Abstract:
:Africa is home to the last intact guild of large carnivores and thus provides the only opportunity to investigate mechanisms of coexistence among large predator species. Strong asymmetric dominance hierarchies typically characterize guilds of large carnivores; but despite this asymmetry, subdominant species may persist alongside their stronger counterparts through temporal partitioning of habitat and resources. In the African guild, the subdominant African wild dogs and cheetahs are routinely described as diurnal and crepuscular. These activity patterns have been interpreted to result from the need to avoid encounters with the stronger, nocturnal spotted hyenas and lions. However, the idea that diel activity patterns of carnivore species are strongly shaped by competition and predation has recently been challenged by new observations. In a three-year study in the Okavango Delta, we investigated daily activity patterns and temporal partitioning for wild dogs, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and lions by fitting radio collars that continuously recorded activity bursts, to a total of 25 individuals. Analysis of activity patterns throughout the 24-h cycle revealed an unexpectedly high degree of temporal overlap among the four species. This was mainly due to the extensive and previously undescribed nocturnal activity of wild dogs and cheetahs. Their nocturnal activity fluctuated with the lunar cycle, represented up to 40% of the diel activity budget and was primarily constrained by moonlight availability. In contrast, the nocturnal activity patterns of lions and hyenas were unaffected by moonlight and remained constant over the lunar cycle. Our results suggest that other ecological factors such as optimal hunting conditions have shaped the diel activity patterns of subdominant, large predators. We suggest that they are "starvation driven" and must exploit every opportunity to obtain a meal. The benefits of activity on moonlit nights therefore offset the risks of encountering night-active predators and competitors.
journal_name
Ecologyjournal_title
Ecologyauthors
Cozzi G,Broekhuis F,McNutt JW,Turnbull LA,Macdonald DW,Schmid Bdoi
10.1890/12-0017.1subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2012-12-01 00:00:00pages
2590-9issue
12eissn
0012-9658issn
1939-9170journal_volume
93pub_type
杂志文章相关文献
ECOLOGY文献大全abstract::Models of two-patch predator-prey metacommunities are used to explore how the global predator population changes in response to additional mortality in one of the patches. This could describe the dynamics of a predator in an environment that includes a refuge area where that predator is protected and a spatially disti...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/11-0011.1
更新日期:2012-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::The high herbivore diversity in savanna systems has been attributed to the inherent spatial and temporal heterogeneity related to the quantity and quality of food resources. Allometric scaling predicts that smaller-bodied grazers rely on higher quality forage than larger-bodied grazers. We replicated burns at varying ...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/09-1673.1
更新日期:2010-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Ecological research is increasingly concentrated at particular locations or sites. This trend reflects a variety of advantages of intensive, site-based research, but also raises important questions about the nature of such spatially delimited research: how well does site based research represent broader areas, and doe...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/14-1043.1
更新日期:2015-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::Understanding and accurately modeling species distributions lies at the heart of many problems in ecology, evolution, and conservation. Multiple sources of data are increasingly available for modeling species distributions, such as data from citizen science programs, atlases, museums, and planned surveys. Yet reliably...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1002/ecy.2710
更新日期:2019-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::Previous work suggests that animal water balance can influence trophic interactions, with predators increasing their consumption of water-laden prey to meet water demands. But it is unclear how the need for water interacts with the need for energy to drive trophic interactions under shifting conditions. Using manipula...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.2635
更新日期:2019-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::While it is well established that climate change affects species distributions and abundances, the impacts of climate change on species interactions has not been extensively studied. This is particularly important for specialists whose interactions are tightly linked, such as between the monarch butterfly (Danaus plex...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.2198
更新日期:2018-05-01 00:00:00
abstract::Factors controlling the spatial distribution of bacterial diversity have been intensely studied, whereas less is known about temporal changes. To address this, we tested whether the mechanisms that underlie bacterial temporal beta-diversity vary across different scales in three marine microbial communities. While seas...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/12-2125.1
更新日期:2013-09-01 00:00:00
abstract::A 10-year experiment tested for variation in competition intensity over time in a natural grassland at the northern edge of the Great Plains. Growing-season precipitation varied fivefold during the study. All ecosystem-level variables varied significantly among years, and most covaried in expected ways. The covers of ...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/07-0587.1
更新日期:2007-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Predators play a key role in shaping natural ecosystems, and understanding the factors that influence a predator's kill rate is central to predicting predator-prey dynamics. While prey density has a well-established effect on predation, it is increasingly apparent that predator density also can critically influence pr...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/15-1535.1
更新日期:2016-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::Soil properties are well known to affect vegetation, but the role of soil heterogeneity in the patterning of vegetation dynamics is poorly documented. We asked whether the location of an ecotone separating grass-dominated and sparsely vegetated areas reflected only historical variation in degradation or was related to...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[963:shgpvd]2.0.co;2
更新日期:2006-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::Patches, gradients, and hierarchies are three common organizational frameworks for assessing the effects of spatial heterogeneity on species distributions. Since these frameworks are often chosen a priori, without knowledge of study systems, they may not correspond to the empirical heterogeneity present and may result...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/06-0555
更新日期:2007-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::The structure of Caribbean coral reef communities has been altered by numerous anthropogenic and natural stressors. Demographic studies of key functional groups have furthered efforts to describe and understand these changes. Little is known, however, about the demographics of sponges on coral reefs, despite their abu...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/08-2060.1
更新日期:2010-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::Obtaining reliable predictions of species range shifts under climate change is a crucial challenge for ecologists and stakeholders. At the continental scale, niche-based models have been widely used in the last 10 years to predict the potential impacts of climate change on species distributions all over the world, alt...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/08-0134.1
更新日期:2009-05-01 00:00:00
abstract::Global environmental change (GEC) is affecting species interactions and causing a rapid decline in biodiversity. In this study, I present a new Ecosystem Disruption Index to quantify the impacts of simulated nitrogen (N) deposition (0, 10, 20, and 50 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 + 6-7 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 background) on abiotic and bi...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.1521
更新日期:2016-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Recurrent, low-severity fire in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)/interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) forests is thought to have directly influenced nitrogen (N) cycling and availability. However, no studies to date have investigated the influence of natural fire intervals on soil processes in undi...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2511:ffanti]2.0.co;2
更新日期:2006-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Animal foraging has been characterized as an attempt to maximize the intake of carbon and nitrogen at appropriate ratios. Plant species in over 90 families produce carbohydrate-rich extrafloral nectar (EFN), a resource attractive to ants and other omnivorous insects. This attraction can benefit the plant if those arth...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/08-1580.1
更新日期:2009-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Plants, bacteria, and fungi produce essential amino acids (EAAs) with distinctive patterns of delta13C values that can be used as naturally occurring fingerprints of biosynthetic origin of EAAs in a food web. Because animals cannot synthesize EAAs and must obtain them from food, their tissues reflect delta13C(EAA) pat...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/13-0263.1
更新日期:2014-05-01 00:00:00
abstract::Global species extinction rates are orders of magnitude above the background rate documented in the fossil record. However, recent data syntheses have found mixed evidence for patterns of net species loss at local spatial scales. For example, two recent data meta-analyses have found that species richness is decreasing...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/15-1759.1
更新日期:2016-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::The spatial habitat heterogeneity hypothesis posits that habitat complexity increases the abundance and diversity of species. In tropical forests, lianas add substantial habitat heterogeneity and complexity throughout the vertical forest profile, which may maintain animal abundance and diversity. The effects of lianas...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.3176
更新日期:2020-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Responses to proximate cues that directly affect fitness or cues directly released by selective agents are well-documented forms of phenotypic plasticity. For example, to reduce predation risk, prey change phenotype in response to light level (e.g., moon phase) when light affects predation risk from visual predators, ...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/12-2250.1
更新日期:2013-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Growth and nutrient uptake of red oak seedlings were studied under conditions simulating a forest understory. The tallest seedlings grew in 30% of full light; seedlings in full light had the greatest dry weight accumulation. Seedlings in full light had an average height of 9.7 inches, and those at 30% and 10% light av...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.2307/1934157
更新日期:1971-07-01 00:00:00
abstract::The contribution of interspecific competition to structuring population and community dynamics remains controversial and poorly tested. Interspecific competition has long been thought to influence the structure of migrant-resident bird communities in winter, yet experimental evidence remains elusive. The arrival of bi...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.3208
更新日期:2020-09-27 00:00:00
abstract::In almost every ecosystem, ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are the dominant terrestrial invertebrate group. Their functional value was highlighted by Wilson (1987) who famously declared that invertebrates are the "little things that run the world." However, while it is generally accepted that ants fulfil important func...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/15-1713.1
更新日期:2016-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::Long-distance dispersal (LDD) may contribute disproportionately to range expansions, the creation of new evolutionary lineages, and species persistence in human-dominated landscapes. However, because data on the individual consequences of dispersal distance are extremely limited, we have little insight on how LDD is m...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/09-1458.1
更新日期:2010-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that herbivores should follow the onset of growth in spring to obtain access to forage of higher quality and quantity, the so-called "green wave surfing." Several studies have found correlative evidence in support of this by associating animal movement with plant phenology...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.1596
更新日期:2016-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::The ecological drivers of soil biodiversity in the Southern Hemisphere remain underexplored. Here, in a continental survey comprising 647 sites, across 58 degrees of latitude between tropical Australia and Antarctica, we evaluated the major ecological patterns in soil biodiversity and relative abundance of ecological ...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.2137
更新日期:2018-03-01 00:00:00
abstract::Individual growth rates and survival are major determinants of individual fitness, population size structure, and community dynamics. The relationships between growth rate, survival, and temperature may thus be important for predicting biological responses to climate change. Although it is well known that growth rates...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/13-0875.1
更新日期:2014-05-01 00:00:00
abstract::Black spruce (Picea mariana) is the most abundant tree species in the boreal biome, but little is known about how climate warming may change recruitment in peatlands, especially those affected by permafrost thaw. We used results from a seven-year study in northern Manitoba, Canada, to address the following questions: ...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/08-1839.1
更新日期:2010-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::Ecological communities are dynamic entities subjected to extinction/colonization events. Because species are connected through complex interaction networks, the arrival of a new species is likely to affect various species across the community, as observed in plant biological invasions. However, plant invasions usually...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1002/ecy.3046
更新日期:2020-07-01 00:00:00
abstract::Replicated field experiments were used to quantify and to describe the mechanism of competition between the introduced black rat Rattus rattus and the endemic Santiago rice rat Nesoryzomys swarthi on Santiago Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. The removal of R. rattus significantly slowed the rate of seasonal populat...
journal_title:Ecology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1890/06-1701.1
更新日期:2007-09-01 00:00:00