Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers
ABSTRACT Ungulates serve as the primary carrion source for facultative scavengers in European ecosystems. In the absence of large carnivores, such as wolves (Canis lupus), human hunting leftovers are the main source of carrion for these scavengers. Additionally, wild boars (Sus scrofa) are heavily c...
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Wiley
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70424 |
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| author | Elke Wenting Jasper A. J. Eikelboom Henk Siepel Femke Broekhuis Frank vanLangevelde |
| author_facet | Elke Wenting Jasper A. J. Eikelboom Henk Siepel Femke Broekhuis Frank vanLangevelde |
| author_sort | Elke Wenting |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Ungulates serve as the primary carrion source for facultative scavengers in European ecosystems. In the absence of large carnivores, such as wolves (Canis lupus), human hunting leftovers are the main source of carrion for these scavengers. Additionally, wild boars (Sus scrofa) are heavily culled in many ecosystems and are both a significant prey species for wolves as well as a key scavenger. Nowadays, wolves and wild boars are re‐establishing their historical home ranges. However, it remains unclear how their presence influences the population dynamics of facultative scavengers under different scenarios of human hunting strategies. We simulated the biomass densities of all states in the trophic web including European scavengers and wolves using an ordinary differential equations (ODE) model. The presence of wolves led to a positive trend in scavenger biomass in general. However, in general, we found that plant‐based resources were more important for scavenger dynamics than carrion, regardless of whether the carrion originated from human hunting or wolf predation. Only when wolves were absent but boars present, the human hunting strategy became important in determining scavenger dynamics via carrion supply. In conclusion, our model indicates that population dynamics of facultative scavengers are not mainly driven by the availability of carrion, but rather by the presence of and competition for vegetation. Furthermore, our simulations highlight the importance of adapting human hunting strategies in accordance with the re‐establishment of wolf and boar as these can cause fluctuating population patterns over the years. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e6c0c3c300745e493f0ce10b5414f0d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e6c0c3c300745e493f0ce10b5414f0d2024-12-20T04:20:57ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-11-011411n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70424Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative ScavengersElke Wenting0Jasper A. J. Eikelboom1Henk Siepel2Femke Broekhuis3Frank vanLangevelde4Department of Environmental Sciences Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Sciences Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Sciences Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Sciences Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Sciences Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsABSTRACT Ungulates serve as the primary carrion source for facultative scavengers in European ecosystems. In the absence of large carnivores, such as wolves (Canis lupus), human hunting leftovers are the main source of carrion for these scavengers. Additionally, wild boars (Sus scrofa) are heavily culled in many ecosystems and are both a significant prey species for wolves as well as a key scavenger. Nowadays, wolves and wild boars are re‐establishing their historical home ranges. However, it remains unclear how their presence influences the population dynamics of facultative scavengers under different scenarios of human hunting strategies. We simulated the biomass densities of all states in the trophic web including European scavengers and wolves using an ordinary differential equations (ODE) model. The presence of wolves led to a positive trend in scavenger biomass in general. However, in general, we found that plant‐based resources were more important for scavenger dynamics than carrion, regardless of whether the carrion originated from human hunting or wolf predation. Only when wolves were absent but boars present, the human hunting strategy became important in determining scavenger dynamics via carrion supply. In conclusion, our model indicates that population dynamics of facultative scavengers are not mainly driven by the availability of carrion, but rather by the presence of and competition for vegetation. Furthermore, our simulations highlight the importance of adapting human hunting strategies in accordance with the re‐establishment of wolf and boar as these can cause fluctuating population patterns over the years.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70424Lotka‐Volterrapopulation modellingpredator–prey dynamicsungulates |
| spellingShingle | Elke Wenting Jasper A. J. Eikelboom Henk Siepel Femke Broekhuis Frank vanLangevelde Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers Ecology and Evolution Lotka‐Volterra population modelling predator–prey dynamics ungulates |
| title | Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers |
| title_full | Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers |
| title_short | Influence of Human Hunting Strategies and Large Carnivore Presence on Population Dynamics of European Facultative Scavengers |
| title_sort | influence of human hunting strategies and large carnivore presence on population dynamics of european facultative scavengers |
| topic | Lotka‐Volterra population modelling predator–prey dynamics ungulates |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70424 |
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