Irrupting prey populations in the absence of a mammalian apex predator drive shifts in prey selection by eagles

Brun, Matthew; Oliver, Amoi Stubbs; Alves, Joel M.; Nankivell, A.; Letnic, Mike

doi:10.1007/s00114-022-01804-x

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Whilst carnivores can indeed possess the latent propensity to threaten species, they also perform critical regulatory functions within ecosystems by limiting the population sizes of their prey and, in the case of top-order or apex carnivores, that of smaller predators [19][20][21]. Consequently, the effects of carnivore removal may cascade through trophic levels and disrupt an ecosystem's structure [22][23][24][25][26], the outcomes of which may prove detrimental to species and the ecosystem at large [27][28][29][30][31]. To avoid ecological degradation, the management of carnivores must consider their role within a given ecosystem and the potential implications of their control [20,21,23,32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet of the Dingo in Subtropical Australian Forests: Are Small, Threatened Macropods at Risk?

McLean

Goldingay

Letnic

2023

Animals

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Carnivores fulfil important ecological roles in natural systems yet can also jeopardise the persistence of threatened species. Understanding their diet is, therefore, essential for managing populations of carnivores, as well as those of their prey. This study was designed to better understand the diet of an Australian apex predator, the dingo, and determine whether it poses a threat to at-risk small macropods in two floristically different yet geographically close reserves in subtropical Australia. Based on an analysis of 512 scats, dingo diets comprised 34 different prey taxa, of which 50% were common between reserves. Our findings add support to the paradigm that dingoes are opportunistic and generalist predators that prey primarily on abundant mammalian fauna. Their diets in the Border Ranges were dominated by possum species (frequency of occurrence (FOC) = 92.5%), while their diets in Richmond Range were characterised by a high prevalence of pademelon species (FOC = 46.9%). Medium-sized mammals were the most important dietary items in both reserves and across all seasons. The dietary frequency of medium-sized mammals was generally related to their availability (indexed by camera trapping); however, the avoidance of some species with high availability indicates that prey accessibility may also be important in dictating their dietary choices. Other prey categories were supplementary to diets and varied in importance according to seasonal changes in their availability. The diets included two threatened macropods, the red-legged pademelon and black-striped wallaby. Our availability estimates, together with earlier dietary studies spanning 30 years, suggest that the red-legged pademelon is resilient to the observed predation. The black-striped wallaby occurred in only two dingo scats collected from Richmond Range and was not detected by cameras so the threat to this species could not be determined. Two locally abundant but highly threatened species (the koala and long-nosed potoroo) were not detected in the dingoes’ diets, suggesting dingoes do not at present pose a threat to these populations. Our study highlights the importance of site-based assessments, population monitoring and including data on prey availability in dietary investigations.

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