Study explores which carnivores are most likely to kill other carnivoresMarch 09, 2006Ecologists used to think of prey as the most important factor governing the structure of predator communities. However, over the past twenty years, they have increasingly recognized the importance of interspecific killing - carnivores killing carnivores - in determining ecology and behavior. A new study by Emiliano Donadio and Steven W. Buskirk (University of Wyoming), forthcoming from The American Naturalist, explores which carnivores are most likely to participate in these interactions, and why. "Although food exploitation is influential in predisposing carnivores to attack each other, relative body size of the opponents appears to be overwhelmingly important," write the authors. In theory, explain the authors, carnivore species of similar body size would be most likely to compete for similar prey, increasing the likelihood of lethal encounters. However, they found that attacks from carnivores on other carnivores were most frequent when body sizes were moderately different and diet overlap extensive. When the difference in body size was small, they were less likely to attack, no matter how much the diet of the two species overlapped, because the risks of an attack were high. When the difference in body size was intermediate, then the larger species of carnivore was much more willing to attack and kill the smaller carnivore species. Explain the authors, "The larger carnivore perceives the opponent as large enough to be a competitor, yet small enough to be defeated with low risk." University of Chicago Press Journals |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Carnivore Current Events and Carnivore News Articles Global priority regions for carnivore conservation Finding economical and practical solutions for conserving endangered carnivores is a continuous challenge for conservationists. Large Trees Declining in Yosemite Large trees have declined in Yosemite National Park during the 20th century, and warmer climate conditions may play a role. Smart and social? Packs of hunting dogs, troops of baboons, herds of antelope: when people observe social animals, they are often struck by how intelligent they seem, and recent studies suggest that sociality has played a key role in the evolution of larger brain size among several orders of mammals. Red pandas reveal an unexpected (artificial) sweet tooth Researchers from the Monell Center report that the red panda is the first non-primate mammal to display a liking for the artificial sweetener aspartame. This unexpected affinity for an artificial sweetener may reflect structural variation in the red panda's sweet taste receptor. Biologists solve mystery of black wolves Why do nearly half of North American wolves have black coats while European wolves are overwhelmingly gray or white? The surprising answer, according to teams of biologists and molecular geneticists from Stanford University, UCLA, Sweden, Canada and Italy, is that the black coats are the result of historical matings between black dogs and wild gray wolves. Extinct sabertooth cats were social, found strength in numbers, study shows The sabertooth cat (Smilodon fatalis), one of the most iconic extinct mammal species, was likely to be a social animal, living and hunting like lions today, according to new scientific research. The species is famous for its extremely long canine teeth, which reached up to seven inches in length and extended below the lower jaw. UCSB researchers develop cross-protective vaccine Doctors have always hoped that scientists might one day create a vaccination that would treat a broad spectrum of maladies. They could only imagine that there might be one vaccine that would protect against, say, 2,500 strains of Salmonella. Photos reveal Myanmar's large and small predators Using remote camera traps to lift the veil on Myanmar's dense northern wild lands, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society have painstakingly gathered a bank of valuable data on the country's populations of tigers and other smaller, lesser known carnivores. These findings will help in the formulation of conservation strategies for the country's wildlife. Great white's mighty bite revealed Using sophisticated computer modelling techniques they have also calculated that the bite force of the great white's extinct relative, the gigantic fossil species Carcharodon megalodon (also known as Big Tooth) is the highest of all time, making it arguably the most formidable carnivore ever to have existed. Outdoor enthusiasts scaring off native carnivores in parks Even a quiet stroll in the park can dramatically change natural ecosystems, according to a new study by conservation biologists from the University of California, Berkeley. These findings could have important implications for land management policies. More Carnivore Current Events and Carnivore News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||