Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine
Abstract The interaction between predators and their prey is a key factor driving population dynamics and shaping wildlife communities. Most predators will scavenge in addition to killing their own prey, which alters predation effects and implies that one cannot treat these as independent processes....
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fecs2.1407 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.1407 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ecs2.1407 2024-06-23T07:53:28+00:00 Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine Mattisson, Jenny Rauset, Geir Rune Odden, John Andrén, Henrik Linnell, John D. C. Persson, Jens Naturvårdsverket Norges Forskningsråd Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fecs2.1407 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.1407 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecosphere volume 7, issue 8 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 journal-article 2016 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1407 2024-06-13T04:23:39Z Abstract The interaction between predators and their prey is a key factor driving population dynamics and shaping wildlife communities. Most predators will scavenge in addition to killing their own prey, which alters predation effects and implies that one cannot treat these as independent processes. However, the relative importance of predation vs. scavenging and the mechanisms driving variation of such are relatively unstudied in ecological research on predator–prey relationships. Foraging decisions in facultative predators are likely to respond to environmental conditions (e.g., seasonality) and inter‐ or intraspecific interactions (e.g., prey availability, presence of top predators, scavenging competition). Using data on 41 GPS ‐collared wolverines ( Gulo gulo ) during 2401 monitoring days, in four study sites in Scandinavia, we studied variation in diet and feeding strategies (predation vs. scavenging), along a gradient of environmental productivity, seasonality, density, and body mass of their main prey, semidomestic reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ). The most important factor affecting the relative extent of predation and scavenging was mean prey body mass. Predation was more pronounced in summer, when vulnerable reindeer calves are abundant, and individual kill rates were negatively related to local reindeer body mass. This relationship was absent in winter. The probability of scavenging was higher in winter and increased with decreasing local reindeer body mass, likely as a response to increased carrion supply. Wolverine feeding strategy was further influenced by predictable anthropogenic food resources (e.g., slaughter remains from hunted ungulates) and the presence of a top predator, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ), which provided a continuous carrion supply promoting scavenging. Our results suggest that wolverine feeding strategies are flexible and strongly influenced by seasonally dependent responses to prey body condition in combination with carrion supply. This study demonstrates that large‐scale ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Gulo gulo Rangifer tarandus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx Wiley Online Library Slaughter ENVELOPE(-85.633,-85.633,-78.617,-78.617) Ecosphere 7 8 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The interaction between predators and their prey is a key factor driving population dynamics and shaping wildlife communities. Most predators will scavenge in addition to killing their own prey, which alters predation effects and implies that one cannot treat these as independent processes. However, the relative importance of predation vs. scavenging and the mechanisms driving variation of such are relatively unstudied in ecological research on predator–prey relationships. Foraging decisions in facultative predators are likely to respond to environmental conditions (e.g., seasonality) and inter‐ or intraspecific interactions (e.g., prey availability, presence of top predators, scavenging competition). Using data on 41 GPS ‐collared wolverines ( Gulo gulo ) during 2401 monitoring days, in four study sites in Scandinavia, we studied variation in diet and feeding strategies (predation vs. scavenging), along a gradient of environmental productivity, seasonality, density, and body mass of their main prey, semidomestic reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ). The most important factor affecting the relative extent of predation and scavenging was mean prey body mass. Predation was more pronounced in summer, when vulnerable reindeer calves are abundant, and individual kill rates were negatively related to local reindeer body mass. This relationship was absent in winter. The probability of scavenging was higher in winter and increased with decreasing local reindeer body mass, likely as a response to increased carrion supply. Wolverine feeding strategy was further influenced by predictable anthropogenic food resources (e.g., slaughter remains from hunted ungulates) and the presence of a top predator, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ), which provided a continuous carrion supply promoting scavenging. Our results suggest that wolverine feeding strategies are flexible and strongly influenced by seasonally dependent responses to prey body condition in combination with carrion supply. This study demonstrates that large‐scale ... |
author2 |
Naturvårdsverket Norges Forskningsråd Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mattisson, Jenny Rauset, Geir Rune Odden, John Andrén, Henrik Linnell, John D. C. Persson, Jens |
spellingShingle |
Mattisson, Jenny Rauset, Geir Rune Odden, John Andrén, Henrik Linnell, John D. C. Persson, Jens Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
author_facet |
Mattisson, Jenny Rauset, Geir Rune Odden, John Andrén, Henrik Linnell, John D. C. Persson, Jens |
author_sort |
Mattisson, Jenny |
title |
Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
title_short |
Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
title_full |
Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
title_fullStr |
Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
title_full_unstemmed |
Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
title_sort |
predation or scavenging? prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fecs2.1407 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ecs2.1407 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.1407 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-85.633,-85.633,-78.617,-78.617) |
geographic |
Slaughter |
geographic_facet |
Slaughter |
genre |
Gulo gulo Rangifer tarandus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Gulo gulo Rangifer tarandus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
Ecosphere volume 7, issue 8 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1407 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1802645150597382144 |