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Spatial and temporal overlaps between leopards (Panthera pardus ) and their competitors in the African large predator guild
Journal of Zoology ( IF 2 ) Pub Date : 2020-04-15 , DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12781
K. Rafiq 1, 2 , M. W. Hayward 3, 4 , A. M. Wilson 5 , C. Meloro 1 , N. R. Jordan 2, 6, 7 , S. A. Wich 1 , J. W. McNutt 2 , K. A. Golabek 2
Affiliation  

Understanding the mechanisms facilitating coexistence within species assemblages is a key consideration for conservation as intact assemblages are necessary for maintaining full ecosystem function. The African large predator guild represents one of the few remaining functionally intact large predator assemblages on Earth, and as such, represents a unique study system to understand competitive interactions. Yet, relatively little is known of the coexistence mechanisms between some of its intermediately sized members, particularly leopards (Panthera pardus). Here, we use overlapping spatio‐temporal activity and GPS data on lions (Panthera leo), leopards, African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) to examine spatial interactions and temporal partitioning between leopards and other guild members in northern Botswana. We found that at the population level, male leopard space use and activity patterns were largely unaffected by intraguild competitors. Leopards showed minimal movement coherence with competitors (avoidance or attraction) when moving through areas of home ranges shared with intraguild species. Moreover, we found evidence to support the hypothesis that guild species’ activity patterns are primarily driven by light availability rather than predator avoidance. Our results suggest predator avoidance has a limited impact on broad‐scale leopard spatio‐temporal niches, with aspects of the leopards’ ecology and life history likely facilitating its ability to thrive in close proximity to competitors. Considered alongside other studies, our results suggest that landscape‐level approaches to conservation may be suitable for aiding leopard conservation.

中文翻译:

美洲豹 (Panthera pardus) 与其竞争对手在非洲大型捕食者公会中的时空重叠

了解促进物种组合内共存的机制是保护的一个关键考虑因素,因为完整的组合对于维持完整的生态系统功能是必要的。非洲大型捕食者公会代表了地球上为数不多的功能完整的大型捕食者组合之一,因此,代表了一个独特的研究系统来了解竞争相互作用。然而,对其一些中等大小的成员,特别是豹(Panthera pardus)之间的共存机制知之甚少。在这里,我们使用狮子 (Panthera leo)、豹子、非洲野狗 (Lycaon pictus) 和猎豹 (Acinonyx jubatus) 的重叠时空活动和 GPS 数据来研究博茨瓦纳北部豹子和其他公会成员之间的空间相互作用和时间划分. 我们发现,在种群水平上,雄性豹子空间的使用和活动模式在很大程度上不受行业内竞争者的影响。豹子在穿过与公会内物种共享的家庭范围内时,与竞争对手的运动连贯性(回避或吸引)最小。此外,我们发现了支持以下假设的证据,即公会物种的活动模式主要由光线可用性而非捕食者回避驱动。我们的研究结果表明,避免捕食者对广泛的豹子时空生态位的影响有限,豹子的生态和生活史的各个方面可能有助于它在靠近竞争对手的地方茁壮成长。与其他研究一起考虑,我们的结果表明,景观层面的保护方法可能适用于帮助豹子保护。
更新日期:2020-04-15
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