Season, prey availability, sex, and age explain prey size selection in a large solitary carnivore.

ABSTRACT: Prey selection is a fundamental aspect of ecology that drives evolution and community structure, yet the impact of intraspecific variation on the selection for prey size remains largely unaccounted for in ecological theory. Here, we explored puma (Puma concolor) prey selection across six study sites in North and South America. Our results highlighted the strong influence of season and prey availability on puma prey selection, and the smaller influence of puma age. Pumas in all sites selected smaller prey in warmer seasons following the ungulate birth pulse. Our top models included interaction terms between sex and age, suggesting that males more than females select larger prey as they age, which may reflect experiential learning. When accounting for variable sampling across pumas in

SUBMITTER: Bates-Mundell L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10918706 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature