Competitive Interactions within and between Species in a Guild of Avian Scavengers

Wallace, Michael P.; Temple, Stanley A.

doi:10.1093/auk/104.2.290

Cited by 155 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This might be due to the fact that these birds perch and wait near roads in order to have the opportunity of feeding from road-killed animals (Donázar et al 1993;Dean and Milton 2003), and because they must eat quickly before bigger species arrive (Wallace and Temple 1987;Travaini et al 1998). Carcasses situated near roads were detected much faster Fitting curve of the best model (with lower AICc) is marked with a thicker line than those far from roads.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How do roads affect the habitat use of an assemblage of scavenging raptors?

et al. 2009

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Scavengers may benefit from the availability of dead animals along roads that result from collisions with vehicles. However, roads are also considered risky places for many species. Animal habitat selection patterns usually balance energy intake with mortality risk. In this work we analyzed the foraging space use of an assemblage of diurnal scavenging raptors in relation to distance from roads in northwest Patagonia. We selected patches at different distances from roads, and placed a sheep carcass in each patch during the night (n = 18 carcasses in total). In general, carcasses near roads were detected by diurnal scavenging raptors much faster than those far from roads. Smaller raptors such as southern caracaras (Caracara plancus), chimango caracaras (Milvago chimango), and black vultures (Coragyps atratus), were commonly associated with roads both in terms of overall detections and scavenging activities. Southern and chimango caracaras proved to be very good at detecting carcasses, were faster to land in order to feed from them, and were found in greater numbers near roads than far from them. Even though Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) and black-chested buzzard-eagles (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) flew all over the area, they chose to feed far from roads. Our work emphasizes that some scavengers have taken advantage of the novel food resources provided by roads whereas others are reluctant to feed near them. Within a scenario of an increasing number of roads, some species can extend their distributions favoring competition and biotic homogenization processes within original communities. We highlight the importance of taking into account large flying scavengers in land-use planning.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carrion is an ephemeral and randomly distributed resource and its availability is critical for the survival of scavenging birds (Wallace and Temple 1987). However, roads, due to their supply of road kills, can generate a differential distribution of dead animals across a landscape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do roads affect the habitat use of an assemblage of scavenging raptors?

et al. 2009

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“…All avian scavengers visiting the feeding stations were previously observed at road killed hares (mainly chimango and crested caracaras, but also black vultures and grey eagle-buzzards). This fact departs from other scavenger assemblages where bigger species are attracted to the carrion by the smaller ones (Kruuk, 1967;Houston, 1974;Wallace & Temple, 1987), and where food is available to smaller species only when the skin of carcasses is torn (Kruuk, 1967;Skagen et al, 1991). Raptorial birds also consumed much more of the carcass than mammals did in studies of Old and New World vultures (Houston, 1974(Houston, , 1988Hiraldo, Blanco et al, 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Use of European hare (Lepus europaeus) carcasses by an avian scavenging assemblage in Patagonia

et al. 1998

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We studied the use of European hare (Lepus europaeus) carcasses by avian scavengers in Argentinean Patagonia. A total of 16 hare carcasses were placed in locations that could be observed without disturbing birds feeding on them. Six avian species fed on these carcasses: chimango caracara (Milvago chimango), crested caracara (Polyborus plancus), black vulture (Coragyps atratus), grey eagle-buzzard (Geranoaetus melanoleucus), red-backed hawk (Buteo polyosoma) and cinereous harrier (Circus cinereus). Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura), although abundant, never fed on the hare carcasses. The Andean condor also did not feed on the carcasses. Mammals visited hare carcasses on only two occasions. Of the hare carcasses, 69% were fully consumed during the ®rst day of exposure and 25% in two days. There was no difference in the time elapsed from the placement of the carcass and its detection by crested and chimango caracaras. There were similar time periods from detection to ®rst arrival, and time elapsed from ®rst arrival to the start of feeding at the carcass by crested and chimango caracaras. Hare body parts were consumed in different proportions by crested and chimango caracaras whereas black vultures consumed the whole carcass. Interspeci®c hierarchies at the carcass in a decreasing sequence of dominance were crested caracara > black vulture > chimango caracara, coinciding with that expected from a body mass perspective. The scavenging species that consume hare carcasses did not show a clear pattern denoting they were a highly interdependent assemblage in the way described for scavengers in Africa.

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“…Many factors have been identified as influencing the proportion of encounters won by dominant species, including age and sex (Stiles, 1973), as well as proximate factors that include condition, hunger level, density, and time of arrival or colonization (Stiles, 1973; Lyon, 1976; Anderson & Horwitz, 1979; Cole, 1983; Wallace & Temple, 1987; Robinson, 1989; Tanner & Adler, 2009). Perhaps the most important predictor of the outcome of aggressive contests, however, appears to be differences in body size among the interacting species (Morse, 1974; Peters, 1983; Robinson & Terborgh, 1995; Donadio & Buskirk, 2006; Martin & Ghalambor, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the density of subordinate species can influence the outcome of individual interactions, even with a lack of coordinated fighting among individuals (Lyon, 1976; Martin & Ghalambor, 2014). This influence of subordinate density is thought to explain variation in the outcomes of aggressive interactions across sites and contexts in vultures, hummingbirds, blackbirds, and perhaps other groups, where subordinate species show substantial variation in their densities (Orians, 1961; Orians & Collier, 1963; Lyon, 1976; König, 1983; Wallace & Temple, 1987; Houston, 1988; Kirk, 1988; Buckley, 1996). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The outcomes of most aggressive interactions among closely related bird species are asymmetric

Martin

Freshwater

Ghalambor

2017

PeerJ

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Aggressive interactions among closely related species are common, and can play an important role as a selective pressure shaping species traits and assemblages. The nature of this selective pressure depends on whether the outcomes of aggressive contests are asymmetric between species (i.e., one species is consistently dominant), yet few studies have estimated the prevalence of asymmetric versus symmetric outcomes to aggressive contests. Here we use previously published data involving 26,212 interactions between 270 species pairs of birds from 26 taxonomic families to address the question: How often are aggressive interactions among closely related bird species asymmetric? We define asymmetry using (i) the proportion of contests won by one species, and (ii) statistical tests for asymmetric outcomes of aggressive contests. We calculate these asymmetries using data summed across different sites for each species pair, and compare results to asymmetries calculated using data separated by location. We find that 80% of species pairs had aggressive outcomes where one species won 80% or more of aggressive contests. We also find that the majority of aggressive interactions among closely related species show statistically significant asymmetries, and above a sample size of 52 interactions, all outcomes are asymmetric following binomial tests. Species pairs with dominance data from multiple sites showed the same dominance relationship across locations in 93% of the species pairs. Overall, our results suggest that the outcome of aggressive interactions among closely related species are usually consistent and asymmetric, and should thus favor ecological and evolutionary strategies specific to the position of a species within a dominance hierarchy.

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Competitive Interactions within and between Species in a Guild of Avian Scavengers

Cited by 155 publications

References 9 publications

How do roads affect the habitat use of an assemblage of scavenging raptors?

How do roads affect the habitat use of an assemblage of scavenging raptors?

Use of European hare (Lepus europaeus) carcasses by an avian scavenging assemblage in Patagonia

The outcomes of most aggressive interactions among closely related bird species are asymmetric

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