Top-down and bottom-up effects modulate species co-existence in a context of top predator restoration

Burgos, Tamara (author), Salesa, Javier (author), Fedriani, Jose Maria (author), Escribano-Ávila, Gema (author), Jiménez, José (author), Krofel, Miha (author), Cancio, Inmaculada (author), Hernández-Hernández, Javier (author), Rodríguez-Siles, Javier (author), Virgós, Emilio (author)

Mesopredators abundance is often limited by top-order predators and also by key food resources. However, the contribution of these bidirectional forces to structure carnivore community is still unclear. Here, we studied how the presence and absence of an apex predator which is currently recovering its former distribution range, the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), determined the absolute abundance and fine-scale spatiotemporal avoidance mechanisms of two sympatric mesocarnivores (stone marten Martes foina and common genet Genetta genetta) with different dietary plasticity. We hypothesized that the lynx causes a mesopredator suppression and subordinate predators develop segregation strategies in respect to their trophic niche breadth. We placed 120 camera-traps in Southern Spain for 8 months in two consecutive years to estimate mesocarnivore abundances by using SCR Bayesian models, prey availability and assess spatio-temporal patterns. We found that the lynx reduced mesocarnivore abundance up to 10 times. Stone marten, a mesopredator with a broad food resources spectrum, showed a total spatial exclusion with the apex predator. Meanwhile, fine-scale avoidance mechanisms allowed the genet to persist in low density inside lynx territories, probably taking advantage of high availability of its preferred prey. Thus, the strength of these top-down and bottom-up effects was rather species-specific. Given the recent recovery of large carnivore populations worldwide, variation in suppression levels on different mesopredator species could modify ecosystem functions provided by the carnivore community in contrasting ways.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus, mesocarnivores, predation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2023
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 13 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, [article no.] ǂ4170
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-144884
• UDC: 630*15
• ISSN on article: 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31105-w
• COBISS.SI-ID: 145759491
• Publication date in RUL: 20.03.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Scientific reports
• Shortened title: Sci. rep.
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• COBISS.SI-ID: 18727432

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: iberski ris, Lynx pardinus, mesoplenilci, plenilstvo

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0059-2020
• Name: Gozd, gozdarstvo in obnovljivi gozdni viri

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: N1-0163-2020
• Name: Vpogled v medvrstne in znotrajvrstne interakcije med prostoživečimi mačkami v Evropi in Afriki