Tracking neighbours promotes the coexistence of large carnivores

Abstract

The study of competition and coexistence among similar interacting species has long been considered a cornerstone in evolutionary and community ecology. However, understanding coexistence remains a challenge. Using two similar and sympatric competing large carnivores, Eurasian lynx and wolverines, we tested the hypotheses that tracking among heterospecifics and reactive responses to potential risk decreases the probability of an agonistic encounter when predators access shared food resources, thus facilitating coexistence. Lynx and wolverines actively avoided each other, with the degree of avoidance being greater for simultaneous than time-delayed predator locations. Wolverines reacted to the presence of lynx at relatively short distances (mean: 383 m). In general, lynx stayed longer, and were more stationary, around reindeer carcasses than wolverines. However, when both predators were present at the same time around a carcass, lynx shortened their visits, while wolverine behavior did not change. Our results support the idea that risk avoidance is a reactive, rather than a predictive, process. Since wolverines have adapted to coexist with lynx, exploiting lynx-killed reindeer carcasses while avoiding potential encounters, the combined presence of both predators may reduce wolverine kill rate and thus the total impact of these predators on semi-domestic reindeer in Scandinavia. Consequently, population management directed at lynx may affect wolverine populations and human-wolverine conflicts.

Habitat segregation between brown bears and gray wolves in a human‐dominated landscape

“…The patterns observed at different spatial scales (Ordiz et al., and this study) show that the result of biotic interactions might be visible at several scales and might act as a key mechanism allowing the coexistence between apex predators. Because most of the observed interactions between wolves and bears occur at carcasses (Ballard et al., ), fine‐scale movements around carcasses might be an additional mechanism used to reduce the risk of encounters and interactions, as recently described for other carnivores in Scandinavia (López‐Bao, Mattisson, Persson, Aronsson, & Andrén, ) and elsewhere. In Africa, for instance, habitat selection by cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ) at the home range scale was similar to that of lions ( Panthera leo ) and spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta ), but cheetahs avoided immediate risks by occurring farther from lions and hyenas than predicted by a random distribution (Broekhuis, Cozzi, Valeix, McNutt, & Macdonald, ).…”

“…Survival and partial recovery of wolves and other large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes seems to be determined by an interaction between environmental and human factors, which reflects on the current distribution (Llaneza, López-Bao, & Sazatornil, 2012) and genetic structure of wolf populations (Hulva et al, 2017). Nevertheless, to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms facilitating coexistence among sympatric apex predators, it will also be important to understand how the habitat selection of each species is influenced by the relative density of the other species and by differences in availability of resources at large (Ordiz et al, 2015) and finer spatial scales (e.g.…”

Competition and specialization in an African forest carnivore community

“…While all of these species prey on rodents and therefore have considerable dietary overlap (Kingdon & Hoffmann, ), we acknowledge that food may be sufficiently abundant that interference competition is relatively low. Additionally, there may be some reactive, ad hoc avoidance strategies employed at a fine spatial scale by subordinate carnivores when they detect an African golden cat, as observed in other carnivore communities (Broekhuis, Cozzi, Valeix, McNutt, & Macdonald, ; López‐Bao, Mattisson, Persson, Aronsson, & Andrén, ; Vanak et al, ). Additionally, their arboreal habits may allow African palm civets to partition habitat vertically, thereby reducing interference competition in a way that we were not able to test (Charles‐Dominique, ; Van Rompaey & Ray, ).…”

Niche overlap of competing carnivores across climatic gradients and the conservation implications of climate change at geographic range margins

“…Instead our telemetry data suggest that marten may rely on a combination of spatial and temporal avoidance to minimize agonistic interactions. Indeed, active avoidance may be commonly used to reduce risk of encounters among co-occurring carnivores that overlap in habitat (Lopéz-Bao et al 2016).…”