Vertebrate diversity benefiting from carrion provided by pumas and other subordinate, apex felids

Elbroch, L. Mark; O'Malley, Connor; Peziol, Michelle; Quigley, Howard

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2017.08.026

Cited by 31 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Pumas ( Puma concolor ) are solitary carnivores and, like wolves, important components of ecological communities (Allen, Elbroch, Wilmers & Wittmer, ; Elbroch, Peziol, O'Malley & Quigley, ). They are also a conservation success story, in that puma populations rebounded in the west of the United States and Canada after 1965, when wildlife managers in nearly every western state stopped paying state bounties for killing pumas and introduced managed puma hunting with limits in restricted seasons (Mattson & Clark, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiple anthropogenic interventions drive puma survival following wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Elbroch

Marescot

Quigley

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Humans are primary drivers of declining abundances and extirpation of large carnivores worldwide. Management interventions to restore biodiversity patterns, however, include carnivore reintroductions, despite the many unresolved ecological consequences associated with such efforts. Using multistate capture–mark–recapture models, we explored age‐specific survival and cause‐specific mortality rates for 134 pumas (Puma concolor) monitored in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem during gray wolf (Canis lupus) recovery. We identified two top models explaining differences in puma survivorship, and our results suggested three management interventions (unsustainable puma hunting, reduction in a primary prey, and reintroduction of a dominant competitor) have unintentionally impacted puma survival. Specifically, puma survival across age classes was lower in the 6‐month hunting season than the 6‐month nonhunting season; human‐caused mortality rates for juveniles and adults, and predation rates on puma kittens, were higher in the hunting season. Predation on puma kittens, and starvation rates for all pumas, also increased as managers reduced elk (Cervus elaphus) abundance in the system, highlighting direct and indirect effects of competition between recovering wolves and pumas over prey. Our results emphasize the importance of understanding the synergistic effects of existing management strategies and the recovery of large, dominant carnivores to effectively conserve subordinate, hunted carnivores in human‐dominated landscapes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pumas (Puma concolor) are solitary carnivores and, like wolves, important components of ecological communities (Allen, Elbroch, Wilmers & Wittmer, 2015;Elbroch, Peziol, O'Malley & Quigley, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple anthropogenic interventions drive puma survival following wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Elbroch

Marescot

Quigley

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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“…This, in turn, can improve plant nutritional quality and affect plant community composition (Barton et al, 2016;Bump, Webster, et al, 2009), creating 'hotspots' of resources within the ecosystem. Carrion in general, and carrion amount in particular, werealso shown to positively affect vertebrate and invertebrate scavenger diversity (Barton et al, 2013;Elbroch, O'Malley, Peziol, & Quigley, 2017;Nuria & Fortuna, 2007;Turner, Abernethy, Conner, Rhodes Jr., & Beasley, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of elk and bison carcasses on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions in Yellowstone, USA

et al. 2020

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Carrion is long recognized as important to scavengers. How carrion may affect soil microbial biodiversity and ecosystem processes in natural systems is comparatively unknown, but is important for the intersection of vertebrate food webs, below‐ground processes and ecological heterogeneity. We assessed in situ soil and plant responses to wolf‐killed mammal carrion in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Bison and elk carcasses increased soil respiration and vegetation nutrient concentration and the carcasses contain altered bacterial and fungal communities compared to control plots. The ‘fingerprints’ of soil microbial taxa associated with bison compared to elk carcasses differed considerably and taxa are found dependent upon abiotic gradients and soil properties. We found evidence that soil microbial community changes associated with carcasses may not be as generalizable as previously thought, which is important for a mechanistic understanding of the links between carrion and soil heterogeneity and potentially for applications in forensic science. This work demonstrates the importance of carrion studies in natural systems. Our findings show that carrion creates distinct ecological patterns that contribute to both above‐ and below‐ground biological heterogeneity, linking carrion distribution dynamics with soil microbial biodiversity and ecosystem functions.

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“…The impacts of large carnivores on scavengers are also likely to be important in shaping food web relationships given that scavenging links transfer more energy than predation links (Wilson & Wolkovich, ) and that top‐down pressure from predators is believed to dampen prey population fluctuations that would otherwise be driven by bottom‐up factors (Sala, ). Although recent investigations have tackled how predator identity, carcass characteristics, and weather conditions may impact scavenger diversity at kill sites (Allen, Elbroch, Wilmers, & Wittmer, ; Elbroch, O'Malley, Peziol, & Quigley, ), and scavenger use of carrion in general (Selva, Jedrzejewska, Jedrzejewski, & Wajrak, ; Stahler, Heinrich, & Smith, ), the influence of top predators on local scavenger abundance has received relatively little attention. Here, we examined the influence of gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) recovery in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) on the abundance and distribution of a major scavenger within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), the common raven ( Corvus corax ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population responses of common ravens to reintroduced gray wolves

Walker

Marzluff

Metz

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Top predators have cascading effects throughout the food web, but their impacts on scavenger abundance are largely unknown. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) provide carrion to a suite of scavenger species, including the common raven (Corvus corax). Ravens are wide‐ranging and intelligent omnivores that commonly take advantage of anthropogenic food resources. In areas where they overlap with wolves, however, ravens are numerous and ubiquitous scavengers of wolf‐acquired carrion. We aimed to determine whether subsidies provided through wolves are a limiting factor for raven populations in general and how the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park in 1995–1997 affected raven population abundance and distribution on the Yellowstone's Northern Range specifically. We counted ravens throughout Yellowstone's Northern Range in March from 2009 to 2017 in both human‐use areas and wolf habitat. We then used statistics related to the local wolf population and the winter weather conditions to model raven abundance during our study period and predict raven abundance on the Northern Range both before and after the wolf reintroduction. In relatively severe winters with greater snowpack, raven abundance increased in areas of human use and decreased in wolf habitat. When wolves were able to acquire more carrion, however, ravens increased in wolf habitat and decreased in areas with anthropogenic resources. Raven populations prior to the wolf reintroduction were likely more variable and heavily dependent on ungulate winter‐kill and hunter‐provided carcasses. The wolf recovery in Yellowstone helped stabilize raven populations by providing a regular food supply, regardless of winter severity. This stabilization has important implications for effective land management as wolves recolonize the west and global climate patterns change.

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Vertebrate diversity benefiting from carrion provided by pumas and other subordinate, apex felids

Cited by 31 publications

References 24 publications

Multiple anthropogenic interventions drive puma survival following wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Multiple anthropogenic interventions drive puma survival following wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Effects of elk and bison carcasses on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions in Yellowstone, USA

Population responses of common ravens to reintroduced gray wolves

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