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Russo D, Mäenurm A, Martinoli A, Cistrone L. Dangerous neighbours: Birds and bird-eating bats sharing tree cavities. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11098. [PMID: 38469052 PMCID: PMC10926052 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence indicates the non-consumptive effects of predators significantly impact prey physiology, ecology and behaviour. Passerine birds experience adverse effects on nesting and reproductive success when in proximity to predators. Fear of predators is context-dependent and influenced by hunting habitats and foraging strategies. While some bat species prey on birds, the greater noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus) stands out by specialising in avian prey, especially during peak bird migration. N. lasiopterus is thought to seize avian prey in flight, but direct evidence is lacking. If birds were taken from nests, they would likely avoid nesting near these bats. However, no observations support this view. This study documents the successful reproduction of Eurasian blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) nesting alongside a colony of approximately 25 greater noctules. This bird species is a prey species for greater noctules in Italy. Over about 1 month (April-May 2023), we observed parent birds provisioning food to chicks, with at least two chicks alive and fed outside the tree cavity by the end of the period. While acknowledging the limitations of a single observation, we propose that this previously unknown behaviour indirectly supports the idea that greater noctules only capture avian prey in flight, not within confined spaces. This observation challenges the perception that these bats pose a threat when sharing roosting spaces in trees, as evidenced in our observed case. We hope this novel observation inspires future research on variations in bird nesting behaviour and reproductive success in the presence of bird-eating bats, as well as an assessment of the long-term impact on population dynamics and reproductive success of nesting birds sharing such roosting spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Russo
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di AgrariaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIPorticiNapoliItaly
| | - Anne Mäenurm
- AFNI Friuli‐Venezia GiuliaCordenonsPordenoneItaly
| | - Adriano Martinoli
- Unità di Analisi e Gestione delle Risorse Ambientali, Guido Tosi Research Group, Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche ed ApplicateUniversità degli Studi dell'InsubriaVareseItaly
| | - Luca Cistrone
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di AgrariaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIPorticiNapoliItaly
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Liu M, McShea WJ, Wang Y, Xia F, Shen X, Li S. Ungulates' Behavioral Responses to Humans as an Apex Predator in a Hunting-Prohibited Area of China. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13050845. [PMID: 36899702 PMCID: PMC10000205 DOI: 10.3390/ani13050845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Large mammals can perceive humans as predators and therefore adjust their behavior to achieve coexistence with humans. However, lack of research at sites with low hunting intensity limits our understanding of how behavioral responses of animals adapt to different predation risks by humans. At Heshun County in North China, where hunting has been banned for over three decades and only low-intensity poaching exists, we exposed two large ungulates (Siberian roe deer Capreolus pygarus and wild boar Sus scrofa) to the sounds of humans, an extant predator (leopard Panthera pardus) and a control (wind), and examined their flight responses and detection probabilities when hearing different type of sounds. Both species showed higher flight probabilities when hearing human vocalization than wind, and wild boar were even more likely to flee upon hearing human vocalization than leopard roar, suggesting the behavioral response to humans can equal or exceed that of large carnivores in these two ungulates even in an area without hunting practices. Recorded sounds had no effect on detection probability of both ungulates. Additionally, with repeated exposure to sounds, regardless of treatment, roe deer were less likely to flee and wild boars were more likely to be detected, indicating a habituation-type response to sound stimuli. We speculate that the immediate flight behavior rather than shifts in habitat use of the two species reflect the low hunting/poaching pressure at our study site and suggest further examination of physiological status and demographic dynamics of the study species to understand human influence on their long-term persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhang Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - William J. McShea
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | - Yidan Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Fan Xia
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaoli Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- Correspondence: (X.S.); (S.L.)
| | - Sheng Li
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Correspondence: (X.S.); (S.L.)
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Frank SC, Blaalid R, Mayer M, Zedrosser A, Steyaert SMJG. Fear the reaper: ungulate carcasses may generate an ephemeral landscape of fear for rodents. R Soc Open Sci 2020; 7:191644. [PMID: 32742677 PMCID: PMC7353961 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Animal carcasses provide an ephemeral pulse of nutrients for scavengers that use them. Carcass sites can increase species interactions and/or ephemeral, localized landscapes of fear for prey within the vicinity. Few studies have applied the landscape of fear to carcasses. Here, we use a mass die-off of reindeer caused by lightning in Norway to test whether rodents avoided larger scavengers (e.g. corvids and fox). We used the presence and abundance of faeces as a proxy for carcass use over the course of 2 years and found that rodents showed the strongest avoidance towards changes in raven abundance (β = -0.469, s.e. = 0.231, p-value = 0.0429), but not fox, presumably due to greater predation risk imposed by large droves of raven. Moreover, the emergence of rodent occurrence within the carcass area corresponded well with the disappearance of raven during the second year of the study. We suggest that carcasses have the potential to shape the landscape of fear for prey, but that the overall effects of carcasses on individual fitness and populations of species ultimately depend on the carcass regime, e.g. carcass size, count, and areal extent, frequency and the scavenger guild. We discuss conservation implications and how carcass provisioning and landscapes of fear could be potentially used to manage populations and ecosystems, but that there is a gap in understanding that must first be bridged.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. C. Frank
- Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, 3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
| | - R. Blaalid
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Thormøhlensgate 55, 5006 Bergen
| | - M. Mayer
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8410 Rønde, Denmark
| | - A. Zedrosser
- Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, 3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - S. M. J. G. Steyaert
- Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, 3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
- Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, 7711 Steinkjer, Norway
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Steyaert SMJG, Leclerc M, Pelletier F, Kindberg J, Brunberg S, Swenson JE, Zedrosser A. Human shields mediate sexual conflict in a top predator. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.0906. [PMID: 27335423 PMCID: PMC4936045 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Selecting the right habitat in a risky landscape is crucial for an individual's survival and reproduction. In predator-prey systems, prey often can anticipate the habitat use of their main predator and may use protective associates (i.e. typically an apex predator) as shields against predation. Although never tested, such mechanisms should also evolve in systems in which sexual conflict affects offspring survival. Here, we assessed the relationship between offspring survival and habitat selection, as well as the use of protective associates, in a system in which sexually selected infanticide (SSI), rather than interspecific predation, affects offspring survival. We used the Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos) population with SSI in a human-dominated landscape as our model system. Bears, especially adult males, generally avoid humans in our study system. We used resource selection functions to contrast habitat selection of GPS-collared mothers that were successful (i.e. surviving litters, n = 19) and unsuccessful (i.e. complete litter loss, n = 11) in keeping their young during the mating season (2005-2012). Habitat selection was indeed a predictor of litter survival. Successful mothers were more likely to use humans as protective associates, whereas unsuccessful mothers avoided humans. Our results suggest that principles of predator-prey and fear ecology theory (e.g. non-consumptive and cascading effects) can also be applied to the context of sexual conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M J G Steyaert
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, University College of Southeast Norway, 3800 Bø, Norway
| | - M Leclerc
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1K 2R1
| | - F Pelletier
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1K 2R1
| | - J Kindberg
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 90183 Umeå, Sweden Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - S Brunberg
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway
| | - J E Swenson
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - A Zedrosser
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, University College of Southeast Norway, 3800 Bø, Norway Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria
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