Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway
Abstract Interactions among coexisting mesocarnivores can be influenced by different factors such as the presence of large carnivores, land‐use, environmental productivity, or human disturbance. Disentangling the relative importance of bottom‐up and top‐down processes can be challenging, but it is i...
Published in: | Ecology and Evolution |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11064 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.11064 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.11064 2024-06-23T07:52:00+00:00 Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway Cano‐Martínez, Rocío Thorsen, Neri Horntvedt Hofmeester, Tim R. Odden, John Linnell, John Devineau, Olivier Angoh, Siow Yan Jennifer Odden, Morten Miljødirektoratet Norges Forskningsråd 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11064 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.11064 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 14, issue 3 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11064 2024-06-04T06:39:28Z Abstract Interactions among coexisting mesocarnivores can be influenced by different factors such as the presence of large carnivores, land‐use, environmental productivity, or human disturbance. Disentangling the relative importance of bottom‐up and top‐down processes can be challenging, but it is important for biodiversity conservation and wildlife management. The aim of this study was to assess how the interactions among mesocarnivores (red fox Vulpes vulpes , badger Meles meles , and pine marten Martes martes ) were affected by large carnivores (Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and wolf Canis lupus ), land cover variables (proportion of agricultural land and primary productivity), and human disturbance, as well as how these top‐down and bottom‐up mechanisms were influenced by season. We analyzed 3 years (2018–2020) of camera trapping observations from Norway and used structural equation models to assess hypothesized networks of causal relationships. Our results showed that land cover variables were more strongly associated with mesocarnivore detection rates than large carnivores in Norway. This might be caused by a combination of low density of large carnivores in an unproductive ecosystem with strong seasonality. Additionally, detection rates of all mesocarnivores showed positive associations among each other, which were stronger in winter. The prevalence of positive interactions among predators might indicate a tendency to use the same areas and resources combined with weak interference competition. Alternatively, it might indicate some kind of facilitative relationship among species. Human disturbance had contrasting effects for different species, benefiting the larger mesocarnivores (red fox and badger) probably through food subsidization, but negatively affecting apex predators (wolf and lynx) and smaller mesocarnivores (pine marten). In a human‐dominated world, this highlights the importance of including anthropogenic influences in the study of species interactions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx Wiley Online Library Norway Ecology and Evolution 14 3 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Interactions among coexisting mesocarnivores can be influenced by different factors such as the presence of large carnivores, land‐use, environmental productivity, or human disturbance. Disentangling the relative importance of bottom‐up and top‐down processes can be challenging, but it is important for biodiversity conservation and wildlife management. The aim of this study was to assess how the interactions among mesocarnivores (red fox Vulpes vulpes , badger Meles meles , and pine marten Martes martes ) were affected by large carnivores (Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and wolf Canis lupus ), land cover variables (proportion of agricultural land and primary productivity), and human disturbance, as well as how these top‐down and bottom‐up mechanisms were influenced by season. We analyzed 3 years (2018–2020) of camera trapping observations from Norway and used structural equation models to assess hypothesized networks of causal relationships. Our results showed that land cover variables were more strongly associated with mesocarnivore detection rates than large carnivores in Norway. This might be caused by a combination of low density of large carnivores in an unproductive ecosystem with strong seasonality. Additionally, detection rates of all mesocarnivores showed positive associations among each other, which were stronger in winter. The prevalence of positive interactions among predators might indicate a tendency to use the same areas and resources combined with weak interference competition. Alternatively, it might indicate some kind of facilitative relationship among species. Human disturbance had contrasting effects for different species, benefiting the larger mesocarnivores (red fox and badger) probably through food subsidization, but negatively affecting apex predators (wolf and lynx) and smaller mesocarnivores (pine marten). In a human‐dominated world, this highlights the importance of including anthropogenic influences in the study of species interactions. |
author2 |
Miljødirektoratet Norges Forskningsråd |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cano‐Martínez, Rocío Thorsen, Neri Horntvedt Hofmeester, Tim R. Odden, John Linnell, John Devineau, Olivier Angoh, Siow Yan Jennifer Odden, Morten |
spellingShingle |
Cano‐Martínez, Rocío Thorsen, Neri Horntvedt Hofmeester, Tim R. Odden, John Linnell, John Devineau, Olivier Angoh, Siow Yan Jennifer Odden, Morten Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway |
author_facet |
Cano‐Martínez, Rocío Thorsen, Neri Horntvedt Hofmeester, Tim R. Odden, John Linnell, John Devineau, Olivier Angoh, Siow Yan Jennifer Odden, Morten |
author_sort |
Cano‐Martínez, Rocío |
title |
Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway |
title_short |
Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway |
title_full |
Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway |
title_fullStr |
Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in Norway |
title_sort |
bottom‐up rather than top‐down mechanisms determine mesocarnivore interactions in norway |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11064 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.11064 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Canis lupus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 14, issue 3 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11064 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1802643190249947136 |