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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Functional traits driving species role in the structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger networks
Ecology, Volume 102, No. 12, Article e03519, Year 2021
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Description
Species assemblages often have a non-random nested organization, which in vertebrate scavenger (carrion-consuming) assemblages is thought to be driven by facilitation in competitive environments. However, not all scavenger species play the same role in maintaining assemblage structure, as some species are obligate scavengers (i.e., vultures) and others are facultative, scavenging opportunistically. We used a database with 177 vertebrate scavenger species from 53 assemblages in 22 countries across five continents to identify which functional traits of scavenger species are key to maintaining the scavenging network structure. We used network analyses to relate ten traits hypothesized to affect assemblage structure with the “role” of each species in the scavenging assemblage in which it appeared. We characterized the role of a species in terms of both the proportion of monitored carcasses on which that species scavenged, or scavenging breadth (i.e., the species “normalized degree”), and the role of that species in the nested structure of the assemblage (i.e., the species “paired nested degree”), therefore identifying possible facilitative interactions among species. We found that species with high olfactory acuity, social foragers, and obligate scavengers had the widest scavenging breadth. We also found that social foragers had a large paired nested degree in scavenger assemblages, probably because their presence is easier to detect by other species to signal carcass occurrence. Our study highlights differences in the functional roles of scavenger species and can be used to identify key species for targeted conservation to maintain the ecological function of scavenger assemblages. © 2021 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Ecological Society of America.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sebastián-González, Esther
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Spain, Alicante
Universitat D'alacant
Morales-Reyes, Zebensui
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Botella, Francisco
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Naves-Alegre, Lara
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Pérez-García, Juan Manuel
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Spain, Lleida
Universitat de Lleida
Mateo-Tomás, Patricia
Spain, Oviedo
Universidad de Oviedo
Portugal, Coimbra
Universidade de Coimbra
Olea, Pedro P.
Spain, Madrid
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Moleón, Marcos
Spain, Granada
Universidad de Granada
Barbosa, Jomar Magalhães
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Hiraldo, Fernando
Spain, Sevilla
Csic - Estación Biologica de Doñana
Arrondo, Eneko
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Spain, Sevilla
Csic - Estación Biologica de Doñana
Donázar, José Antonio
Spain, Sevilla
Csic - Estación Biologica de Doñana
Cortés-Avizanda, Ainara
Spain, Sevilla
Csic - Estación Biologica de Doñana
Spain, Sevilla
Universidad de Sevilla
Selva, Nuria
Poland, Warszawa
Polish Academy of Sciences
Lambertucci, Sergio A.
Argentina, Buenos Aires
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Bhattacharjee, Aishwarya
United States, New York
The City University of new York
Brewer, Alexis L.
United States, New York
The City University of new York
Abernethy, Erin F.
United States, Corvallis
Oregon State University
Turner, Kelsey L.
United States, Aiken
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Beasley, James C.
United States, Aiken
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
DeVault, Travis L.
United States, Aiken
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Rhodes, Olin Eugene
United States, Aiken
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Ordiz, Andres
Norway, As
Norges Miljø- og Biovitenskapelige Universitet
Wikenros, Camilla
Sweden, Uppsala
Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet
Zimmermann, Barbara
Norway, Elverum
Høgskolen I Innlandet
Wabakken, Petter
Norway, Elverum
Høgskolen I Innlandet
Wilmers, Christopher C.
United States, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
Smith, Justine A.
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Kendall, Corinne J.
United States, Asheboro
North Carolina Zoo
Ogada, Darcy L.
United States, Boise
The Peregrine Fund
Frehner, Ethan H.
United States, Salt Lake City
The University of Utah
Allen, Maximilian L.
United States, Urbana
University of Illinois Urbana-champaign
Wittmer, Heiko U.
New Zealand, Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Butler, James R.A.
Australia, Canberra
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
du Toit, Johan T.
United States, Logan
Utah State University
Margalida, Antoni
Spain, Lleida
Universitat de Lleida
Spain, Ciudad Real
Csic-uclm - Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos Irec
Jerina, Klemen
Slovenia, Ljubljana
Univerza V Ljubljani
Krofel, Miha
Slovenia, Ljubljana
Univerza V Ljubljani
Kostecke, Richard M.
Unknown Affiliation
Inger, Richard
United Kingdom, Exeter
University of Exeter
Koike, Shinsuke
Japan, Fuchu
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Samson, Arockianathan ANAth An
India, Ooty
Government Arts College, Ooty
Newsome, Thomas M.
Australia, Sydney
The University of Sydney
Heurich, Marco
Germany, Grafenau
Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald
Germany, Freiburg Im Breisgau
Universität Freiburg
Anadón, Jose D.
United States, New York
The City University of new York
Spain, Zaragoza
Universidad de Zaragoza
Buechley, Evan R.
United States, Washington, D.c.
National Zoo
United States, Salt Lake City
Hawkwatch International
Gutiérrez-Cánovas, Cayetano
Spain, Sevilla
Csic - Estación Biologica de Doñana
Elbroch, L. Mark
United States, New York
Panthera Usa
Sanchéz-Zapata, José Antonio
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Statistics
Citations: 22
Authors: 49
Affiliations: 41
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/ecy.3519
ISSN:
00129658