Induced changes in island fox (Urocyon littoralis) activity do not mitigate the extinction threat posed by a novel predator

Hudgens, Brian R.; Garcelon, David K.

doi:10.1007/s00442-010-1761-7

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The same goes for the grizzly bear studies, where the outlier study [47] has a much smaller number of adult classes then the other two studies [48],[49]. The data point of one of the island fox studies is located on the upper right axis because the matrix in this study [36] did not have a juvenile stage, while the other study had one [50]. Overall, the emerging picture is that species characteristics determine especially the elasticity partitioning in F and S , but that model characteristics can affect the partitioning in S j and S a .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Carnivora Population Dynamics Are as Slow and as Fast as Those of Other Mammals: Implications for Their Conservation

et al. 2013

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Of the 285 species of Carnivora 71 are threatened, while many of these species fulfill important ecological roles in their ecosystems as top or meso-predators. Population transition matrices make it possible to study how age-specific survival and fecundity affect population growth, extinction risks, and responses to management strategies. Here we review 38 matrix models from 35 studies on 27 Carnivora taxa, covering 11% of the threatened Carnivora species. We show that the elasticity patterns (i.e. distribution over fecundity, juvenile survival and adult survival) in Carnivora cover the same range in triangular elasticity plots as those of other mammal species, despite the specific place of Carnivora in the food chain. Furthermore, reproductive loop elasticity analysis shows that the studied species spread out evenly over a slow-fast continuum, but also quantifies the large variation in the duration of important life cycles and their contributions to population growth rate.These general elasticity patterns among species, and their correlation with simple life history characteristics like body mass, age of first reproduction and life span, enables the extrapolation of population dynamical properties to unstudied species. With several examples we discuss how this slow-fast continuum, and related patterns of variation in reproductive loop elasticity, can be used in the formulation of tentative management plans for threatened species that cannot wait for the results of thorough demographic studies. We argue, however, that such management programs should explicitly include a plan for learning about the key demographic rates and how these are affected by environmental drivers and threats.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Carnivora Population Dynamics Are as Slow and as Fast as Those of Other Mammals: Implications for Their Conservation

et al. 2013

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“…Most studies of this issue have focussed on the re-emergence of anti-predator tactics after long-term isolation from predators (e.g. [42,43]) or studies of the responses of prey to predators with different periods of coexistence [44]. Both approaches are problematic as they do not allow predictions on how long it will take for prey to overcome naïveté towards novel predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Historical Coexistence with Dingoes Explain Current Avoidance of Domestic Dogs? Island Bandicoots Are Naïve to Dogs, unlike Their Mainland Counterparts

2016

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Introduced predators have a global reputation for causing declines and extinctions of native species. Native prey naiveté towards novel predators is thought to be a key reason for predator impacts. However, naiveté is not necessarily forever: where coexistence establishes, it is likely that naiveté will be reduced through adaptation, and the once alien predator will eventually become recognised by prey. For example, native marsupial bandicoots in Sydney avoid backyards with domestic dogs (C. lupus familiaris), but not domestic cats (Felis catus), even though cats and dogs were both introduced about 200 years ago (Carthey and Banks 2012). The authors attributed bandicoots’ recognition of dogs to long-term exposure to a close relative of dogs, dingoes that arrived in Australia 4000 years ago. Here, we test a prediction of this hypothesis by taking the study to Tasmania, where dingoes have never been present but where domestic dogs also arrived about 200 years ago. We use a similar survey design to that of Carthey and Banks (2012): asking Hobart residents to report on pet-ownership, bandicoot sightings and scats within their backyards, as well as an array of yard characteristic control variables. We predicted that if long term experience with dingoes enabled mainland bandicoots to recognise domestic dogs, then Tasmanian bandicoots, which are inexperienced with dingoes, would not recognise domestic dogs. Our results indicate that Tasmanian bandicoots are naïve to both dogs and cats after only 200 years of coexistence, supporting our hypothesis and the notion that naiveté in native prey towards alien predators (as observed on the mainland) may eventually be overcome.

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“…Foxes on a nearby island have been found to select lupine-dominated habitats [45], suggesting that foxes may be successful at capturing rodent prey in lupine-dominated habitats like the one used in this study. Fox preference for lupine habitats may be further increased if shifts in activity timing observed on some islands in response to large raptors [46] are also leading to increased time spent in sheltered lupine habitats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An island-wide predator manipulation reveals immediate and long-lasting matching of risk by prey

Orrock

Fletcher

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Anti-predator behaviour affects prey population dynamics, mediates cascading effects in food webs and influences the likelihood of rapid extinctions. Predator manipulations in natural settings provide a rare opportunity to understand how prey anti-predator behaviour is affected by large-scale changes in predators. Here, we couple a long-term, island-wide manipulation of an important rodent predator, the island fox (Urocyon littoralis), with nearly 6 years of measurements on foraging by deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) to provide unequivocal evidence that prey closely match their foraging behaviour to the number of fox predators present on the island. Peromyscus maniculatus foraging among exposed and sheltered microhabitats (a measure of aversion to predation risk) closely tracked fox density, but the nature of this effect depended upon nightly environmental conditions known to affect rodent susceptibility to predators. These effects could not be explained by changes in density of deer mice over time. Our work reveals that prey in natural settings are cognizant of the dynamic nature of their predators over timescales that span many years, and that predator removals spanning many generations of prey do not result in a loss of anti-predator behaviour.

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Induced changes in island fox (Urocyon littoralis) activity do not mitigate the extinction threat posed by a novel predator

Cited by 32 publications

References 28 publications

Carnivora Population Dynamics Are as Slow and as Fast as Those of Other Mammals: Implications for Their Conservation

Carnivora Population Dynamics Are as Slow and as Fast as Those of Other Mammals: Implications for Their Conservation

Does Historical Coexistence with Dingoes Explain Current Avoidance of Domestic Dogs? Island Bandicoots Are Naïve to Dogs, unlike Their Mainland Counterparts

An island-wide predator manipulation reveals immediate and long-lasting matching of risk by prey

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