Abstract
Species interactions determine the structure of biological communities. In particular, interference behavior is critical as dominant species can displace subordinate species depending on local ecological conditions. In carnivores, the outcome of interference may have important consequences from the point of view of conservation, especially when vulnerable species are the ones suffering displacement. Using 24 baited camera traps and a sampling effort of 2821 trap nights, we examined the activity patterns and spatial overlap of an assemblage of five sympatric carnivores in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range, in southern-central Chile. In this forested landscape we found predominantly nocturnal activity in all species, but not for the puma (Puma concolor) and to a lesser extent, for the guigna (Leopardus guigna). In terms of spatial overlap, there was a non-significant negative relationship between the puma and the culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus), and a positive relationship among the three smaller species of the assemblage, the guigna, the hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus chinga), and the Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes). Culpeo displayed a negative spatial relationship with the three later species appearing to be a product of interference behavior. Species-specific ecological differences, including prey types and spatio-temporal partitioning among the carnivores appear to allow their coexistence.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Forestal Arauco for logistical help and for granting access to the study area, and to Idea Wild (Grant/Award Number: “2681”) for providing some camera traps. Our special appreciation goes to Patricio Viluñir for his continuous support in all field activities. A. Wynia helped us to improve the language.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Effect of supplementary feeding on the social behaviour and distribution patterns of free-ranging southern white rhinoceros
- Activity patterns in sympatric carnivores in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range, southern-central Chile
- Niche overlap and shared distributional patterns between two South American small carnivorans: Galictis cuja and Lyncodon patagonicus (Carnivora: Mustelidae)
- Rapid assessment of nonvolant mammals in seven sites in the northern State of Pará, Brazil: a forgotten part of the Guiana Region
- Unpaved roads are not adequate surrogates of true transects for sampling agoutis
- Taxonomic and geographic setting of Royle’s mountain vole Alticola roylei revisited
- Taxonomic reassessment of bats from Castelnau’s expedition to South America (1843–1847): Phyllostoma angusticeps Gervais, 1856 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)
- Short Notes
- White-lipped peccaries are recorded at Iguaçu National Park after 20 years
- New record of feeding behavior by the porcupine Coendou spinosus (F. Cuvier, 1823) in high-altitude grassland of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Toucan predation attempt on a Neotropical pygmy squirrel
- Long-term cave roosting in the spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum)
- On the rare species Amphinectomys savamis Malygin 1994 (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae): new record and morphological considerations
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Effect of supplementary feeding on the social behaviour and distribution patterns of free-ranging southern white rhinoceros
- Activity patterns in sympatric carnivores in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range, southern-central Chile
- Niche overlap and shared distributional patterns between two South American small carnivorans: Galictis cuja and Lyncodon patagonicus (Carnivora: Mustelidae)
- Rapid assessment of nonvolant mammals in seven sites in the northern State of Pará, Brazil: a forgotten part of the Guiana Region
- Unpaved roads are not adequate surrogates of true transects for sampling agoutis
- Taxonomic and geographic setting of Royle’s mountain vole Alticola roylei revisited
- Taxonomic reassessment of bats from Castelnau’s expedition to South America (1843–1847): Phyllostoma angusticeps Gervais, 1856 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)
- Short Notes
- White-lipped peccaries are recorded at Iguaçu National Park after 20 years
- New record of feeding behavior by the porcupine Coendou spinosus (F. Cuvier, 1823) in high-altitude grassland of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Toucan predation attempt on a Neotropical pygmy squirrel
- Long-term cave roosting in the spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum)
- On the rare species Amphinectomys savamis Malygin 1994 (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae): new record and morphological considerations