Data from: Using predator-prey theory to predict outcomes of broad-scale experiments to reduce apparent competition ...

• Main Authors: Serrouya, Robert, Wittmann, Meike J., McLellan, Bruce N., Wittmer, Heiko U., Boutin, Stan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2014
• Subjects: apparent competition; Puma concolor; prey; Odocoileus virginianus; Rangifer tarandus; 1994 - 2013; Canis lupus; Alces alces
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6cj48; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.6cj48

Apparent competition is an important process influencing many ecological communities. We used predator-prey theory to predict outcomes of ecosystem experiments aimed at mitigating apparent competition by reducing primary prey. Simulations predicted declines in secondary prey following reductions in primary prey because predators consumed more secondary prey until predator numbers responded to reduced prey densities. Losses were exacerbated by a higher carrying capacity of primary prey and a longer lag time of the predator’s numerical response, but a gradual reduction in primary prey was less detrimental to the secondary prey. We compared predictions against two field experiments where endangered woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) were victims of apparent competition. First, when deer (Odocoileus sp.) declined suddenly following a severe winter, cougar (Puma concolor) declined with a 1–2-year lag, yet in the interim more caribou were killed by cougars, and caribou populations declined by 40%. ... : Caribou-cougar-deer data for Figure 5.The first case study used to validate the ODE model.Deer_dryad.csvMoose-wolf-caribou data for Figure 6Data for figure 6 for caribou-moose-wolf case study.Moose_Dryad.csv ...