Ecological correlates of the spatial co-occurrence of sympatric mammalian carnivores worldwide ; Ecology Letters

Abstract

The composition of local mammalian carnivore communities has far-reaching effects on terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. To better understand how carnivore communities are structured, we analysed camera trap data for 108087 trap days across 12 countries spanning five continents. We estimate local probabilities of co-occurrence among 768 species pairs from the order Carnivora and evaluate how shared ecological traits correlate with probabilities of co-occurrence. Within individual study areas, species pairs co-occurred more frequently than expected at random. Co-occurrence probabilities were greatest for species pairs that shared ecological traits including similar body size, temporal activity pattern and diet. However, co-occurrence decreased as compared to other species pairs when the pair included a large-bodied carnivore. Our results suggest that a combination of shared traits and top-down regulation by large carnivores shape local carnivore communities globally. ; Ministry of Environment, Water, Forest and Tourism and Wildlife Conservation Society in Madagascar; Department of National Parks and United States Agency for International Development/Wula Nafaa Project in SenegalUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID); Cederberg Conservancy and Cape-Nature in South Africa; US Forest ServiceUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA)United States Forest Service; Belize Forest Department; Belize Audubon Society; Programme for Belize; Las Cuevas Research Station; Bull Run Farm; Gallon Jug Estate; Yalbac Ranch and Cattle Company; NSF LTREB Grant [1556248]; Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Misiones; National Park Administration of Argentina; Ledesma S.A.; Arauco SA; Department of National conduct surveys in Chitwan National Park; WWF Networks; US Fish & Wildlife ServiceUS Fish & Wildlife Service; Hurvis Family; WWF Team; Directorate for Nature Management; Norwegian Research CouncilResearch Council of Norway; Department of National conduct surveys in Indonesia ; We thank the Ministry of the Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, and the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust for permission to conduct the study in Botswana; the Ministry of Environment, Water, Forest and Tourism and Wildlife Conservation Society in Madagascar; the Department of National Parks and United States Agency for International Development/Wula Nafaa Project in Senegal; and The Cederberg Conservancy and Cape-Nature in South Africa for permission and/or supporting the research in Africa. We thank Parks Canada staff and volunteers for collecting data in Canada, the US Forest Service for financing and collecting data in the USA along with volunteers from the Student Conservation Association, and the Belize Forest Department, Belize Audubon Society, Programme for Belize, Las Cuevas Research Station, Bull Run Farm, Gallon Jug Estate, and Yalbac Ranch and Cattle Company for permission and support in conducting research in Belize. Funding for camera trap surveys in Canada was provided in part by NSF LTREB Grant 1556248. We thank the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Misiones, the National Park Administration of Argentina, Ledesma S.A. and Arauco SA for permissions and support to conduct camera trap surveys. We thank the Iran Department of Environment for permission to work within the reserves in Iran, Department of National conduct surveys in Chitwan National Park, and in Indonesia, WWF Networks, US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Hurvis Family for financially supporting the research, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry for permission to conduct the study, and the WWF Team for their support. We also thank the Directorate for Nature Management and The Norwegian Research Council for financing camera trap surveys in Norway. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee