Carcass Provisioning for Scavenger Conservation in a Temperate Forest Ecosystem

Stiegler, Jonas; Hoermann, Christian von; Müller, Jörg; Benbow, M. Eric; Heurich, Marco

doi:10.1002/bes2.1688

Cited by 9 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This was confirmed by a carnivore carcass avoidance-study of Muñoz-Lozano [ 66 ], showing a well-structured and diverse insect community consisting of necrophages, omnivores, and necrophilous predators and parasitoids. In contrast to the studies of Moleón [ 65 ] and Muñoz-Lozano [ 66 ], no carnivore carcasses were exposed at our fixed locations, and access by vertebrate scavengers, such as red foxes, pine martens, or Eurasian lynx, to the exposed roe and red deer carcasses took place [ 21 ]. However, the bait site situation in the BFNP with regular and year-round carrion supply guarantees a localized increased carrion volume over time despite the vertebrate scavenger visitors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The large mammal species pool (as an omnipresent source of carrion) includes the herbivores, red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) and roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ); the omnivore wild boar ( Sus scrofa ); and the carnivores, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) and the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ). The most abundant carcass-visiting mesopredators are the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) and the pine marten ( Martes martes ) [ 21 ]. As part of the invertebrate species pool, more than 2000 beetle species were documented [ 39 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wilmers [ 19 ] and Cortés-Avizanda [ 20 ] showed that temporal aggregation of carcasses reduced the diversity and evenness of carrion consumption among vertebrate scavengers. However, additional studies are needed to examine and directly manipulate the effects of carrion exposition type (randomly versus predictable fixed locations, e.g., Reference [ 21 ]) on invertebrate and vertebrate scavenger community structure. For instance, carrion exposition type was reported as an important driver of avian scavenger diversity [ 20 ], where it was shown that randomly placed, unpredictably located cadavers attracted a more diverse (Shannon index) avian scavenger community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Carcasses at Fixed Locations Host a Higher Diversity of Necrophilous Beetles

Hoermann

Lackner

Sommer

et al. 2021

Insects

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In contrast to other necromass, such as leaves, deadwood, or dung, the drivers of insect biodiversity on carcasses are still incompletely understood. For vertebrate scavengers, a richer community was shown for randomly placed carcasses, due to lower competition. Here we tested if scavenging beetles similarly show a higher diversity at randomly placed carcasses compared to easily manageable fixed places. We sampled 12,879 individuals and 92 species of scavenging beetles attracted to 17 randomly and 12 at fixed places exposed and decomposing carcasses of red deer, roe deer, and red foxes compared to control sites in a low range mountain forest. We used rarefaction-extrapolation curves along the Hill-series to weight diversity from rare to dominant species and indicator species analysis to identify differences between placement types, the decay stage, and carrion species. Beetle diversity decreased from fixed to random locations, becoming increasingly pronounced with weighting of dominant species. In addition, we found only two indicator species for exposure location type, both representative of fixed placement locations and both red listed species, namely Omosita depressa and Necrobia violacea. Furthermore, we identified three indicator species of Staphylinidae (Philonthus marginatus and Oxytelus laqueatus) and Scarabaeidae (Melinopterus prodromus) for larger carrion and one geotrupid species Anoplotrupes stercorosus for advanced decomposition stages. Our study shows that necrophilous insect diversity patterns on carcasses over decomposition follow different mechanisms than those of vertebrate scavengers with permanently established carrion islands as important habitats for a diverse and threatened insect fauna.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Carcasses at Fixed Locations Host a Higher Diversity of Necrophilous Beetles

Hoermann

Lackner

Sommer

et al. 2021

Insects

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The last “targeted” carcass was exposed 121 days after B286’s death. In addition to this opportunistic feeding, throughout the period an existing carrion ecology research project in the national park was underway (Ray et al., 2014; Stiegler et al., 2020). In the scope of this project, 5 deer carcasses, abbreviated as CE, were coincidentally exposed at a single long‐term site (CES).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ feeding as a new management tool to conserve orphaned Eurasian lynx (lynx lynx)

Premier

Gahbauer

Leibl

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…I use an experimental approach to explore these questions by placing fresh rodent carcasses above and below the leaf litter, along with trail cameras. This project provides insight Stiegler et al 2020). For example, Houston (1985) found that carrion persisted longer for vertebrate scavengers in Neotropical rainforests compared to Afrotropical forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of small-mammal carrion is affected by carcass size and visual conspicuousness in a Neotropical rainforest

Romero

2020

Therya

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scavenging of carrion is essential to terrestrial ecosystems and can shape food webs and behavior. The prevalence and importance of scavenging has often been underestimated and overlooked in food web studies. Small-mammal carrion is even less studied and difficult to estimate, especially in the Neotropics. This project explored small-mammal carcass scavenging in a Neotropical, mid-elevation rainforest, and specifically studied the rate of carcass removal by scavengers, how the conspicuousness and weight of carcasses affect scavenging, and what vertebrate scavengers utilize this carrion resource. I deployed 194 mouse carcasses of various weights, above and below the leaf litter, and surveyed them daily until disappearance. I paired each carcass with a trail camera to help identify vertebrate scavengers. A general linear model analysis showed that most mouse carcasses disappeared within 1 to 2 days. Carcasses above the leaf litter were removed quicker and larger mice generally lasted longer. Only 6.25 % of the carcasses were removed by vertebrates. Most carcasses were removed by something too small to trigger the trail cameras, likely scarab beetles. The results of this study show that small-mammal carcasses are a sought-after resource in Neotropical forests, and that invertebrates are able to quickly hoard and secure small carrion more efficiently than vertebrate scavengers. A better understanding of scavenging ecology in Neotropical forests will help in developing a broader framework of the trophic interactions within and across ecosystems. El consumo de carroña es esencial en los ecosistemas terrestres e influye en la estructura de redes tróficas, así como la conducta animal. A pesar de eso, este es un aspecto poco estudiado en los estudios de redes alimentarias. El papel que juega la carroña de mamíferos pequeños ha sido aún menos estudiada y muy difícil de estimar, especialmente en el Neotrópico. En este estudio investigamos la recolección de carroña por parte de pequeños mamíferos en un bosque lluvioso neotropical de elevación media. Estudiamos específicamente la tasa de recogida de cadáveres por parte de los carroñeros, así como lo conspicuo y el peso de la carroña y como esos factores afectan su recolección, y qué recolectores de vertebrados utilizan la carroña. Con tal fin se colocaron 194 carroñas de ratones de peso variado, tanto encima como debajo de la hojarasca, y se examinaron diariamente hasta su desaparición. Se colocó una cámara video apuntando a cada carroña para ayudar a identificar los carroñeros de los vertebrados. Un análisis general de tipo lineal mostró que la mayoría de la carroña de ratones desaparecieron entre 1 y 2 días. La carroña por encima de la hojarasca se consumió más rápido y la carroña de mayor tamaño generalmente duró más. Sólo el 6.25 % de la carroña fue removida por vertebrados. La mayoría de la carroña fue removida por agentes demasiado pequeños para activar las cámaras y sospechamos que esos agentes eran escarabajos. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren que la carroña de...

show abstract

Carcass Provisioning for Scavenger Conservation in a Temperate Forest Ecosystem

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Carcasses at Fixed Locations Host a Higher Diversity of Necrophilous Beetles

Carcasses at Fixed Locations Host a Higher Diversity of Necrophilous Beetles

In situ feeding as a new management tool to conserve orphaned Eurasian lynx (lynx lynx)

The fate of small-mammal carrion is affected by carcass size and visual conspicuousness in a Neotropical rainforest

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About