Marginal support for a trophic cascade among sympatric canids in peripheral wolf range

Fowler, Nicholas L.; Kautz, Todd M.; Petroelje, Tyler R.; Wilton, Clay M.; Kellner, Kenneth F.; O’Brien, Daniel J.; Parsons, Bill; Beyer, Dean E.; Belant, Jerrold L.

doi:10.1002/ecy.3494

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 67 publications

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“…This temporal activity pattern better fits the similar result from HMC, where the activity pattern we found would be consistent with the avoidance of wolves. Fowler et al (2021) found little evidence of spatial partitioning between coyotes and wolves in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (where HMC is located), so temporal partitioning is a plausible coexistence mechanism. The increased nocturnality in the intermediate study areas may be due to the lack of a larger natural predator (the wolf) in combination with higher hunting pressure due to the lower tolerance of rural hunters for coyotes (Drake et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal refuges of a subordinate carnivore vary across rural–urban gradient

Malhotra

Lima

Harris

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Animals exhibit variation in their space and time use across an urban–rural gradient. As the top‐down influences of apex predators wane due to human‐driven declines, landscape‐level anthropogenic pressures are rising. Human impacts can be analogous to apex predators in that humans can drive increased mortality in both prey species and carnivores, and impact communities through indirect fear effects and food subsidies. Here, we evaluate the time use of a common mesocarnivore across an urban–rural gradient and test whether it is influenced by the intensity of the use of a larger carnivore. Using multiple camera‐trap surveys, we compared the temporal response of a small carnivore, the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to the larger coyote (Canis latrans) in four study areas across Michigan that represented a gradient of pressure from humans. We found that raccoon time use varied by study area and was most unique at the rural extreme. Raccoons consistently did not shift their activity pattern in response to coyotes in the study area with the highest anthropogenic pressures despite the considerable interannual variation, and instead showed stronger responses to coyotes in more rural study areas. Temporal shifts were characterized by raccoons being more diurnal in areas of high coyote activity. We conclude that raccoons may shift time use in the presence of coyotes, dependent on the level of anthropogenic pressure. Our results highlight that the variation in raccoon time use across the entirety of the urban–rural gradient needed to be considered, as anthropogenic pressures may dominate and obscure the dynamics of this interaction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%