Vertebrate Scavenging Communities

Selva, Nuria; Moleón, Marcos; Sebastián‐González, Esther; DeVault, Travis L.; Quaggiotto, Maria-Martina; Bailey, David M.; Lambertucci, Sergio A.; Margalida, Antoni

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-16501-7_4

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 167 publications

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“…Similarly, we also did not detect corvids like carrion crow Corvus corone and Eurasian magpie Pica pica on our camera traps, as would be expected from the findings of other studies, but it is likely that this is because, while common in the region, these birds are rarely found within the higher elevations of the Black Forest, where our experiments took place. Interestingly, while small mammals like rats, mice, voles, and shrews are known to display opportunistic scavenging behaviour (DeVault and Rhodes 2002, Henrich et al 2017, Selva et al 2019, few studies describe the extent of their scavenging behaviour and, to our knowledge, our study is the first report of garden dormouse (E. quercinus; Díaz-Ruiz et al 2018), scavenging on ungulate carrion. Other predator or facultative scavenger species that occur in the region but were not detected on our experimental site are wild boar Sus scrofa, polecat Mustela putorius, and great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major (DeVault and Rhodes 2002, Mateo-Tomás et al 2015, Selva et al 2019.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Interestingly, while small mammals like rats, mice, voles, and shrews are known to display opportunistic scavenging behaviour (DeVault and Rhodes 2002, Henrich et al 2017, Selva et al 2019, few studies describe the extent of their scavenging behaviour and, to our knowledge, our study is the first report of garden dormouse (E. quercinus; Díaz-Ruiz et al 2018), scavenging on ungulate carrion. Other predator or facultative scavenger species that occur in the region but were not detected on our experimental site are wild boar Sus scrofa, polecat Mustela putorius, and great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major (DeVault and Rhodes 2002, Mateo-Tomás et al 2015, Selva et al 2019.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

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Use of viscera from hunted roe deer by vertebrate scavengers in summer in central European mountainous mixed forest

Schwegmann,

Storch,

Bhardwaj

2023

Wildlife Biology

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Carrion is a valuable resource in forests, providing sustenance for vertebrate and invertebrate scavenger communities and contributing to ecosystem functions, such as nutrient cycling. Intensive ungulate hunting, and thereby extraction of carcasses, removes large quantities of potential carrion from the system, denying a valuable resource from scavenger fauna. It may be possible to reduce the loss and negative consequences to forest biodiversity by retaining evisceration residues from hunted deer, where full carcasses cannot be retained. However, what roll evisceration residues play as a resource for scavengers in temperate forests is not well understood. In this study, we exposed 47 carrion samples from hunted roe deer, in front of triple sets of camera traps, to examine how hunting remains are removed and fed upon by vertebrate scavengers. Overall, 70% of the samples were completely removed from experimental sites by vertebrates. We detected twelve vertebrate taxa feeding on evisceration residues, including martens (Martes spp.), red kites Milvus milvus and garden dormice Eliomys quercinus. Common buzzards Buteo buteo and Eurasian jays Garrulus glandarius were the most frequent feeders on carrion samples, while red foxes Vulpes vulpes displaced the largest proportion of samples. Finally, we found a range of insectivorous bird and mammal species using hunting remains as a source for invertebrate prey, while not scavenging on the remains directly. We demonstrate that evisceration residues can be a valuable resource for a wide range of taxa and suggest that viscera retention from hunted game may contribute to resource provisioning for scavengers in forest ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Use of viscera from hunted roe deer by vertebrate scavengers in summer in central European mountainous mixed forest

Schwegmann,

Storch,

Bhardwaj

2023

Wildlife Biology

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“…Scavenging dynamics surrounding carrion are not typically dictated by the species-specific scavenging rates of mesoscavengers, but that of larger apex scavenger species (Wilmers et al 2003;Wilmers and Post 2006;Krofel et al 2012;Allen et al 2014). This is because larger species are generally more competitively dominant surrounding carrion (Mole ón et al 2014;Pereira et al 2014;Inagaki et al 2020), and are able to open up carcasses, and, thus, provide access to smaller scavengers unable to do so (Selva et al 2003(Selva et al , 2019Mole ón et al 2015). However, in this study, larger scavengers such as dingoes, wedge-tailed eagles, and feral pigs accounted for only 5% of all recorded events, suggesting that they were either not abundant during the study period or were not scavenging frequently.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carcass use by mesoscavengers drives seasonal shifts in Australian alpine scavenging dynamics

et al. 2023

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Context.Carrion is a high-energy and nutrient-rich resource that attracts a diverse group of vertebrate scavengers. However, despite the carrion pool being highly seasonal in its availability, there is little understanding of how scavengers utilise carcasses across all four seasons. Aim. To assess how season influences carcass-detection times by vertebrate scavengers and their rates of scavenging. Methods. We used remote cameras to monitor vertebrate scavenging at 15 eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) carcasses in four consecutive seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring; total 58 carcasses) in the Australian Alps. Key results. In total, 745 599 remote-camera images were captured, within which 34 vertebrate species were identified, nine of which were recorded to actively scavenge. Time to first detection of carcasses by vertebrate scavengers was 5.3 and 9.6 times longer during summer (average 144 h) than during spring (average 34 h) and winter (average 24 h) respectively. Rates of vertebrate scavenging were highest in winter and spring, with brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) accounting for 78% of all scavenging events during winter, and ravens (Corvus spp.) accounting for 73% during spring. High rates of carcass use by these mesoscavengers may reflect a scarcity of other food sources, the demands of their breeding season, or a relative absence of scavenging by larger dominant species such as dingoes (Canis dingo) and wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax). Conclusions. These findings demonstrate the highly seasonal nature of vertebrate scavenging dynamics in an alpine ecosystem, and that mesoscavengers, not apex scavengers, can dominate the use of carcasses. Implications. Accounting for the effects of season is integral to understanding the way animals utilise carcasses in alpine and other strongly seasonal environments; and for developing further our knowledge of ecosystem processes linked to decomposition.

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“…The common raven is known for its opportunistic and exible foraging behavior 64,71,89,90 and ranks among the most proli c avian mesoscavengers 91,92 , especially in northern and circumpolar environments [93][94][95] . Ravens are early-access scavengers and, in contrast to other facultative scavengers, appear to be especially attracted by clustered, high-density ungulate carrion, which they often raid in large ocks and deplete in a few days 92,96,97 . Raven carcass scavenging behavior in temperate environments varies between seasons and is typically most pronounced during winter, when ravens are not breeding 91,96 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest evidence for hunter-gatherer impacts on raven diet and ecology in the Gravettian of Southern Moravia

Baumann

Hussain

Roblíčková

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The Early Gravettian of Southern Moravia – the Pavlovian – is notable for its corvid-rich faunal assemblages dominated by common ravens (Corvus corax). Based on the available zooarchaeological and settlement data from the Pavlovian, it has been hypothesized that ravens were attracted by human domestic activities and subsequently captured by Pavlovian people for food and feathers. Here, we report independent δ15N, δ13C and δ34S isotope data obtained from twelve adult common ravens from the Pavlovian key sites of Předmostí I, Pavlov I and Dolní Věstonice I. We show that these ravens had diets surprisingly rich in mammoth, thus strongly aligning in feeding preferences with contemporary early Homo sapiens foragers. We isolate two groups of ravens with distinct dietary profiles and argue that these opportunistic-generalist feeders were both attracted from adjacent regions and encouraged locally through human activity. These data provide the earliest direct evidence for incipient synanthropism among Upper Palaeolithic ravens. We suggest that subtle anthropogenic ecosystem engineering, including carrion supply dynamics, furnishes unique contexts for the emergence of synanthropism, affirming deep-historical roots in Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherer contexts. The coalescence of synanthropic niches can promote novel foraging opportunities and human-environment feedback dynamics and is thus important for understanding early human ecosystem impacts.

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Vertebrate Scavenging Communities

Cited by 16 publications

References 167 publications

Use of viscera from hunted roe deer by vertebrate scavengers in summer in central European mountainous mixed forest

Use of viscera from hunted roe deer by vertebrate scavengers in summer in central European mountainous mixed forest

Carcass use by mesoscavengers drives seasonal shifts in Australian alpine scavenging dynamics

Earliest evidence for hunter-gatherer impacts on raven diet and ecology in the Gravettian of Southern Moravia

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