To Kill, Stay or Flee: The Effects of Lions and Landscape Factors on Habitat and Kill Site Selection of Cheetahs in South Africa

Rostro‐García, Susana; Kamler, Jan F.; Hunter, Luke

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117743

Cited by 52 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…For competition between cheetahs and lions the prey profiles, breadth and selection of male cheetahs were the most noteworthy which, unlike the female cheetahs, were dominated by large prey, especially wildebeest. While our sample size for male cheetahs (SM = 16 individuals; MC = 4 different two‐male coalitions) was smaller than for female cheetahs (SF = 24 individuals; FwC = 14 individuals), other studies support our finding that male cheetahs prefer killing larger prey (Tambling et al ., ; Rostro‐García et al ., ). These differences in prey profiles reduce the overlap between these two sexes, thereby reducing the potential for intraspecific competition to occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Similar differences exist in Botswana where males weigh 46.7 ± 8.7 kg and females weigh 38.6 ± 3.5 kg (mean ± sd ; Boast et al ., ). Male cheetahs, especially those in coalitions, kill large prey such as wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros , which lie in the same weight category as some of the prey species killed by lions (Radloff & Du Toit, ; Rostro‐García, Kamler & Hunter, ). Therefore, although both sex and social grouping of cheetahs impact their prey selection (Rostro‐García et al ., ), it is unclear how this could influence resource partitioning and hence the potential for intra‐ and interspecific competition to occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feeding ecology of cheetahs in the Maasai Mara, Kenya and the potential for intra‐ and interspecific competition

2017

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Competition is an important ecological factor influencing the population dynamics of carnivores especially as shifts in prey selection could have negative consequences for other members of the carnivore guild. It is therefore important to determine a species' resource requirements to help understand the potential degree and consequences of competition. Cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus compete over resources with larger carnivores, such as lions Panthera leo. While cheetahs generally favour smaller prey than lions, male cheetahs frequently occur in coalitions and are larger than solitary females. This could result in male cheetahs killing larger prey and potentially competing more directly with lions than female cheetahs. To determine the potential for both intra-and interspecific competition, we analysed data on 194 cheetah and 214 lion kills, and compared the feeding ecology of four cheetah social groups: single females, females with cubs, single males and male coalitions to that of lions in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. The results show that the greatest potential for interspecific competition is between male cheetahs, especially those in coalitions, and lions. Intraspecific competition is most likely to occur between singleton females and females with cubs. Understanding these ecological relationships is key, especially when prey become scarce.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding ecology of cheetahs in the Maasai Mara, Kenya and the potential for intra‐ and interspecific competition

2017

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“…The present study confirms that availability of prey species is a fundamental criterion of landscape suitability for cheetah in Iran. Habitat selection for areas with high prey abundance has been largely reported for other large felids including the African cheetah ( A. j. jubatus ) in South Africa (Rostro‐García, Kamler, & Hunter, ). Relative availability of natural prey versus livestock has also been shown a good predicator of landscape suitability for cheetahs in Botswana (Winterbach, Winterbach, Boast, Klein, & Somers, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining landscape suitability and habitat connectivity to conserve the last surviving population of cheetah in Asia

Ahmadi

Nezami²,

Jowkar³

et al. 2017

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim The Asiatic cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, a critically endangered large felid, has disappeared from vast tracks of its historical range across south‐western Asia. It is currently confined to the arid ecosystems of central Iran for which little is known about its distribution and habitat linkages. We proposed the first evaluation of Asiatic cheetah's distribution and developed models of landscape suitability and connectivity to inform future conservation planning. Location Central Iran. Methods We analysed presence data of a 14‐year‐long cheetah monitoring programme according to environmental and anthropogenic factors, and generated an ensemble model of habitat suitability based on seven species distribution models (SDMs). We then used the concept of circuit theory and landscape connectivity prioritization (LCP) on resultant core habitats and landscape suitability to evaluate potential linkages between core areas. Results Core habitats, that is, the areas hosting the largest continuous suitable habitats for Asiatic cheetahs, covered approximately 49,144 km2 (c. 6.3% of the study area). Availability of prey species, avoidance of human‐dominated areas and their infrastructures, and rough landscapes covered with sparse vegetation were the most predictive factors of the core habitats for the last cheetah population in Asia. Although relatively vast, the area of potential core habitats available to cheetahs appeared to be fragmented with limited connectivity between the northern and southern parts of this distribution. Main conclusions Our approach highlights the importance of distribution models to recognize, at a coarse‐scale level, a spatial population structure and habitat suitability characteristics for a large carnivore surviving at very low density. We have identified specific areas of suitable habitat where developing new landscape protection and adaptive conservation management; and improving the safety of important linkages between core habitats are likely to promote the conservation of the last surviving population of cheetah in Asia.

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“…This shared space use could have increased intraguild predation rates. However, cheetahs use fine‐scale temporal partitioning to avoid interactions with lions (Broekhuis, Cozzi, Valeix, Mcnutt, & Macdonald, ; Rostro‐García, Kamler, & Hunter, ; Swanson, Arnold, Kosmala, Forester, & Packer, ; Vanak et al, ). During periods of low lion density, cheetahs might reduce their fine‐scale partitioning with lions and thus have higher encounter rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context dependency of top‐down, bottom‐up and density‐dependent influences on cheetah demography

Gigliotti

Slotow

Hunter

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Research on drivers of demographic rates has mostly focused on top predators and their prey, and comparatively less research has considered the drivers of mesopredator demography. Of those limited studies, most focused on top‐down effects of apex predators on mesopredator population dynamics, whereas studies investigating alternative mechanisms are less common. In this study, we tested hypotheses related to top‐down, bottom‐up and density‐dependent regulation of demographic rates in an imperilled mesopredator, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). We used a 25‐year dataset of lion density, cheetah density and prey density from the Mun‐Ya‐Wana Conservancy in South Africa and assessed the effects of top‐down, bottom‐up and density‐dependent drivers on cheetah survival and reproduction. In contrast to the top‐down and bottom‐up predictions, both adult and juvenile cheetahs experienced the lowest survival during months with high prey densities and low lion densities. We observed support only for a density‐dependent response in juvenile cheetahs, where they had a higher probability of reaching independence during times with low cheetah density and low prey density. We did not identify any strong drivers of litter size. Collectively, our results indicate that high apex predator abundance might not always have negative effects on mesopredator populations, and suggest that context dependency in top‐down, bottom‐up and density‐dependent factors may regulate demographic rates of cheetahs and other mesopredators. Our results highlight the complexities of population‐level drivers of cheetah demographic rates and the importance of considering multiple hypotheses of mesopredator population regulation.

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To Kill, Stay or Flee: The Effects of Lions and Landscape Factors on Habitat and Kill Site Selection of Cheetahs in South Africa

Cited by 52 publications

References 50 publications

Feeding ecology of cheetahs in the Maasai Mara, Kenya and the potential for intra‐ and interspecific competition

Feeding ecology of cheetahs in the Maasai Mara, Kenya and the potential for intra‐ and interspecific competition

Combining landscape suitability and habitat connectivity to conserve the last surviving population of cheetah in Asia

Context dependency of top‐down, bottom‐up and density‐dependent influences on cheetah demography

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