Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026
09:31
Effective Techniques for the Feeding and Ex Situ Culture of a Brooding Scleractinian Coral, Pocillopora acuta
Published on: June 23, 2023
Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas
L Mark Elbroch1, Heiko U Wittmer
1Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. lmelbroch@ucdavis.edu
Biology Letters
|June 15, 2012
Summary
Large carnivores like pumas are crucial for ecosystems. In Patagonia, pumas provide significant food resources for scavengers, highlighting their keystone ecological role.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Wildlife Conservation
- Carnivore Ecology
Background:
- Large carnivores are essential for ecosystem health, influencing food webs and scavenger communities.
- Pumas (Puma concolor) are elusive, and their role in inter-trophic interactions remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the food subsidies provided by pumas to scavenger communities in Patagonia.
- To understand the ecological significance of solitary felids in natural systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized new GPS technology to track puma (Puma concolor) kill rates and prey availability.
- Assessed the contribution of puma-killed prey to the diet of scavenger species, including Andean condors (Vultur gryphus).
Main Results:
- Pumas in Patagonia provided an estimated 232 ± 31 kg of edible meat/month/100 km² to scavengers.
- This contribution is substantially higher (up to 3.1 times) than that of wolves in Yellowstone, underscoring the significant role of large felids.
Conclusions:
- Pumas play a vital keystone role in Patagonian ecosystems by supporting diverse scavenger communities.
- Ecological consequences of managing pumas, such as culling, require careful consideration due to their critical ecosystem functions.
Related Concept Videos
00:48Optimal Foraging
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
01:28Microbial Interactions: Predation
Microbial predation refers to the process by which one microorganism kills and consumes another to obtain nutrients and energy. It encompasses both bacterial and protozoan predators. This interaction plays a crucial role in shaping microbial communities and regulating nutrient cycling.Bacterial Predators: Epibiotic vs. EndobioticBacterial predators are classified based on their mode of attack as either epibiotic or endobiotic. Epibiotic predators, such as Vampirococcus, attach to the surface of...
00:58Symbiosis
Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
01:35Trophic Levels
All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food from either solar or chemical energy. Each subsequent level obtains energy from the levels below. Detritivores can occupy any of the levels above primary producers.