Human hunters are no substitute for vanishing apex predators

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Wildlife Management

Background:

• Apex predator populations are declining globally, threatening essential ecological functions.
• Human hunters are sometimes considered 'super-predators', raising questions about their role in ecosystem regulation.
• Understanding the functional substitution capacity of human hunters for apex predators is critical for conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether human hunters can functionally substitute for natural apex predators in regulating wildlife communities.
• To compare the ecological functions of hunter-dominated sites with apex predator-dominated and predator-absent sites.
• To provide evidence-based insights for regulating human hunting in ecosystem management.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 30,778 camera-trap records from 400 sites in southwestern China (2017-2021).
• Utilized propensity score matching (PSM) to control for environmental heterogeneity across site types.
• Compared wildlife communities, species richness, abundance, and prey-site network robustness across hunter-dominated, apex predator-dominated, and predator-absent sites.

Main Results:

• Apex predator sites exhibited significantly higher species richness and abundance compared to hunter-dominated and predator-absent sites.
• The prey species-site network was most robust at apex predator sites and weakest at hunter-dominated sites.
• Prey species showed prolonged avoidance of human hunters compared to apex predators, indicating increased vulnerability.

Conclusions:

• Human hunters do not replicate the ecological functions of natural apex predators.
• The conservation of natural apex predators is essential for sustaining biodiversity and stable spatial patterns.
• Findings support the regulation of human hunting to mitigate negative impacts on ecosystem health.