Pumas as ecosystem engineers: ungulate carcasses support beetle assemblages in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Barry, Joshua M.; Elbroch, L. Mark; Aiello‐Lammens, Matthew E.; Sarno, Ronald J.; Seelye, Lisa; Kusler, Anna; Quigley, Howard; Grigione, Melissa M.

doi:10.1007/s00442-018-4315-z

Cited by 41 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Similarly, we noted the presence of seeds in all of the gray fox scat, which may play a large role in seed 141 dispersal 29 , both in abundance and distribution as gray foxes become more common. Finally, by hunting 142 mule deer, pumas generate an increasing number of carcasses, which are sources of food for carrion-143 dependent invertebrates 30 , smaller predators and scavenger birds such as turkey vultures 31 . Mule deer 144 DNA found in the diet of all mesopredators could thus be explained by consumption of carcasses.…”

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confidence: 99%

Return of an apex predator to a suburban preserve triggers a rapid trophic cascade

Leempoel

Meyer

Hebert

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Absence of apex predators simplifies food chains, leading to trophic degradation of ecosystems and diminution of the services they provide1. However, most predators do not coexist well with humans, which has resulted in a decline of carnivores and functional ecosystems worldwide2. In some instances, cryptic carnivores manage to survive amidst human settlements, finding refuge in small biological islands surrounded by urban landscapes. In such a system, we used two non-invasive data collection methods (camera trapping and fecal sampling) to investigate the multiannual relationship between predators and prey, and between competitors, through analysis of: (1) relative abundance and detection probability of species over time, (2) causal interactions via empirical dynamic modeling, (3) diet, and (4) diel activity patterns. All approaches show concordance in the results: the natural return of an apex predator, the puma (Puma concolor), triggered a trophic cascade, affecting the abundance and behavior of its main prey, subordinate predators and other prey in the studied system. Our study demonstrates that trophic recovery can occur rapidly following the return of a top predator, even in small protected areas in increasingly urbanized landscapes.

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confidence: 99%

Return of an apex predator to a suburban preserve triggers a rapid trophic cascade

Leempoel

Meyer

Hebert

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…The positive and direct effect of carrion on the abundance of arthropod scavengers and their specialised predators and parasites is unsurprising [20,21,46], but we did not detect a direct positive effect of carrion presence on predatory or detritivorous arthropods. We could also not detect a positive relation between the abundances of carrion associated insects and (not carrion-associated) predators, and the weak positive relation between detritivore and predator abundances was independent of carrion presence.…”

Section: Direct Effectsmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…This suggests that opportunistic scavenging and predation on carrion associated insects are not important in our system, possibly due to the natural high productivity of the soil, or we failed to detect this for other reasons. In recent work at Yellowstone National Park, only two out of 13 not carrion-associated beetle families (Carabidae and Curculionidae) were found to have higher abundances at carrion than at control sites [21]. Although opportunistic scavenging has often been observed [19,[23][24][25][26], it thus remains unclear how important this behaviour is for shaping arthropod communities.…”

Section: Direct Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Invertebrates, and particularly insects, on carrion have received considerable attention in the context of forensic entomology (reviewed in [17]) and succession research (reviewed in [18]), but much less in the context of biodiversity research ( [1,19], but see [20,21]). Specialized scavenger species, as well as opportunists, which either feed on the carrion itself (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rewilding with large herbivores: Positive direct and delayed effects of carrion on plant and arthropod communities

Klink

Laar-Wiersma

Vorst³

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Carrion of large animals is an extremely nutrient rich, ephemeral resource that is essential for many species, but is scarce in the anthropogenic Western-European landscape due to legislative restrictions. Rewilding, a novel conservation strategy that aims at restoring natural processes with minimal human intervention, is increasing in popularity and could lead to increased carrion availability in the landscape. It is therefore important to understand the effects of carrion on biodiversity. We investigated the direct and delayed (five months) effects of red deer (Cervus elaphus) carcasses on plants and arthropods in the Oostvaardersplassen, the Netherlands, one of the oldest rewilding sites in Europe. Specifically, we tested whether carrion has a positive direct effect on the abundances and diversity of various arthropod functional groups, as well as a delayed effect on the vegetation and arthropods through the increased nutrient availability. During the active decomposition stage in spring, we, not surprisingly, observed higher abundances of carrion associated species (scavengers and their specialized predators) at the carrion sites than at control sites without carrion, but no higher abundances of predators or detritivores. In late summer, after nearcomplete decomposition, plant biomass was five times higher, and nutritional plant quality (C:N ratio) was higher at the carrion sites than at the control sites. Arthropod abundance and diversity were also manifold higher, owing to higher numbers of herbivorous and predatory species. Regression analysis showed that abundances of herbivores and detritivores were positively related to plant biomass, and predator abundances were positively related to abundances of herbivores and detritivores, suggesting bottom-up effects propagating through the food chain. Our results show that even in a naturally nutrient-rich ecosystem like the Oostvaardersplassen, carrion can have strong positive effects on local plant biomass and nutritional quality and arthropod abundances, lasting the whole growing season. We found evidence that these effects were first directly caused by the presence of carrion, and later by the enhanced nutrient availability in the soil. This highlights the importance of the indirect pathways by which carrion can structure arthropod communities.

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“…We replicate previously published techniques that lead to the quantification of the number of individual prey items killed per year by an apex predator (Braczkowski et al 2018;Barry et al 2019). We then determine the relative number of individual invasive wild pigs killed by a single adult puma per year by multiplying the mean relative biomass contribution of invasive wild pigs by their mean body size distribution from published estimates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The exposure and contribution of predators and scavengers to humans

O’Bryan¹

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Humans are exerting unparalleled pressures on terrestrial vertebrates through overexploitation and development. The patterns of human destruction on the natural environment are especially prevalent within carnivore distributions because they are subject to not only habitat fragmentation and loss, but they are also perceived as a threat to human societies leading to direct conflict. Although the perceived negative impacts of predators and scavengers dominate policy and individual action towards carnivores, there is a growing body of literature pointing to the potential benefits that predators and scavengers provide within shared landscapes. The overall aim of this thesis is to address key gaps in our knowledge on the exposure and contribution of predators and scavengers to humans and how this information can be used to enhance conservation initiatives.Human pressures cause species extinction. These pressures range from over-hunting and urbanization to other forms of habitat loss such as agricultural development. While human pressures and their threatening processes have been increasingly documented across a range of species and ecosystems, we do not know the extent of intense cumulative human pressures within species' geographic ranges globally. In Chapter 2, I aim to quantify the exposure of terrestrial vertebrates to intense human pressure, including carnivores. I use the most up-to-date spatial dataset on cumulative human pressure, which takes into account eight pressures known to cause species decline. I find that 85% of the terrestrial vertebrates assessed have more than half of their range exposed to these cumulative pressures, with carnivores having similar exposure. Specifically, carnivores have on average 75% of their ranges overlapping with intense human pressures. This work provides a useful starting point for assessing species at risk of decline, especially for species with limited information on threats.Carnivore declines impact ecosystem stability that can result in negative impacts on human well-being. In Chapter 3, I aim to provide the first review of the benefits provided by predators and scavengers in shared landscapes with humans. I find that predators and scavengers have been shown to reduce zoonotic disease risk, increase agricultural output, and limit species known to cause injury and death to humans. Through the review process, I found considerable gaps in knowledge regarding the potential benefits of predators and iii scavengers in shared landscapes, and I discuss future avenues of research, its caveats, and opportunities.An important knowledge gap identified during the review was the ecological and human well-being implications of losing apex scavengers. Although there is a great deal of information about the ecological repercussions of losing apex predators, we know relatively little about the role of apex scavengers at regulating lower trophic levels and how this can impact ecosystem health and human well-being. In Chapter 4, I describe the mesoscavenger release hypothesis, the competiti...

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Pumas as ecosystem engineers: ungulate carcasses support beetle assemblages in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Cited by 41 publications

References 55 publications

Return of an apex predator to a suburban preserve triggers a rapid trophic cascade

Return of an apex predator to a suburban preserve triggers a rapid trophic cascade

Rewilding with large herbivores: Positive direct and delayed effects of carrion on plant and arthropod communities

The exposure and contribution of predators and scavengers to humans

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