Effect of scavenging on predation in a food web

Mellard, Jarad P.; Hamel, Sandra; Henden, John‐André; Ims, Rolf A.; Stien, Audun; Yoccoz, Nigel G.

doi:10.1002/ece3.7525

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(107 reference statements)

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“…Opportunistic scavengers attracted to carcasses may even kill other prey in the carcass vicinity (Cortés-Avizanda et al 2009a;Cortés-Avizanda et al 2009b;Spencer et al 2021). This web of trophic interactions is further influenced by seasonality (Peers et al 2020), scavenger and carrion abundance (Mellard et al 2021), and scavenger guild traits (Sebastián-González et al 2021), highlighting the complex yet important role carrion plays in vertebrate community dynamics.…”

Section: Carcass Pathway: Prey Carcasses Are Ephemeral Ecological Hot...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Patchy indirect effects: predators contribute to landscape heterogeneity and ecosystem function via localized pathways

Johnson‐Bice

Gable

Roth

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Predators are widely recognized for their irreplaceable roles regulating the abundance and altering the traits of lower trophic levels. Predators also have irreplaceable roles in shaping community interactions and ecological processes via highly localized pathways, irrespective of their influence on prey density or behavior. We synthesized empirical and theoretical research describing how predators have indirect ecological effects confined to discrete patches on the landscape, processes we have termed patchy indirect effects of predation. Predators generate patchy indirect effects via three main pathways: generating and distributing prey carcasses, creating biogeochemical hotspots by concentrating nutrients derived from prey, and killing ecosystem engineers that create patches. In each pathway, the indirect ecological effects are limited to discrete areas with measurable spatial and temporal boundaries (i.e., patches). Our synthesis reveals the diverse and complex ways that predators indirectly affect other species via discrete patches, ranging from mediating scavenger interactions to interspecific parasite/disease transmission risk, and from altering ecosystem biogeochemistry to facilitating local species biodiversity. We also show how existing multi-scale ecological frameworks (metapopulation, meta-ecosystem, and patch dynamics concepts) offer insight into the mechanisms underlying the formation of these patches within ecosystems. We then provide basic guidelines on how these effects can be quantified at both the patch and landscape scales, and discuss how these predator-mediated patches ultimately increase landscape heterogeneity and contribute to ecosystem functioning. Whereas density- and trait-mediated indirect effects of predation generally occur through population-scale changes, patchy indirect effects of predation occur through individual- and patch-level pathways. Our synthesis provides a more holistic view of the functional role of predation in ecosystems by addressing how predators create patchy landscapes via localized pathways, in addition to influencing the abundance and behavior of lower trophic levels.

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Section: Carcass Pathway: Prey Carcasses Are Ephemeral Ecological Hot...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Patchy indirect effects: predators contribute to landscape heterogeneity and ecosystem function via localized pathways

Johnson‐Bice

Gable

Roth

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Conversely, a trade‐off may also exist in some ecosystems where a supply of abundant carrion provides a larger proportion of the diet for invasive species than predation (Mellard et al ., 2021), thereby potentially alleviating pressure on native species that are prey items of invasive predators which also scavenge. Where invasive species occur, research determining rates of predation and scavenging and the mechanisms that determine when animals switch between these are key to a better understanding of the potential for this process to occur.…”

Section: Global Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scavenging with invasive species

Newsome,

Cairncross,

Cunningham

et al. 2023

Biological Reviews

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Carrion acts as a hotspot of animal activity within many ecosystems globally, attracting scavengers that rely on this food source. However, many scavengers are invasive species whose impacts on scavenging food webs and ecosystem processes linked to decomposition are poorly understood. Here, we use Australia as a case study to review the extent of scavenging by invasive species that have colonised the continent since European settlement, identify the factors that influence their use of carcasses, and highlight the lesser‐known ecological effects of invasive scavengers. From 44 published studies we identified six invasive species from 48 vertebrates and four main groups of arthropods (beetles, flies, ants and wasps) that scavenge. Invasive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), feral pigs (Sus scrofa), black rats (Rattus rattus) and feral cats (Felis catus) were ranked as highly common vertebrate scavengers. Invasive European wasps (Vespula germanica) are also common scavengers where they occur. We found that the diversity of native vertebrate scavengers is lower when the proportion of invasive scavengers is higher. We highlight that the presence of large (apex) native vertebrate scavengers can decrease rates of scavenging by invasive species, but that invasive scavengers can monopolise carcass resources, outcompete native scavengers, predate other species around carcass resources and even facilitate invasion meltdowns that affect other species and ecological processes including altered decomposition rates and nutrient cycling. Such effects are likely to be widespread where invasive scavengers occur and suggest a need to determine whether excessive or readily available carcass loads are facilitating or exacerbating the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems globally.

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“…Both co‐predators and humans provide optimum scavenging opportunities in the form of wild prey carcasses and anthropogenic waste respectively. In turn, scavengers like hyaenas can disrupt the energy balance of their sympatric predators through kleptoparasitism which forces predators to hunt more frequently (Mattisson et al., 2016; Mellard et al., 2021). Land use and landcover changes driven by several anthropogenic factors have already limited resource availability in many ecosystems and may also exacerbate interspecific competition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial heterogeneity facilitates coexistence between striped hyaenas and sympatric carnivores

Ashish,

Ramesh,

Kalle

et al. 2023

Journal of Biogeography

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AimInterspecific competition plays a key role in shaping carnivore communities. Top‐down effects can impact the coexistence of superordinate and subordinate competitors and prey across a shared landscape. Limited resources, their abundance and diminishing habitats can all exacerbate interspecific competition. Sometimes, behavioural mechanisms or adaptations are critical for subordinate carnivores to coexist with larger species. Here, we investigated the distribution pattern of the striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) population with respect to habitat features, sympatric carnivores and their prey species across a large landscape.LocationWestern and Eastern Ghats, India.TaxonStriped hyaena.MethodsWe collected presence–absence data for hyaenas, tigers, leopards, dholes and their prey using camera‐trapping and indirect sign surveys. Using a random forest algorithm, we modelled the local distribution of hyaenas as a function of important ecological variables, including climate, domestic prey abundance and the predicted probabilities of occurrence of other large carnivores and their prey.ResultsWe found that striped hyaenas were confined to relatively small, discrete areas compared to the three other predators, likely a mechanism for achieving coexistence in the landscape. Our empirical results suggested that hyaenas tend to avoid high occurrence probability areas of their co‐predators at a landscape level but foothold opportunities such as, arid climatic conditions, and prey abundance primarily determined spatial incumbency. Coexistence in an area with low to medium relative abundance of co‐predators offsets the interplay between carcass acquisition and risk associated. The coexistence of species was favoured by altitudinal heterogeneity probably providing denning refugia and also by their preference towards suboptimal thorn forests that sustain a low density of co‐predators.Main ConclusionsOur study showed a desisting impact of large predators on the distribution of the striped hyaena population. Furthermore, we suggest preventing habitat alteration in suboptimal habitats of large carnivores to facilitate coexistence in a shared landscape.

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Effect of scavenging on predation in a food web

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 10 publications

References 55 publications

Patchy indirect effects: predators contribute to landscape heterogeneity and ecosystem function via localized pathways

Patchy indirect effects: predators contribute to landscape heterogeneity and ecosystem function via localized pathways

Scavenging with invasive species

Spatial heterogeneity facilitates coexistence between striped hyaenas and sympatric carnivores

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