Carrion is an ubiquitous resource that drives the dynamics of scavenger populations and shapes the structure and composition of their communities. Corvids (Family: Corvidae) are among the most common scavengers globally, facilitating carcass discovery by other species and contributing to carcass biomass removal. Here, we examine how environmental factors influence corvid scavenging dynamics in an arid region of Central Australia. Specifically, we investigate how habitat, season and a major flood event affect corvid discovery and visitation time, and group size around carcass sites. To do so, we used data collected from camera traps monitoring 80 experimentally positioned red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) carcasses stratified across closed and open habitats, spring and winter seasons, and before and after a flood event. Corvids took longer to discover carcasses in closed compared to open habitats, but habitat did not affect how long corvids spent visiting carcasses, or corvid group size. Corvids discovered carcasses faster in winter compared to spring and in post-flood compared with the pre-flood periods, and season and flood interacted to influence both corvid visitation time and group size. Our results reflect a complex interplay between temperature, the extreme boom and bust cyclicity of the study region and changing corvid activity and abundance in the local study area. We identify environmental factors as key determinants of corvid scavenging dynamics and provide the first detailed description of scavenging by corvids in the arid zone of Australia.

中文翻译：

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栖息地、季节和洪水对澳大利亚中部鸦科动物清除动力学的影响

腐肉是一种无处不在的资源，它推动了食腐动物种群的动态变化，并塑造了它们社区的结构和组成。Corvids（科：Corvidae）是全球最常见的食腐动物之一，有助于其他物种发现尸体并有助于去除尸体生物量。在这里，我们研究了环境因素如何影响澳大利亚中部干旱地区的corvid清除动态。具体来说，我们调查栖息地、季节和重大洪水事件如何影响鸦科动物的发现和探访时间，以及尸体地点周围的群体规模。为此，我们使用了从相机陷阱收集的数据，监测 80 只实验性定位的红袋鼠（Osphranter rufus) 尸体在封闭和开放的栖息地、春季和冬季以及洪水事件之前和之后分层。与开放栖息地相比，乌鸦在封闭的栖息地发现尸体的时间更长，但栖息地并不影响乌鸦参观尸体的时间或乌鸦群的规模。与春季相比，Corvids 在冬季发现尸体的速度比在洪水前和洪水后更快，并且季节和洪水相互作用以影响 Corvid 探视时间和群体规模。我们的结果反映了温度、研究区域的极端繁荣和萧条周期以及当地研究区域不断变化的鸦科动物活动和丰度之间的复杂相互作用。