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Ecological correlates of the spatial co‐occurrence of sympatric mammalian carnivores worldwide
Author(s) -
Davis Courtney L.,
Rich Lindsey N.,
Farris Zach J.,
Kelly Marcella J.,
Di Bitetti Mario S.,
Blanco Yamil Di,
Albanesi Sebastian,
Farhadinia Mohammad S.,
Gholikhani Navid,
Hamel Sandra,
Harmsen Bart J.,
Wultsch Claudia,
Kane Mamadou D.,
Martins Quinton,
Murphy Asia J.,
Steenweg Robin,
Sunarto Sunarto,
Taktehrani Atieh,
Thapa Kanchan,
Tucker Jody M.,
Whittington Jesse,
Widodo Febri A.,
Yoccoz Nigel G.,
Miller David A.W.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13124
Subject(s) - carnivore , sympatric speciation , ecology , biology , co occurrence , ecosystem , camera trap , geography , habitat , predation , artificial intelligence , computer science
Abstract The composition of local mammalian carnivore communities has far‐reaching effects on terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. To better understand how carnivore communities are structured, we analysed camera trap data for 108 087 trap days across 12 countries spanning five continents. We estimate local probabilities of co‐occurrence among 768 species pairs from the order Carnivora and evaluate how shared ecological traits correlate with probabilities of co‐occurrence. Within individual study areas, species pairs co‐occurred more frequently than expected at random. Co‐occurrence probabilities were greatest for species pairs that shared ecological traits including similar body size, temporal activity pattern and diet. However, co‐occurrence decreased as compared to other species pairs when the pair included a large‐bodied carnivore. Our results suggest that a combination of shared traits and top‐down regulation by large carnivores shape local carnivore communities globally.