Coexistence of predators in time: Effects of season and prey availability on species activity within a Mediterranean carnivore guild

Abstract

The degree of coexistence among predators can determine the structure of ecological communities. Niche partitioning is a common strategy applied by species to enhance their coexistence. Diet, habitat, or time use can be responsible for segregation among carnivore species, the latter factor being the least studied in Mediterranean ecosystems. Terrestrial medium‐sized carnivores (i.e., mesocarnivores) carry out important functions in ecosystems, and identifying their interactions is essential for their conservation. In this study, we explore the activity of a terrestrial mesocarnivore guild in order to determine seasonal differences in daily activity patterns of competitors and prey. We also investigate how the abundance of a common mesocarnivore prey in the region, small mammals, influences the activity of predators. During a year, camera trap devices ( n = 18) were installed in Montseny Natural Park (Catalan Pre‐Coastal Range, North‐East Iberian Peninsula), a region that hosts five mesocarnivore species. Camera trapping detections were used to estimate their daily activity patterns and corresponding overlaps. We also surveyed small mammal plots ( n = 5) in order to calculate prey abundance and test its effect on the relative activity of each carnivore species. Despite all target mesocarnivores are mainly nocturnal, the activity overlap among them varies according to species particularities and season. Red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) appears as a generalist species in terms of time use, whereas stone marten ( Martes foina ) and genet ( Genetta genetta ) show the most similar activity patterns and both of them seem to be positively influenced by small mammal abundance. Overall, the diversity found in the way mesocarnivore species use time could facilitate their coexistence. Despite activity pattern similarities among carnivore species should not be directly translated to negative interactions, they can have a strong influence in habitat and resource‐limited ecosystems. Therefore, activity overlaps should be taken into account when discussing wildlife management actions.

The best defence is not being there: avoidance of larger carnivores is not driven by risk intensity

“…This study highlights the importance of considering multiple dimensions across which carnivores can interact (Barrull et al ., 2014; Karanth et al ., 2017; Vilella et al ., 2020). Martens seemingly use multiple overlapping strategies to maximize access to resources (i.e.…”

“…Instead, individuals can exhibit fine‐scale reactive behaviours to immediate risks, avoiding sites only when the risk of encountering an enemy is high (hereafter spatiotemporal interactions; Barrull et al ., 2014; Torretta et al ., 2016; Karanth et al ., 2017; Prat‐Guitart et al ., 2020). Multiple strategies may operate complementarily according to seasonal and geographical changes in predator and prey diversity and activity (Barrull et al ., 2014; Monterroso, Alves & Ferreras, 2014; Vilella, Ferrandiz‐Rovira & Sayol, 2020). In this study, we addressed non‐lethal interactions at feeding‐site level over the temporal, spatial and spatiotemporal scales in a simplified carnivore community of north‐western Europe.…”

Fine-scale coexistence between Mediterranean mesocarnivores is mediated by spatial, temporal and trophic resource partitioning

“…In this study we explore how the sympatry of mesocarnivores in the Doñana National Park could be mediated by temporal or trophic segregation when there is a greater overlap in any of these two niche axes. Our study explores the mechanisms underlying the structure of Mediterranean mesocarnivore communities, which have been traditionally focused on spatial responses (Fedriani et al 1999, Soto and Palomares 2015, Monterroso et al 2020, but see Barrull et al 2014, Monterroso et al 2014, Vilella et al 2020), by providing new insights on the importance of temporal segregation at facilitating co-occurrence by reducing resource overlap. Overall, we found a moderate level of temporal segregation within the mesocarnivore guild in our study area, which was composed by two strictly nocturnal species - the European badger and the common genet (Palomares and Delibes 1994, Rodríguez et al 1996, Camps 2008), one diurnal - the Egyptian mongoose (Palomares and Delibes 1992) and one with plasticity in its daily activity pattern - the red fox, which ranges from diurnal (Cavallini and Lovari 1994) to nocturnal habits (Baker et al 2007).…”

“…Empirical data in this respect are surprisingly very limited for the Mediterranean area, where situations of mesopredator release may be common due to recent historical reductions in the Iberian lynx populations. Yet, most previous studies have focused on spatial avoidance as the main mechanism allowing the mesocarnivore coexistence, and only recently has the focus shifted towards temporal segregation (Barrull et al, 2014;Monterroso et al, 2014;Vilella et al, 2020).…”

Time partitioning among neotropical frugivorous bats: effects of phylogeny, body size, and abundance

“…Additionally, we evaluated the association between the degree of overlap in temporal activity and the differences in body size, abundance, and phylogenetic relationship at each site. We predict that: (1) the temporal overlap between assemblages of bats will be low, indicating that temporal activity patterns will be different between assemblages due to adjusting of species to contrasting local environmental and biotic conditions between sites (O'Donnell, 2010; Vieira et al, 2017;Vilella et al, 2020); (2) in each site, the overlap in temporal activity of species will decrease as species are more similar in size, abundance, or phylogenetically (Castro-Arellano & Lacher, 2009;Nagy-Reis et al, 2018) and (3) the temporal overlap between populations of the same species will be low, indicating that temporal activity patterns of the same species will differ between sites due to adjusting of species to contrasting local biotic and abiotic conditions between sites (O'Donnell, 2010;Vieira et al, 2017;Vilella et al, 2020).…”