The influence of mammalian predator exclusion, food supplementation, and prescribed fire on survival of<i>Glaucomys volans</i>

Karmacharya, Binab; Hostetler, Jeffrey A.; Conner, L. Mike; Morris, Gail; Oli, Madan K.

doi:10.1644/12-mamm-a-071.1

Cited by 22 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Experiments where both predator densities and fire are manipulated can provide the strongest evidence regarding the impacts of predator–fire interactions on prey population dynamics. A series of studies from Georgia, USA, monitored the response of small mammal populations to prescribed fire both inside and outside of predator exclosures (Conner et al ., 2011; Morris et al ., 2011a,b; Karmacharya et al ., 2013). The fences excluded most mammalian carnivores, but reptiles and birds were still present.…”

Section: What Are the Outcomes Of Predator–fire Interactions For Prey...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After fire, survival increased slightly inside and decreased slightly outside exclosures (Morris et al ., 2011b). Finally, for the southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans , prescribed fire increased survival, but there was no apparent effect of food supplementation or predator exclusion (Karmacharya et al ., 2013). In that case it was unclear if there was compensatory predation by raptors and snakes inside exclosures.…”

Section: What Are the Outcomes Of Predator–fire Interactions For Prey...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In that case it was unclear if there was compensatory predation by raptors and snakes inside exclosures. The positive effect of fire may have been due to reduced understorey vegetation, making movement and predator detection and avoidance easier (Karmacharya et al ., 2013).…”

Section: What Are the Outcomes Of Predator–fire Interactions For Prey...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire as a driver and mediator of predator–prey interactions

et al. 2022

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Both fire and predators have strong influences on the population dynamics and behaviour of animals, and the effects of predators may either be strengthened or weakened by fire. However, knowledge of how fire drives or mediates predatorprey interactions is fragmented and has not been synthesised. Here, we review and synthesise knowledge of how fire influences predator and prey behaviour and interactions. We develop a conceptual model based on predator-prey theory and empirical examples to address four key questions: (i) how and why do predators respond to fire; (ii) how and why does prey vulnerability change post-fire; (iii) what mechanisms do prey use to reduce predation risk post-fire; and (iv) what are the outcomes of predator-fire interactions for prey populations? We then discuss these findings in the context of wildlife conservation and ecosystem management before outlining priorities for future research. Fire-induced changes in vegetation structure, resource availability, and animal behaviour influence predator-prey encounter rates, the amount of time prey are vulnerable during an encounter, and the conditional probability of prey death given an encounter. How a predator responds to fire depends on fire characteristics (e.g. season, severity), their hunting behaviour (ambush or pursuit predator), movement behaviour, territoriality, and intra-guild dynamics. Prey species that rely on habitat structure for avoiding predation often experience increased predation rates and lower survival in recently burnt areas. By contrast, some prey species benefit from the opening up of habitat after fire because it makes it easier to detect predators and to modify their behaviour appropriately. Reduced prey body condition after fire can increase predation risk either through impaired ability to escape predators, or increased need to forage in risky areas due to being energetically stressed. To reduce risk of predation in the post-fire environment, prey may change their habitat use, increase sheltering behaviour, change their movement behaviour, or use camouflage through cryptic colouring and background matching. Field

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Section: What Are the Outcomes Of Predator–fire Interactions For Prey...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Are the Outcomes Of Predator–fire Interactions For Prey...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire as a driver and mediator of predator–prey interactions

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“…In 2003, we initiated a large‐scale predator exclosure experiment to better understand the role of mesomammal predators within a forested ecosystem (Conner et al ; Morris et al , b , c ; Karmacharya et al ). We immediately observed white‐tailed deer use of exclosures to be greater than use of controls.…”

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Predator exclusion as a management option for increasing white‐tailed deer recruitment

et al. 2015

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Lethal control of coyotes (Canis latrans) is a mechanism for increasing white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) recruitment but can be difficult to implement and may be ineffective on small parcels of land because of coyote immigration. In 2003, we constructed 4 40-ha mesopredator exclosures with the objective of quantifying the influence of mesopredators, including coyotes, on select wildlife populations and communities. Camera trapping indicated neonate/adult female white-tailed deer ratios were approximately 2 times greater inside predator exclosures than in control plots. Hunter success data provided further evidence of increased recruitment associated with exclosures relative to the remainder of the study site. Because exclosures were located on the boundary of our study area and off-site white-tailed deer harvest records were not available, we used estimates of deer density, sex ratios, reproductive rates, relative use of exclosures, and neonate survival inside and outside of exclosures to parameterize a Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate the impact of our 4 exclosures on neonate recruitment into the start of the firearms hunting season on a 1,600ha area. After 1,000 iterations, we estimated that predator exclusion provided an additional 18 AE 0.13 ( x AE SE; median ¼ 15, interquartile range [IQR] ¼ 9-24) recruits/year above that expected without exclusion. Simulated neonate/adult female ratio was 0.74 AE 0.03 (median ¼ 0.72, IQR ¼ 0.52-0.93) with exclosures and 0.41 AE 0.008 (median ¼ 0.39, IQR ¼ 0.21-0.58) without. Simulated exclosure impact on recruitment was most sensitive to white-tailed deer relative use of exclosures and was least sensitive to neonate survival inside exclosures. We suggest that predator exclusion may be an effective mechanism for reducing neonate mortality and increasing white-tailed deer recruitment in areas where neonate survival is affected by predation. Exclosures may be particularly valuable on small parcels of land where predator removal would be offset by immigration. Finally, exclosures provide refuge from predators throughout the year, and we hypothesize exclosures may also contribute to adult survival and reduce impacts of predation risk that may also affect white-tailed deer population dynamics. Additional research incorporating variation in exclosure size and white-tailed deer density is needed to better evaluate predator exclosures for creating neonate refugia and mitigating sub-lethal impacts of predation. Ó 2015 The Wildlife Society.

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Past and present disturbances generate spatial variation in seed predation

Bartel

Orrock

2020

Ecosphere

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Seed survival is a key process for plant populations; variation in the activity and abundance of animals that consume seeds can lead to dramatic shifts in seed fate. Because granivores may respond to contemporary disturbance as well as to enduring changes in habitats caused by past disturbances, understanding seed fate requires studies capable of evaluating how past and present disturbances modify granivore communities, foraging activity, and ultimately, seed predation. Historic agricultural land use and contemporary canopy harvesting are widespread disturbances that could generate large-scale patterns of seed fate by modifying environmental characteristics that determine granivore identity and behavior. To evaluate whether land-use history and canopy harvesting affect seed-animal interactions, we conducted an experiment distributed across 80,000 ha of longleaf pine woodlands that coupled large-scale canopy harvesting at seven 4-ha sites containing both post-agricultural land use and nonagricultural land use in South Carolina, United States. We deployed a total of 28,000 nail-tagged seeds and recovered the tags to quantify seed fate. Past agricultural land use and contemporary canopy harvesting interacted to affect the rate of seed predation. Seed predation rates in harvested sites depended on land-use history: Seed predation was 30% lower in post-agricultural plots than in nonagricultural plots. This interaction was driven by the differential effect of land-use history and canopy harvesting on rodent activity. Camera traps revealed that Sigmodon hispidus only foraged in harvested plots and was most active in nonagricultural plots. In harvested plots, seed removal increased with S. hispidus activity. In unharvested plots, seed removal increased with Sciurus niger activity, but S. niger was not affected by land-use history. In finding that land-use history and canopy harvesting determine the outcomes of seed-animal interactions, we show that understanding patterns of seed predation is contingent upon the interplay of disturbances in both the distant past and recent past. These results suggest that patterns of past land use and present land use may help reconcile the considerable variation in seed fate observed in ecological communities.

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The influence of mammalian predator exclusion, food supplementation, and prescribed fire on survival ofGlaucomys volans

Cited by 22 publications

References 52 publications

Fire as a driver and mediator of predator–prey interactions

Fire as a driver and mediator of predator–prey interactions

Predator exclusion as a management option for increasing white‐tailed deer recruitment

Past and present disturbances generate spatial variation in seed predation

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