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Potash AD, Conner LM, Clinchy M, Zanette LY, McCleery RA. Prey species increase activity in refugia free of terrestrial predators. Oecologia 2023; 201:661-671. [PMID: 36897410 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05350-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
The decline of terrestrial predator populations across the globe is altering top-down pressures that drive predator-prey interactions. However, a knowledge gap remains in understanding how removing terrestrial predators affects prey behavior. Using a bifactorial playback experiment, we exposed fox squirrels to predator (red-tailed hawks, coyotes, dogs) and non-predator control (Carolina wren) calls inside terrestrial predator exclosures, accessible to avian predators, and in control areas subject to ambient predation risk. Fox squirrels increased their use of terrestrial predator exclosures, a pattern that corresponded with 3 years of camera trapping. Our findings suggest fox squirrels recognized that exclosures had predictably lower predation risk. However, exclosures had no effect on their immediate behavioral response towards any call, and fox squirrels responded most severely to hawk predator calls. This study shows that anthropogenically driven predator loss creates predictably safer areas (refugia) that prey respond to proactively with increased use. However, the persistence of a lethal avian predator is sufficient to retain a reactive antipredator response towards an immediate predation threat. Some prey may benefit from shifting predator-prey interactions by gaining refugia without sacrificing a sufficient response towards potential predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex D Potash
- Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, P.O. Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, USA.
| | - L Mike Conner
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, USA
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Robert A McCleery
- Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, P.O. Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
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Khan P, Eliuk L, Frey S, Bone C, Fisher JT. Shifts in diel activity of Rocky Mountain mammal communities in response to anthropogenic disturbance and sympatric invasive white-tailed deer. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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Consistent diel activity patterns of forest mammals among tropical regions. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7102. [PMID: 36402775 PMCID: PMC9675769 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34825-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
An animal's daily use of time (their "diel activity") reflects their adaptations, requirements, and interactions, yet we know little about the underlying processes governing diel activity within and among communities. Here we examine whether community-level activity patterns differ among biogeographic regions, and explore the roles of top-down versus bottom-up processes and thermoregulatory constraints. Using data from systematic camera-trap networks in 16 protected forests across the tropics, we examine the relationships of mammals' diel activity to body mass and trophic guild. Also, we assess the activity relationships within and among guilds. Apart from Neotropical insectivores, guilds exhibited consistent cross-regional activity in relation to body mass. Results indicate that thermoregulation constrains herbivore and insectivore activity (e.g., larger Afrotropical herbivores are ~7 times more likely to be nocturnal than smaller herbivores), while bottom-up processes constrain the activity of carnivores in relation to herbivores, and top-down processes constrain the activity of small omnivores and insectivores in relation to large carnivores' activity. Overall, diel activity of tropical mammal communities appears shaped by similar processes and constraints among regions reflecting body mass and trophic guilds.
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Malhotra R, Lima S, Harris NC. Temporal refuges of a subordinate carnivore vary across rural-urban gradient. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9310. [PMID: 36188497 PMCID: PMC9492470 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals exhibit variation in their space and time use across an urban-rural gradient. As the top-down influences of apex predators wane due to human-driven declines, landscape-level anthropogenic pressures are rising. Human impacts can be analogous to apex predators in that humans can drive increased mortality in both prey species and carnivores, and impact communities through indirect fear effects and food subsidies. Here, we evaluate the time use of a common mesocarnivore across an urban-rural gradient and test whether it is influenced by the intensity of the use of a larger carnivore. Using multiple camera-trap surveys, we compared the temporal response of a small carnivore, the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to the larger coyote (Canis latrans) in four study areas across Michigan that represented a gradient of pressure from humans. We found that raccoon time use varied by study area and was most unique at the rural extreme. Raccoons consistently did not shift their activity pattern in response to coyotes in the study area with the highest anthropogenic pressures despite the considerable interannual variation, and instead showed stronger responses to coyotes in more rural study areas. Temporal shifts were characterized by raccoons being more diurnal in areas of high coyote activity. We conclude that raccoons may shift time use in the presence of coyotes, dependent on the level of anthropogenic pressure. Our results highlight that the variation in raccoon time use across the entirety of the urban-rural gradient needed to be considered, as anthropogenic pressures may dominate and obscure the dynamics of this interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rumaan Malhotra
- Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Samantha Lima
- Forestry and Natural ResourcesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndianaUSA
| | - Nyeema C. Harris
- Applied Wildlife Ecology LabSchool of the Environment, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
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Dunn A, Amir Z, Decoeur H, Dehaudt B, Nursamsi I, Mendes C, Moore JH, Negret PJ, Sovie A, Luskin MS. The ecology of the banded civet (
Hemigalus derbyanus
) in Southeast Asia with implications for mesopredator release, zoonotic diseases, and conservation. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8852. [PMID: 35505997 PMCID: PMC9047978 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat loss and degradation threaten forest specialist wildlife species, but some generalist mesopredators exploit disturbed areas and human‐derived food, which brings them into closer contact with humans. Mesopredator release is also important for human health for known zoonotic disease reservoirs, such as Asian civets (Viverridae family), since this group includes the intermediator species for the SARS‐CoV‐1 outbreak. Here we use camera trapping to evaluate the habitat associations of the widespread banded civet (Hemigalus derbyanus) across its range in Southeast Asia. At the regional scale, banded civet detections among published studies were positively associated with forest cover and negatively associated with human population. At the local scale (within a landscape), hierarchical modeling of new camera trapping showed that abundance was negatively associated with forest loss and positively associated with distance to rivers. These results do not support mesopredator release and suggest a low likelihood overlap with humans in degraded habitats and, therefore, a low risk of zoonotic disease transmission from this species in the wild. We also estimate that banded civet distribution has contracted to under 21% of its currently recognized IUCN Red List range, only 12% of which falls within protected areas, and a precipitous recent decline in population size. Accordingly, we suggest the banded civet's Red List status should be re‐evaluated in light of our findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashlea Dunn
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Zachary Amir
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Henri Decoeur
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Bastien Dehaudt
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Ilyas Nursamsi
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Calebe Mendes
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Jonathan H. Moore
- School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen China
| | - Pablo Jose Negret
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science University of Queensland St. Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Adia Sovie
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Matthew Scott Luskin
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science University of Queensland St. Lucia Queensland Australia
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Ortiz JL. Temporal and spatial overlap in the behaviors of a native and invasive tree squirrel in southern California. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1936651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janel L. Ortiz
- Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Biotechnology Building 4, Floor 2, Room 515, Pomona, CA 91768, USA
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Brandão RA, Fenker J, Lopes BEPDC, de Sena VMDA, Vasconcelos BD. Diet of terrestrial anurans in an ephemeral and simplified habitat during the dry season in the Brazilian Cerrado. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2020.1755373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Reuber A. Brandão
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
| | - Jéssica Fenker
- Ecology and Evolution Division, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra-ACT, 2612, Australia
| | - Bruno E. Pires de Carmago Lopes
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
| | - Vitor M. de Alcantara de Sena
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
| | - Beatriz D. Vasconcelos
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
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Sovie AR, Greene DU, McCleery RA. Woody Cover Mediates Fox and Gray Squirrel Interactions. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Pynne J, Stober JM, Edelman AJ. Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) Occupancy in Fragmented Montane Longleaf Pine Forests. SOUTHEAST NAT 2020. [DOI: 10.1656/058.019.0221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J.T. Pynne
- D.B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
| | - Jonathan M. Stober
- Shoal Creek Ranger District, Talladega National Forest, United States Forest Service, Heflin, AL 36264
| | - Andrew J. Edelman
- Department of Biology, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118
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