Suitability of GPS telemetry for studying the predation of Eurasian lynx on small- and medium-sized prey animals in the Northwestern Swiss Alps

Vogt, Kristina; Vimercati, Eric; Ryser, Andreas; Hofer, Elizabeth J.; Signer, Sven; Signer, Claudio; Breitenmoser, Urs

doi:10.1007/s10344-018-1225-7

Cited by 17 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Williams et al, 2014), these key hunting metrics have remained unattainable for the majority of carnivores (71.9% are small prey specialists; calculated from Carbone et al, 1999) due to the limited time spent at a kill site (<1 hr) relative to other locations (grooming: ~1 hr, sleeping: >1 hr). As such, predator studies have had low detection rates of short feeding events (25% chance of detecting GPS clusters less than 9 hr long; Vogt et al 2018) which often leads to not considering prey <2 kg in their results (McLean et al, 2005;Svoboda et al, 2013). As such, the biologging methodologies presented here are a substantial advance in the capacity to continuously document kill rates and detailed hunting behaviour for predators of any size without intensive field work related to kill site investigations or scat collection, but particularly for carnivores that specialize on small-bodied vertebrate prey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, predator studies have had low detection rates of short feeding events (25% chance of detecting GPS clusters less than 9 hr long; Vogt et al. 2018) which often leads to not considering prey <2 kg in their results (McLean et al., 2005; Svoboda et al., 2013). As such, the biologging methodologies presented here are a substantial advance in the capacity to continuously document kill rates and detailed hunting behaviour for predators of any size without intensive field work related to kill site investigations or scat collection, but particularly for carnivores that specialize on small‐bodied vertebrate prey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Purr‐fect Catch: Using accelerometers and audio recorders to document kill rates and hunting behaviour of a small prey specialist

et al. 2021

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1. Characterizing variation in predator behaviour and, specifically, quantifying kill rates is fundamental for parameterizing predator-prey and food web models. Yet, current methods for recording kill rates of free-ranging predators, particularly those that consume small-bodied (<2 kg) prey, present a number of associated challenges.2. In this paper, we deployed custom-adapted acoustic recorders and tri-axial accelerometers on free-ranging Canada lynx Lynx canadensis to assess the capacity of biologging devices to continuously document individual hunting behaviour, including prey selection and kill rates, on a predator that specializes on prey weighing <2 kg.3. Automated classification of acoustic recordings captured 87% of snowshoe hare kills that were identified through snow-tracking (26 of 31 kills). Classification of detailed acceleration recordings summarized over minutes, instead of seconds, captured consumption of snowshoe hare Lepus americanus, but not smaller species, at high accuracy (F1 = 0.96). 4. By summarizing acoustic and accelerometer data from free-ranging lynx, we demonstrate the capacity of these devices to document within-and betweenindividual variation in diet composition (ranging from 40% to 80% snowshoe hares) and daily feeding bouts (ranging from 0 to 3.5 bouts per day).5. We suggest that acoustic recorders provide a promising method for characterizing several aspects of predator hunting behaviour including prey selection and chase outcomes, while broad-scale accelerometer-based behavioural classifications provide hare kill rates and fine-scale non-hunting behavioural information.Combined, the two technologies provide a means to remotely document both kills and feeding events of small-bodied prey, allowing for individual-based exploration of functional responses, predator-prey interactions and food web dynamics at temporal scales relevant to environmental change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Purr‐fect Catch: Using accelerometers and audio recorders to document kill rates and hunting behaviour of a small prey specialist

et al. 2021

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“…This result is similar to the findings of Vogt et al . () who showed that GLC analysis could detect Eurasian lynx predation on new‐born ungulates and small prey weighing between two and 10 kg if substantial field effort was undertaken to detect prey remains in short duration GLCs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global positioning system location clusters vs. scats: comparing dietary estimates to determine mesopredator diet in a conflict framework

2019

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Studying the feeding ecology of mesopredators living on or adjacent to farmland is important as livestock predation fuels conflict between farmers and predators and between diverse stakeholders on how to best manage this conflict. Most dietary studies on elusive and heavily persecuted predators rely on indirect methods such as scat analysis, because direct observations of predation events are rare. Consequently, the proportion of livestock and other prey that was actively hunted vs. scavenged remains largely unknown. We used data from global positioning system collars affixed to black‐backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) and caracal (Caracal caracal) to locate potential feeding sites on farmland and a protected area and to attempt to determine whether prey had been killed or scavenged. We compared dietary estimates from prey items found at global positioning system location clusters (GLCs) with those obtained from scat analysis and investigated whether GLC analysis is a suitable method to determine mesocarnivore diet. The success rate of finding a kill site when investigating GLCs was significantly higher for caracal than for jackal. Only 16.2% and 4.7% of jackal and caracal GLCs, respectively, were classified as scavenging events. Livestock was the most frequently detected prey in both scats and GLCs on farmland but GLCs provided a higher estimate of sheep biomass than scats. Caracal GLCs revealed prey ranging in size from small to large, whereas jackal GLCs were only for medium and large prey categories. Adult male caracals predated significantly more on livestock than females and younger individuals. Collared jackals residing in the protected area never formed GLCs containing livestock remains on neighbouring farms. Together, GLCs and scat analyses provide a more complete understanding of mesopredators feeding ecology on farmland. We recommend that both methods are applied, particularly in regions where livestock predation and lethal management of predators are driving conflict between stakeholders.

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“…Examining animal movement can provide important information on conspecific interactions (Jellen et 36 al. 2007), predator-prey dynamics (Courbin et al 2016, Vogt et al 2018), reproductive behaviours 37 (Kamath and Losos 2018), and responses to anthropogenic threats (Valeix et al 2012, Loveridge et al 38 2017. Additionally, and perhaps most important to conservation planning, is the connection between 39 movement and resource acquisition (Prange et al 2004, Mueller et al 2011, Doherty et al 2019.…”

Section: Introduction 35mentioning

confidence: 99%

No room to roam: King Cobras reduce movement in agriculture

Marshall

Crane

Silva

et al. 2020

Preprint

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13Studying animal movement provides insights into how animals react to land-use changes, specifically 14 how animals can change their behaviour in agricultural areas. Recent reviews show a tendency for 15 species to reduce movements in response to increased human landscape modification, but the study of 16 movement has not been extensively explored in reptiles. We examined movements of a large reptilian 17 predator, the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), in Northeast Thailand. We used a consistent regime 18 of radio-telemetry tracking to document movements across protected forest and adjacent agricultural 19 areas. We then adapted GPS-targeting analytic methods to examine the movement using metrics of site 20 reuse and dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Model derived motion variance. Examination of 21 motion variance demonstrated that King Cobra movements increased in forested areas and tended to 22 decrease in agricultural areas. Our Integrated Step-Selection Functions indicated that when moving in 23 agricultural areas King Cobras restricted their movements, thereby remaining within vegetated semi-24 natural areas, often located along the banks of irrigation canals. Site reuse metrics of residency time and 25 number of revisits remained unaffected by distance to landscape features. Neither motion variance nor 26 reuse metrics were consistently affected by the presence of threatening landscape features (e.g. roads, 27 human settlements); suggesting that King Cobras will remain in close proximity to threats, provided 28 habitat patches are available. Although King Cobras displayed heterogeneity in their response to 29 agricultural landscapes, the overall trend suggested a reduction in movements when faced with 30 fragmented habitat patches embedded in an otherwise inhospitable land-use matrix. Reductions in 31 movements are consistent with findings for mammals and forest specialist species. 32

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Suitability of GPS telemetry for studying the predation of Eurasian lynx on small- and medium-sized prey animals in the Northwestern Swiss Alps

Cited by 17 publications

References 39 publications

The Purr‐fect Catch: Using accelerometers and audio recorders to document kill rates and hunting behaviour of a small prey specialist

The Purr‐fect Catch: Using accelerometers and audio recorders to document kill rates and hunting behaviour of a small prey specialist

Global positioning system location clusters vs. scats: comparing dietary estimates to determine mesopredator diet in a conflict framework

No room to roam: King Cobras reduce movement in agriculture

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