Experimental repatriation of snowshoe hares along a southern range boundary reveals historical community interactions

Wilson, Evan C.; Zuckerberg, Benjamin; Peery, M. Zachariah; Pauli, Jonathan N.

doi:10.1002/ecm.1509

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(141 reference statements)

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“…Although these approaches can help identify the presence of indirect effects, they provide a limited ability to tease apart and infer proximate mechanisms underlying biotic indirect interactions. Moreover, field experiments in natural food webs can be impossible to implement when predator home range size is large (but see [7]). Although extensive empirical data and detailed knowledge of the study system are needed to use a mechanistic approach, the growing number of technologies allowing remote monitoring of wildlife behaviour (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predator-mediated interactions through changes in predator home range size can lead to local prey exclusion

et al. 2023

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The strength of indirect biotic interactions is difficult to quantify in the wild and can alter community composition. To investigate whether the presence of a prey species affects the population growth rate of another prey species, we quantified predator-mediated interaction strength using a multi-prey mechanistic model of predation and a population matrix model. Models were parametrized using behavioural, demographic and experimental data from a vertebrate community that includes the arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ), a predator feeding on lemmings and eggs of various species such as sandpipers and geese. We show that the positive effects of the goose colony on sandpiper nesting success (due to reduction of search time for sandpiper nests) were outweighed by the negative effect of an increase in fox density. The fox numerical response was driven by changes in home range size. As a result, the net interaction from the presence of geese was negative and could lead to local exclusion of sandpipers. Our study provides a rare empirically based model that integrates mechanistic multi-species functional responses and behavioural processes underlying the predator numerical response. This is an important step forward in our ability to quantify the consequences of predation for community structure and dynamics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although such indirect interactions are likely widespread [3], they are difficult to quantify in complex natural communities (e.g. [4][5][6][7]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator-mediated interactions through changes in predator home range size can lead to local prey exclusion

et al. 2023

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“…Although these approaches can help identifying the presence of indirect effects, they provide us with limited ability to tease apart and infer proximate mechanisms underlying apparent biotic indirect interactions. Moreover, field experiments in natural food webs can virtually be impossible to implement when predator home range size is large (but see Wilson et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In theory, negative indirect interactions between species that share a common predator (hereafter predator-mediated interactions) may alter community composition by excluding species that are more vulnerable to predation. Although such indirect interactions are likely widespread (Holt and Bonsall, 2017), they are difficult to quantify in complex natural communities (e.g., Iles et al 2013;Schmidt and Ostfeld 2008;Suraci et al 2014;Wilson et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator-mediated interactions through changes in predator home range size can lead to local prey exclusion

Beardsell

Berteaux

Broin

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The effects of indirect biotic interactions on species occurrence are difficult to quantify in the wild. In theory, the exclusion of a prey species can occur through the numerical and functional responses of a predator to another prey. Few studies assessed the relative effects of these responses on the net interaction strength between multiple prey sharing common predators, in part because empirically based multi-species functional response models are very rare. To investigate whether the presence of a prey species affects predation rates and population growth rate of another prey species, we used a multi-prey mechanistic model of predation along with a population matrix model. The models were parameterized using a combination of behavioral, demographic, and experimental data acquired in an arctic vertebrate community which includes the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), a territorial predator feeding primarily on small mammals as well as eggs of various bird species such as sandpipers and colonial nesting geese. Our results showed that the positive effects of the presence of a goose colony on sandpiper nesting success (via predator egg handling time) were outweighed by the negative effect of an increase in fox density, caused by a reduction in fox home range size in the goose colony. Thus, the net interaction resulting from the presence of geese was negative. Our results also showed that this interaction could lead to local exclusion of sandpipers over a range of adult sandpiper annual survival observed in the wild. Our approach takes into account diverse proximate mechanisms underpinning interaction strengths in a multi-prey system and generates novel insights on some of the predator behavioral responses that may influence prey coexistence in vertebrate communities.

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“…The genetic basis of color morphs in ruffed grouse has not been described, though it is thought to be a melanin‐based genetic color polymorphism, which is the basis for red/brown polymorphisms across most bird species (Roulin 2004, Mundy 2005). Throughout their range, the survival rates of ruffed grouse vary seasonally and geographically (Devers et al 2007, Zimmerman et al 2007, Wilson et al 2022), but little research has investigated possible demographic differences between grouse color morphs. Winter is an important demographic constraint for grouse populations in the upper midwestern United States where mortality, mostly due to predation, is highest during the winter months (Small et al 1991, Gutiérrez et al 2003, Pomara and Zuckerberg 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of a polymorphic species in seasonally snow‐covered forests

Murphy,

Pauli,

Shipley

et al. 2023

Oikos

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Color polymorphism is an adaptive strategy in which a species exhibits multiple color phenotypes in a population. Often, phenotypes are variably suited to different environmental conditions which may buffer the population against variable conditions. Modern climate change is creating novel selective pressures for many species, especially in winter habitats. Few studies have quantified the benefits of polymorphism for allowing species to cope with climate‐induced environmental change, particularly for species with more cryptic differences between morphs. We investigated how color polymorphism mediates selective pressures in ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus, a winter‐adapted bird species of North American forests. Ruffed grouse display phenotypic variation in plumage color, ranging from red to gray. Over five winters (2015–2022), we monitored weather conditions, habitat use, and weekly survival for 94 grouse to test whether individuals had lower survival when phenotypically mismatched with snow cover (e.g. a gray bird on a snowless landscape or a red bird in snow). Grouse phenotypically mismatched with snow cover had lower survival, but only when winter survival rates were lowest. During winters of lower overall survival, red grouse exhibited higher survival during snow‐free periods, whereas gray grouse had higher survival when snow was present. We also found that open habitat negatively impacted survival, regardless of color. While the effect of phenotypic mismatch was variable among years, it was a stronger predictor of survival than land cover, suggesting that snow is an important habitat feature mediating overwinter survival. Our work offers an advancement in understanding how environmental variability affects geographic variation in and maintenance of multiple color phenotypes in seasonally‐snow covered environments. Our finding that interactions between color morph and snow cover are important for conferring winter survival provides further evidence that color polymorphism may serve as a buffer against rapidly changing conditions and a pathway for persistence of polymorphic species.Keywords: Bonasa umbellus, color polymorphism, phenotypic mismatch, ruffed grouse, winter ecology, Wisconsin

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Experimental repatriation of snowshoe hares along a southern range boundary reveals historical community interactions

Cited by 9 publications

References 101 publications

Predator-mediated interactions through changes in predator home range size can lead to local prey exclusion

Predator-mediated interactions through changes in predator home range size can lead to local prey exclusion

Predator-mediated interactions through changes in predator home range size can lead to local prey exclusion

Survival of a polymorphic species in seasonally snow‐covered forests

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