Environmental effects are stronger than human effects on mammalian predator-prey relationships in arid Australian ecosystems

Allen, Benjamin L.; Fawcett, Alana; Anker, Alison; Engeman, Richard M.; Lisle, Allan; Leung, Luke K.‐P.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.051

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…, Allen & Leung , Doherty , Allen et al. ), and their occurrence in dingo diet often remains high despite major population fluctuations (Corbett & Newsome , Allen et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), and their occurrence in dingo diet often remains high despite major population fluctuations (Corbett & Newsome , Allen et al. ). A recent review by Doherty et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The significance of rabbits as a primary food source for dingoes in the arid zone is well documented (e.g. Cupples et al 2011, Allen & Leung 2012, Doherty 2015, Allen et al 2018, and their occurrence in dingo diet often remains high despite major population fluctuations (Corbett & Newsome 1987, Allen et al 2018. A recent review by Doherty et al (2018) found that not only was the frequency of occurrence of rabbit highest in the arid zone, but also that their occurrence in dingo diet was negatively correlated with that of other mediumsized mammals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource pulses affect prey selection and reduce dietary diversity of dingoes in arid Australia

et al. 2019

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In Australia, the dingo Canis lupus dingo is the largest terrestrial predator. Dingoes contribute to ecological processes and functions throughout their continental geographic range. Their generalist diet enables daily energetic requirements to be met even in the resource‐limited deserts of central Australia, where irregular rainfall drives extreme fluctuations in mammal assemblages. Given that predation is a primary driver of declining mammal populations and failed reintroductions, it is necessary to understand the dietary intake of the continent's apex predator if conservation outcomes are to be achieved. We performed a meta‐analysis of the mammalian composition of the dingo's diet throughout Australia's arid zone, an area covering c. 5.4 million km2. We used 25 data sets from 11 studies to measure the effects of resource booms and anthropogenic disturbance (pastoralism) on diet. We explored whether the probability of prey species occurring in the diet was related to the size of the prey or to prevailing conditions. We also investigated the similarities in diet between dingo populations from across the arid zone, and how dietary overlap was affected by opposing land uses. Dingoes primarily consumed medium‐sized (35–5500 g) and large (>5500 g) mammals, whereas most small mammals (<35 g) were consumed infrequently, or not at all. The composition of the diet changed dramatically during resource booms to exploit irruptive prey species such as long‐haired rats Rattus villosissimus (native; 144 g) and house mice Mus musculus (introduced; 20 g). During resource booms, the consumption of large mammals decreased significantly, whereas the occurrence in the diet of medium‐sized mammals remained high. The diversity of species consumed by dingoes was significantly lower during boom periods than during non‐boom periods. The dingo's heightened consumption of hyper‐abundant species has the potential to release many non‐target species from direct predation pressure during boom times. This could be advantageous for remnant and reintroduced populations of mammals, which are especially susceptible to predation.

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“…, Allen & Leung , Doherty , Allen et al. ), and their occurrence in dingo diet often remains high despite major population fluctuations (Corbett & Newsome , Allen et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), and their occurrence in dingo diet often remains high despite major population fluctuations (Corbett & Newsome , Allen et al. ). A recent review by Doherty et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource pulses affect prey selection and reduce dietary diversity of dingoes in arid Australia

et al. 2019

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“…Dingoes are absent from or occur in low densities across much of this zone given their historical extirpation to enable sheep and goat production (Yelland, 2001;Allen andWest, 2013, 2015). Dingoes are Australia's largest nonhuman terrestrial predator and kill, consume and elicit fear in these prey species (Glen and Dickman, 2005;Letnic et al, 2012;Allen et al, 2018). As such, some have proposed the intentional reintroduction and active restoration of the extant dingo populations within this zone as a means of suppressing target wildlife species (e.g.…”

Section: Study Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal welfare considerations for using large carnivores and guardian dogs as vertebrate biocontrol tools against other animals

Allen

Allen²,

Ballard

et al. 2019

Biological Conservation

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Introducing consumptive and non-consumptive effects into food webs can have profound effects on individuals, populations and communities. This knowledge has led to the deliberate use of predation and/or fear of predation as an emerging technique for controlling wildlife. Many now advocate for the intentional use of large carnivores and livestock guardian dogs as more desirable alternatives to traditional wildlife control approaches like fencing, shooting, trapping, or poisoning. However, there has been very little consideration of the animal welfare implications of deliberately using predation as a wildlife management tool. We assess the animal welfare impacts of using dingoes, leopards and guardian dogs as biocontrol tools against wildlife in Australia and South Africa following the 'Five Domains' model commonly used to assess other wildlife management tools. Application of this model indicates that large carnivores and guardian dogs cause considerable lethal and non-lethal animal welfare impacts to the individual animals they are intended to control. These impacts are likely similar across different predator-prey systems, but are dependent on specific predator-prey combinations; combinations that result in short chases and quick kills will be rated as less harmful than those that result in long chases and protracted kills. Moreover, these impacts are typically rated greater than those caused by traditional wildlife control techniques. The intentional lethal and non-lethal harms caused by large carnivores and guardian dogs should not be ignored or dismissively assumed to be negligible. A greater understanding of the impacts they impose would benefit from empirical studies of the animal welfare outcomes arising from their use in different contexts. Potgieter et al., 2013;Fleming et al., 2014). Adding predators to multipredator multi-prey systems can produce a variety of outcomes (Hairston et al., 1960;Holt and Lawton, 1994), including profound welfare effects on other species (Fleming et al., 2012). Both the nonlethal and lethal impacts of predators cause distress and/or death to

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“…Examining each species suggests that litter level has a modestly stronger influence than seed level in the short term. In a similar desert study, the distribution of dusky hopping-mice was most strongly influenced by the amount of habitat and secondly by levels of food (Allen et al, 2018). Managing for a mosaic of differing litter levels could provide improved resources for this rodent community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Rodents’ responses to manipulated plant litter and seed densities: implications for restoration

Nicolai

2020

PeerJ

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Rodent populations in arid grasslands do not always track seed production, possibly due to high levels of plant litter. When natural disturbances are suppressed, litter accumulates becoming physically complex, causing rodents to harvest fewer seeds per equivalent time foraging. It also alters security from predation. Restoring natural disturbances may be an important element in conserving rodent communities. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of two levels of plant litter cover and seed densities on nocturnal rodent population characteristics in a semiarid grassland. Specifically, I hypothesized that kangaroo rats, pocket mice, grasshopper mice, and total rodents would be higher in the sparse plant litter treatment than dense litter, whereas deer mice would be lower in sparse plots. I further hypothesized that kangaroo rats and deer mice would be higher in the seed augmented treatment compared to the unseeded treatment. A prescribed fire removed litter in four of eight plots prior to sowing native seeds 1 year postfire into two burned and two unburned plots. Rodents were live-trapped during spring and fall 1 year. Sparse litter treatment had higher total rodent abundance, biomass, and frequency of offspring compared to dense plots indicating use of stored seeds. Banner-tailed kangaroo rats had higher abundance, implying reduced predation risk. Pocket mice body mass was greater in dense plots. After winter, seeded plots had higher kangaroo rat body mass and grasshopper mice abundance than unseeded, reflecting the use of stored seeds. These short term results demonstrate litter’s physical complexity may be equivalent to seed pulses on the responses of nocturnal rodents. Managers might positively influence grassland rodents by providing a mosaic of varying levels of plant litter.

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Environmental effects are stronger than human effects on mammalian predator-prey relationships in arid Australian ecosystems

Cited by 14 publications

References 79 publications

Resource pulses affect prey selection and reduce dietary diversity of dingoes in arid Australia

Resource pulses affect prey selection and reduce dietary diversity of dingoes in arid Australia

Animal welfare considerations for using large carnivores and guardian dogs as vertebrate biocontrol tools against other animals

Rodents’ responses to manipulated plant litter and seed densities: implications for restoration

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