Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas

Elbroch, L. Mark; Wittmer, Heiko

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423

Cited by 45 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Condors are clumsy on the ground and forage only in open habitats [25]. Although condors are much smaller than pumas (8–15 kg, Houston [25] vs. 32–82 kg, [26]) and physically inferior, we observed high levels of condor scavenging from puma killed-ungulates and multiple condors at each carcass in Chilean Patagonia [27]. Thus, we hypothesized that kleptoparasitism by condors might influence puma foraging decisions, thereby altering puma kill rates and potentially influencing community structure and local biodiversity in Patagonia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Nuisance Ecology: Do Scavenging Condors Exact Foraging Costs on Pumas in Patagonia?

Elbroch

Wittmer

2013

PLoS ONE

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Predation risk describes the energetic cost an animal suffers when making a trade off between maximizing energy intake and minimizing threats to its survival. We tested whether Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) influenced the foraging behaviors of a top predator in Patagonia, the puma (Puma concolor), in ways comparable to direct risks of predation for prey to address three questions: 1) Do condors exact a foraging cost on pumas?; 2) If so, do pumas exhibit behaviors indicative of these risks?; and 3) Do pumas display predictable behaviors associated with prey species foraging in risky environments? Using GPS location data, we located 433 kill sites of 9 pumas and quantified their kill rates. Based upon time pumas spent at a carcass, we quantified handling time. Pumas abandoned >10% of edible meat at 133 of 266 large carcasses after a single night, and did so most often in open grasslands where their carcasses were easily detected by condors. Our data suggested that condors exacted foraging costs on pumas by significantly decreasing puma handling times at carcasses, and that pumas increased their kill rates by 50% relative to those reported for North America to compensate for these losses. Finally, we determined that the relative risks of detection and associated harassment by condors, rather than prey densities, explained puma “giving up times” (GUTs) across structurally variable risk classes in the study area, and that, like many prey species, pumas disproportionately hunted in high-risk, high-resource reward areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Nuisance Ecology: Do Scavenging Condors Exact Foraging Costs on Pumas in Patagonia?

Elbroch

Wittmer

2013

PLoS ONE

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“…solitary pumas ( Puma concolor ) provides a greater amount of biomass compared to large wolf packs [49]. Comparing Scandinavian wolves to puma in South America reveal a four times higher provisioning of biomass by pumas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Biomass Flow and Scavengers Use of Carcasses after Re-Colonization of an Apex Predator

et al. 2013

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BackgroundReestablishment of apex predators influences the availability and distribution of biomass for scavengers and can therefore be an important agent for structuring species communities. We studied how the re-colonization of the Scandinavian Peninsula by wolves (Canis lupus) affected the amount and temporal variation in use of moose (Alces alces) carcasses.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe compared the availability of biomass from remains at wolf kills with those killed by hunters, vehicle collisions and natural death. Movement-triggered cameras monitored patterns of use on wolf kills and remains from hunter harvest by scavengers (n = 15 276) in relation to time of year, available carcass biomass, time since the death of the moose and presence of wolves. Remains from hunter harvest were the largest food source for scavengers both within wolf territories (57%) and in areas without wolves (81%). The total annual biomass available were similar in areas with (25 648 kg) and without (24 289 kg) wolves. Presence of wolves lowered the peak biomass available from hunter harvest in October (20%) and increased biomass available during December to August (38–324% per month). The probability of scavengers being present decreased faster with time at remains from hunter harvest compared to wolf kills and both the probability of being present and the number of visits by scavengers to wolf kills increased as the amount of biomass available on the carcass increased.Conclusions/SignificanceWolves reduced the seasonal variation of biomass from moose carcasses and most important increased it during spring. Scavengers also visited wolf kills most frequently during spring when most scavenging species have young, which may lead to an increase in survival and/or reproductive success of scavengers within wolf territories. This applies both for abundant scavenging species that were the most frequent visitors at wolf kills and threatened scavengers with lower visit frequency.

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“…Pumas Puma concolor are the largest carnivores in the puna and the only native predators capable of killing adult camelids (Walker & Novaro ). They are considered key in making carrion biomass available to native scavengers, including the Andean condor (Elbroch & Wittmer ). At our study site, camelids are the main prey of pumas (Donadio et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following wolf Canis lupus extirpation in North America (Wilmers et al 2003) and Europe (Wikenros et al 2013), carrion availability occurred primarily as function of autumn hunter harvests or winter die-offs; but following wolf recovery, carrion consistency increased both seasonally and interannually, with significant benefits for scavengers such as bears and ravens (Wilmers & Getz 2004). Solitary and ambush predators may be even more consequential to vertebrate scavengers than social and coursing ones (Elbroch & Wittmer 2012;Allen et al 2014), because prolonged prey consumption makes solitary predators more susceptible to kleptoparasites (Krofel, Kos & Jerina 2012;Elbroch & Wittmer 2013;Elbroch et al 2014b). Furthermore, their hunting success depends less on the seasonal vulnerability of prey (Pereira, Owen-Smith & Mole on 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Puma predation subsidizes an obligate scavenger in the high Andes

Perrig

Donadío

Middleton

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary The ungulate–carnivore–vulture complex is a key trophic module of many terrestrial ecosystems, but one that is globally under threat. Few have explored cross‐species dependencies in this module, and the degree to which vultures rely on trophic facilitation by apex carnivores is rarely known and almost never quantified. We investigated the importance of puma Puma concolor predation on its native camelid prey, vicuñas Vicugna vicugna and guanacos Lama guanicoe, in food provisioning for Andean condors Vultur gryphus in the high Andes of north‐western Argentina. We evaluated the origin of wild food sources through carcass surveys. We quantified condor feeding habits via foraging observations and through the analysis of pellet contents and stable isotopes from moulted feathers. Of the 102 fresh camelid carcasses we monitored, nearly all (94%) resulted from puma predation, and the majority (85%) of camelid carcasses used by condors were killed by pumas. Camelids represented 88% of the prey items identified from 183 condor pellets, and isotopic analyses of moulted feathers from 86 individuals identified via multilocus genotyping revealed that camelids and Small livestock were the most important prey items, representing 45–58% and 28–38% of condor assimilated biomass, respectively. Synthesis and applications. Our results show that puma predation plays a key role in the foraging ecology of Andean condors, and highlight the importance of predatory processes that make carrion available to scavengers. We contend that targeting the conservation of ungulate–carnivore–vulture modules, rather than a species‐specific approach, will be a more effective strategy to ensure the long‐term persistence of Andean condors and other obligate scavengers.

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Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas

Cited by 45 publications

References 16 publications

Nuisance Ecology: Do Scavenging Condors Exact Foraging Costs on Pumas in Patagonia?

Nuisance Ecology: Do Scavenging Condors Exact Foraging Costs on Pumas in Patagonia?

Biomass Flow and Scavengers Use of Carcasses after Re-Colonization of an Apex Predator

Puma predation subsidizes an obligate scavenger in the high Andes

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