Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

21 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Scale-dependent strategies for coexistence of mesocarnivores in human-dominated landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Identifying factors influencing the distribution of and interactions within carnivore communities is important for understanding how they are affected by human activities. Species differ in their ability to adapt to humans depending on their degree of specialization in habitat use and feeding habits. This results in asymmetric changes in the ecology of co-occurring species that can influence their interactions. We investigated whether human infrastructures and free-ranging domestic dogs (a species typically associated with humans) influenced the co-occurrence and habitat use of mesocarnivores in a landscape of high human population density in Maharashtra, India. We used 40 camera trap locations during 233 trapping nights and used Bayesian co-occurrence occupancy models to investigate the habitat use and coexistence of species at different spatial scales. Additionally, we investigated their temporal overlap in space use. Indian foxes altered their habitat use both spatially and temporally in order to avoid free-ranging domestic dogs and other larger competitors. The use of human infrastructure by jackals and jungle cats was limited by the presence of dogs. Our results illustrate how habitat use of smaller carnivore species changes both spatially and temporally in order to avoid larger competitors. We also show that the presence of species associated with humans mediates the influence of human infrastructures on the habitat use of mesocarnivores. We highlight the importance of acknowledging the potential impact of urbanization not only on single species, but also on the interactions within the community.

SUBMITTER: Carricondo-Sanchez D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8653886 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Fine-scale coexistence between Mediterranean mesocarnivores is mediated by spatial, temporal, and trophic resource partitioning.

Project description:The partition of the ecological niche can enhance the coexistence of predators due to differences in how they exploit three main resources: food, space, and time, the latter being an axis that often remains unexplored.We studied niche segregation in a Mediterranean mesocarnivore community composed by Vulpes vulpes, Genetta genetta, Meles meles, and Herpestes ichneumon, addressing simultaneously different niche axes: the temporal, trophic, and spatial axes.We assessed temporal segregation between mesopredators and prey and between potential competitors, using camera trap data between 2018 and 2020 in a Mediterranean landscape in Southern Spain. We deployed camera traps in 35 stations in three sites with varying vegetation cover within Doñana National Park. We further examined the spatial overlap in activity centers and trophic preferences between potential competitors using diet information from studies performed in the study area.We found an overall temporal segregation between trophic generalist species, with species showing higher temporal overlap differing in their trophic preferences and/or showing limited spatial overlap. Furthermore, we observed an overall high overlap between the activity patterns of predators and their major prey in the area (the common genet vs. small mammals and the red fox vs. European rabbit).Our study suggests that coexistence of the different species that compose the mesocarnivore assemblage in Mediterranean landscapes can be facilitated by subtle differences along the three main niche axes, with temporal segregation being a most pronounced mechanism. Our findings reinforce the idea that the coexistence mechanisms underlying community structure are multidimensional.

| S-EPMC8601891 | biostudies-literature

Multispecies coexistence in fragmented landscapes.

Project description:Spatial dynamics have long been recognized as an important driver of biodiversity. However, our understanding of species' coexistence under realistic landscape configurations has been limited by lack of adequate analytical tools. To fill this gap, we develop a spatially explicit metacommunity model of multiple competing species and derive analytical criteria for their coexistence in fragmented heterogeneous landscapes. Specifically, we propose measures of niche and fitness differences for metacommunities, which clarify how spatial dynamics and habitat configuration interact with local competition to determine coexistence of species. We parameterize our model with a Bayesian approach using a 36-y time-series dataset of three Daphnia species in a rockpool metacommunity covering >500 patches. Our results illustrate the emergence of interspecific variation in extinction and recolonization processes, including their dependencies on habitat size and environmental temperature. We find that such interspecific variation contributes to the coexistence of Daphnia species by reducing fitness differences and increasing niche differences. Additionally, our parameterized model allows separating the effects of habitat destruction and temperature change on species extinction. By integrating coexistence theory and metacommunity theory, our study provides platforms to increase our understanding of species' coexistence in fragmented heterogeneous landscapes and the response of biodiversity to environmental changes.

| S-EPMC9477233 | biostudies-literature

Eurasian lynx fitness shows little variation across Scandinavian human-dominated landscapes.

Project description:Despite extensive research on the ecology and behavioural adaptations of large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes, information about the fitness consequences of sharing landscapes is still limited. We assessed the variation in three consecutive components of female fitness: the probability of reproduction, litter size and juvenile survival in relation to environmental and human factors in a solitary carnivore, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), occurring in human-dominated landscapes in Scandinavia. We used demographic data from 57 radio-collared adult females between 1995-2011 (126 radio-years). Overall, the yearly probability of female reproduction was 0.80, mean litter size was 2.34 (range 1-4) and the probability to find a female that reproduced in the spring being accompanied by at least one offspring during the subsequent winter was 0.70. We did not find evidence that food availability was a key factor influencing female fitness. Female lynx may adapt to food availability when establishing their home ranges by adopting an obstinate strategy, ensuring a minimum amount of prey necessary for survival and reproduction even during periods of prey scarcity. In human-dominated landscapes, where sufficient prey are available for lynx, mortality risk may have a larger influence on lynx population dynamics compared to food availability. Our results suggest that lynx population dynamics in human-dominated landscapes may be mainly driven by human impacts on survival.

| S-EPMC6586631 | biostudies-literature

Anthropogenic transitions from forested to human-dominated landscapes in southern Macaronesia.

Project description:The extinction of iconic species such as the dodo and the deforestation of Easter Island are emblematic of the transformative impact of human colonization of many oceanic islands, especially those in the tropics and subtropics. Yet, the interaction of prehistoric and colonial-era colonists with the forests and forest resources they encountered can be complex, varies between islands, and remains poorly understood. Long-term ecological records (e.g., fossil pollen) provide the means to understand these human impacts in relation to natural change and variability pre- and postcolonization. Here we analyze paleoecological archives in forested landscapes of the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde, first colonized approximately 2,400 to 2,000 and 490 y ago, respectively. We demonstrate sensitivity to regional climate change prior to human colonization, followed by divergent but gradual impacts of early human settlement. These contrast with more rapid transformation in the colonial era, associated with significant increases in anthropogenic pressures. In the Canary Islands, at least two native tree taxa became extinct and lowland thermophilous woodlands were largely converted to agricultural land, yet relictual subtropical laurel forests persisted with limited incursion of nonnative species. In Cabo Verde, in contrast, thermophilous woodlands were depleted and substituted by open landscapes and introduced woodlands. Differences between these two archipelagos reflect the changing cultural practices and societal interactions with forests and illustrate the importance of long-term data series in understanding the human footprint on island ecosystems, information that will be critically important for current and future forest restoration and conservation management practices in these two biodiversity hotspots.

| S-EPMC8501805 | biostudies-literature

Circadian activity of small brown bear populations living in human-dominated landscapes.

Project description:Whereas numerous studies on large carnivores have focused on analyzing spatial patterns and habitat use, the temporal dimension of their activity has been relatively little investigated, making this a topic of growing interest, especially in human-dominated landscapes. Relict and isolated Apennine brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) have been living in a human-modified landscape since millennia, but no information is available on their activity patterns. By means of GPS telemetry (26,880 GPS locations collected from 18 adult Apennine brown bears) we investigated their circadian rhythms, using hourly movement rates as an index of bear activity. Based on a Bayesian modeling approach, circadian activity of Apennine brown bears was described by a bimodal curve, with peaks of activity around sunrise and sunset. We revealed seasonal effects, with bears exhibiting higher movement rates throughout the mating season, but no relevant influence of sex. In addition, bears increased their movement rate at distances < 100-500 m to roads and settlements exclusively during spring and late summer, suggesting a trade-off between foraging opportunities and risk avoidance. The absence of a marked nocturnality in Apennine brown bears suggests a relatively low degree of habitat encroachment and disturbance by humans. Yet, the occurrence of crepuscular activity patterns and the responses in proximity of anthropogenic landscape features likely indicate a coadaptation by bears to human presence through a shift in their temporal niche. Further studies should aim to unveil fitness implications of such modifications in activity patterns.

| S-EPMC9499929 | biostudies-literature

Modelling the Distribution of Forest-Dependent Species in Human-Dominated Landscapes: Patterns for the Pine Marten in Intensively Cultivated Lowlands.

Project description:In recent years, the "forest-specialist" pine marten Martes martes has been reported to also occur also in largely fragmented, lowland landscapes of north-western Italy. The colonization of such an apparently unsuitable area provided the opportunity for investigating pine marten ecological requirements and predicting its potential south- and eastwards expansion. We collected available pine marten occurrence data in the flood plain of the River Po (N Italy) and relate them to 11 environmental variables by developing nine Species Distribution Models. To account for inter-model variability we used average ensemble predictions (EP). EP predicted a total of 482 suitable patches (8.31% of the total study area) for the pine marten. The main factors driving pine marten occurrence in the western River Po plain were the distance from watercourses and the distance from woods. EP suggested that the pine marten may further expand in the western lowland, whilst the negligible residual wood cover of large areas in the central and eastern plain makes the habitat unsuitable for the pine marten, except for some riparian corridors and the pine wood patches bordering the Adriatic coast. Based on our results, conservation strategies should seek to preserve remnant forest patches and enhance the functional connectivity provided by riparian corridors.

| S-EPMC4930197 | biostudies-literature

Identifying connectivity for two sympatric carnivores in human-dominated landscapes in central Iran

Project description:Central Iran supports a diversity of carnivores, most of which are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Carnivore conservation requires the identification and preservation of core habitats and ensuring connectivity between them. In the present study, we used species distribution modeling to predict habitat suitability and connectivity modeling to predict linkage (resistant kernel and factorial least-cost path analyses) for grey wolf and golden jackal in central Iran. For grey wolf, elevation, topographic ruggedness, and distance to Conservation Areas (CAs) were the strongest predictors; for golden jackal, distance to human settlements, dump sites and topographic ruggedness were the most influential variables in predicting the occurrence of this species. Our results also indicated a high potential for large parts of the landscape to support the occurrence of these two canid species. The largest and the most crucial core habitats and corridor paths for the conservation of both species are located in the southern part of the study landscape. We found a small overlap between golden jackal corridor paths and core habitats with CAs, which has important implications for conservation and future viability of the golden jackal populations. Some sections of core areas are bisected by roads, where most vehicle collisions with grey wolf and golden jackal occurred. To minimize mortality risk, we propose that successful conservation of both species will necessitate integrated landscape-level management, as well as conservation of core areas and corridors and development of mitigation strategies to reduce vehicle collisions.

| S-EPMC9202930 | biostudies-literature

Wild Ungulate Decision-Making and the Role of Tiny Refuges in Human-Dominated Landscapes.

Project description:Wildlife conservation in human-dominated landscapes requires that we understand how animals, when making habitat-use decisions, obtain diverse and dynamically occurring resources while avoiding risks, induced by both natural predators and anthropogenic threats. Little is known about the underlying processes that enable wild animals to persist in densely populated human-dominated landscapes, particularly in developing countries. In a complex, semi-arid, fragmented, human-dominated agricultural landscape, we analyzed the habitat-use of blackbuck, a large herbivore endemic to the Indian sub-continent. We hypothesized that blackbuck would show flexible habitat-use behaviour and be risk averse when resource quality in the landscape is high, and less sensitive to risk otherwise. Overall, blackbuck appeared to be strongly influenced by human activity and they offset risks by using small protected patches (~3 km2) when they could afford to do so. Blackbuck habitat use varied dynamically corresponding with seasonally-changing levels of resources and risks, with protected habitats registering maximum use. The findings show that human activities can strongly influence and perhaps limit ungulate habitat-use and behaviour, but spatial heterogeneity in risk, particularly the presence of refuges, can allow ungulates to persist in landscapes with high human and livestock densities.

| S-EPMC4795686 | biostudies-literature

Unveiling patterns in human dominated landscapes through mapping the mass of US built structures.

Project description:Built structures increasingly dominate the Earth's landscapes; their surging mass is currently overtaking global biomass. We here assess built structures in the conterminous US by quantifying the mass of 14 stock-building materials in eight building types and nine types of mobility infrastructures. Our high-resolution maps reveal that built structures have become 2.6 times heavier than all plant biomass across the country and that most inhabited areas are mass-dominated by buildings or infrastructure. We analyze determinants of the material intensity and show that densely built settlements have substantially lower per-capita material stocks, while highest intensities are found in sparsely populated regions due to ubiquitous infrastructures. Out-migration aggravates already high intensities in rural areas as people leave while built structures remain - highlighting that quantifying the distribution of built-up mass at high resolution is an essential contribution to understanding the biophysical basis of societies, and to inform strategies to design more resource-efficient settlements and a sustainable circular economy.

| S-EPMC10695923 | biostudies-literature

Scale-dependent erosional patterns in steady-state and transient-state landscapes.

Project description:Landscape topography is the expression of the dynamic equilibrium between external forcings (for example, climate and tectonics) and the underlying lithology. The magnitude and spatial arrangement of erosional and depositional fluxes dictate the evolution of landforms during both statistical steady state (SS) and transient state (TS) of major landscape reorganization. For SS landscapes, the common expectation is that any point of the landscape has an equal chance to erode below or above the landscape median erosion rate. We show that this is not the case. Afforded by a unique experimental landscape that provided a detailed space-time recording of erosional fluxes and by defining the so-called E50-area curve, we reveal for the first time that there exists a hierarchical pattern of erosion. Specifically, hillslopes and fluvial channels erode more rapidly than the landscape median erosion rate, whereas intervening parts of the landscape in terms of upstream contributing areas (colluvial regime) erode more slowly. We explain this apparent paradox by documenting the dynamic nature of SS landscapes-landscape locations may transition from being a hillslope to being a valley and then to being a fluvial channel due to ridge migration, channel piracy, and small-scale landscape dynamics through time. Under TS conditions caused by increased precipitation, we show that the E50-area curve drastically changes shape during landscape reorganization. Scale-dependent erosional patterns, as observed in this study, suggest benchmarks in evaluating numerical models and interpreting the variability of sampled erosional rates in field landscapes.

| S-EPMC5617378 | biostudies-other

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data