The Company Canids Confront: Spatiotemporal Partitioning at Local Scales Facilitates Carnivore Coexistence at the Landscape Level

Abstract

Canids are the most widely distributed carnivores in the world. The increasing impacts of commensal carnivores such as free-ranging dogs on wildlife communities has resulted in an urgent need to understand putative interactions within carnivore guilds. It is thus imperative to understand the processes driving canid assemblages in different landscapes and at multiple spatial and temporal scales, in order to conserve and manage wildlife communities. Here, we demonstrate the complex interactions and spatiotemporal dynamics underlying the coexistence of co-occurring carnivores in a landscape modified by the invasive, Prosopis juliflora. We investigated spatial, temporal, and habitat partitioning within a guild of four co-occurring canids in the arid northwest of India. The results indicate complex associations between the study species, where co-occurrence at the local spatial scale between species corresponds with temporal partitioning. Our study offers evidence that avoidance at the local scale and coexistence at the landscape scale are maintained in co-occurring intra-guild carnivores that are of similar body size through both facultative and behavioral character displacement such as temporal partitioning. It has also resulted in essential baseline information on the occurrence and distribution patterns of multiple canids in a human-dominated and understudied landscape threatened by global change. Understanding these biotic and abiotic drivers that impact carnivore guilds is crucial for the conservation and management of communities at the landscape scale.

Removal or utilization? Testing alternative approaches to the management of an invasive woody legume in an arid Indian grassland

“…In the case of Banni, this means carefully considering the consequences of Prosopis‐ invaded grasslands for biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and local livelihoods. For example, while Prosopis reduces native plant biodiversity and promotes generalist canids and rodents at the cost of grassland specialists, it also increases aboveground carbon stocks, and supports charcoal‐based livelihoods (Vaibhav et al 2012; Jayadevan et al 2018; Devarajan & Vanak 2020).…”

“…Prosopis invasion in the arid regions of India has negatively affected native herbaceous‐species richness (Kaur et al 2012) and modified habitat for threatened wildlife (Jadeja et al 2013). In Banni, Prosopis invasion has a directional impact on small mammal composition, favoring generalist rodents and canids over specialist species (Jayadevan et al 2018; Devarajan & Vanak 2020; Misher & Vanak 2021). Prosopis in Banni has increased aboveground carbon stocks (Vaibhav et al 2012).…”