Urbanization alters sandy beach scavenging assemblages and dogs suppress ecosystem function

Abstract

Urbanization is rapidly transforming coastal landscapes around the world, altering the structure and function of marine, intertidal, and terrestrial ecosystems. In tandem, coastal areas are hotspots for human recreation, leading to shifts in wildlife behavior and activity patterns. Together, urban development and recreational use of wildlife habitats can shape wildlife behavior, abundance, and ecosystem dynamics at different spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we explore the impact of urbanization and human and domestic dog activity on the structure of vertebrate scavenging assemblages and the ecosystem functions they provide in sandy beach ecosystems across 40 km of the central California coast, USA. We surveyed vertebrate scavenging assemblages using baited camera traps on 17 beaches spanning a gradient of coastal urbanization. We found that urbanization extent within small spatial scales (i.e., 1 or 3 km radii of each site) and the rate of beach visitation by domestic dogs or humans were the best additive predictors of assemblage structure. We identified pronounced urbanization‐associated shifts in the composition of vertebrate scavenger guilds but found that the rate of carrion processing was more strongly influenced by domestic dog habitat use and diel period. Scavenging activity was substantially lower on beaches with more domestic dogs, suggesting that dogs interfere with critical scavenging ecosystem functions on sandy beaches. Our results underscore the pervasive and nuanced effects of urbanization and recreation on the dynamics of land–sea connectivity and suggest a need for comprehensive consideration of cross‐ecosystem linkages in ongoing shoreline conservation and development efforts.