The noble cats and the big bad scavengers
Scavenging is an important but poorly understood ecological process. Dominant scavengers can impose a selection pressure that alters the predator’s fitness, morphology, behavior, and ecology. Interactions between ursids, likely the most important dominant scavengers in the Holarctic region, and soli...
Published in: | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
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ftuniljubljanair:oai:repozitorij.uni-lj.si:IzpisGradiva.php-id-37617 2023-05-15T18:41:56+02:00 The noble cats and the big bad scavengers Krofel, Miha Kos, Ivan Jerina, Klemen 2015-07-10 text/url https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=37617 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=37628&dn= https://plus.si.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/2609231?lang=sl eng eng Springer info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s00265-012-1384-6 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=37617 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=37628&dn= https://plus.si.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/2609231?lang=sl info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Behavioral ecology and sociobiology, vol. 9, no. 66, pp. 1297-1304, 2012. competition interspecific interactions kleptoparasitism lynx temperate forest Lynx lynx Ursus arctos info:eu-repo/classification/udc/591 info:eu-repo/semantics/other info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2015 ftuniljubljanair https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1384-6 2021-12-06T09:26:00Z Scavenging is an important but poorly understood ecological process. Dominant scavengers can impose a selection pressure that alters the predator’s fitness, morphology, behavior, and ecology. Interactions between ursids, likely the most important dominant scavengers in the Holarctic region, and solitar felids, which are characterized by long feeding times, provide a good opportunity for studying the effects of kleptoparasitism by dominant scavengers. We analyzed the effects of scavenging by brown bears Ursus arctos on Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and predator’s response to kleptoparasitism in a European temperate forest ecosystem. Bears found 32% of lynx prey remains and 15% of all biomass of large prey killed by lynx was lost to bears. In response, lynx increased their kill rate by 23% but were able to compensate for only 59% of the losses. The frequency of bear scavenging was strongly dependent on bear activity patterns and was highest during the lynx pregnancy and lactation period, when up to half of lynx kills were usurped by bears. We suggest that ursid scavenging, by promoting the hunting of smaller prey, may have played an important role in the evolution of the Lynx genus as well as other predators in the Holarctic. Our study indicates that prey loss to dominant scavengers is a widespread phenomenon among felids worldwide, including forest habitats. We highlight several implications of scavenging that could considerably improve our understanding of the ecology of vertebrate communities and the evolution of predators as well as benefit the future management and conservation of endangered predators. Other/Unknown Material Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx Repository of the University of Ljubljana (RUL) Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 66 9 1297 1304 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Repository of the University of Ljubljana (RUL) |
op_collection_id |
ftuniljubljanair |
language |
English |
topic |
competition interspecific interactions kleptoparasitism lynx temperate forest Lynx lynx Ursus arctos info:eu-repo/classification/udc/591 |
spellingShingle |
competition interspecific interactions kleptoparasitism lynx temperate forest Lynx lynx Ursus arctos info:eu-repo/classification/udc/591 Krofel, Miha Kos, Ivan Jerina, Klemen The noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
topic_facet |
competition interspecific interactions kleptoparasitism lynx temperate forest Lynx lynx Ursus arctos info:eu-repo/classification/udc/591 |
description |
Scavenging is an important but poorly understood ecological process. Dominant scavengers can impose a selection pressure that alters the predator’s fitness, morphology, behavior, and ecology. Interactions between ursids, likely the most important dominant scavengers in the Holarctic region, and solitar felids, which are characterized by long feeding times, provide a good opportunity for studying the effects of kleptoparasitism by dominant scavengers. We analyzed the effects of scavenging by brown bears Ursus arctos on Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and predator’s response to kleptoparasitism in a European temperate forest ecosystem. Bears found 32% of lynx prey remains and 15% of all biomass of large prey killed by lynx was lost to bears. In response, lynx increased their kill rate by 23% but were able to compensate for only 59% of the losses. The frequency of bear scavenging was strongly dependent on bear activity patterns and was highest during the lynx pregnancy and lactation period, when up to half of lynx kills were usurped by bears. We suggest that ursid scavenging, by promoting the hunting of smaller prey, may have played an important role in the evolution of the Lynx genus as well as other predators in the Holarctic. Our study indicates that prey loss to dominant scavengers is a widespread phenomenon among felids worldwide, including forest habitats. We highlight several implications of scavenging that could considerably improve our understanding of the ecology of vertebrate communities and the evolution of predators as well as benefit the future management and conservation of endangered predators. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Krofel, Miha Kos, Ivan Jerina, Klemen |
author_facet |
Krofel, Miha Kos, Ivan Jerina, Klemen |
author_sort |
Krofel, Miha |
title |
The noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
title_short |
The noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
title_full |
The noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
title_fullStr |
The noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
title_full_unstemmed |
The noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
title_sort |
noble cats and the big bad scavengers |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=37617 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=37628&dn= https://plus.si.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/2609231?lang=sl |
genre |
Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology, vol. 9, no. 66, pp. 1297-1304, 2012. |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s00265-012-1384-6 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=37617 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=37628&dn= https://plus.si.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/2609231?lang=sl |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1384-6 |
container_title |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
container_volume |
66 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1297 |
op_container_end_page |
1304 |
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1766231504255451136 |