How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta

Mesocarnivores occupy critical functional roles in regulating ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity. In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, mustelid species depend heavily on carrion as an important dietary contribution, particularly in winter when resources are scarce. In diverse mesocarnivore communit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bell, Elicia
Other Authors: Bone, Christopher
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13363
id ftuvicpubl:oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/13363
record_format openpolar
spelling ftuvicpubl:oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/13363 2023-05-15T13:21:53+02:00 How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta Bell, Elicia Bone, Christopher 2021-09-01 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13363 English en eng http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13363 Available to the World Wide Web wildlife ecology mustelids camera traps scavenging ecology Thesis 2021 ftuvicpubl 2022-05-19T06:10:40Z Mesocarnivores occupy critical functional roles in regulating ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity. In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, mustelid species depend heavily on carrion as an important dietary contribution, particularly in winter when resources are scarce. In diverse mesocarnivore communities such as this, sympatric species must balance energetic resource acquisitions through scavenging with avoidance of costly competition dynamics, in a manner that optimizes energetic gain through risk aversion. We examined the nature of spatial-temporal interactions between wolverine (Gulo gulo), American marten (Martes Americana), and short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) in the Willmore Wilderness Park in western Alberta. Data were collected from camera traps (n = 59) baited with a simulated scavenging opportunity during winter months between 2006 to 2008. The spatial-temporal dimensions of intraguild competition were evaluated using a multi-model approach. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) or zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression models were used to identify the competitive and environmental factors that affected (1) species presence/absence and (2) how intensely a species would spatiotemporally optimize a carrion site. A time-to-event analysis was used to quantify the directionality of fine-scale (hourly) reactionary behavioural responses of species to potential sources of competition. An extension of this group of models, the Cox proportional hazard (CPH) model was used to further reveal the relative influence of external environmental variables (i.e. diel period, landcover, and snow depth) on temporal spacing. Pairing CPH and ZINB/ZIP models enables us to recognize the relative contribution of fine-scale spatial and temporal behavioural responses to competitors in shaping coexistence strategies. Our results suggest that facultative scavengers adopt different coexistence mechanisms based on the interspecific competitor and environmental conditions they encounter at carrion sites. We found that carrion use ... Thesis American marten Gulo gulo Martes americana University of Victoria (Canada): UVicDSpace
institution Open Polar
collection University of Victoria (Canada): UVicDSpace
op_collection_id ftuvicpubl
language English
topic wildlife ecology
mustelids
camera traps
scavenging ecology
spellingShingle wildlife ecology
mustelids
camera traps
scavenging ecology
Bell, Elicia
How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta
topic_facet wildlife ecology
mustelids
camera traps
scavenging ecology
description Mesocarnivores occupy critical functional roles in regulating ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity. In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, mustelid species depend heavily on carrion as an important dietary contribution, particularly in winter when resources are scarce. In diverse mesocarnivore communities such as this, sympatric species must balance energetic resource acquisitions through scavenging with avoidance of costly competition dynamics, in a manner that optimizes energetic gain through risk aversion. We examined the nature of spatial-temporal interactions between wolverine (Gulo gulo), American marten (Martes Americana), and short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) in the Willmore Wilderness Park in western Alberta. Data were collected from camera traps (n = 59) baited with a simulated scavenging opportunity during winter months between 2006 to 2008. The spatial-temporal dimensions of intraguild competition were evaluated using a multi-model approach. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) or zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression models were used to identify the competitive and environmental factors that affected (1) species presence/absence and (2) how intensely a species would spatiotemporally optimize a carrion site. A time-to-event analysis was used to quantify the directionality of fine-scale (hourly) reactionary behavioural responses of species to potential sources of competition. An extension of this group of models, the Cox proportional hazard (CPH) model was used to further reveal the relative influence of external environmental variables (i.e. diel period, landcover, and snow depth) on temporal spacing. Pairing CPH and ZINB/ZIP models enables us to recognize the relative contribution of fine-scale spatial and temporal behavioural responses to competitors in shaping coexistence strategies. Our results suggest that facultative scavengers adopt different coexistence mechanisms based on the interspecific competitor and environmental conditions they encounter at carrion sites. We found that carrion use ...
author2 Bone, Christopher
format Thesis
author Bell, Elicia
author_facet Bell, Elicia
author_sort Bell, Elicia
title How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta
title_short How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta
title_full How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta
title_fullStr How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta
title_full_unstemmed How competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta
title_sort how competition dynamics drive access to shared scavenging opportunities amongst a group of mesocarnivores in the rocky mountains of alberta
publishDate 2021
url http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13363
genre American marten
Gulo gulo
Martes americana
genre_facet American marten
Gulo gulo
Martes americana
op_relation http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13363
op_rights Available to the World Wide Web
_version_ 1766362019015950336