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Lazzeri L, Ferretti F, Churski M, Diserens TA, Oliveira R, Schmidt K, Kuijper DPJ. Spatio-temporal interactions between the red fox and the wolf in two contrasting European landscapes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:221. [PMID: 38167473 PMCID: PMC10762132 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50447-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Relationships among carnivore species are complex, potentially switching from competition to facilitation on a context-dependent basis. Negative associations are predicted to increase with latitude, due to limited resources emphasising competition and/or intra-guild predation. Accordingly, a stronger negative correlation between large- and meso-carnivore abundances should be expected at higher latitudes, with a substantial spatio-temporal partitioning favouring interspecific coexistence. Human presence may influence spatio-temporal relationships between (meso)carnivore species, as it can be perceived as a risk factor, but anthropogenic food can also provide an important additional food resource. Using camera-trap data, we studied the spatio-temporal associations between two of the most widespread carnivores in Europe, i.e., the red fox and wolf. We compared their monthly/daily spatio-temporal partitioning between two different landscapes: Białowieża Primeval Forest (Poland) and the Mediterranean Maremma Regional Park (Italy). We predicted a stronger interspecific partitioning, as well as more attraction of red foxes to humans in the northern site (Poland). Temporal activity patterns of the two carnivores overlapped in both sites, and their detection rates were positively associated, even though in weaker way in Poland. We observed a positive spatial association of red foxes with human activity in Białowieża, but not in Maremma. This association occurred only at a monthly temporal scale and disappeared at a daily scale, suggesting some disturbance in the shorter term. Our results provided partial support to our predictions and suggest that, despite the ecological differences between our study areas, only weak differences in wolf-fox relations were observed, suggesting that red fox responses to wolves may be relatively comparable over large spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Lazzeri
- Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy.
| | - F Ferretti
- Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, 90133, Palermo, Italy
| | - M Churski
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Stoczek 1, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland
| | - T A Diserens
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Stoczek 1, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland
- Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02‑097, Warsaw, Poland
| | - R Oliveira
- Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - K Schmidt
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Stoczek 1, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland
| | - D P J Kuijper
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Stoczek 1, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland
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Raymond S, St. Clair CC. Urban coyotes select cryptic den sites near human development where conflict rates increase. J Wildl Manage 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sage Raymond
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta 77 University Campus Edmonton AB T6G 2R3 Canada
| | - Colleen Cassady St. Clair
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta 77 University Campus Edmonton AB T6G 2R3 Canada
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Zaman M, Roberts NJ, Zhu M, Vitekere K, Wang M, Jiang G. Temporal activity patterns of North China leopards and their prey in response to moonlight and habitat factors. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9032. [PMID: 35784060 PMCID: PMC9219109 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The nocturnal activities of predators and prey are influenced by several factors, including physiological adaptations, habitat quality and, we suspect, corresponds to changes in brightness of moonlight according to moon phase. In this study, we used a dataset from 102 camera traps to explore which factors are related to the activity pattern of North China leopards (Panthera pardus japonensis) in Shanxi Tieqiaoshan Provincial Nature Reserve (TPNR), China. We found that nocturnal activities of leopards were irregular during four different lunar phases, and while not strictly lunar philic or lunar phobic, their temporal activity was highest during the brighter moon phases (especially the last quarter) and lower during the new moon phase. On the contrary, roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) exhibited lunar philic activity, while wild boar (Sus scrofa) and tolai hare (Lepus tolai) were evidently lunar phobic, with high and low temporal activity during the full moon, respectively. In terms of temporal overlap, there was positive overlap between leopards and their prey species, including roe deer and tolai hare, while leopard activity did not dip to the same low level of wild boar during the full moon phase. Human activities also more influenced the temporal activity of leopards and wild boar than other species investigated. Generally, our results suggested that besides moonlight risk index (MRI), cloud cover and season have diverse effects on leopard and prey nocturnal activity. Finally, distinct daytime and nighttime habitats were identified, with leopards, wild boar, and tolai hare all using lower elevations at night and higher elevations during the day, while leopards and roe deer were closer to secondary roads during the day than at night.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Zaman
- Feline Research Center of China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China
| | - Nathan James Roberts
- Feline Research Center of China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China
| | - Mengyan Zhu
- Feline Research Center of China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China
- College of Life Science Yanan University Yanan China
| | - Kasereka Vitekere
- Feline Research Center of China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China
- University of Goma Goma Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Meng Wang
- Feline Research Center of China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China
- Chengdu Zoo Chengdu China
| | - Guangshun Jiang
- Feline Research Center of China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China
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