Mobility of a small mammalian predator changes according to the activity patterns of potential intraguild predators

Abstract

Competition, habitat structure and predation risk may alter mobility and activity of animals. In particular, small predators need to weigh the positive and negative impacts of the presence of competing larger predator species. Other predators present a risk but may also enhance the predation efficiency of smaller predators if avoiding one predator species increases prey exposure to the other. We studied how habitat structure and the presence of avian predators affected the activity patterns of radio-collared least weasels Mustela nivalis nivalis, small-bodied predators highly specialized on hunting small rodents and subject to intraguild predation. Least weasels appeared to schedule their mobility according to the peak activity of the avian predator present in large outdoor enclosures. In the presence of diurnal European kestrels Falco tinnunculus, least weasels moved less during night compared with evening and day, whereas in the presence of nocturnal Tengmalm's owls Aegolius funereus, least weasels moved more during night than during other time periods. Least weasels almost exclusively used the tall grass habitat in all treatments, whereas owls used the short grass habitat most and kestrels used both habitats equally. Our results suggest that beneficial interactions play an important role in the interaction between least weasels, kestrels and owls, and that the avoidance of risky habitats by least weasels minimizes the risk of intraguild predation.

Implications of the forage maturation hypothesis for activity of partially migratory male and female deer

“…, Koivisto et al. ). Ungulate females with offspring are at higher risk, but at the same time limited by their higher energy requirements linked to lactation.…”

“…However, a decrease in movement speed was found with increasing body mass only in males, suggesting that males' and females' activity budgets are limited by different factors. Trade-offs between foraging demands and avoiding predation risk often affect time allocation patterns (Lima and Bednekoff 1999), and changes in activity levels related to predation risk are commonly observed in a range of organisms (Strobbe et al 2011, Ross et al 2013, Koivisto et al 2016. Ungulate females with offspring are at higher risk, but at the same time limited by their higher energy requirements linked to lactation.…”

Space use, movements, and rest site use by short‐tailed weasels Mustela erminea in managed forests of western Oregon

“…Sex-specific habitat selection and home range size are likely to be strongly influenced by prey type and distribution, and predator avoidance. Short-tailed weasels are dependent on prey for food and refuge (Fitzgerald 1977), and inhabit areas with dense ground cover, which facilitates prey capture and avoidance of predators (Simms 1979a, Koivisto et al 2016. The location and size of the home range, the area in which an individual can find sufficient resources to survive and reproduce (Burt 1943), strongly differs by sex (Table 1).…”

Evaluating the relative importance of habitat filtering and niche differentiation in shaping the food web of dung-inhabiting predators

“…Direct interactions are probably the most detrimental for predatory species (Arim and Marquet, 2004;Gagnon et al, 2011;Raso et al, 2014). Predators usually avoid potential competition/IGP via modifying their behaviour (Koivisto et al, 2016;Mueller et al, 2016), host-specificity (e.g. Hrcek et al, 2013), or through spatio-temporal segregations (Bischof et al, 2014;Droge et al, 2017;Opatovsky et al, 2016).…”