Feeding ecology of cheetahs in the Maasai Mara, Kenya and the potential for intra‐ and interspecific competition

Self Cite

Animals select habitats that will ultimately optimize their fitness through access to favorable resources, such as food, mates, and breeding sites. However, access to these resources may be limited by bottom‐up effects, such as availability, and top‐down effects, such as risk avoidance and competition, including that with humans. Competition between wildlife and people over resources, specifically over space, has played a significant role in the worldwide decrease in large carnivores. The goal of this study was to determine the habitat selection of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in a human‐wildlife landscape at multiple spatial scales. Cheetahs are a wide‐ranging, large carnivore, whose significant decline is largely attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation. It is believed that 77% of the global cheetah population ranges outside protected areas, yet little is known about cheetahs’ resource use in areas where they co‐occur with people. The selection, or avoidance, of three anthropogenic variables (human footprint density, distance to main roads and wildlife areas) and five environmental variables (open habitat, semiclosed habitat, edge density, patch density and slope), at multiple spatial scales, was determined by analyzing collar data from six cheetahs. Cheetahs selected variables at different scales; anthropogenic variables were selected at broader scales (720–1440 m) than environmental variables (90–180 m), suggesting that anthropogenic pressures affect habitat selection at a home‐range level, whilst environmental variables influence site‐level habitat selection. Cheetah presence was best explained by human presence, wildlife areas, semiclosed habitat, edge density and slope. Cheetahs showed avoidance for humans and steep slopes and selected for wildlife areas and areas with high proportions of semiclosed habitat and edge density. Understanding a species’ resource requirements, and how these might be affected by humans, is crucial for conservation. Using a multiscale approach, we provide new insights into the habitat selection of a large carnivore living in a human‐wildlife landscape.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living on the edge: Multiscale habitat selection by cheetahs in a human‐wildlife landscape

Klaassen

Broekhuis

2018

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“…In the Maasai Mara, 12% of cheetah kills are stolen (Broekhuis, Thuo, & Hayward, 2018) which could have an indirect effect on survival if the necessary energy requirements are not reached (Frid & Dill, 2002). This has been observed in other carnivores, such as leopards (P. pardus) , where females that suffered from a high rate of kleptoparasitism had lower reproductive success (Balme, Miller, Pitman, & Hunter, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Maasai Mara, burning has been shown to increase both herbivore and carnivore abundance in areas postburn. However, burning can accelerate habitat conversion and increase habitat homogeneity, while attracting small ungulates (Anderson et al., 2016), the preferred prey species of female cheetahs with cubs (Broekhuis et al., 2018). Burning could therefore create an “ecological trap” by attracting female cheetahs to open areas where prey abundance is high, but cub recruitment is low (Schlaepfer, Runge, & Sherman, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cheetahs, especially with cubs, are a major tourist attraction and commonly attract large numbers of vehicles (during this study, we observed a case of 64 vehicles present at one sighting over a period of 2 hr). High tourist numbers have been found to negatively impact cheetah hunts (Burney, 1980), and even if a hunt is successful, the presence of tourists can result in a cheetah abandoning its kill (Broekhuis et al., 2018; Hunter, Durant, & Caro, 2007b). If a female cheetah with cubs cannot forage effectively, then this could have an indirect impact on her offspring (Frid & Dill, 2002; Laurenson, 1994) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural and anthropogenic drivers of cub recruitment in a large carnivore

Broekhuis

2018

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Recruitment is a critical parameter governing population dynamics and influences population persistence. Understanding the drivers of recruitment is therefore important for conservation, especially for long‐lived mammals such as large carnivores, which have low reproductive rates, rendering them prone to extinction. Using cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) as a model species, I investigated the variation in cub recruitment in relation to habitat and the abundance of tourists and predators. Per litter, female cheetahs on average raised 1.71 ± 1.35 cubs to independence, but this varied depending on the presence of open habitat and the abundance of tourists, both of which had a negative effect on cub recruitment. More specifically, female cheetahs that were mostly found in open habitats on average raised 1.69 ± 0.14 cubs per litter to independence compared to 3.04 ± 0.26 cubs in denser habitat. Similarly, female cheetahs that were exposed to high tourist abundance on average raised 0.21 ± 0.72 cubs to independence compared to 2.32 ± 0.11 cubs in low tourism areas. Neither lion nor spotted hyaena abundance had an impact on the number of cubs that were recruited. Based on these findings, I recommend that the importance of a heterogeneous environment should be taken into consideration in habitat management, restoration efforts, and reintroduction programs. In addition, tourist quotas should be put in place in high visitation areas and strict wildlife viewing guidelines, such as number of vehicles, tourist behavior, time spent, and distance to a sighting, should be enforced. Cub recruitment is an important component of species persistence and incorporating these findings could aid conservation efforts for species that are increasingly under threat.

Dietary complexity and hidden costs of prey switching in a generalist top predator

Moorhouse‐Gann

Kean

Parry

et al. 2020

Variation in predator diet is a critical aspect of food web stability, health, and population dynamics of predator/ prey communities. Quantifying diet, particularly among cryptic species, is extremely challenging, however, and differentiation between demographic subsets of populations is often overlooked. We used prey remains and data taken postmortem from otter Lutra lutra to determine the extent to which dietary variation in a top predator was associated with biotic, spatial, and temporal factors. Biotic data (e.g., sex, weight, and length) and stomach contents were taken from 610 otters found dead across England and Wales between 1994 and 2010. Prey remains were identified to species where possible, using published keys and reference materials. Multi‐model inference followed by model prediction was applied to test for and visualize the nature of associations. Evidence for widespread decline in the consumption of eels (Anguilla anguilla) reflected known eel population declines. An association between eel consumption and otter body condition suggested negative consequences for otter nutrition. Consumption of Cottus gobio and stickleback spp. increased, but was unlikely to compensate (there was no association with body condition). More otters with empty stomachs were found over time. Otter sex, body length, and age‐class were important biotic predictors of the prey species found, and season, region, and distance from the coast were important abiotic predictors. Our study is unique in its multivariate nature, broad spatial scale, and long‐term dataset. Inclusion of biotic data allowed us to reveal important differences in costs and benefits of different prey types, and differences between demographic subsets of the population, overlaid on spatial and temporal variation. Such complexities in otter diet are likely to be paralleled in other predators, and detailed characterization of diet should not be overlooked in efforts to conserve wild populations.