K Rafiq
Increasing ambient temperatures trigger shifts in activity patterns and temporal partitioning in a large carnivore guild
Rafiq, K; Jordan, NR; Golabek, K; Mcnutt, JW; Wilson, A; Abrahms, B
Authors
NR Jordan
K Golabek
JW Mcnutt
A Wilson
B Abrahms
Abstract
Shifts in species' interactions are implicated as an important proximate cause underpinning climate-change-related extinction. However, there is little empirical evidence on the pathways through which climate conditions, such as ambient temperature, impact community dynamics. The timing of activities is a widespread behavioural adaptation to environmental variability, and temporal partitioning is a key mechanism that facilitates coexistence, especially within large carnivore communities. We investigated temperature impacts on community dynamics through its influence on the diel activity of, and temporal partitioning amongst, four sympatric species of African large carnivores: lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Activity of all species was shaped by a combination of light availability and temperature, with most species becoming more nocturnal and decreasing activity levels with increasing temperatures. A nocturnal shift was most pronounced in cheetahs, the most diurnal species during median temperatures. This shift increased temporal overlap between cheetahs and other carnivore species by up to 15.92%, highlighting the importance of considering the responses of interacting sympatric species when inferring climate impacts on ecosystems. Our study provides evidence that temperature can significantly affect temporal partitioning within a carnivore guild by generating asymmetrical behavioural responses amongst functionally similar species.
Citation
Rafiq, K., Jordan, N., Golabek, K., Mcnutt, J., Wilson, A., & Abrahms, B. (2023). Increasing ambient temperatures trigger shifts in activity patterns and temporal partitioning in a large carnivore guild. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290(2010), https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1938
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Oct 9, 2023 |
Online Publication Date | Nov 8, 2023 |
Publication Date | 2023 |
Deposit Date | Dec 20, 2023 |
Print ISSN | 0962-8452 |
Electronic ISSN | 1471-2954 |
Publisher | The Royal Society |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 290 |
Issue | 2010 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1938 |
Keywords | carnivore ecology; niche partitioning; wildlife community interactions; environmental change; competition; temporal activity patterns; RESPONSES; SELECTION; SOLITARY; BEHAVIOR; OVERLAP; ECOLOGY; CLIMATE; LION |
You might also like
Artificial mass loading disrupts stable social order in pigeon dominance hierarchies
(2020)
Journal Article
Ground reaction forces of overground galloping in ridden Thoroughbred racehorses
(2019)
Journal Article
Downloadable Citations
About RVC Repository
Administrator e-mail: publicationsrepos@rvc.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search