Optimal predator management for mountain sheep conservation depends on the strength of mesopredator release

Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 124 (9) ◽  
pp. 1241-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura R. Prugh ◽  
Stephen M. Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Predator Management

scholarly journals Devil Declines and Catastrophic Cascades: Is Mesopredator Release of Feral Cats Inhibiting Recovery of the Eastern Quoll?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e0119303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn A. Fancourt ◽  
Clare E. Hawkins ◽  
Elissa Z. Cameron ◽  
Menna E. Jones ◽  
Stewart C. Nicol
Keyword(s):  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Feral Cats

scholarly journals Top carnivore decline has cascading effects on scavengers and carrion persistence

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1892) ◽  
pp. 20181582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calum X. Cunningham ◽  
Christopher N. Johnson ◽  
Leon A. Barmuta ◽  
Tracey Hollings ◽  
Eric J. Woehler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Disease ◽  
Tasmanian Devil ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Landscape Of Fear ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Remote Cameras

Top carnivores have suffered widespread global declines, with well-documented effects on mesopredators and herbivores. We know less about how carnivores affect ecosystems through scavenging. Tasmania's top carnivore, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) , has suffered severe disease-induced population declines, providing a natural experiment on the role of scavenging in structuring communities. Using remote cameras and experimentally placed carcasses, we show that mesopredators consume more carrion in areas where devils have declined. Carcass consumption by the two native mesopredators was best predicted by competition for carrion, whereas consumption by the invasive mesopredator, the feral cat ( Felis catus ), was better predicted by the landscape-level abundance of devils, suggesting a relaxed landscape of fear where devils are suppressed. Reduced discovery of carcasses by devils was balanced by the increased discovery by mesopredators. Nonetheless, carcasses persisted approximately 2.6-fold longer where devils have declined, highlighting their importance for rapid carrion removal. The major beneficiary of increased carrion availability was the forest raven ( Corvus tasmanicus ). Population trends of ravens increased 2.2-fold from 1998 to 2017, the period of devil decline, but this increase occurred Tasmania-wide, making the cause unclear. This case study provides a little-studied potential mechanism for mesopredator release, with broad relevance to the vast areas of the world that have suffered carnivore declines.

Invaders induce coordinated isotopic niche shifts in native fish species

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 1348-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane S. Rogosch ◽  
Julian D. Olden
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Native Fishes

Food-web investigations inform management strategies by exposing potential interactions between native and nonnative species and anticipating likely outcomes associated with species removal efforts. We leveraged a natural gradient of compositional turnover from native-only to nonnative-only fish assemblages, combined with an intensive removal effort, to investigate underlying food-web changes in response to invasive species expansion in a Lower Colorado River tributary. Nonnative fishes caused coordinated isotopic niche displacement in native fishes by inducing resource shifts toward lower trophic positions and enriched carbon sources. By contrast, nonnative fishes did not experience reciprocal shifts when native fishes were present. Asymmetrical outcomes between native and nonnative fishes indicated species displacement may result from competitive or consumptive interactions. Native species’ isotopic niches returned to higher trophic levels after nonnative green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) removal, indicating removal efforts can support trophic recovery of native fishes like desert suckers (Catostomus clarkii) and roundtail chub (Gila robusta). Using stable isotope analysis in preremoval assessments provides opportunities to identify asymmetric interactions, whereas postremoval assessments could identify unintended consequences, like mesopredator release, as part of adaptive decision making to recover native fishes.

scholarly journals Comparison of predation by two suburban cats in New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. C. Flux
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Song Thrush ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
European Rabbits ◽  
Native Birds

AbstractTo study the effects domestic cats may have on surrounding wildlife, a complete list was made of 558 items caught in the garden or brought into the house by one cat over 17 years, from 1988 to 2005. The effect on prey populations was assessed by comparing their abundance with the previous 15 years’ population without a cat. On balance, this cat (Cat 1) was clearly beneficial to the native bird species by killing rodents and deterring mustelids. The diet of a second cat (Cat 2) was recorded in the same way from 2006 to 2016. This cat caught half the number of items 148:287, but in the same proportions: house mice (37.8:42.6); ship rats (12.8:12.1); European rabbits (all young) (8.1:6.7); weasels (0.7:0.4); dunnock (12.8:9.2); house sparrow (2.0:3.1); blackbird (2.7:2.5); song thrush (1.4:1.3); European greenfinch (0.7:5.8); chaffinch (0.7:3.3); silvereye (10.1:8.3); New Zealand fantail (2.0:1.0); lizards (8.1:1.7). Despite this, there were significant differences: Cat 2 avoided finches (2:28, P = 0.004), and took a few more lizards (12:5). For both cats, birds apparently formed about a third of their diet: 33.4% and 34.5%, but comparison of the proportion of birds and rodents brought into the house (12:92) and found dead away from the house (49:45) implies that 320 rodent kills may have been missed, being far more difficult to find. As top predators, these cats were clearly beneficial to native birds, and proposed control or elimination may precipitate mesopredator release and a rabbit problem.

scholarly journals Animal Welfare in Predator Control: Lessons from Land and Sea. How the Management of Terrestrial and Marine Mammals Impacts Wild Animal Welfare in Human–Wildlife Conflict Scenarios in Europe

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia Nunny
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Predator Control ◽  
Farmed Fish ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Predator Management ◽  
Wildlife Control ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

The control of predators, on land and in the sea, is a complex topic. Both marine and terrestrial mammal predators come into conflict with humans in Europe in many ways and yet their situations are rarely compared. Areas of conflict include the predation of livestock and farmed fish, and the perceived competition for wild prey (for example wolves competing with hunters for deer and seals competing with fishermen for salmon). A lethal method (shooting) and non-lethal methods of conflict reduction (including enclosures, guarding, and aversion) used for terrestrial large carnivores (e.g., bear, wolf, wolverine, lynx) and marine mammals (seals) are discussed. Control measures tend to be species- and habitat-specific, although shooting is a widely used method. Potential impacts on predator welfare are described and welfare assessments which have been developed for other wildlife control scenarios, e.g., control of introduced species, are considered for their potential use in assessing predator control. Such assessments should be applied before control methods are chosen so that decisions prioritizing animal welfare can be made. Further work needs to be carried out to achieve appropriate and widely-accepted animal welfare assessment approaches and these should be included in predator management planning. Future research should include further sharing of approaches and information between terrestrial and marine specialists to help ensure that animal welfare is prioritized.

scholarly journals An economic assessment of the potential for predator management to benefit Puerto Rican parrots

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Engeman ◽  
Stephanie A. Shwiff ◽  
Felipe Cano ◽  
Bernice Constantin
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Predator Management

Mesopredator release facilitates range expansion in fisher

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. LaPoint ◽  
J. L. Belant ◽  
R. W. Kays
Keyword(s):  
Range Expansion ◽  
Mesopredator Release
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