Effect of mammalian mesopredator exclusion on vertebrate scavenging communities.

ABSTRACT: Carrion is a valuable resource used by facultative scavengers across the globe. Due to conflicts with humans, many vertebrate scavengers have experienced population declines due to direct persecution or indirect effects of human activities. However, little is known about the implications of altered scavenger community composition on the fate and efficiency of carrion removal within ecosystems. In particular, mammalian mesopredators are efficient scavengers that are often subjected to control, thus, it is important to understand how the reduction of this scavenger guild influences the fate of carrion resources and efficiency of carrion removal within ecosystems. We evaluated the influence of the absence of mammalian mesopredators on vertebrate scavenging dynamics by comparing the efficiency

SUBMITTER: Turner KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7021701 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature