Competition and coexistence in a small carnivore guild

Abstract

The potential for strong competition among small sympatric carnivores results in a need for coexistence strategies whereby competitors partition along spatial, temporal and dietary axes as a means to reduce ecological overlaps. We determined spatial and temporal partitioning patterns of a guild of small African carnivores: the African wildcat Felis silvestris lybica, grey mongoose Galerella pulverulenta, small-spotted genet Genetta genetta, striped polecat Ictonyx striatus, and the yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata. We quantified the degree of spatial and temporal co-occurrence of the small carnivores using camera trap data over a year-long period. Carnivores separated into two temporal groups: nocturnal species (wildcat, polecat and genet) and diurnal species (mongooses). In addition, carnivores within the same temporal group had strong patterns of reduced spatial co-occurrence. The smaller bodied carnivores showed lower co-occurrence with the larger bodied African wildcat than expected by chance, supporting the idea of dominant competitor avoidance. Thus, small carnivores likely minimise competitive interactions through spatio-temporal habitat partitioning.

Dynamic occupancy modelling reveals a hierarchy of competition among fishers, grey foxes and ringtails

“…In the current research, fishers were the dominant predator in the small‐predator guild that we monitored, and their presence or absence effected changes in the distribution of grey foxes. Sympatric small carnivores may reduce ecological overlaps through spatial, temporal and niche partitioning (de Satgé et al., ). Our findings add to these by showing that subordinate small carnivores may also expand to locations where the numbers of their dominant competitors decline.…”

“…There is strong potential for competitive interactions within this small-carnivore guild because of their similar body sizes, and overlapping functional niches, diets and habitat requirements (Simberloff & Dayan, 1991). Very limited evidence exists showing that carnivores of this size engage in intraguild predation and, as such, spatial and temporal partitioning appears to play a large role in reducing their ecological overlap in space and time (de Satgé, Teichman, & Cristescu, 2017). We hypothesized that a hierarchy within small-carnivore guilds influences the distribution of its members on the landscape.…”

The impact of thermal seasonality on terrestrial endotherm food web dynamics: a revision of the Exploitation Ecosystem Hypothesis

“…Referring to the abundance of green plants and to the depletion of vegetation after predator extirpations, they proposed that the world remains ‘green’ (biomass rich) because the collective density of herbivores is regulated by the collective action of predatory animals. Predator and plant communities are thus structured by resource competition (Cajander 1909, Walter 1964, 1968, Rosenzweig 1966, MacArthur 1972, Tilman 1988, de Satgé et al 2017), whereas for herbivores, GWH implied that apparent competition rules (Holt 1977). Murdoch (1966) appreciated the broad scope of GWH, but criticized its reliance on the trophic level concept, foreshadowing the critique by Ehrlich1967 and Birch (1967; for a response, see Slobodkin et al 1967).…”

Spatiotemporal changes in biodiversity by ecosystem engineers: how beavers structure the richness of large mammals

“…Thus, for species with large home ranges, the response measure may reflect patterns of habitat selection whereas species with smaller home ranges, the response measure may better reflect local occupancy and abundance. To understand the effect of ecosystem engineering by beavers on the scales of movement across species, future studies could measure co-occurrence with the capture-mark-recapture method 70 .…”