Does size matter? An investigation of habitat use across a carnivore assemblage in the Serengeti, Tanzania

Abstract

Summary1. This study utilizes a unique data set covering over 19 000 georeferenced records of species presence collected between 1993 and 2008, to explore the distribution and habitat selectivity of an assemblage of 26 carnivore species in the Serengeti-Ngorongoro landscape in northern Tanzania. 2. Two species, the large-spotted genet and the bushy-tailed mongoose, were documented for the first time within this landscape. Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) was used to examine habitat selectivity for 18 of the 26 carnivore species for which there is sufficient data. Eleven ecogeographical variables (EGVs), such as altitude and habitat type, were used for these analyses. 3. The ENFA demonstrated that species differed in their habitat selectivity, and supported the limited ecological information already available for these species, such as the golden jackals' preference for grassland and the leopards' preference for river valleys. 4. Two aggregate scores, marginality and tolerance, are generated by the ENFA, and describe each species' habitat selectivity in relation to the suite of EGVs. These scores were used to test the hypothesis that smaller species are expected to be more selective than larger species [Science, 1989[Science, , 243, 1145. Two predictions were tested: Marginality should decrease with body mass; and tolerance should increase with body mass. Our study provided no evidence for either prediction. 5. Our results not only support previous analyses of carnivore diet breadth, but also represent a novel approach to the investigation of habitat selection across species assemblages. Our method provides a powerful tool to explore similar questions in other systems and for other taxa.

Predation, individual variability and vertebrate population dynamics

“…However, Sinclair et al (2003) reported that the range of available prey for a predator species is a function of its size, with larger predators preying upon a wider range of species. The same association between niche breadth and body size was reported for insects (Wasserman and Mitter 2008), but could not be found in fish (Unger and Lewis 1983), predatory lizards (Costa et al 2008), or within a carnivore community (as opposed to Sinclair et al 2003; see Durant et al 2010). If larger species tend to be more generalist, then higher individual variability in prey selection would be expected in larger predators.…”

Combining landscape suitability and habitat connectivity to conserve the last surviving population of cheetah in Asia

“…The high contribution of topographic roughness in the current distribution of the Asiatic cheetah is in contrast with what has been documented for sub‐Saharan African cheetahs, which live in flat to undulating grasslands, savannas and shrublands and only occasionally in montane areas (e.g., see Andresen et al., ; Rostro‐García et al., ). The widespread use by Asiatic cheetahs of the rugged parts of the predominantly flat central plateau of Iran is coherent with the relatively low habitat selectivity of cheetahs compared to other carnivores (Durant et al., ), and may reflect in Iran a shift in prey selection. Because cheetahs prefer prey within a body mass range of 23–56 kg (Hayward, Hofmeyr, O'brien, & Kerley, ), thus with the decline of Jebeer and goitered gazelles, the wild sheep and Persian ibex, two mid‐sized species inhabiting rough areas (Esfandabad, Karami, Hemami, Riazi, & Sadough, ), have emerged as the most available wild prey species for cheetahs in Iran (Farhadinia & Hemami, ).…”

Using Patch Focals to Study Unhabituated Dry-Habitat Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and Sympatric Fauna at Issa, Ugalla, Tanzania

“…These patterns of habitat use of Issa herpestids are consistent with those of herpestids at other sites (Caro and Stoner 2003;Martinoli et al 2006;Waser et al 1995). Leopards and hyenas were the two most frequently encountered carnivores during this study (leopards directly and hyenas indirectly), which likely account for the habitat use patterns found for carnivores; leopards are found in a variety of habitats, but prefer those with dense vegetation (i.e., forest or closed woodland), while hyenas tend to prefer open grassland (Durant et al 2010;Estes 1991;Kingdon 1997;Pettorelli et al 2010).…”