Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas
Large carnivores perform keystone ecological functions through direct predation, or indirectly, through food subsidies to scavengers or trophic cascades driven by their influence on the distributions of their prey. Pumas ( Puma concolor ) are an elusive, cryptic species difficult to study and little...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 2024-06-23T07:51:58+00:00 Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas Elbroch, L. Mark Wittmer, Heiko U. 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Biology Letters volume 8, issue 5, page 776-779 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X journal-article 2012 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 2024-06-04T06:23:09Z Large carnivores perform keystone ecological functions through direct predation, or indirectly, through food subsidies to scavengers or trophic cascades driven by their influence on the distributions of their prey. Pumas ( Puma concolor ) are an elusive, cryptic species difficult to study and little is known about their inter-trophic-level interactions in natural communities. Using new GPS technology, we discovered that pumas in Patagonia provided 232 ± 31 kg of edible meat/month/100 km 2 to near-threatened Andean condors ( Vultur gryphus ) and other members of a diverse scavenger community. This is up to 3.1 times the contributions by wolves ( Canis lupus ) to communities in Yellowstone National Park, USA, and highlights the keystone role large, solitary felids play in natural systems. These findings are more pertinent than ever, for managers increasingly advocate controlling pumas and other large felids to bolster prey populations and mitigate concerns over human and livestock safety, without a full understanding of the potential ecological consequences of their actions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus The Royal Society Patagonia Biology Letters 8 5 776 779 |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
description |
Large carnivores perform keystone ecological functions through direct predation, or indirectly, through food subsidies to scavengers or trophic cascades driven by their influence on the distributions of their prey. Pumas ( Puma concolor ) are an elusive, cryptic species difficult to study and little is known about their inter-trophic-level interactions in natural communities. Using new GPS technology, we discovered that pumas in Patagonia provided 232 ± 31 kg of edible meat/month/100 km 2 to near-threatened Andean condors ( Vultur gryphus ) and other members of a diverse scavenger community. This is up to 3.1 times the contributions by wolves ( Canis lupus ) to communities in Yellowstone National Park, USA, and highlights the keystone role large, solitary felids play in natural systems. These findings are more pertinent than ever, for managers increasingly advocate controlling pumas and other large felids to bolster prey populations and mitigate concerns over human and livestock safety, without a full understanding of the potential ecological consequences of their actions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Elbroch, L. Mark Wittmer, Heiko U. |
spellingShingle |
Elbroch, L. Mark Wittmer, Heiko U. Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
author_facet |
Elbroch, L. Mark Wittmer, Heiko U. |
author_sort |
Elbroch, L. Mark |
title |
Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
title_short |
Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
title_full |
Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
title_fullStr |
Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
title_sort |
table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 |
geographic |
Patagonia |
geographic_facet |
Patagonia |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Biology Letters volume 8, issue 5, page 776-779 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0423 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
776 |
op_container_end_page |
779 |
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1802643132208119808 |