The alternative prey hypothesis supposes that predators supported by a primary prey species will shift to consume alternative prey during a decrease in primary prey abundance. The hypothesis implies that during declines of one prey species, a predator modifies their behavior to exploit a secondary, or alternative, species. Despite occurring in many systems, the behavioral mechanisms (e.g., habitat selection) allowing predators to shift toward alternative prey during declines in the abundance of their primary prey are poorly understood. We evaluated habitat selection and use by a generalist predator with respect to two prey species during a dramatic decrease in the abundance of primary prey. Further, we evaluated how spatial variation in access to primary prey affected habitat selection, and assessed similarity and overlap between habitats used by each prey species. Coyotes (Canis latrans) exhibited decreasing selection for cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.; primary prey) during population decreases but did not shift habitat selection toward neonate mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; alternative prey). Use of rabbit habitat remained high even during historically low rabbit abundance, while mule deer habitat was used in proportion to its availability. Coyotes seemingly do not make large shifts in habitat selection toward alternative prey following spatial and temporal decreases in the abundance of primary prey, but instead, take advantage of habitat overlap to facilitate prey‐switching behavior. Our work extends previous research conducted under the alternative prey hypothesis by explicitly evaluating the influence of habitat overlap between prey species and variation in access to prey habitat as factors affecting prey‐switching behaviors in predators.

Successfully perceiving risk and reward is fundamental to the fitness of an animal, and can be achieved through a variety of perception tactics. For example, mesopredators may “directly” perceive risk by visually observing apex predators, or may “indirectly” perceive risk by observing habitats used by predators. Direct assessments should more accurately characterize the arrangement of risk and reward; however, indirect assessments are used more frequently in studies concerning the response of GPS‐marked animals to spatiotemporally variable sources of risk and reward. We investigated the response of a mesopredator to the presence of risk and reward created by an apex predator, where risk and reward likely vary in relative perceptibility (i.e., degree of being perceptible). First, we tested whether coyotes (Canis latrans) use direct or indirect assessments to navigate the presence of mountain lions (Puma concolor; risk) and kills made by mountain lions (reward) in an area where coyotes were a common prey item for mountain lions. Second, we assessed the behavioral response of coyotes to direct encounters with mountain lions. Third, we evaluated spatiotemporal use of carrion by coyotes at kills made by mountain lions. Indirect assessments generally outperformed direct assessments when integrating analyses into a unified framework; nevertheless, our ability to detect direct perception in navigating to mountain lion kills was likely restricted by scale and sampling limitations (e.g., collar fix rates, unsampled kill sites). Rather than responding to the risk of direct encounters with mountain lions, coyotes facilitated encounters by increasing their movement rate, and engaged in risky behavior by scavenging at mountain lion kills. Coyotes appear to mitigate risk by using indirect perception to avoid mountain lions. Our predator–predator interactions and insights are nuanced and counter to the conventional predator–prey systems that have generated much of the predation risk literature.

Global positioning system (GPS) receivers allow researchers to collect location data that provide information about fine-scale animal movements. For large carnivores, these data are routinely processed to identify clusters of GPS locations which are investigated to validate feeding sites, estimate prey species composition and model the likelihood of predation events based on characteristics of GPS location data within clusters. Although developing predation models entails a high level of field effort, researchers are apprehensive in applying system-specific models to other systems both spatially and temporally. Our objectives were to apply and compare multiple predation models to predict and identify feeding events outside of the geographic areas where models were developed. Using our multi-model approach, we identified feeding sites and estimated kill rates and prey composition of mountain lions Puma concolor in southwest Wyoming, USA from 2017 to 2019. Our approach increased our field efficiency by reducing potential field site investigations by 63%. We provide results of estimated diet composition in our study area where mountain lion prey included relatively high proportions of pronghorn (12.3%) and smaller mammals, particularly coyotes (7.6%). We also provide a comparison of the predation models developed across unique ecoregions of North America, and how they performed when applied to our area. We believe a similar approach could be adopted for other large carnivore populations where multiple models have been developed to characterize feeding events.