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A native apex predator limits an invasive mesopredator and protects native prey: Tasmanian devils protecting bandicoots from cats.
Ecology Letters ( IF 8.8 ) Pub Date : 2020-02-13 , DOI: 10.1111/ele.13473
Calum X Cunningham 1 , Christopher N Johnson 1, 2 , Menna E Jones 1
Affiliation  

Apex predators can limit the abundance and behaviour of mesopredators, thereby reducing predation on smaller species. We know less about whether native apex predators are effective in suppressing invasive mesopredators, a major global driver of vertebrate extinctions. We use the severe disease-induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil, as a natural experiment to test whether devils limit abundance of invasive feral cats and in turn protect smaller native prey. Cat abundance was c. 58% higher where devils had declined, which in turn negatively affected a smaller native prey species. Devils had a stronger limiting effect on cats than on a native mesopredator, suggesting apex predators may have stronger suppressive effects on evolutionarily naive species than coevolved species. Our results highlight how disease in one species can affect the broader ecosystem. We show that apex predators not only regulate native species but can also confer resistance to the impacts of invasive populations. Apex predators could therefore be a powerful but underutilised tool to prevent biodiversity loss.

中文翻译:

天然的先天捕食者限制了侵入性的中捕食者并保护了天然的猎物:塔斯马尼亚的恶魔保护手足猫免受猫的侵害。

Apex捕食者可以限制中捕食者的数量和行为,从而减少对较小物种的捕食。我们对原生天敌捕食者是否能有效抑制脊椎动物灭绝的主要全球驱动因素-中游掠食者知之甚少。我们使用自然疾病引起的尖锐掠食者塔斯马尼亚恶魔的严重衰落作为自然实验,以测试恶魔是否限制了入侵性野猫的数量,进而保护了较小的本土猎物。猫的丰度是c。魔鬼减少的地方高58%,反过来又对较小的本地猎物产生了负面影响。恶魔对猫的限制作用比对本地中变种的限制作用强,这表明先天性捕食者对进化上的幼稚物种的抑制作用可能强于同进化物种。我们的结果强调了一种物种的疾病如何影响更广泛的生态系统。我们表明,先天掠食者不仅调节本地物种,而且还可以赋予对入侵种群影响的抵抗力。因此,Apex捕食者可能是防止生物多样性丧失的有力但未充分利用的工具。
更新日期:2020-02-14
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