Top-down and bottom-up effects modulate species co-existence in a context of top predator restoration

Mesopredators abundance is often limited by top-order predators and also by key food resources. However, the contribution of these bidirectional forces to structure carnivore community is still unclear. Here, we studied how the presence and absence of an apex predator which is currently recovering i...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 4170
Main Authors:	Burgos, Tamara, Salesa, Javier, Fedriani, Jose María, Escribano-Ávila, Gema, Jiménez, José, Krofel, Miha, Cancio, Inmaculada, Hernández-Hernández, Javier, Rodríguez-Siles, Javier, Virgós, Emilio
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 13-03-2023 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/158 631/158/856 631/601 631/601/18 Abundance Animals Bayes Theorem Bayesian analysis Cameras Carnivora Competition Ecological function Ecology Ecosystem Food Food Chain Food resources Foraging behavior Humanities and Social Sciences Lynx Mathematical models multidisciplinary Mustelidae Niche breadth Population Dynamics Predation Predators Predatory Behavior Prey Science Science (multidisciplinary) Sympatric populations Viverridae
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Mesopredators abundance is often limited by top-order predators and also by key food resources. However, the contribution of these bidirectional forces to structure carnivore community is still unclear. Here, we studied how the presence and absence of an apex predator which is currently recovering its former distribution range, the Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ), determined the absolute abundance and fine-scale spatiotemporal avoidance mechanisms of two sympatric mesocarnivores (stone marten Martes foina and common genet Genetta genetta ) with different dietary plasticity. We hypothesized that the lynx causes a mesopredator suppression and subordinate predators develop segregation strategies in respect to their trophic niche breadth. We placed 120 camera-traps in Southern Spain for 8 months in two consecutive years to estimate mesocarnivore abundances by using SCR Bayesian models, prey availability and assess spatio-temporal patterns. We found that the lynx reduced mesocarnivore abundance up to 10 times. Stone marten, a mesopredator with a broad food resources spectrum, showed a total spatial exclusion with the apex predator. Meanwhile, fine-scale avoidance mechanisms allowed the genet to persist in low density inside lynx territories, probably taking advantage of high availability of its preferred prey. Thus, the strength of these top-down and bottom-up effects was rather species-specific. Given the recent recovery of large carnivore populations worldwide, variation in suppression levels on different mesopredator species could modify ecosystem functions provided by the carnivore community in contrasting ways.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-023-31105-w