Sumatra-wide assessment of spatiotemporal niche partitioning among small carnivore species

Abstract

Niche partitioning is a result of interspecific competition between closely-related species to allow co-existence. Multiple species of small carnivores co-occur throughout their ranges in Sumatra, but they are among the lesser studied group of mammal species. This study aimed to collate occurrence records of small carnivores, model their island-wide spatial distribution, and assess their spatio-temporal niche partitioning in Sumatra. We collated camera trap records of small carnivores that were mainly bycatch data from widespread tiger surveys. We used Maxent to predict suitable habitat for nine small carnivore species in response to environmental variables, calculated pairwise spatial niche overlap, and then assessed temporal overlap using Kernel density estimation. In total, we detected 16 of the 21 small carnivore species known to occur in Sumatra. We predicted the suitable habitat of nine species that were found in ≥ 20 locations. Species with the smallest extent of predicted suitable habitat were the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga) and short-tailed mongoose (Herpestes brachyurus). Of 36 pairwise comparisons, five species pairs had high overlaps and four species pairs had low overlap on spatiotemporal niche. High overlaps did not necessarily indicate high competition pressure because these species have different behaviour to allow coexistence, such as food preference and arboreality. Camera trap surveys are commonly conducted for species-specific studies, yet they also yield abundant records of non-target species. We therefore encouraged collaboration among institutions working in the same region to use bycatch data to fill the knowledge gaps in the ecology of other lesser known species.

Small carnivore diversity in forest patches around oil palm plantation in West Sumatra, Indonesia

“…The majority of small carnivore research has previously been done in conservation forests (Pusparini et al 2014;McCarthy et al 2015;Ladyfandela et al 2018). A previous study recorded around 16 small carnivores that occurred in National parks in Sumatra based on a camera trap survey (Sibarani et al 2022). Total number of small carnivores species recorded to this date in Kerinci Seblat National Park was 19 species belonging to three families (Mustelidae, Viverridae, and Felidae) (Holden 2006).…”

“…The destruction of forests, particularly for the purpose of expanding oil palm plantations, has already been shown to have had negative effects on a large number of forest mammals (Kwatrina et al 2018;Solina et al 2018). The impacts of deforestation and land use conversion on Sumatra's carnivores, in particular, have been less studied relative to other species (McCarthy and Fuller 2014;Haidir et al 2021;Sibarani et al 2022). Because of their comparatively large size of carnivorans relative to other mammals, and their trophic position among ecosystems, carnivorans may be more vulnerable to habitat degradation (Lyra-Jorge et al 2008).…”

“…In addition, although Southeast Asia hosts the greatest diversity of small carnivores in the world (Torres-Romero and Giordano 2022), some to many of these species have little or no tolerance for anthropogenic changes to forest landscapes; they are therefore unable to live in ecosystems that have been profoundly altered by humans. Even though other studies have reported on the diversity of carnivores that can "use" oil palm concessions, the ecological and conservation effects of oil palm plantations on small carnivores are still not well recognized (Jenks et al 2011;McCarthy and Fuller 2014;Semiadi et al 2016;Sibarani et al 2022), as we know little about their ability to persist in these land use contexts over time.…”