Community Response of Mammalian Predators and Their Prey to Motorways: Implications for Predator–Prey Dynamics

Ruiz-Capillas, Pablo; Mata, Cristina; Malo, Juan E.

doi:10.1007/s10021-013-9634-7

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…The increased abundance of the global carnivore community near motorways is probably due to higher fox abundance in these areas, as foxes comprised almost half of the data. The increased fox abundance is consistent with other studies that found similar patterns of abundance or activity within 1 km of the motorway (Ruiz‐Capillas et al ). Our results confirm this pattern and extend it to the landscape because control sites were outside the home range of individuals using the motorway.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…However, carnivores typically have lower reproductive rates and an increase in their mortality rates may negatively affect predator populations in the long term (Rytwinski and Fahrig ). Carnivores more tolerant to human disturbance, like the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), will approach roads more often (Ruiz‐Capillas et al ), and thus, their mortality from vehicles is expected to be higher (Baker et al ), which may affect the carnivore community by modifying the distribution or abundance of species. Thus, roads can act as traps for some carnivores, and only species that can avoid traffic will prosper in these environments (Jaeger et al , Rytwinski and Fahrig ).…”

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Carnivore abundance near motorways related to prey and roadkills

et al. 2017

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Landscape disturbance by roads may increase abundance of prey in verges 20 (i.e., strips of terrain adjacent to roadways) or create other features that can attract carnivores 21 and expose them to a higher risk of mortality by vehicle collision. We studied a system that 36 linear transects within the study area, 18 along motorways and 18 in control zones ( Fig. 1). 119We defined control zones as those with the same habitat structure and ≥4 km from habitat effect. We double-checked transects for habitat similarity; first we inspected habitat . We calculated the index value as the sum of all pellets counted in each transect. 142We estimated a carnivore abundance index as the number of scats detected in each 143 transect (Long et al. 2008 of the raw data in each transect type followed the same pattern for almost all the taxa, with 240higher mean values in motorways than in control sites (Fig. 2). Global carnivore abundance 241 increased with rabbit abundance (β = 0.103 ± 0.044, P = 0.019) and carnivore abundance was 242 higher in motorway transects than control sites (β = 0.400 ± 0.175, P = 0.022). 243The red fox showed higher abundance in motorways (β = 0.469 ± 0.197, P = 0.017) 244 but no significant response to rabbit abundance (P = 0.129; Fig. 3). The non-synanthropic 245 species showed the opposite response, with abundances positively related to rabbit abundance 246(β = 0.119 ± 0.044, P = 0.007) but no differences in abundance due to the proximity of the 247 motorway (P = 0.084; Fig. 3). 248Cascading Effects: Rabbit Abundance, Carnivore Abundance, and Roadkills 255In the analyses for the global carnivore community, roadkills were positively and numbers. For carnivores related closely to prey abundance, high prey abundance in verges 275 creates a local cascading effect that leads to carnivore roadkills. 276The increased abundance of the global carnivore community near motorways is 277 probably due to higher fox abundance in these areas, as foxes comprised almost half of the 295On the other hand, our group of non-synanthropic carnivores followed a different carnivores that prey on them will follow rabbit distribution. we controlled for by conducting DNA analysis to assess the accuracy of scat identification. 332We controlled for other potential sources of bias by choosing areas that were comparable in 333 habitat characteristics, which can affect fecal persistence and scat detectability (Long et al. are necessary to make informed management decisions that favor conservation objectives. 364Understanding wildlife responses to human-modified landscapes provides us with better 365 knowledge of the communities and identifies which processes should be the focus of our 366 conservation efforts. 367 MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 368When prey are abundant near motorways, carnivores increase their abundance in those areas. 369Higher abundances of carnivores were strongly related to higher mortality by vehicles. 370Therefore, the design and management of verges could be a key aspect for conservation of 371 wil...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Carnivore abundance near motorways related to prey and roadkills

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“…). Considering that distinct predators may react differently to human activities, both functionally (Ruiz‐Capillas, Mata & Malo ) and numerically (Marzluff & Neatherlin ), prey living in human‐modified landscapes and cohabiting with several predator species must respond efficiently to the different sources of risk to survive. In this context, antipredator strategies aimed at avoiding one particular predator could be inefficient against a second predator, or even increase predation risk by that predator (termed predator facilitation by Charnov, Orians & Hyatt ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caribou avoiding wolves face increased predation by bears – Caught between Scylla and Charybdis

Leblond

Dussault

Ouellet

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. Prey may trade off resource acquisition with mortality risk by using various habitat selection strategies. Empirical assessments have shown that the functional and numerical responses of predators to human disturbances are variable, yet spatial changes in predation risk by two predators have seldom been studied for prey occurring in human-modified landscapes. Using the boreal caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou -grey wolf Canis lupus -black bear Ursus americanus system in eastern Canada, we investigated whether responses of prey towards one predator could concomitantly increase risk of predation from another predator exhibiting a different foraging tactic. 2. We investigated trade-offs made by solitary caribou females and mothers accompanied by their calf during the period of highest calf vulnerability and compared the behaviour of mothers that would eventually lose their calf to predation to that of mothers whose calf survived until the following year. We modelled habitat selection using different metrics of forage based on field measurements and digital maps and developed empirical models of predation risk and prey behaviour using GPS data collected on both predators and prey. 3. Mothers accompanied by their calf seemed to compromise foraging opportunities for safety, as opposed to solitary females who showed no particular avoidance of areas used by predators. Although caribou mothers adopted selection strategies that could have protected their offspring from wolves, females that eventually lost their calf to predation selected for vegetative associations that were favourable to bears. 4. Synthesis and applications. We determined that mothers that most strongly avoided suitable wolf habitat were also those that most strongly selected suitable bear habitat, suggesting that by using antipredator strategies aimed at reducing predation risk from wolves, caribou exposed their offspring to increased predation risk from bears. This result is of paramount conservation value as bears were responsible for 94% of caribou calf kills in this system. In the short term, conservation efforts for boreal caribou may benefit from the management of bear populations by means of liberal hunting regulations or predator control. In the long term, however, these actions should be used in conjunction with the protection of potential calving areas away from cutblocks and roads.

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“…S4 ). Provided that prey-predator dynamics have long been the dominant themes in community ecology 16 , we suggest that habitation orientation may be an important factor shaping species dynamics in natural systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Microcosm experimental evidence that habitat orientation affects phytoplankton-zooplankton dynamics

Zhang

Pan

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Although spatial ecology has achieved a great success in the passing decades, the importance of habitat orientation has not been well studied, especially for its effects on prey-predator dynamics. Here, we examined the responses of zooplankton activity and grazing rate to habitat orientation and their consequences on the stability of phytoplankton-zooplankton system in a two-factor factorial experiment involving habitat orientation (three levels; small, medium, and large base area, respectively) and habitat size (64 ml and 512 ml) using two algal-grazer systems (Chlorella pyrenoidosaDaphnia magna and C. pyrenoidosa-Moina micrura). In both systems, grazer density increased with increasing base area for a given chamber volume and with increasing chamber volume for a given orientation in the first 6 days, followed by a dramatic decrease, which corresponded to increasing the amplitude of density fluctuations in both zooplankton and phytoplankton species. Such an algal-grazer dynamics could be accounted for by the greater average swimming ability and grazing rate observed in large-based and large-volumed chambers. Our results demonstrate that habitat orientation affects the zooplankton behavior and population dynamics of both zooplankton and phytoplankton species, which further influences the stability of phytoplankton-zooplankton systems.In natural ecosystems, species habitats may be placed in space with different orientations. For example, either a two-dimensional (e.g. forest patches to bird species; but not a circular habitat) or three-dimensional (e.g. waters for aquatic species; but not a spherical habitat) habitat may be placed in space at different orientations (e.g. angles relative to light direction for two-dimensional habitats and different sides as chamber base for three-dimensional habitats, see Supplementary Fig. S1), even if the habitat size and shape hold constant. Habitat orientations are diverse in natural ecosystems, particularly under human-induced disturbances that often break up a single continuous habitat into several pieces of fragments.Changes in habitat orientation can affect many environmental conditions (e.g. light, water current, heat, wind, nutrients, Earth's gravity and magnetic field) 1, 2 and thus might have consequences on various ecological processes. For example, van Kleunen & Fischer 3 found that habitat orientation (relative to the light direction) plays an important role in determining the morphology of stoloniferous rosette species by varying light intensity in different directions. Community composition of migrating organisms can also be affected by habitat orientation (relative to their moving directions). Generally, habitats oriented perpendicular to the dispersal paths of migrating organisms intercept more species (birds or fishes) and individuals than comparable habitats oriented parallel to the line of travel in both terrestrial 2, 4 and aquatic ecosystems 5 . However, the mechanisms underlying the habitat orientation effects have scarcely been explored, particularly in t...

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Community Response of Mammalian Predators and Their Prey to Motorways: Implications for Predator–Prey Dynamics

Cited by 25 publications

References 66 publications

Carnivore abundance near motorways related to prey and roadkills

Carnivore abundance near motorways related to prey and roadkills

Caribou avoiding wolves face increased predation by bears – Caught between Scylla and Charybdis

Microcosm experimental evidence that habitat orientation affects phytoplankton-zooplankton dynamics

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