Predator home range size mediates indirect interactions between prey species in an arctic vertebrate community
Authors/Creators
- 1. Université Laval
- 2. Université du Québec à Rimouski
Description
- Indirect interactions are widespread among prey species that share a common predator, but the underlying mechanisms driving these interactions are often unclear, and our ability to predict their outcome is limited.
- Changes in behavioural traits that impact predator space use could be a key proximal mechanism mediating indirect interactions, but there is little empirical evidence of the causes and consequences of such behavioural-numerical response in multi-species systems.
- Here, we investigate the complex ecological relationships between seven prey species sharing a common predator. We used a path analysis approach on a comprehensive 9-year dataset simultaneously tracking predator space use, prey densities, and prey mortality rate on key species of a simplified Arctic food-web.
- We show that high availability of a clumped and spatially predictable prey (goose eggs) leads to a two-fold reduction in predator (arctic fox) home range size, which increases local predator density and strongly decreases nest survival of an incidental prey (American golden plover). On the other hand, a scattered cyclic prey with potentially lower spatial predictability (lemming) had a weaker effect on fox space use and an overall positive impact on the survival of incidental prey.
- These contrasting effects underline the importance of studying behavioural responses of predators in multi-prey systems and to explicitly integrate behavioural-numerical responses in multi-species predator-prey models.
Notes
Funding provided by: Canada Foundation for Innovation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000196
Award Number:
Funding provided by: Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Government of Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002784
Award Number:
Funding provided by: Kenneth M. Molson Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100023256
Award Number:
Funding provided by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000038
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Funding provided by: Canada First Research Excellence Fund
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100010785
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Funding provided by: Polar Knowledge Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012258
Award Number:
Funding provided by: Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000161
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Files
data_HomeRange.csv
Additional details
Related works
- Is derived from
- 10.5281/zenodo.8356912 (DOI)
- Is supplemented by
- 10.5441/001/1.3gg33bd4 (DOI)