Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey
Prey switching occurs when a generalist predator kills disproportionately more of an abundant prey species and correspondingly spares a rarer species. Although this behaviour is a classic stabilizing mechanism in food web models, little is known about its operation in free-living systems which often...
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ftdryad:oai:v1.datadryad.org:10255/dryad.137975 2023-05-15T15:50:54+02:00 Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey Tallian, Aimee Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Metz, Matthew C. Wallen, Rick L. Geremia, Chris Ruprecht, Joel Wyman, C. Travis MacNulty, Daniel R. Yellowstone National Park 2017-04-17T11:34:12Z http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.137975 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486 unknown doi:10.5061/dryad.h5486/1 doi:10.5061/dryad.h5486/2 doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12866 doi:10.5061/dryad.h5486 Tallian A, Smith DW, Stahler DR, Metz MC, Wallen RL, Geremia C, Ruprecht J, Wyman CT, MacNulty DR (2017) Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey. Functional Ecology 31(7): 1418-1429. 0269-8463 http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.137975 antipredator behaviour bison dangerous prey frequency-dependent predation prey switching prey vulnerability scavenging Article 2017 ftdryad https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486/1 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486/2 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12866 2020-01-01T15:46:45Z Prey switching occurs when a generalist predator kills disproportionately more of an abundant prey species and correspondingly spares a rarer species. Although this behaviour is a classic stabilizing mechanism in food web models, little is known about its operation in free-living systems which often include dangerous prey species that resist predation. We used long-term (1995–2015) data from a large mammal system in northern Yellowstone National Park, USA, to understand how prey preference of a wild, generalist predator (Canis lupus) responds to a shift in prey species evenness involving rising numbers of dangerous prey (Bison bison) and dropping numbers of relatively safer prey (Cervus elaphus). Contrary to the prey switching hypothesis, wolves attacked and killed disproportionately more of the rarer, but safer, species. Wolves maintained a strong preference against bison even when this species was more than twice as abundant as elk. There was also evidence that wolves were increasingly averse to hunting bison as relative bison abundance increased. Wolves seldom hunted bison because capture success was limited to a narrow set of conditions: larger packs (>11 wolves) chasing smaller herds (10–20 bison) with calves. Wolves scavenged bison carrion instead and did so more frequently as bison abundance increased. Our study demonstrates the overarching importance of prey vulnerability to understanding the prey preferences of generalist predators in ecological communities with dangerous prey. The formidable defences of such prey diminish the potential for switching and its stabilizing influence on population dynamics. In these communities, shifts from hunting to scavenging are perhaps more likely than shifts in prey preference. The assumption of switching may therefore overestimate the stability of multi-prey systems that include dangerous prey species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) |
op_collection_id |
ftdryad |
language |
unknown |
topic |
antipredator behaviour bison dangerous prey frequency-dependent predation prey switching prey vulnerability scavenging |
spellingShingle |
antipredator behaviour bison dangerous prey frequency-dependent predation prey switching prey vulnerability scavenging Tallian, Aimee Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Metz, Matthew C. Wallen, Rick L. Geremia, Chris Ruprecht, Joel Wyman, C. Travis MacNulty, Daniel R. Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
topic_facet |
antipredator behaviour bison dangerous prey frequency-dependent predation prey switching prey vulnerability scavenging |
description |
Prey switching occurs when a generalist predator kills disproportionately more of an abundant prey species and correspondingly spares a rarer species. Although this behaviour is a classic stabilizing mechanism in food web models, little is known about its operation in free-living systems which often include dangerous prey species that resist predation. We used long-term (1995–2015) data from a large mammal system in northern Yellowstone National Park, USA, to understand how prey preference of a wild, generalist predator (Canis lupus) responds to a shift in prey species evenness involving rising numbers of dangerous prey (Bison bison) and dropping numbers of relatively safer prey (Cervus elaphus). Contrary to the prey switching hypothesis, wolves attacked and killed disproportionately more of the rarer, but safer, species. Wolves maintained a strong preference against bison even when this species was more than twice as abundant as elk. There was also evidence that wolves were increasingly averse to hunting bison as relative bison abundance increased. Wolves seldom hunted bison because capture success was limited to a narrow set of conditions: larger packs (>11 wolves) chasing smaller herds (10–20 bison) with calves. Wolves scavenged bison carrion instead and did so more frequently as bison abundance increased. Our study demonstrates the overarching importance of prey vulnerability to understanding the prey preferences of generalist predators in ecological communities with dangerous prey. The formidable defences of such prey diminish the potential for switching and its stabilizing influence on population dynamics. In these communities, shifts from hunting to scavenging are perhaps more likely than shifts in prey preference. The assumption of switching may therefore overestimate the stability of multi-prey systems that include dangerous prey species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tallian, Aimee Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Metz, Matthew C. Wallen, Rick L. Geremia, Chris Ruprecht, Joel Wyman, C. Travis MacNulty, Daniel R. |
author_facet |
Tallian, Aimee Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Metz, Matthew C. Wallen, Rick L. Geremia, Chris Ruprecht, Joel Wyman, C. Travis MacNulty, Daniel R. |
author_sort |
Tallian, Aimee |
title |
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
title_short |
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
title_full |
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
title_fullStr |
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
title_sort |
data from: predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.137975 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486 |
op_coverage |
Yellowstone National Park |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
doi:10.5061/dryad.h5486/1 doi:10.5061/dryad.h5486/2 doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12866 doi:10.5061/dryad.h5486 Tallian A, Smith DW, Stahler DR, Metz MC, Wallen RL, Geremia C, Ruprecht J, Wyman CT, MacNulty DR (2017) Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey. Functional Ecology 31(7): 1418-1429. 0269-8463 http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.137975 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486/1 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h5486/2 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12866 |
_version_ |
1766385924154851328 |