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Karelus DL, Geary BW, Harveson LA, Harveson PM. Movement ecology and space-use by mountain lions in West Texas. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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The influence of reproductive status on home range size and spatial dynamics of female Amur tigers. MAMMAL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-020-00547-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Logan KA. Puma population limitation and regulation: What matters in puma management? J Wildl Manage 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth A. Logan
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2300 S. Townsend Avenue Montrose CO 81401 USA
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Woodruff SP, Jimenez MD. Winter predation patterns of wolves in Northwestern Wyoming. J Wildl Manage 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Yen SC, Wang Y, Yu PH, Kuan YP, Liao YC, Chen KH, Weng GJ. Seasonal space use and habitat selection of sambar in Taiwan. J Wildl Manage 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shih-Ching Yen
- Department of Life Science; National Taiwan Normal University; No. 88, Section 4, Tinzhou Road Taipei 116 Taiwan
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Life Science; National Taiwan Normal University; No. 88, Section 4, Tinzhou Road Taipei 116 Taiwan
| | - Pin-Huan Yu
- School of Veterinary Medicine; National Taiwan University; No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road Taipei 106 Taiwan
| | - Yuan-Peng Kuan
- School of Veterinary Medicine; National Taiwan University; No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road Taipei 106 Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chuan Liao
- Department of Life Science; National Taiwan Normal University; No. 88, Section 4, Tinzhou Road Taipei 116 Taiwan
| | - Kuang-Hsun Chen
- Department of Life Science; National Taiwan Normal University; No. 88, Section 4, Tinzhou Road Taipei 116 Taiwan
| | - Guo-Jing Weng
- Institute of Wildlife Conservation, College of Veterinary Medicine; National Pingtung University of Science and Technology; No. 1, Shuefu Road Neipu Pingtung 912 Taiwan
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Elbroch LM, Marescot L, Quigley H, Craighead D, Wittmer HU. Multiple anthropogenic interventions drive puma survival following wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7236-7245. [PMID: 30073082 PMCID: PMC6065371 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are primary drivers of declining abundances and extirpation of large carnivores worldwide. Management interventions to restore biodiversity patterns, however, include carnivore reintroductions, despite the many unresolved ecological consequences associated with such efforts. Using multistate capture-mark-recapture models, we explored age-specific survival and cause-specific mortality rates for 134 pumas (Puma concolor) monitored in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem during gray wolf (Canis lupus) recovery. We identified two top models explaining differences in puma survivorship, and our results suggested three management interventions (unsustainable puma hunting, reduction in a primary prey, and reintroduction of a dominant competitor) have unintentionally impacted puma survival. Specifically, puma survival across age classes was lower in the 6-month hunting season than the 6-month nonhunting season; human-caused mortality rates for juveniles and adults, and predation rates on puma kittens, were higher in the hunting season. Predation on puma kittens, and starvation rates for all pumas, also increased as managers reduced elk (Cervus elaphus) abundance in the system, highlighting direct and indirect effects of competition between recovering wolves and pumas over prey. Our results emphasize the importance of understanding the synergistic effects of existing management strategies and the recovery of large, dominant carnivores to effectively conserve subordinate, hunted carnivores in human-dominated landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucile Marescot
- School of Biological SciencesVictoria University of WellingtonWellingtonNew Zealand
| | | | | | - Heiko U. Wittmer
- School of Biological SciencesVictoria University of WellingtonWellingtonNew Zealand
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Elbroch LM, Kusler A. Are pumas subordinate carnivores, and does it matter? PeerJ 2018; 6:e4293. [PMID: 29379688 PMCID: PMC5786880 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interspecific competition affects species fitness, community assemblages and structure, and the geographic distributions of species. Established dominance hierarchies among species mitigate the need for fighting and contribute to the realized niche for subordinate species. This is especially important for apex predators, many of which simultaneous contend with the costs of competition with more dominant species and the costs associated with human hunting and lethal management. METHODS Pumas are a widespread solitary felid heavily regulated through hunting to reduce conflicts with livestock and people. Across their range, pumas overlap with six apex predators (gray wolf, grizzly bear, American black bear, jaguar, coyote, maned wolf), two of which (gray wolf, grizzly bear) are currently expanding in North America following recovery efforts. We conducted a literature search to assess whether pumas were subordinate or dominant with sympatric apex predators, as well as with three felid mesocarnivores with similar ecology (ocelot, bobcat, Canada lynx). We also conducted an analysis of the spatial distributions of pumas and their dominant sympatric competitors to estimate in what part of their range, pumas are dominant versus subordinate. RESULTS We used 64 sources to assess dominance among pumas and other apex predators, and 13 sources to assess their relationships with felid mesocarnivores. Evidence suggested that wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, and jaguars are dominant over pumas, but that pumas are dominant over coyotes and maned wolves. Evidence suggested that pumas are also dominant over all three felid mesocarnivores with which they share range. More broadly, pumas are subordinate to at least one other apex carnivore in 10,799,252 (47.5%) of their 22,735,268 km2 range across North and South America. DISCUSSION Subordinate pumas change their habitat use, suffer displacement at food sources, likely experience increased energetic demands from harassment, exhibit increased starvation, and are sometimes directly killed in competitive interactions with dominant competitors. Nevertheless, we lack research clearly linking the costs of competition to puma fitness. Further, we lack research that assesses the influence of human effects simultaneous with the negative effects of competition with other sympatric carnivores. Until the time that we understand whether competitive effects are additive with human management, or even potentially synergistic, we encourage caution among managers responsible for determining harvest limits for pumas and other subordinate, apex carnivores in areas where they are sympatric with dominant species. This may be especially important information for managers working in regions where wolves and brown bears are recolonizing and recovering, and historic competition scenarios among multiple apex predators are being realized.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna Kusler
- Panthera, New York, NY, United States of America
- Department of Biology, Pace University Pleasantville/Briarcliff, Pleasantville, NY, United States of America
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Kusler A, Elbroch LM, Quigley H, Grigione M. Bed site selection by a subordinate predator: an example with the cougar ( Puma concolor) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. PeerJ 2017; 5:e4010. [PMID: 29158967 PMCID: PMC5691788 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
As technology has improved, our ability to study cryptic animal behavior has increased. Bed site selection is one such example. Among prey species, bed site selection provides thermoregulatory benefits and mitigates predation risk, and may directly influence survival. We conducted research to test whether a subordinate carnivore also selected beds with similar characteristics in an ecosystem supporting a multi-species guild of competing predators. We employed a model comparison approach in which we tested whether cougar (Puma concolor) bed site attributes supported the thermoregulatory versus the predator avoidance hypotheses, or exhibited characteristics supporting both hypotheses. Between 2012-2016, we investigated 599 cougar bed sites in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and examined attributes at two scales: the landscape (second-order, n = 599) and the microsite (fourth order, n = 140). At the landscape scale, cougars selected bed sites in winter that supported both the thermoregulatory and predator avoidance hypotheses: bed sites were on steeper slopes but at lower elevations, closer to the forest edge, away from sagebrush and meadow habitat types, and on southern, eastern, and western-facing slopes. In the summer, bed attributes supported the predator avoidance hypothesis over the thermoregulation hypothesis: beds were closer to forest edges, away from sagebrush and meadow habitat classes, and on steeper slopes. At the microsite scale, cougar bed attributes in both the winter and summer supported both the predator avoidance and thermoregulatory hypotheses: they selected bed sites with high canopy cover, high vegetative concealment, and in a rugged habitat class characterized by cliff bands and talus fields. We found that just like prey species, a subordinate predator selected bed sites that facilitated both thermoregulatory and anti-predator functions. In conclusion, we believe that measuring bed site attributes may provide a novel means of measuring the use of refugia by subordinate predators, and ultimately provide new insights into the habitat requirements and energetics of subordinate carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kusler
- Department of Biology, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY, United States of America
- Panthera, New York, NY, United States of America
| | | | | | - Melissa Grigione
- Department of Biology, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY, United States of America
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Elbroch LM, Levy M, Lubell M, Quigley H, Caragiulo A. Adaptive social strategies in a solitary carnivore. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1701218. [PMID: 29026880 PMCID: PMC5636203 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Cost-benefit trade-offs for individuals participating in social behaviors are the basis for current theories on the evolution of social behaviors and societies. However, research on social strategies has largely ignored solitary animals, in which we assume that rare interactions are explained by courtship or territoriality or, in special circumstances, resource distributions or kinship. We used directed network analysis of conspecific tolerance at food sources to provide evidence that a solitary carnivore, the puma (Puma concolor), exhibited adaptive social strategies similar to more social animals. Every puma in our analysis participated in the network, which featured densely connected communities delineated by territorial males. Territorial males also structured social interactions among pumas. Contrary to expectations, conspecific tolerance was best characterized by direct reciprocity, establishing a fitness benefit to individuals that participated in social behaviors. However, reciprocity operated on a longer time scale than in gregarious species. Tolerance was also explained by hierarchical reciprocity, which we defined as network triangles in which one puma (generally male) received tolerance from two others (generally females) that also tolerated each other. Hierarchical reciprocity suggested that males might be cheating females; nevertheless, we suspect that males and females used different fitness currencies. For example, females may have benefited from tolerating males through the maintenance of social niches that support breeding opportunities. Our work contributes evidence of adaptive social strategies in a solitary carnivore and support for the applicability of theories of social behavior across taxa, including solitary species in which they are rarely tested.
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Grants
- Community Foundation of Jackson Hole
- The Summerlee Foundation
- National Geographic Society
- Eugene V. and Claire E. Thaw Charitable Trust
- Charles Engelhard Foundation
- Connemara Fund
- EcoTour Adventures
- PC Fund for Animals Charitable Trust
- the Folgers, L. Westbrook, the Scullys, the Haberfelds, the Holders, the Robertsons, the Hesketts, the Burgesses, J. Morgan, A. Smith, D. Bainbridge, and T. Thomas
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Mark Elbroch
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA
| | - Michael Levy
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Mark Lubell
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Howard Quigley
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA
| | - Anthony Caragiulo
- Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Suraci JP, Clinchy M, Roberts DJ, Zanette LY. Eavesdropping in solitary large carnivores: Black bears advance and vocalize toward cougar playbacks. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin P. Suraci
- Department of Biology; Western University; London ON Canada
- Raincoast Conservation Foundation; Sidney BC Canada
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Elbroch LM, Quigley H. Social interactions in a solitary carnivore. Curr Zool 2017; 63:357-362. [PMID: 29491995 PMCID: PMC5804185 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zow080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Revised: 05/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In total, 177 of 245 terrestrial carnivores are described as solitary, and much of carnivore ecology is built on the assumptions that interactions between adult solitary carnivores are rare. We employed Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and motion-triggered cameras to test predictions of land-tenure territoriality and the resource dispersion hypothesis in a territorial carnivore, the puma Puma concolor. We documented 89 independent GPS interactions, 60% of which occurred at puma kills (n = 53), 59 camera interactions, 11 (17%) of which captured courtship behaviors, and 5 other interactions (1 F-F, 3 M-F, and 1 M-M). Mean minimum weekly contact rates were 5.5 times higher in winter, the season when elk Cervus elaphus were aggregated at lower elevations and during which puma courtship primarily occurred. In winter, contacts rates were 0.6 ± 0.3 (standard deviation (SD)) interactions/week vs. 0.1 ± 0.1 (SD) interactions/week during summer. The preponderance of interactions at food sources supported the resource dispersion hypothesis, which predicts that resource fluxes can explain temporary social behaviors that do not result in any apparent benefits for the individuals involved. Conspecific tolerance is logical when a prey is so large that the predator that killed it cannot consume it entirely, and thus, the costs of tolerating a conspecific sharing the kill are less than the potential costs associated with defending it and being injured. Puma aggregations at kills numbered as high as 9, emphasizing the need for future research on what explains tolerance among solitary carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Mark Elbroch
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA
| | - Howard Quigley
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA
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Elbroch LM, Lendrum PE, Quigley H, Caragiulo A. Spatial overlap in a solitary carnivore: support for the land tenure, kinship or resource dispersion hypotheses? J Anim Ecol 2015; 85:487-96. [PMID: 26395576 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2014] [Accepted: 09/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Mark Elbroch
- Panthera; 8 West 40th Street 18th Floor New York NY 10018 USA
| | | | - Howard Quigley
- Panthera; 8 West 40th Street 18th Floor New York NY 10018 USA
| | - Anthony Caragiulo
- Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics; American Museum of Natural History; 79th Street at Central Park West New York NY 10024 USA
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Recolonizing wolves influence the realized niche of resident cougars. Zool Stud 2015; 54:e41. [PMID: 31966128 DOI: 10.1186/s40555-015-0122-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 05/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Niche differentiation may betray current, ongoing competition between two sympatric species or reflect evolutionary responses to historic competition that drove species apart. The best opportunity to test whether ongoing competition contributes to niche differentiation is to test for behavioral shifts by the subordinate competitor in controlled experiments in which the abundance of the dominant competitor is manipulated. Because these circumstances are difficult to coordinate in natural settings for wide-ranging species, researchers seize opportunities presented by species reintroductions. We tested for new competition between reintroduced wolves and resident cougars in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem to assess whether wolves might be impacting the realized niche of sympatric cougars. RESULTS Between2002 and 2012, a period during which wolves increased from 15 to as high as 91 in the study area, cougars significantly increased the percentage of deer and decreased the percentage of elk in their diet in summer. Our top models explaining these changes identified elk availability, defined as the number of elk per wolf each year, as the strongest predictor of changing cougar prey selection. Both elk and deer were simultaneously declining in the system, though deer more quickly than elk, and wolf numbers increased exponentially during the same time frame. Therefore,we concluded that prey availability did not explain prey switching and that competition with wolves at least partially explained cougar prey switching from elk to deer. We also recorded 5 marked cougar kittens killed by wolves and 2 more that were killed by an undetermined predator. In addition, between 2005 and 2012, 9 adult cougars and 10 cougar kittens died of starvation, which may also be in part explained by competition with wolves. CONCLUSIONS Direct interspecific predation and shifting cougar prey selection as wolves increased in the system provided evidence for competition between recolonizing wolves and resident cougars. Through competition, recolonizing wolves have impacted the realized niche of resident cougars in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem (SYE), and current resident cougars may now exhibit a realized niche more reflective of an era when these species were previously sympatric in the Yellowstone Ecosystem.
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Elbroch LM, Quigley HB, Caragiulo A. Spatial associations in a solitary predator: using genetic tools and GPS technology to assess cougar social organization in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem. Acta Ethol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-014-0196-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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