Do Large Carnivores and Mesocarnivores Have Redundant Impacts on Intertidal Prey?

ABSTRACT: The presence of large carnivores can affect lower trophic levels by suppressing mesocarnivores and reducing their impacts on prey. The mesopredator release hypothesis therefore predicts prey abundance will be higher where large carnivores are present, but this prediction assumes limited dietary overlap between large and mesocarnivores. Where dietary overlap is high, e.g., among omnivorous carnivore species, or where prey are relatively easily accessible, the potential exists for large and mesocarnivores to have redundant impacts on prey, though this possibility has not been explored. The intertidal community represents a potentially important but poorly studied resource for coastal carnivore populations, and one for which dietary overlap between carnivores may be high. To evaluate usage of

SUBMITTER: Suraci JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5235380 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature