Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate
Abstract Predator‐prey theory predicts that in the presence of multiple types of predators using a common prey, predator facilitation may result as a consequence of contrasting prey defense mechanisms, where reducing the risk from one predator increases the risk from the other. While predator facili...
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doaj-9f0e404cc2774a23b097e189a59794cc2021-04-02T13:13:16ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582018-01-018110911910.1002/ece3.3642Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulateBenedikt Gehr0Elizabeth J. Hofer1Mirjam Pewsner2Andreas Ryser3Eric Vimercati4Kristina Vogt5Lukas F. Keller6Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich SwitzerlandCarnivore Ecology and Wildlife Management KORA Muri SwitzerlandFederal Office for the Environment, Forest and Wildlife Biodiversity Section Ittigen SwitzerlandCarnivore Ecology and Wildlife Management KORA Muri SwitzerlandCarnivore Ecology and Wildlife Management KORA Muri SwitzerlandCarnivore Ecology and Wildlife Management KORA Muri SwitzerlandDepartment of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich SwitzerlandAbstract Predator‐prey theory predicts that in the presence of multiple types of predators using a common prey, predator facilitation may result as a consequence of contrasting prey defense mechanisms, where reducing the risk from one predator increases the risk from the other. While predator facilitation is well established in natural predator‐prey systems, little attention has been paid to situations where human hunters compete with natural predators for the same prey. Here, we investigate hunting‐mediated predator facilitation in a hunter‐predator‐prey system. We found that hunter avoidance by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) exposed them to increase predation risk by Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). Lynx responded by increasing their activity and predation on deer, providing evidence that superadditive hunting mortality may be occurring through predator facilitation. Our results reveal a new pathway through which human hunters, in their role as top predators, may affect species interactions at lower trophic levels and thus drive ecosystem processes.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3642habitat selectionrisk enhancementstep selection functiontrophic interactions |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Benedikt Gehr Elizabeth J. Hofer Mirjam Pewsner Andreas Ryser Eric Vimercati Kristina Vogt Lukas F. Keller |
spellingShingle |
Benedikt Gehr Elizabeth J. Hofer Mirjam Pewsner Andreas Ryser Eric Vimercati Kristina Vogt Lukas F. Keller Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate Ecology and Evolution habitat selection risk enhancement step selection function trophic interactions |
author_facet |
Benedikt Gehr Elizabeth J. Hofer Mirjam Pewsner Andreas Ryser Eric Vimercati Kristina Vogt Lukas F. Keller |
author_sort |
Benedikt Gehr |
title |
Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate |
title_short |
Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate |
title_full |
Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate |
title_fullStr |
Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate |
title_sort |
hunting‐mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a european ungulate |
publisher |
Wiley |
series |
Ecology and Evolution |
issn |
2045-7758 |
publishDate |
2018-01-01 |
description |
Abstract Predator‐prey theory predicts that in the presence of multiple types of predators using a common prey, predator facilitation may result as a consequence of contrasting prey defense mechanisms, where reducing the risk from one predator increases the risk from the other. While predator facilitation is well established in natural predator‐prey systems, little attention has been paid to situations where human hunters compete with natural predators for the same prey. Here, we investigate hunting‐mediated predator facilitation in a hunter‐predator‐prey system. We found that hunter avoidance by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) exposed them to increase predation risk by Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). Lynx responded by increasing their activity and predation on deer, providing evidence that superadditive hunting mortality may be occurring through predator facilitation. Our results reveal a new pathway through which human hunters, in their role as top predators, may affect species interactions at lower trophic levels and thus drive ecosystem processes. |
topic |
habitat selection risk enhancement step selection function trophic interactions |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3642 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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1721565834709565440 |