigms.</p>
Detection histories of mesocarnivores in agricultural areas of Southern Chile
<p>We obtained mesocarnivore detection/non-detection data from 180 sampling units (4 km<sup>2</sup> each) located in the agricultural landscapes of southern Chile from January-April of 2019. We used single-species occupancy models to investigate the associations of forest fragmentation, forest loss, and private land ownership subdivision (as a measure of human use intensification) with the occurrence of four mesocarnivores (güiña, grey fox, culpeo fox, and Molina's hog-nosed skunk), and extended this framework to two-species occupancy models to assess patterns of mesocarnivore co-occurrence with domestic carnivores. We also assessed whether co-occurrence of native and domestic carnivores led to shifts in species' temporal activity.</p> <p>We hypothesized that the occurrence of native mesocarnivores was largely mediated by human use intensification variables only, the occurrence of domestic mesocarnivores only, or a combination of both. Our results largely supported the human use intensification hypothesis, with some influence of domestic mesocarnivores. Mesocarnivore occurrence shifted from a native to a domestic species composition as private land ownership subdivision increased, and native mesocarnivores shifted their behaviour temporally when co-occurring with domestics. In addition, the presence of domestic dogs was associated with an absence of native mesocarnivores, possibly driving a defaunation process in agricultural areas.</p>
Data for: Effects of landcover on mesocarnivore density along an urban to rural gradient
<p>Human development has major implications for wildlife populations. Urban-exploiter species can benefit from human subsidized resources, whereas urban-avoider species can vanish from wildlife communities in highly developed areas. Therefore, understanding how the density of different species varies in response to landcover changes associated with human development can provide important insight into how wildlife communities are likely to change and provide a starting point for predicting the consequences of those changes. Here, we estimated the population density of five common mesocarnivore species (coyote (<em>Canis</em> <em>latrans</em>), bobcat (<em>Lynx</em> <em>rufus</em>), red fox (<em>Vulpes</em> <em>vulpes</em>), raccoon (<em>Procyon</em> <em>lotor</em>), and Virginia opossum (<em>Didelphis</em> <em>virginiana</em>)) along an urban to rural gradient in the greater Fayetteville Area, Northwest Arkansas, USA between November 2021, and March 2022. At each study site, we applied the Random Encounter Model (REM) to data from motion-triggered cameras to calculate the density of our five focal species. Coyote density ranged from 0–3.47 with a mean of 0.4 individuals/km2. Raccoon density ranged from 0–93.26 with a mean of 4.2 individuals/ km<sup>2</sup>. Bobcat density ranged from 0–8.87 with a mean of 0.33 individuals/km<sup>2</sup>. Opossum density ranged from 0–27.35 with a mean of 0.76 individuals/km<sup>2</sup>. Red fox density ranged from 0–0.73, with a mean of 0.02 individuals/km<sup>2</sup>. We used generalized linear models to evaluate the density of each species against environmental and anthropogenic variables. Coyotes and raccoons occurred in the greatest densities in areas with high anthropogenic noise levels, suggesting that both species are synanthropic and able to co-exist in areas of high human activity. Alternatively, Virginia opossum and red fox densities were greatest in open, developed areas (lawns, golf courses, cemeteries, and parks) and were absent (red fox) or rare (opossum) in natural areas. We found no evidence that bobcat density varied along the urban to rural gradient studied, but this lack of evidence may have been driven by the small spatial scale of many of our sites in relation to space needs of this wide-ranging species. The density estimates we report based on game camera data of unmarked animals were consistent with reports from the literature for these same species derived from traditional methods, providing additional support to the REM as a viable, non-invasive method to calculate density of unmarked species.</p>
Data for: Effects of landcover on mesocarnivore density along an urban to rural gradient
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Detection histories of mesocarnivores in agricultural areas of Southern Chile
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Data from: The effects of climate change on mesocarnivores: A global review and meta-analysis
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Data from: Experimental lure design reveals the best attractants for increasing detection of multiple mesocarnivores
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Apex predators can structure ecosystems through trophic cascades: linking the frugivorous behaviour and seed-dispersal patterns of mesocarnivores
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Mesocarnivore community structuring in the presence of Africa’s apex predator
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Data from: Mesocarnivore community structure under predator control: unintended patterns in a conservation context
Across the Mediterranean, conservation programmes often operate concomitantly with hunting interests within game-lands. Carnivore guilds lie at the interface between contrasting management goals, being simultaneously fundamental components of ecosystems and targets of predator control to reduce predation on game species. Here, we evaluate the composition and spatial structure of a mesocarnivore community in a protected area of Southeast Portugal, with high economic investment in conservation and significant hunting activity. Between June and August 2015, we deployed 77 camera-traps across a ~80 km2 area. We report on interspecific disparities in mesocarnivore occupancy and associated environmental determinants. Contrasting occupancy states suggest an unbalanced community, biased towards the widespread occurrence of the red fox Vulpes vulpes ("ψ" ̂ = 0.92±0.04) compared to other species (stone marten Martes foina, European badger Meles meles, Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon, common genet Genetta genetta, and Eurasian otter Lutra lutra) exhibiting spatially-restricted occupancy patterns ("ψ" ̂ / naïve occupancy < 0.35). The feral cat Felis silvestris catus was the exception ("ψ" ̂ = 0.48±0.11) and, together with the stone marten, exhibited a positive association with human settlements. These findings are consistent with theoretical predictions on how mesocarnivore communities are shaped by the effects of non-selective predator control, paradoxically favouring species with higher population growth rates and dispersal abilities, such as the red fox. Our results reinforce the need to understand the role of predator control as a community structuring agent with potential unintended effects, while exposing issues hindering such attempts, namely non-selective illegal killing or biased/concealed information on legal control measures.
Spatiotemporal interactions of a novel mesocarnivore community in an urban environment before and during SARS‐CoV‐2 lockdown
<p>1. Studying species interactions and niche segregation under human pressure provides important insights into species adaptation, community functioning and ecosystem stability. Due to their high plasticity in behaviour and diet, urban mesocarnivores are ideal species for studying community assembly in novel communities.</p> <p>2. We analysed the spatial and temporal species interactions of an urban mesocarnivore community composed of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the marten (Martes sp.) as native species, the raccoon (Procyon lotor) as invasive species, and the cat (Felis catus) as a domestic species in combination with human disturbance modulated by the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown effect that happened while the study was conducted.</p> <p>3. We analysed camera-trap data and applied a joint species distribution model to understand not only the environmental variables influencing the detection of mesocarnivores and their use intensity of environmental features but also the species' co-occurrences while accounting for environmental variables. We then assessed whether they displayed temporal niche partitioning based on activity analyses, and finally analysed at a smaller temporal scale the time of delay after the detection of another focal species.</p> <p>4. We found that species were more often detected and displayed a higher use intensity in gardens during the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown period, while showing a shorter temporal delay during the same period, meaning a high human-induced spatio-temporal overlap. All three wild species spatially co-occurred within the urban area, with a positive response of raccoons to cats in detection and use intensity, whereas foxes showed a negative trend towards cats. When assessing the temporal partitioning, we found that all wild species showed overlapping nocturnal activities. All species displayed temporal segregation based on temporal delay. According to the temporal delay analyses, cats were the species avoided the most by all wild species. To conclude, we found that although the wild species were positively associated in space, the avoidance occurred at a smaller temporal scale, and human pressure in addition led to high spatio-temporal overlap.</p> <p>5. Our study sheds light to the complex patterns underlying the interactions in a mesocarnivore community both spatially and temporally, and the exacerbated effect of human pressure on community dynamics.</p>
Data from: Scale-dependent strategies for coexistence of mesocarnivores in human-dominated landscapes
Identifying factors influencing the distribution of, and interactions within carnivore communities is important for understanding how they are affected by human activities. Species differ in their ability to adapt to humans depending on their degree of specialization in habitat use and feeding habits. This results in asymmetric changes in the ecology of co-occurring species that can influence their interactions. We investigated whether human infrastructures and free-ranging domestic dogs (a species typically associated with humans) influenced the co-occurrence and habitat use of mesocarnivores in a landscape of high human population density in Maharashtra, India. We used 40 camera trap locations during 233 trapping nights and used Bayesian co-occurrence occupancy models to investigate the habitat use and coexistence of species at different spatial scales. Additionally, we investigated their temporal overlap in space use. Indian foxes altered their habitat use both spatially and temporally in order to avoid free-ranging domestic dogs and other larger competitors. The use of human infrastructure by jackals and jungle cats was limited by the presence of dogs. Our results illustrate how habitat use of smaller carnivore species change both spatially and temporally in order to avoid larger competitors. We also show that the presence of species associated with humans mediates the influence of human infrastructures on the habitat use of mesocarnivores. We highlight the importance of acknowledging the potential impact of urbanization not only on single species, but also on the interactions within the community.
Data from: Scale-dependent strategies for coexistence of mesocarnivores in human-dominated landscapes
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Data from: Mesocarnivore community structure under predator control: unintended patterns in a conservation context
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Data from: Trophic niche overlap decreases in related mesocarnivore species
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Data from: Human activity reduces niche partitioning among three widespread mesocarnivores
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Data from: Fearlessness towards extirpated large carnivores may exacerbate the impacts of naïve mesocarnivores
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Spatiotemporal interactions of a novel mesocarnivore community in an urban environment before and during SARS‐CoV‐2 lockdown
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Data from: Community-wide mesocarnivore response to partial ungulate migration
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Data from: Fear of the human "super predator" far exceeds the fear of large carnivores in a model mesocarnivore
The fear (perceived predation risk) large carnivores inspire in mesocarnivores can affect ecosystem structure and function, and loss of the "landscape of fear" large carnivores create adds to concerns regarding the worldwide loss of large carnivores. Fear of humans has been proposed to act as a substitute, but new research identifies humans as a "super predator" globally far more lethal to mesocarnivores, and thus presumably far more frightening. Although much of the world now consists of human-dominated landscapes, there remains relatively little research regarding how behavioral responses to humans affect trophic networks, to the extent that no study has yet experimentally tested the relative fearfulness mesocarnivores demonstrate in reaction to humans versus nonhuman predators. Badgers (Meles meles) in Britain are a model mesocarnivore insofar as they no longer need fear native large carnivores (bears, Ursus arctos; wolves, Canis lupus) and now perhaps fear humans more. We tested the fearfulness badgers demonstrated to audio playbacks of extant (dog) and extinct (bear and wolf) large carnivores, and humans, by assaying the suppression of foraging behavior. Hearing humans affected latency to feed, vigilance, foraging time, number of feeding visits, and number of badgers feeding. Hearing dogs and bears had far lesser effects on latency to feed, and hearing wolves had no effects. Our results indicate fear of humans evidently cannot substitute for the fear large carnivores inspire in mesocarnivores because humans are perceived as far more frightening, which we discuss in light of the recovery of large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes.
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