When prey provide more than food: mammalian predators appropriating the refugia of their prey

Abstract

Some mammalian predators acquire both food and shelter from their prey, by eating them and using the refugia the prey construct. I searched the literature for examples of predators that exhibit this behavior and summarize their taxonomic affiliations, relative sizes, and distributions. I hypothesized that size ratios of species involved in this dynamic would be near 1.0, and that most of these interactions would occur at intermediate and high latitudes. Seventeen species of Carnivorans exploited at least 23 species of herbivores as food and for their refugia. Most of them (76.4 %) were in the Mustelidae; several small species of canids and a few herpestids were exceptions. Surprisingly, the average predator/prey weight ratio was 10.51, but few species of predators were more than ten times the weight of the prey whose refugia they exploit. This may be why the long and thin Mustelines commonly exploit this habit. A number of predators appropriate the refugia of their key prey during winter when their prey occupies thermally secure nests. Indeed, most of the predator-prey pairs that engage in this relationship occur in intermediate and high latitudes, though there may be a reporting bias. Predators that depend on prey as food and for shelter, and whose fates are linked strongly to a few key prey species, may be particularly vulnerable to changes in climate that affect the subnivean habitats of their prey. Mammals that create refugia that can be used by other species (among them predators) may play disproportionately important roles in their communities.

Influence of abiotic factors on habitat selection of sympatric ocelots and bobcats: testing the interactive range-limit theory

“…Ruffed lemurs increased use of sunny patches during lower ambient temperatures (Morland, 1993). Predatory species such as gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and ringtails (Bassariscus astutus) rely on habitat features (tree cavities, rocks) as a means of thermal refuge (Zielinski, 2015). Other carnivores such as American badgers (Taxidea taxus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo) rely on burrows and dens to regulate their temperature during both overly hot and cold periods (Zielinski, 2015;Tsonuda et al, 2018).…”

“…Predatory species such as gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and ringtails (Bassariscus astutus) rely on habitat features (tree cavities, rocks) as a means of thermal refuge (Zielinski, 2015). Other carnivores such as American badgers (Taxidea taxus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo) rely on burrows and dens to regulate their temperature during both overly hot and cold periods (Zielinski, 2015;Tsonuda et al, 2018). Pumas (Puma concolor) similarly rely on the use of micro-environments, and variation in pelage thickness, to mitigate the effects of changing ambient temperature (Laundre, 2005).…”

O espaço subterrâneo do rato-de-espinho Clyomys bishopi: caracterização e previsões possí­veis sobre sua biologia comportamental

“…Tocas escavadas no solo são usadas por espécies de diversos grupos de mamíferos, dentre os quais se notam três padrões distintos entre escavação direta e apropriação (i.e., adoção de sistemas escavados por outras espécies). Há espécies que escavam as tocas que usam, as escavadoras primárias, e que passam a maior parte da vida abrindo e escavando túneis; outras espécies, as modificadoras, apenas alteram tocas escavadas por escavadores primários; e há as que ocupam, ou se apropriam, de tocas abandonadas ou desocupadas, mas não escavam (Kinlaw, 1999;Zielinski, 2015), como os gambás (Monticelli & Gasco, 2018).…”