scholarly journals Investigating carnivore guild structure: Spatial and temporal relationships amongst threatened felids in Myanmar

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pyae Kyaw ◽  
David Macdonald ◽  
Ugyen Penjor ◽  
Saw Htun ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Temporal Association ◽  
Guild Structure ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Occupancy Modelling ◽  
Temporal Dimension ◽  
Temporal Behaviour ◽  
Clouded Leopard ◽  
Leopard Cat

At least nine felid species can co-occur in Southeast Asia, thus providing an unusual opportunity to investigate poorly known guild structure and the factors controlling it. Using camera-trap data, we quantified space use, temporal activity, and multi-dimensional niche overlap of tiger, clouded leopard, marbled cat, leopard cat, and Asiatic golden cat in Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary of Myanmar. We hypothesized that the spatio-temporal behaviour of smaller cats can reflect avoidance of the larger cats, which are both potential competitors and predators, and similar-sized guild members would partition their niches in space or time to reduce competition for resources. Our approach involved single-species occupancy modelling to identify site covariates, pairwise spatial overlap using Bayesian inference, and activity overlap with Kernel density estimation and multivariate analyses to test hypotheses. We found tiger and marbled cats were primarily diurnal, clouded leopard and leopard cat were nocturnal and golden cat exhibited cathemeral activity. We observed a complex pattern of guild assembly and potential competition involving strong niche displacement between the golden cat and marbled cat, but high overlap between the relatively similarly-sized pairing of clouded leopard and golden cat, and the markedly differently-sized tiger – golden cat pairing. No significant evidence of mesopredator release was observed and the felid assembly in Northern Myanmar appeared to be partitioned mainly on a spatial, rather than temporal, dimension. Nonetheless, the temporal association between the three mesopredators was inversely related to the similarity in their body sizes. The insights into this felid guild revealed that the largest niche differences in the use of space and time occurred between the three smaller species, most evidently between the Asiatic golden cat-marbled cat pairing, followed by marbled cat - leopard cat pairing. This study offers new insight into carnivore guild assembly and, adds substantially to knowledge of five of the least known felids of conservation concern.

scholarly journals Investigating Carnivore Guild Structure: Spatial and Temporal Relationships amongst Threatened Felids in Myanmar

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 808
Author(s):  
Pyae Phyoe Kyaw ◽  
David W. Macdonald ◽  
Ugyen Penjor ◽  
Saw Htun ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Competition ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Temporal Association ◽  
Guild Structure ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Temporal Dimension ◽  
Temporal Behaviour ◽  
Niche Differences ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The co-occurrence of felid species in Southeast Asia provides an unusual opportunity to investigate guild structure and the factors controlling it. Using camera-trap data, we quantified the space use, temporal activity, and multi-dimensional niche overlap of the tiger, clouded leopard, Asiatic golden cat, marbled cat, and leopard cat in the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar. We hypothesised that the spatio-temporal behaviour of smaller cats would reflect the avoidance of the larger cats, and similar-sized guild members would partition their niches in space or time to reduce resource competition. Our approach involved modelling single-species occupancy, pairwise spatial overlap using Bayesian inference, activity overlap with kernel density estimation, and multivariate analyses. The felid assembly appeared to be partitioned mainly on a spatial rather than temporal dimension, and no significant evidence of mesopredator release was observed. Nonetheless, the temporal association between the three mesopredators was inversely related to the similarity in their body sizes. The largest niche differences in the use of space and time occurred between the three smallest species. This study offers new insight into carnivore guild assembly and adds substantially to knowledge of five of the least known felids of conservation concern.

scholarly journals Density trends of wild felids in northern Laos

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akchousanh Rasphone ◽  
Jan F. Kamler ◽  
Mathias Tobler ◽  
David W. Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Clouded Leopard ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Leopard Cat ◽  
Prionailurus Bengalensis

AbstractDetermining the density trends of a guild of species can help illuminate their interactions, and the impacts that humans might have on them. We estimated the density trends from 2013 to 2017 of the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa, leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis and marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata in Nam Et—Phou Louey National Park (NEPL), Laos, using camera trap data and spatial capture-recapture models. Mean (± SD) density estimates (individuals/100 km2) for all years were 1.77 ± 0.30 for clouded leopard, 1.50 ± 0.30 for leopard cat, and 3.80 ± 0.70 for marbled cat. There was a declining trend in density across the study years for all three species, with a ≥ 90% probability of decline for clouded leopard and leopard cat and an 83% probability of decline for marbled cat. There was no evidence that mesopredator release occurred as a result of tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopard (P. pardus) extirpations. We believe that snaring, the factor that led to the extirpation of tiger and leopard in NEPL, is now contributing to the decline of smaller felids, to an extent that over-rides any potential effects of mesopredator release on their densities and interactions. We recommend that the NEPL managers implement a more systematic and intensified snare removal program, in concert with extensive community outreach and engagement of local people to prevent the setting of snares. These actions might be the only hope for saving the remaining members of the felid community in NEPL.

Food-niche relationships and guild structure of diurnal birds of prey: competition versus opportunism

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (10) ◽  
pp. 2230-2241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian M. Jaksić ◽  
H. Elizabeth Braker
Keyword(s):  
Niche Breadth ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Guild Structure ◽  
Food Size ◽  
Food Niche ◽  
Very High ◽  
Opportunistic Feeding ◽  
Niche Relationships

Food-niche relationships of diurnal raptors have been claimed to be shaped by either competitive interactions or opportunistic feeding. We confront these alternatives by analyzing the patterns of prey use of five assemblages of falconiforms. Our results show that food-niche breadth is not a species property but is determined by the food resources locally available; neither does it become narrower in larger assemblages nor is it correlated with raptor size. Food-niche overlaps are frequently very high and do not become smaller in larger assemblages. Mean weight of prey taken is positively correlated with raptor weight within assemblages, but varies widely across assemblages, with a single species showing manyfold differences. Weight ratios between raptors contiguous in the size axis fall well below the 2.2–3.4 expected figures, nor are they negatively correlated with the amount of food-niche overlap. Normalized distance ratios (d/w) of spacing between raptors along the food-size axis are usually smaller than the expected 1. The five assemblages are organized in feeding guilds whose size is larger where fewer prey categories are available per raptor species. In most cases we found little support for predictions based on competition-structured assemblages. This is probably because of the opportunistic feeding behavior of raptors, and perhaps also because food might not be a limiting resource for them.

scholarly journals KEPADATAN POPULASI MAMALIA DARAT KARNIVORA DI CAMP LEAKEY KAWASAN TAMAN NASIONAL TANJUNG PUTING, KALIMANTAN TENGAH

Jurnal BIOMA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Siwi Arthapati Mandiri ◽  
Paskal Sukandar ◽  
Yossa Istiadi
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Population Density ◽  
National Park ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Line Transect Sampling ◽  
Clouded Leopard ◽  
Helarctos Malayanus ◽  
Transect Sampling ◽  
Palm Civet ◽  
Leopard Cat

Borneo has wide land that support high biodiversity. One of them is Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), which have biodiversity such as terrestrial mammalian carnivore. Carnivore has a role to maintain its ecosystems. But, there are no data for population density of terrestrial mammalian carnivore. The object of this research is to find out population density of terrestrial mammalian carnivore in Camp Leakey, TPNP, Central Borneo. This research accomplished in September-October 2015 in Camp Leakey. Using line-transect sampling. Data collection was accomplished at 18.00-24.00 Central Indonesian Time (WITA) on eight transects with three times replication by direct surveys and indirect surveys. This research has obtained five species, malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), leopard cat, and group of civet, like small-toothed palm civet (Arctogalidia trivirgata) and asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Population density of each species from the highest to the lowest is 13,5 Individual of leopard cat/km2, 9,84 Individual of malayan sun bears/km2, 4,31 Individual of sunda clouded leopard/km2, and 3,65 Individual of civet/km2. Malayan sun bears, sunda clouded leopards and civets prefer to be in land forest. Leopard cats prefers to be in transition forest.

scholarly journals Activity patterns of the small and medium felid (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) guild in northeastern India

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 13432-13447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shomita Mukherjee ◽  
Priya Singh ◽  
André Pinto Silva ◽  
Chandan Ri ◽  
Kashmira Kakati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Diel Activity ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Clouded Leopard ◽  
Northeastern India ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Diel Activity Patterns ◽  
Leopard Cat

Fifteen extant species of cats inhabit India, and the northeastern region of the country is among the richest with nine species.  Among these are the “standard four”, an assemblage of Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Asiatic Golden Cat Catopuma temminckii, Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata, and Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, which also occur across southeastern Asia.  Within India, despite several surveys in this region, very little information exists on the ecology of this assemblage to explain their co-occurrence.  In this paper, we put together data from several independent camera trapping studies over 10 sites across northeastern India to examine and interpret diel activity patterns of this group.  While we present results for all the four species, we focus on two species, the Marbled Cat and Leopard Cat, which are of very similar body size and are potential competitors.  We used kernel density estimates to measure diel activity patterns of all four species and overlap in activity between Marbled Cat and Leopard Cat at the regional scale as well as the point scale.  We obtained 783 captures of the standard four from >27,500 trap nights.  The Asiatic Golden Cat and Marbled Cat were strongly diurnal, Clouded Leopard largely crepuscular and nocturnal, and Leopard Cat largely nocturnal.  The degree of overlap between Marbled Cat and Leopard Cat activity was low and in consensus with other studies across southeastern Asia.  We interpret this as the differing niche spaces of the two cats due to their specific pre-existing adaptations, not restricted to the effects of competition.  The point scale analysis when both cats are captured at the same location and separately show no shift in activity pattern, supporting our hypothesis of pre-existing differences in resources, such as food, playing a major role in facilitating co-existence.  Our study, however, is preliminary and additional information with robust analysis is required to test this finding.

An unusual pattern of divergence between two fossil gastropods: ecophenotypy, dimorphism, or hybridization?

Paleobiology ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana H. Geary
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Morphological Evolution ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Morphological Divergence ◽  
Temporal Dimension ◽  
Species Formation ◽  
Fossil Gastropods

The temporal dimension of fossil sequences provides a critical component to the study of intraspecific dynamics and species formation. Here I report on the branching and subsequent morphological evolution of two gastropods (Melanopsis fossilis and M. vindobonensis) from the Late Miocene of the Pannonian basin in eastern and central Europe. Although morphological divergence between species is rapid, intermediates between the two species co-occur with typical individuals for approximately 1 m.y. and then disappear. The long-term persistence of intermediates followed by their ultimate disappearance is a pattern that, to my knowledge, has not been previously observed.Distinguishing genetic from ecophenotypic influences on shell form in freshwater prosobranchs is difficult. Nevertheless, consideration of the temporal, geographic, lithologic, and paleoecologic patterns of this sequence suggests that the morphologic differences between M. fossilis and M. vindobonensis had some genetic basis. Whether these forms were initially morphs of a single species or two species with some hybridization between them is impossible to determine. In either case, the morphological changes that resulted in M. vindobonensis were rapid, but the attainment of complete isolation between M. fossilis and M. vindobonensis apparently did not occur until approximately 1 m.y. later.

Structure of the pinworm (Oxyurida: Nematoda) guild in the hindgut of the american cockroach, Periplaneta americana

Parasitology ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Adamson ◽  
S. Noble
Keyword(s):  
Periplaneta Americana ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Single Species ◽  
American Cockroach ◽  
Guild Structure ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Laboratory Colony ◽  
Late Instar ◽  
Early Instar ◽  
Niche Diversification

The pinworm (Oxyurida: Nematoda) guild in a laboratory colony of Periplaneta americana was investigated to answer the following questions. (1) Is guild structure stable with time? (2) Is there evidence of interaction among the species? (3) Is there evidence for niche diversification with respect to spatial distribution or developmental stage of host? Four species were found: Thelastoma periplaneticola, Thelastoma bulhoesi, Hammerschmidtiella diesingi and Leidynema appendiculatum; females of the first two could not be distinguished and they were lumped and referred to as Thelastoma sp.; 328 mid-instar hosts were dissected between September 1987 and February 1990, and the number of adult females of each pinworm species was recorded to investigate changes in guild structure through time. Seventy-five percent of hosts had Thelastoma sp., 62% had H. diesingi and 40% had L. appendiculatum; mean intensities were 6.5 (Thelastoma), 2.9 (H. diesingi) and 1.9 (L. appendiculatum). Relative numbers were stable with time and intensities of the species were similar whether they occurred alone in the host or in conjunction with other species. Thelastoma sp. and L. appendiculatum occurred together less often than expected and their numbers in individual hosts were negatively correlated. Both species occurred alone more often than expected. Surprisingly, H. diesingi and L. appendiculatum occurred together more often than expected. Intestines of 44 roaches were frozen in liquid nitrogen and divided into 5 equal sections to study longitudinal distributions of the species in the gut. Most L. appendiculatum and H. diesingi were found in the first, whereas most Thelastoma sp. occurred in the second segment. However, Thelastoma sp. dominated all segments of the gut. Worms were counted in 192 hosts belonging to 4 categories (early instar, late instar, adult male and adult female). Single species infections were more common in early instar hosts but there was no evidence that different species preferred different host stages. Modal distributions in male L. appendiculatum and T. bulhoesi suggest that these species may exhibit intraspecific interference competition similar to that observed in other pinworms. Such effects may be more important than interspecific effects in maintaining guild stability.

scholarly journals Could controlling mammalian carnivores lead to mesopredator release of carnivorous reptiles?

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1706) ◽  
pp. 641-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan R. Sutherland ◽  
Alistair S. Glen ◽  
Paul J. de Tores
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Mesopredator Release ◽  
Specific Approach ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Community Approach ◽  
Dietary Niche

Emerging evidence increasingly illustrates the importance of a holistic, rather than taxon-specific, approach to the study of ecological communities. Considerable resources are expended to manage both introduced and native mammalian carnivores to improve conservation outcomes; however, management can result in unforeseen and sometimes catastrophic outcomes. Varanid lizards are likely to be apex- or mesopredators, but being reptiles are rarely considered by managers and researchers when investigating the impacts of mammalian carnivore management. Instances of mesopredator release have been described for Varanus gouldii as a result of fox and cat management in Australia, with cascading effects on faunal community structure. A meta-analysis showing extensive dietary niche overlap between varanids, foxes and cats plus a review of experimental and circumstantial evidence suggests mesopredator release of V. gouldii and about five other medium to large species of varanid lizard is likely in other regions. This highlights the need for managers to adopt a whole-of-community approach when attempting to manage predators for sustained fauna conservation, and that additional research is required to elucidate whether mesopredator release of varanids is a widespread consequence of carnivore management, altering the intended faunal responses.

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