Temporal partitioning can allow sympatric carnivores to coexist, especially if overlap of other resources is high. Using camera trap data from 2013 to 2017, we investigated the temporal partitioning of a community of wild felids and a canid in Nam Et–Phou Louey National Protected Area, Laos, to determine the extent to which temporal avoidance might be facilitating coexistence of similarly sized carnivores. We also investigated temporal overlap of these carnivore species and their presumed main prey, to determine if their activity is likely most influenced by their prey or potential competitors. The dhole (Cuon alpinus) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), the two largest carnivores, had low temporal overlap, and activity appeared to be synchronized with the main prey for dhole, but not clouded leopard. Thus, it was possible that clouded leopard used temporal partitioning to coexist with dhole. The temporal overlap of Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) was high with clouded leopard and moderate with dhole, and overall appeared to be influenced most by its presumed prey species, rather than by its potential competitors. The two small felids had the least temporal overlap between any species, as the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) was primarily diurnal whereas the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was primarily nocturnal. Given that the two small felids reportedly have similar diets consisting of small rodents and birds, their temporal partitioning is likely to help facilitate their coexistence. For carnivore species in northern Laos that are most similar in body size and diet, temporal partitioning is likely to be an important mechanism of coexistence. Otherwise, temporal patterns appear to be synchronized with their main prey.

中文翻译：

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在老挝北部，按猫科动物，猫科动物和它们的潜在猎物进行时间划分

时间划分可以使同伴食肉动物共存，特别是在其他资源重叠率很高的情况下。利用2013年至2017年的相机陷阱数据，我们调查了老挝南埃特-普洛伊国家保护区的野生猫科动物和犬科动物的时间分区，以确定在时间上的回避可能会促进类似规模的动物共存食肉动物。我们还调查了这些食肉动物物种及其假定的主要猎物的时间重叠，以确定它们的活动是否最可能受到其猎物或潜在竞争对手的影响。d（Cuon alpinus）和云豹（Neofelis nebulosa）是两个最大的食肉动物，它们的时间重叠较低，活动似乎与主要的猎物同步，而豹则没有。因此，云豹有可能使用时间划分与dhole共存。亚洲金猫（Catopuma temminckii）在时间上的重叠程度很高，豹云密布，中等，有黑洞，总体看来受其假定的猎物种类影响最大，而不是受其潜在竞争者的影响。两只小猫科动物之间的时间重叠最少，因为大理石猫（Pardofelis marmorata）主要是昼夜活动，而豹猫（Prionailurus bengalensis））主要是夜间活动。鉴于据报道这两种小猫科动物的饮食相似，包括小啮齿动物和鸟类，因此它们的时间划分可能有助于它们的共存。对于老挝北部的食肉动物来说，它们的体型和饮食结构最相似，时间划分可能是共存的重要机制。否则，时间模式似乎与其主要猎物同步。