The study of the competitive interactions between predators has traditionally been approached within the context of predatory behavior. By using a quasi‐experimental, non‐intrusive approach, we go beyond the classical view that predators only compete for living prey and disentangle the mechanisms of exploitative and interference competition between two charismatic apex predators, lions Panthera leo and spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta, at carcasses other than their own kills. Carcasses of different sizes were monitored in two study areas of South Africa: one with both lions and hyaenas and the other with hyaenas only. We found evidence of both symmetric exploitative competition and asymmetric interference competition. Interactions were strongly conditioned by carcass size, and co‐occurrence was mostly recorded at large ungulate carcasses. Interference competition seemed to dominate interspecific interactions, with lions having preferential access. However, interference while feeding did not exert any cost on the subordinate hyaenas, in terms of amount of ingested food and consumption rate, probably thanks to the reward provided by large carcasses in the form of abundant carrion, the use of lions to detect carcasses, and spatiotemporal segregation at the carcass‐scale. Securing a diverse carrion supply in terms of carcass size, including megaherbivore carcasses, may favor the coexistence of the largest African carnivores, especially in small protected areas. Overall, our study reveals mechanisms related to both the food resource heterogeneity and the competitor behavior that allow the coexistence of strongly interacting species.

中文翻译：

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鬣狗和狮子：非洲最大的食肉动物如何在尸体上互动

传统上是在掠夺行为的背景下研究掠夺者之间竞争性相互作用的。通过使用准实验性，非侵入性的方法，我们超越了经典观点，即掠食者仅争夺活着的猎物，并解开了两个有魅力的先头掠食者狮子Panthera leo和斑点鬣狗Crocuta crocuta之间的剥削和干扰竞争机制。，而不是自己杀死的尸体。在南非的两个研究区域对不同大小的cas体进行了监测：一个区域同时带有狮子和鬣狗，另一个区域仅带有鬣狗。我们发现了对称剥削竞争和非对称干扰竞争的证据。相互作用受by体大小的强烈影响，并且在有蹄类动物的大recorded体中大多数同时发生。干扰竞争似乎在种间相互作用中占主导地位，狮子享有优先使用权。但是，进食时的干扰不会对下属的鬣狗造成任何影响，无论是在食物摄入量还是食用速度方面，这都可能要归功于大型car体以丰富的腐肉形式提供的奖励，使用狮子检测to体，体规模的时空隔离。确保包括大型食草动物cas体在内的size体大小的多样化食腐动物供应，可能有利于非洲最大的食肉动物的共存，特别是在小型保护区。总体而言，我们的研究揭示了与食物资源异质性和竞争者行为相关的机制，这些机制允许强相互作用物种并存。