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dc.contributor.authorCurveira-Santos, Gonçalo
dc.contributor.authorSutherland, Chris
dc.contributor.authorTenan, Simone
dc.contributor.authorFernández-Chacón, Albert
dc.contributor.authorMann, Gareth K. H.
dc.contributor.authorPitman, Ross T.
dc.contributor.authorSwanepoel, Lourens H.
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-03T13:30:01Z
dc.date.available2021-11-03T13:30:01Z
dc.date.issued2021-03-10
dc.identifier.citationCurveira-Santos , G , Sutherland , C , Tenan , S , Fernández-Chacón , A , Mann , G K H , Pitman , R T & Swanepoel , L H 2021 , ' Mesocarnivore community structuring in the presence of Africa's apex predator ' , Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , vol. 288 , no. 1946 , 20202379 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2379en
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 273499885
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 1d655755-ab97-474f-9cdd-7edbbef15ce8
dc.identifier.otherJisc: 2a261923ff4c423e9ea50168744627ed
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0003-2073-1751/work/91341078
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 85102915252
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000627840400006
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/24250
dc.descriptionThis work was supported by the Peace Parks Foundation; G.C.S. was funded by a doctoral grant from Fundacão para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT: PD/BD/114037/2015); L.H.S. was supported by the National Research Foundation, South Africa (UID: 107099 and 115040) and by the African Institute for Conservation Ecology.en
dc.description.abstractApex predator reintroductions have proliferated across southern Africa, yet their ecological effects and proposed umbrella benefits of associated management lack empirical evaluations. Despite a rich theory on top-down ecosystem regulation via mesopredator suppression, a knowledge gap exists relating to the influence of lions (Panthera leo) over Africa's diverse mesocarnivore (less than 20 kg) communities. We investigate how geographical variation in mesocarnivore community richness and occupancy across South African reserves is associated with the presence of lions. An interesting duality emerged: lion reserves held more mesocarnivore-rich communities, yet mesocarnivore occupancy rates and evenness-weighted diversity were lower in the presence of lions. Human population density in the reserve surroundings had a similarly ubiquitous negative effect on mesocarnivore occupancy. The positive association between species richness and lion presence corroborated the umbrella species concept but translated into small differences in community size. Distributional contractions of mesocarnivore species within lion reserves, and potentially corresponding numerical reductions, suggest within-community mesopredator suppression by lions, probably as a result of lethal encounters and responses to a landscape of fear. Our findings offer empirical support for the theoretical understanding of processes underpinning carnivore community assembly and are of conservation relevance under current large-predator orientated management and conservation paradigms.
dc.format.extent10
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciencesen
dc.rightsCopyright © 2021 The Author(s). This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2379.en
dc.subjectHierarchical Bayesian modelsen
dc.subjectPanthera leoen
dc.subjectCamera-trapen
dc.subjectLionen
dc.subjectMesopredator releaseen
dc.subjectOccupancyen
dc.subjectQH301 Biologyen
dc.subjectDASen
dc.subject.lccQH301en
dc.titleMesocarnivore community structuring in the presence of Africa's apex predatoren
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.description.versionPostprinten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modellingen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Statisticsen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2379
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden


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