Predator-prey Interactions in a Human-dominated Landscape
Understanding animal space us is a fundamental concern in Ecology. Predator-prey interactions are a behavioral response game where predators try to find prey, and prey are trying to avoid the predators, thereby shaping animal space use and habitat selection. In the process both predator and prey tra...
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| Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2016
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| Online Access: | https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/127212/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/127212/1/20173115.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-127212 |
| Summary: | Understanding animal space us is a fundamental concern in Ecology. Predator-prey interactions are a behavioral response game where predators try to find prey, and prey are trying to avoid the predators, thereby shaping animal space use and habitat selection. In the process both predator and prey tradeoff between risk avoidance and food acquisition in order to maximize their fitness. As such predator-prey dynamics have fascinated many generations of ecologists. At the same time the impact of human activities on ecosystem processes have become increasingly evident over the years and almost all habitats on earth today have been altered to some degree by humans. As a consequence humans can be considered as ecological players of ecosystem processes that shape the behavior and demography of their commensal species. In the presence of humans large top predators may be downgraded in the food chain or compete with humans for their prey. Furthermore prey species themselves have to tradeoff between risk avoidance towards humans or their natural predators. It was the goal of this thesis to look at various aspects involved in shaping the space use patterns of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and its main prey, the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and to characterize the spatiotemporal drivers of habitat selection and risk avoidance of both players in a human dominated environment. By focusing on both predators and prey I identify different key components of the behavioral response game between Eurasian lynx and European roe deer. In the first chapter I investigated how tradeoffs between risk avoidance and resource abundance in human-altered environments affect habitat selection of Eurasian lynx. In particular, I studied how spatial scale interacts with the intrinsic behavioral state of Eurasian lynx in shaping the response to temporal and spatial fluctuations in human activity and prey availability. I show that lynx tradeoff between anthropogenic risk and prey density by using areas of high prey density during times of ... |
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