Resource availability is a key component in animal ecology, yet the manner in which carnivore populations respond to spatial and temporal fluctuations of resources remains unclear. We take a population‐level approach to determine how resource pulses, in this case a temporary hyper‐abundance of prey, influence the densities and space‐use of cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus. The Maasai Mara in Kenya experiences an annual migration of > 1.4 million wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and large numbers of zebras Equus quagga and Thomson's gazelle Eudorcas thomsonii thereby providing a natural experiment to examine the influence of resource pulses on carnivore movement and densities. To draw inferences on fluctuating cheetah densities and space‐use, we collected unstructured search‐encounter data during eight sampling sessions, four during and four out of the migration, and analysed these using Bayesian spatially‐explicit capture–recapture (SECR) models with sex‐specific detection function parameters. Both densities and space‐use fluctuated seasonally but this varied according to sex. Local cheetah densities increased in areas and during times when prey abundance was highest but this was more pronounced for females than males. In terms of space‐use, movements were larger during the migration than out of the migration but this was more pronounced for males than females. These results suggest that males are influenced more by resource distribution whereas females by resource abundance. Overall densities did vary but there was no clear pattern in relation to resource pulses. Understanding the behavioural drivers of population dynamics in relation to resource pulses can provide important insights into ecological processes at multiple ecological levels.

中文翻译：

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资源脉冲影响大型食肉动物种群的时空动态

资源的可利用性是动物生态学中的关键组成部分，但食肉动物对资源的时空波动的反应方式仍不清楚。我们采取的人口水平的方法来确定如何资源脉冲，在这种情况下的猎物暂时超丰，影响了密度和空间使用猎豹猎豹jubatus。马赛马拉，肯尼亚经历的年度迁徙> 140万个的牛羚Connochaetes taurinus和大量的斑马雅科仕斑驴和汤姆逊瞪羚Eudorcas粉葛从而提供了一个自然的实验，以检验资源脉冲对食肉动物运动和密度的影响。为了推断猎豹密度和空间使用的变化，我们在八个抽样会议中（迁移过程中的四个和四个）收集了非结构化的搜索遭遇数据，并使用具有性别关系的贝叶斯空间明确捕获-捕获（SECR）模型对这些数据进行了分析特定的检测功能参数。密度和空间使用量均随季节而变化，但这随性别而变化。在猎物丰富度最高的地区和期间，当地的猎豹密度会增加，但雌性比雄性更为明显。就空间利用而言，迁徙期间的迁徙比迁徙期间的迁徙要大，但男性比女性的迁徙更为明显。这些结果表明，男性受资源分配的影响更大，而女性受资源丰富的影响。总体密度确实有所变化，但与资源脉冲没有明显的关系。了解与资源脉冲相关的人口动态的行为驱动因素，可以提供对多个生态水平的生态过程的重要见解。