154104 - Dominant carnivore loss benefits native avian.pdf (996.16 kB)
Dominant carnivore loss benefits native avian and invasive mammalian scavengers
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 14:41 authored by Matthew FieldingMatthew Fielding, Calum CunninghamCalum Cunningham, Jessie BuettelJessie Buettel, Stojanovic, D, Luke YatesLuke Yates, Menna JonesMenna Jones, Barry BrookBarry BrookScavenging by large carnivores is integral for ecosystem functioning by limiting the build-up of carrion and facilitating widespread energy flows. However, top carnivores have declined across the world, triggering trophic shifts within ecosystems. Here, we compare findings from previous work on predator decline against areas with recent native mammalian carnivore loss. Specifically, we investigate top-down control on utilization of experimentally placed carcasses by two mesoscavengers—the invasive feral cat and native forest raven. Ravens profited most from carnivore loss, scavenging for five times longer in the absence of native mammalian carnivores. Cats scavenged on half of all carcasses in the region without dominant native carnivores. This was eight times more than in areas where other carnivores were at high densities. All carcasses persisted longer than the three-week monitoring period in the absence of native mammalian carnivores, while in areas with high carnivore abundance, all carcasses were fully consumed. Our results reveal that top-carnivore loss amplifies impacts associated with carnivore decline—increased carcass persistence and carrion access for smaller scavengers. This suggests that even at low densities, native mammalian carnivores can fulfil their ecological functions, demonstrating the significance of global carnivore conservation and supporting management approaches, such as trophic rewilding.
Funding
Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
History
Publication title
Royal Society of London Proceedings B Biological SciencesVolume
289Issue
1985Article number
20220521Number
20220521Pagination
1-9ISSN
1471-2954Department/School
University CollegePublisher
The Royal Society PublishingPlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
© 2022. The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Repository Status
- Open