Scavenging with invasive species
ABSTRACTCarrion acts as a hotspot of animal activity within many ecosystems globally, attracting scavengers that rely on this food source. However, many scavengers are invasive species whose impacts on scavenging food webs and ecosystem processes linked to decomposition are poorly understood. Here,...
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ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/24978108 2024-06-23T07:56:24+00:00 Scavenging with invasive species Thomas Newsome Rhys Cairncross Calum X Cunningham Emma E Spencer Philip Barton William J Ripple Aaron J Wirsing 2023-12-26T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24978108.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Scavenging_with_invasive_species/24978108 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24978108.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Scavenging_with_invasive_species/24978108 All Rights Reserved Biological sciences Ecology Zoology apex scavenger decomposition invasion meltdown invasive species scavenging Text Journal contribution 2023 ftdeakinunifig 2024-06-06T02:06:02Z ABSTRACTCarrion acts as a hotspot of animal activity within many ecosystems globally, attracting scavengers that rely on this food source. However, many scavengers are invasive species whose impacts on scavenging food webs and ecosystem processes linked to decomposition are poorly understood. Here, we use Australia as a case study to review the extent of scavenging by invasive species that have colonised the continent since European settlement, identify the factors that influence their use of carcasses, and highlight the lesser‐known ecological effects of invasive scavengers. From 44 published studies we identified six invasive species from 48 vertebrates and four main groups of arthropods (beetles, flies, ants and wasps) that scavenge. Invasive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), feral pigs (Sus scrofa), black rats (Rattus rattus) and feral cats (Felis catus) were ranked as highly common vertebrate scavengers. Invasive European wasps (Vespula germanica) are also common scavengers where they occur. We found that the diversity of native vertebrate scavengers is lower when the proportion of invasive scavengers is higher. We highlight that the presence of large (apex) native vertebrate scavengers can decrease rates of scavenging by invasive species, but that invasive scavengers can monopolise carcass resources, outcompete native scavengers, predate other species around carcass resources and even facilitate invasion meltdowns that affect other species and ecological processes including altered decomposition rates and nutrient cycling. Such effects are likely to be widespread where invasive scavengers occur and suggest a need to determine whether excessive or readily available carcass loads are facilitating or exacerbating the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems globally. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus DRO - Deakin Research Online |
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DRO - Deakin Research Online |
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ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Biological sciences Ecology Zoology apex scavenger decomposition invasion meltdown invasive species scavenging |
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Biological sciences Ecology Zoology apex scavenger decomposition invasion meltdown invasive species scavenging Thomas Newsome Rhys Cairncross Calum X Cunningham Emma E Spencer Philip Barton William J Ripple Aaron J Wirsing Scavenging with invasive species |
topic_facet |
Biological sciences Ecology Zoology apex scavenger decomposition invasion meltdown invasive species scavenging |
description |
ABSTRACTCarrion acts as a hotspot of animal activity within many ecosystems globally, attracting scavengers that rely on this food source. However, many scavengers are invasive species whose impacts on scavenging food webs and ecosystem processes linked to decomposition are poorly understood. Here, we use Australia as a case study to review the extent of scavenging by invasive species that have colonised the continent since European settlement, identify the factors that influence their use of carcasses, and highlight the lesser‐known ecological effects of invasive scavengers. From 44 published studies we identified six invasive species from 48 vertebrates and four main groups of arthropods (beetles, flies, ants and wasps) that scavenge. Invasive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), feral pigs (Sus scrofa), black rats (Rattus rattus) and feral cats (Felis catus) were ranked as highly common vertebrate scavengers. Invasive European wasps (Vespula germanica) are also common scavengers where they occur. We found that the diversity of native vertebrate scavengers is lower when the proportion of invasive scavengers is higher. We highlight that the presence of large (apex) native vertebrate scavengers can decrease rates of scavenging by invasive species, but that invasive scavengers can monopolise carcass resources, outcompete native scavengers, predate other species around carcass resources and even facilitate invasion meltdowns that affect other species and ecological processes including altered decomposition rates and nutrient cycling. Such effects are likely to be widespread where invasive scavengers occur and suggest a need to determine whether excessive or readily available carcass loads are facilitating or exacerbating the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems globally. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas Newsome Rhys Cairncross Calum X Cunningham Emma E Spencer Philip Barton William J Ripple Aaron J Wirsing |
author_facet |
Thomas Newsome Rhys Cairncross Calum X Cunningham Emma E Spencer Philip Barton William J Ripple Aaron J Wirsing |
author_sort |
Thomas Newsome |
title |
Scavenging with invasive species |
title_short |
Scavenging with invasive species |
title_full |
Scavenging with invasive species |
title_fullStr |
Scavenging with invasive species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Scavenging with invasive species |
title_sort |
scavenging with invasive species |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24978108.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Scavenging_with_invasive_species/24978108 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24978108.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Scavenging_with_invasive_species/24978108 |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved |
_version_ |
1802649467980087296 |