Translocation of a top-order carnivore: tracking the initial survival, spatial movement, home-range establishment and habitat use of Tasmanian devils on Maria Island

Thalmann, Sam; Peck, Sarah; Wise, Phil; Potts, Joanne; Clarke, Judy; Richley, Jim

doi:10.1071/am15009

Cited by 63 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii (hereafter 'devil'), a top predator, has declined severely following the emergence of a novel transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease (henceforth 'disease'; Hawkins et al 2006). In response to the threat of extinction (McCallum et al 2009), a free-living, disease-free population of devils was introduced to Maria Island (Thalmann et al 2016), a 116 km 2 National Park off the east coast of Tasmania that was not previously inhabited by devils. In response to the threat of extinction (McCallum et al 2009), a free-living, disease-free population of devils was introduced to Maria Island (Thalmann et al 2016), a 116 km 2 National Park off the east coast of Tasmania that was not previously inhabited by devils.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal partitioning of activity: rising and falling top‐predator abundance triggers community‐wide shifts in diel activity

et al. 2019

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Top predators cause avoidance behaviours in competitors and prey, which can lead to niche partitioning and facilitate coexistence. We investigate changes in partitioning of the temporal niche in a mammalian community in response to both the rapid decline in abundance of a top predator and its rapid increase, produced by two concurrent natural experiments: 1) the severe decline of the Tasmanian devil due to a transmissible cancer, and 2) the introduction of Tasmanian devils to an island, with subsequent population increase. We focus on devils, two mesopredators and three prey species, allowing us to examine niche partitioning in the context of intra‐ and inter‐specific competition, and predator–prey interactions. The most consistent shift in temporal activity occurred in devils themselves, which were active earlier in the night at high densities, presumably because of heightened intraspecific competition. When devils were rare, their closest competitor, the spotted‐tailed quoll, increased activity in the early part of the night, resulting in increased overlap with the devil's temporal niche and suggesting release from interference competition. The invasive feral cat, another mesopredator, did not shift its temporal activity in response to either decreasing or increasing devil densities. Shifts in temporal activity of the major prey species of devils were stronger in response to rising than to falling devil densities. We infer that the costs associated with not avoiding predators when their density is rising (i.e. death) are higher than the costs of continuing to adopt avoidance behaviours as predator densities fall (i.e. loss of foraging opportunity), so rising predator densities may trigger more rapid shifts. The rapid changes in devil abundance provide a unique framework to test how the non‐lethal effects of top predators affect community‐wide partitioning of temporal niches, revealing that this top predator has an important but varied influence on the diel activity of other species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Devils were first introduced to Maria Island by the Tasmanian government conservation agency in 2012, when 15 animals were released (Thalmann et al 2016). By 2018 the population had grown to 103, the estimated carrying capacity of the island (Jones andMcCallum 2007, DPIPWE 2018).…”

Section: Study 2: Longitudinal Study Investigating Devil Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal partitioning of activity: rising and falling top‐predator abundance triggers community‐wide shifts in diel activity

et al. 2019

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“…In response to modelling that suggested devils could go extinct in the wild (McCallum et al 2009) and the listing of the species as endangered (Hawkins et al 2008), a freeranging 'insurance population' of devils was introduced to Maria Island in 2012 (Thalmann et al 2016), a 116 km 2 National Park off Tasmania's east coast. The devil population rapidly grew ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic rewilding establishes a landscape of fear: Tasmanian devil introduction increases risk‐sensitive foraging in a key prey species

et al. 2019

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Global declines of large carnivores have reduced the ‘landscape of fear’ that constrains the behaviour of other species. In recent years, active and passive trophic rewilding have potentially begun restoring these lost top–down controls. The Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii has declined severely due to a novel transmissible cancer. In response to extinction fears, devils were introduced to the devil‐free Maria Island, where their abundance rapidly increased. We tested how this introduction influenced risk‐sensitive foraging in the common brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula, a major prey species for devils, using giving‐up densities (GUDs). Before the introduction of devils, possum GUDs on Maria Island were indistinguishable from the long‐diseased region of Tasmania, where devils have been rare since ~2000. Three years after devil introduction, GUDs were 64% higher on Maria Island than the control region, demonstrating that after an initial period of high mortality, possums quickly adopted risk‐sensitive foraging behaviours. Devil activity across Maria Island was variable, leading to a heterogeneous landscape of fear and highlighting that top predators must be at functional densities to elicit behavioural responses from prey. Our study provides strong evidence that top predators modify the behaviour of prey by instilling fear, causing rapid ecological change following recoveries.

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“…Captive breeding is expanding in Australia and other countries, and captive-bred devils have been successfully released into the wild in populations in which DFTD is not present [11]. Selective culling of infected devils has been considered but previous models found this strategy would not be an effective means of disease control for DFTD [10,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-Structured and Vaccination Models of Devil Facial Tumor Disease

Bruno¹,

Comar²,

Powell³

et al. 2017

SPORA

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Tasmanian devil populations have been devastated by devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) since its first appearance in 1996. The average lifespan of a devil has decreased from six years to three years. We present an age-structured model to represent how the disease has affected the age and breeding structures of the population. We show that with the recent increase in the breeding of juvenile devils, the overall devil population will increase but not nearly to pre-DFTD levels. The basic reproductive number may be increased with the influx of young breeding devils. In addition, our model shows that the release of nearly 100 captivebred, vaccinated devils into infected, wild populations may help eliminate the disease and hence enable the population's recovery. Specifically, we demonstrate that with this release of captive-bred, vaccinated devils the basic reproductive number is decreased to below one.

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Translocation of a top-order carnivore: tracking the initial survival, spatial movement, home-range establishment and habitat use of Tasmanian devils on Maria Island

Cited by 63 publications

References 33 publications

Temporal partitioning of activity: rising and falling top‐predator abundance triggers community‐wide shifts in diel activity

Temporal partitioning of activity: rising and falling top‐predator abundance triggers community‐wide shifts in diel activity

Trophic rewilding establishes a landscape of fear: Tasmanian devil introduction increases risk‐sensitive foraging in a key prey species

Age-Structured and Vaccination Models of Devil Facial Tumor Disease

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