Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators
Competition between apex predators can alter the strength of top-down forcing, yet we know little about the behavioral mechanisms that drive competition in multipredator ecosystems. Interactions between predators can be synergistic (facilitative) or antagonistic (inhibitive), both of which are wides...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999963 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 |
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fthsinnlandet:oai:brage.inn.no:11250/2999963 2024-03-03T08:43:27+00:00 Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators Tallian, Aimee Grace Ordiz, Andres Metz, Matthew C. Zimmermann, Barbara Wikenros, Camilla Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Wabakken, Petter Swenson, Jon Sand, Håkan Kindberg, Jonas 2021 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999963 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 eng eng urn:issn:0012-9615 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999963 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 cristin:1991396 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.no 92 Ecological Monographs 2 e1498 Canis lupus exploitation competition interference competition interspecific interactions Scandinavia Ursus arctos Yellowstone VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400 Peer reviewed Journal article 2021 fthsinnlandet https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 2024-02-02T12:42:25Z Competition between apex predators can alter the strength of top-down forcing, yet we know little about the behavioral mechanisms that drive competition in multipredator ecosystems. Interactions between predators can be synergistic (facilitative) or antagonistic (inhibitive), both of which are widespread in nature, vary in strength between species and across space and time, and affect predation patterns and predator–prey dynamics. Recent research has suggested that gray wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates decrease where they are sympatric with brown bears (Ursus arctos), however, the mechanisms behind this pattern remain unknown. We used data from two long-term research projects in Scandinavia (Europe) and Yellowstone National Park (North America) to test the role of interference and exploitation competition from bears on wolf predatory behavior, where altered wolf handling and search time of prey in the presence of bears are indicative of interference and exploitation competition, respectively. Our results suggest the mechanisms driving competition between bears and wolves were dependent on the season and study system. During spring in Scandinavia, interference competition was the primary mechanism driving decreased kill rates for wolves sympatric with bears; handling time increased, but search time did not. In summer, however, when both bear and wolf predation focused on neonate moose, the behavioral mechanism switched to exploitation competition; search time increased, but handling time did not. Alternartively, interference competition did affect wolf predation dynamics in Yellowstone during summer, where wolves prey more evenly on neonate and adult ungulates. Here, bear presence at a carcass increased the amount of time wolves spent at carcasses of all sizes and wolf handling time for small prey, but decreased handling time for the largest prey. Wolves facilitate scavenging opportunities for bears, however, bears alter wolf predatory behavior via multiple pathways and are primarily antagonistic to wolves. Our ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus gray wolf Ursus arctos Høgskolen i Innlandet: Brage INN Ecological Monographs 92 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Høgskolen i Innlandet: Brage INN |
op_collection_id |
fthsinnlandet |
language |
English |
topic |
Canis lupus exploitation competition interference competition interspecific interactions Scandinavia Ursus arctos Yellowstone VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400 |
spellingShingle |
Canis lupus exploitation competition interference competition interspecific interactions Scandinavia Ursus arctos Yellowstone VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400 Tallian, Aimee Grace Ordiz, Andres Metz, Matthew C. Zimmermann, Barbara Wikenros, Camilla Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Wabakken, Petter Swenson, Jon Sand, Håkan Kindberg, Jonas Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
topic_facet |
Canis lupus exploitation competition interference competition interspecific interactions Scandinavia Ursus arctos Yellowstone VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400 |
description |
Competition between apex predators can alter the strength of top-down forcing, yet we know little about the behavioral mechanisms that drive competition in multipredator ecosystems. Interactions between predators can be synergistic (facilitative) or antagonistic (inhibitive), both of which are widespread in nature, vary in strength between species and across space and time, and affect predation patterns and predator–prey dynamics. Recent research has suggested that gray wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates decrease where they are sympatric with brown bears (Ursus arctos), however, the mechanisms behind this pattern remain unknown. We used data from two long-term research projects in Scandinavia (Europe) and Yellowstone National Park (North America) to test the role of interference and exploitation competition from bears on wolf predatory behavior, where altered wolf handling and search time of prey in the presence of bears are indicative of interference and exploitation competition, respectively. Our results suggest the mechanisms driving competition between bears and wolves were dependent on the season and study system. During spring in Scandinavia, interference competition was the primary mechanism driving decreased kill rates for wolves sympatric with bears; handling time increased, but search time did not. In summer, however, when both bear and wolf predation focused on neonate moose, the behavioral mechanism switched to exploitation competition; search time increased, but handling time did not. Alternartively, interference competition did affect wolf predation dynamics in Yellowstone during summer, where wolves prey more evenly on neonate and adult ungulates. Here, bear presence at a carcass increased the amount of time wolves spent at carcasses of all sizes and wolf handling time for small prey, but decreased handling time for the largest prey. Wolves facilitate scavenging opportunities for bears, however, bears alter wolf predatory behavior via multiple pathways and are primarily antagonistic to wolves. Our ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tallian, Aimee Grace Ordiz, Andres Metz, Matthew C. Zimmermann, Barbara Wikenros, Camilla Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Wabakken, Petter Swenson, Jon Sand, Håkan Kindberg, Jonas |
author_facet |
Tallian, Aimee Grace Ordiz, Andres Metz, Matthew C. Zimmermann, Barbara Wikenros, Camilla Smith, Douglas W. Stahler, Daniel R. Wabakken, Petter Swenson, Jon Sand, Håkan Kindberg, Jonas |
author_sort |
Tallian, Aimee Grace |
title |
Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
title_short |
Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
title_full |
Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
title_fullStr |
Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
title_full_unstemmed |
Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
title_sort |
of wolves and bears: seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999963 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf Ursus arctos |
op_source |
92 Ecological Monographs 2 e1498 |
op_relation |
urn:issn:0012-9615 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999963 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 cristin:1991396 |
op_rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.no |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1498 |
container_title |
Ecological Monographs |
container_volume |
92 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1792498884892688384 |