1
|
Fleming PA, Stobo-Wilson AM, Crawford HM, Dawson SJ, Dickman CR, Doherty TS, Fleming PJS, Newsome TM, Palmer R, Thompson JA, Woinarski JCZ. Distinctive diets of eutherian predators in Australia. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220792. [PMID: 36312571 PMCID: PMC9554524 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Introduction of the domestic cat and red fox has devastated Australian native fauna. We synthesized Australian diet analyses to identify traits of prey species in cat, fox and dingo diets, which prey were more frequent or distinctive to the diet of each predator, and quantified dietary overlap. Nearly half (45%) of all Australian terrestrial mammal, bird and reptile species occurred in the diets of one or more predators. Cat and dingo diets overlapped least (0.64 ± 0.27, n = 24 location/time points) and cat diet changed little over 55 years of study. Cats were more likely to have eaten birds, reptiles and small mammals than foxes or dingoes. Dingo diet remained constant over 53 years and constituted the largest mammal, bird and reptile prey species, including more macropods/potoroids, wombats, monotremes and bandicoots/bilbies than cats or foxes. Fox diet had greater overlap with both cats (0.79 ± 0.20, n = 37) and dingoes (0.73 ± 0.21, n = 42), fewer distinctive items (plant material, possums/gliders) and significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity over 69 years, suggesting the opportunity for prey switching (especially of mammal prey) to mitigate competition. Our study reinforced concerns about mesopredator impacts upon scarce/threatened species and the need to control foxes and cats for fauna conservation. However, extensive dietary overlap and opportunism, as well as low incidence of mesopredators in dingo diets, precluded resolution of the debate about possible dingo suppression of foxes and cats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patricia A. Fleming
- Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia
| | - Alyson M. Stobo-Wilson
- NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory 0909, Australia
- CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 44, Winnellie, Northern Territory 0822, Australia
| | - Heather M. Crawford
- Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia
| | - Stuart J. Dawson
- Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 3 Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151, Australia
| | - Chris R. Dickman
- Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Heydon-Laurence Building A08, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Tim S. Doherty
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Heydon-Laurence Building A08, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Peter J. S. Fleming
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, 1447 Forest Road, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia
- Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
- Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia.
| | - Thomas M. Newsome
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Heydon-Laurence Building A08, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Russell Palmer
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Western Australia 6983, Australia
| | - Jim A. Thompson
- Queensland Museum Network, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane BC, Queensland 4101, Australia
| | - John C. Z. Woinarski
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory 0909, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Tatler J, Currie SE, Cassey P, Scharf AK, Roshier DA, Prowse TAA. Accelerometer informed time-energy budgets reveal the importance of temperature to the activity of a wild, arid zone canid. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:11. [PMID: 33736705 PMCID: PMC7977315 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00246-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Globally, arid regions are expanding and becoming hotter and drier with climate change. For medium and large bodied endotherms in the arid zone, the necessity to dissipate heat drives a range of adaptations, from behaviour to anatomy and physiology. Understanding how apex predators negotiate these landscapes and how they balance their energy is important as it may have broad impacts on ecosystem function. METHODS We used tri-axial accelerometry (ACC) and GPS data collected from free-ranging dingoes in central Australia to investigate their activity-specific energetics, and activity patterns through time and space. We classified dingo activity into stationary, walking, and running behaviours, and estimated daily energy expenditure via activity-specific time-energy budgets developed using energy expenditure data derived from the literature. We tested whether dingoes behaviourally thermoregulate by modelling ODBA as a function of ambient temperature during the day and night. We used traditional distance measurements (GPS) as well as fine-scale activity (ODBA) data to assess their daily movement patterns. RESULTS We retrieved ACC and GPS data from seven dingoes. Their mass-specific daily energy expenditure was significantly lower in summer (288 kJ kg- 1 day- 1) than winter (495 kJ kg- 1 day- 1; p = 0.03). Overall, dingoes were much less active during summer where 91% of their day was spent stationary in contrast to just 46% during winter. There was a sharp decrease in ODBA with increasing ambient temperature during the day (R2 = 0.59), whereas ODBA increased with increasing Ta at night (R2 = 0.39). Distance and ODBA were positively correlated (R = 0.65) and produced similar crepuscular patterns of activity. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that ambient temperature may drive the behaviour of dingoes. Seasonal differences of daily energy expenditure in free-ranging eutherian mammals have been found in several species, though this was the first time it has been observed in a wild canid. We conclude that the negative relationship between dingo activity (ODBA) and ambient temperature during the day implies that high heat gain from solar radiation may be a factor limiting diurnal dingo activity in an arid environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jack Tatler
- Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.
| | - Shannon E Currie
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| | - Phillip Cassey
- Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
| | - Anne K Scharf
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - David A Roshier
- Australian Wildlife Conservancy, PO Box 8070, Subiaco East, WA, 6008, Australia
| | - Thomas A A Prowse
- School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Tatler J, Prowse TA, Roshier DA, Cairns KM, Cassey P. Phenotypic variation and promiscuity in a wild population of pure dingoes (
Canis dingo
). J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jack Tatler
- Centre for Applied Conservation Science and School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia
| | - Thomas A.A. Prowse
- School of Mathematical Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia
| | - David A. Roshier
- Australian Wildlife Conservancy Subiaco East Western Australia Australia
- Centre for Ecosystem Science University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Kylie M. Cairns
- Centre for Ecosystem Science University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Phillip Cassey
- Centre for Applied Conservation Science and School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Augusteyn J, Rich M, Story G, Nolan B. Canids potentially threaten bilbies at Astrebla Downs National Park. AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1071/am20034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The ecological role of canids in arid Australia is unresolved. Some argue they play a role regulating populations of herbivores and introduced mesopredators such as feral cats (Felis catus) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes). However, evidence also suggests they pose a threat to native species populations. The aims of this study were to determine the extent of canid predation on the bilby population at Astrebla Downs National Park, Queensland, to improve our understanding of the ecological role that canids serve in the park and to determine whether seasonal changes in the canid diet can be used to predict if and when management should intervene. Canid scats (n=723) were collected over seven years and their content examined. The percentage of bilby remains in the canid scats varied from 13 to 85% (mean=43%) and was 20–100% by volume. In total, 23 vertebrate species were identified in canid scats. The percentage of cat remains was 0–44% (mean=11%), peaking in 2013 during a cat plague and coinciding with canids actively hunting cats. Fox remains were not detected in dog scats. These results indicate that canids had a varied diet and at times threatened the bilby population at Astrebla.
Collapse
|
5
|
Bogoni JA, Batista GO, Graipel ME, Peroni N. Good times, bad times: Resource pulses influence mammal diversity in meridional Brazilian highlands. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 734:139473. [PMID: 32464394 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Understanding spatiotemporal patterns of species distributions and their determinants is paramount in ecology. Here, we explore the relationship between the diversity of surviving mammals and two of the main alimentary resources (araucaria seeds and feijoa fruits) across the Araucaria Forest (FOM) in South America. First, we investigated the influence of landscape and environment on the species distribution and pulse of forest productivity. Then, we evaluated how these spatiotemporal pulses in resource availability influence the mammalian diversity. We analyzed the data via diversity descriptors, Morisita index and multiple regressions. Our findings highlighted that climate, tree density, and other environmental variables explained the pulses of productivity. Mammalian diversity of first-order consumers mammals-all those immediately feeding on seeds and fruits-was partially related to resource pulses. Our results revealed that the pulses of forest resources can influence mammal diversity over the years, including delayed responses and asynchronous oscillations. The integrity of vegetal elements of the FOM is key to maintain several mammal-mediated ecological processes. Maintaining the viability of tree populations, encouraging the sustainable use of non-timber resources, and promoting the conservation of the mammalian fauna, which is undergoing an unprecedented diversity crisis worldwide, can help to preserve the remaining ecological processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juliano André Bogoni
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC 88040-400, Brazil; Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ), Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Laboratório de Ecologia, Manejo e Conservação de Fauna Silvestre (LEMaC), Piracicaba, SP 13418-900, Brazil; School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Norwich, United Kingdom.
| | - Graziele Oliveira Batista
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ), Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Laboratório de Ecologia, Manejo e Conservação de Fauna Silvestre (LEMaC), Piracicaba, SP 13418-900, Brazil
| | - Maurício Eduardo Graipel
- Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC 88040-400, Brazil
| | - Nivaldo Peroni
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ), Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Laboratório de Ecologia, Manejo e Conservação de Fauna Silvestre (LEMaC), Piracicaba, SP 13418-900, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Allen BL, Hampton JO. Minimizing animal welfare harms associated with predation management in agro-ecosystems. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1097-1108. [PMID: 32302055 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The impacts of wild predators on livestock are a common source of human-wildlife conflict globally, and predators are subject to population control for this reason in many situations. Animal welfare is one of many important considerations affecting decisions about predation management. Recent studies discussing animal welfare in this context have presented arguments emphasizing the importance of avoiding intentional harm to predators, but they have not usually considered harms imposed by predators on livestock and other animals. Efforts to mitigate predation impacts (including 'no control' approaches) cause a variety of harms to predators, livestock and other wildlife. Successfully minimizing the overall frequency and magnitude of harms requires consideration of the direct, indirect, intentional and unintentional harms imposed on all animals inhabiting agricultural landscapes. We review the harms resulting from the management of dingoes and other wild dogs in the extensive beef cattle grazing systems of Australia to illustrate how these negative impacts can be minimized across both wild and domestic species present on a farm or in a free-ranging livestock grazing context. Similar to many other predator-livestock conflicts, wild dogs impose intermittent harms on beef cattle (especially calves) including fatal predation, non-fatal attack (mauling and biting), pathogen transmission, and fear- or stress-related effects. Wild dog control tools and strategies impose harms on dingoes and other wildlife including stress, pain and death as a consequence of both lethal and non-lethal control approaches. To balance these various sources of harm, we argue that the tactical use of lethal predator control approaches can result in harming the least number of individual animals, given certain conditions. This conclusion conflicts with both traditional (e.g. continuous or ongoing lethal control) and contemporary (e.g. predator-friendly or no-control) predation management approaches. The general and transferable issues, approaches and principles we describe have broad applicability to many other human-wildlife conflicts around the world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Allen
- Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, 4350, Australia.,Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, 6034, South Africa
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Woolley LA, Murphy BP, Geyle HM, Legge SM, Palmer RA, Dickman CR, Doherty TS, Edwards GP, Riley J, Turpin JM, Woinarski JCZ. Introduced cats eating a continental fauna: invertebrate consumption by feral cats (Felis catus) in Australia. WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2020. [DOI: 10.1071/wr19197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract ContextRecent global concern over invertebrate declines has drawn attention to the causes and consequences of this loss of biodiversity. Feral cats, Felis catus, pose a major threat to many vertebrate species in Australia, but their effect on invertebrates has not previously been assessed. AimsThe objectives of our study were to (1) assess the frequency of occurrence (FOO) of invertebrates in feral cat diets across Australia and the environmental and geographic factors associated with this variation, (2) estimate the number of invertebrates consumed by feral cats annually and the spatial variation of this consumption, and (3) interpret the conservation implications of these results. MethodsFrom 87 Australian cat-diet studies, we modelled the factors associated with variation in invertebrate FOO in feral cat-diet samples. We used these modelled relationships to predict the number of invertebrates consumed by feral cats in largely natural and highly modified environments. Key resultsIn largely natural environments, the mean invertebrate FOO in feral cat dietary samples was 39% (95% CI: 31–43.5%), with Orthoptera being the most frequently recorded order, at 30.3% (95% CI: 21.2–38.3%). The highest invertebrate FOO occurred in lower-rainfall areas with a lower mean annual temperature, and in areas of greater tree cover. Mean annual invertebrate consumption by feral cats in largely natural environments was estimated to be 769 million individuals (95% CI: 422–1763 million) and in modified environments (with mean FOO of 27.8%) 317 million invertebrates year−1, giving a total estimate of 1086 million invertebrates year−1 consumed by feral cats across the continent. ConclusionsThe number of invertebrates consumed by feral cats in Australia is greater than estimates for vertebrate taxa, although the biomass (and, hence, importance for cat diet) of invertebrates taken would be appreciably less. The impact of predation by cats on invertebrates is difficult to assess because of the lack of invertebrate population and distribution estimates, but cats may pose a threat to some large-bodied narrowly restricted invertebrate species. ImplicationsFurther empirical studies of local and continental invertebrate diversity, distribution and population trends are required to adequately contextualise the conservation threat posed by feral cats to invertebrates across Australia.
Collapse
|