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Newsome TM, Howden C, Wirsing AJ. Restriction of anthropogenic foods alters a top predator’s diet and intraspecific interactions. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractAnthropogenic foods are utilized by many animals around the world, and these resources could impact dietary preferences and intra- and interspecific interactions. Under a quasi-Before-After-Control-Impact experimental design, we assessed how dingoes (Canis dingo) responded to a decline in anthropogenic foods in the Tanami Desert, central Australia. We did so by assessing dingo diets close to and away from human influence during a period when food waste was available at two rubbish tips, and then during a period when food waste was restricted at one of the tips. Our results demonstrate that access to anthropogenic foods can alter a top predator’s diet. Namely, dingoes showed a preference for eating the desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) in areas where food waste was restricted, whereas dingo diets did not reflect ambient prey availability at areas where food waste was constantly available. Reduced availability of food waste also affected interactions between dingoes, with cannibalism decreasing where food waste was removed, and it may have increased consumption of a subordinate mesopredator, the feral cat (Felis catus). By implication, efforts to manage food waste could reestablish or strengthen interactions between predators and their wild prey with possible cascading consequences for ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Newsome
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Chris Howden
- Sydney Informatics Hub, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Newsome TM, van Eeden LM. Food waste is still an underappreciated threat to wildlife. Anim Conserv 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- T. M. Newsome
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Centre for Integrative Ecology; Deakin University; Geelong Vic Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences; The University of Sydney; Sydney NSW Australia
- Global Trophic Cascades Program; Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society; Oregon State University; Corvallis OR USA
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences; University of Washington; Seattle WA USA
| | - L. M. van Eeden
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences; The University of Sydney; Sydney NSW Australia
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Coogan SCP, Machovsky-Capuska GE, Senior AM, Martin JM, Major RE, Raubenheimer D. Macronutrient selection of free-ranging urban Australian white ibis (Threskiornis moluccus). Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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