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Tobajas J, Ramos‐López B, Piqué J, Sanchez‐Rojas G. Predation risk in tree squirrels: implications of the presence of free‐ranging dogs. J Zool (1987) 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Tobajas
- Departamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal Universidad de Córdoba Córdoba Spain
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC, CISC‐UCLM‐JCCM) Ciudad Real Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, (UAEH), Área Académica de Biología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo Mineral de la Reforma Mexico
| | - B. Ramos‐López
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC, CISC‐UCLM‐JCCM) Ciudad Real Spain
- TYC GIS Soluciones Integrales S.L. Madrid Spain
| | - J. Piqué
- TRAGSATEC, Calle Julián Camarillo 6B Madrid Spain
| | - G. Sanchez‐Rojas
- Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, (UAEH), Área Académica de Biología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo Mineral de la Reforma Mexico
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Tobajas J, Descalzo E, Ferreras P, Mateo R, Margalida A. Effects on carrion consumption in a mammalian scavenger community when dominant species are excluded. Mamm Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-021-00163-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
AbstractCarrion is a valuable resource exploited not only by obligate scavengers but also by a wide variety of facultative scavengers. These species provide several important ecosystem services which can suffer if the scavenger community composition is altered, thus reducing the ecosystem provided. We studied the response of the Mediterranean facultative scavenger community to the exclusion of larger scavenger species (red fox Vulpes vulpes, European badger Meles meles, and wild boar Sus scrofa) using an exclusion fence permeable to small scavenger species (mainly Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon, common genet Genetta genetta, and stone marten Martes foina). The exclusion of dominant facultative scavengers led to a significant reduction in the amount of carrion consumed and an increase in carrion available for smaller species and decomposers, over a longer period of time. Although carrion consumption by the non-excluded species increased inside the exclusion area relative to the control area, it was insufficient to compensate for the carrion not eaten by the dominant scavengers. Of the small scavenger species, only the Egyptian mongoose significantly increased its carrion consumption in the exclusion area, and was the main beneficiary of the exclusion of dominant facultative scavengers. Therefore, altering the facultative scavenger community in Mediterranean woodlands can reduce the efficiency of small carcass removal and benefit other opportunistic species, such as the Egyptian mongoose, by increasing the carrion available to them. This interaction could have substantial implications for disease transmission, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem function.
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