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Avoidance dynamics in tiger-leopard coexistence: a time-geographic approach
Yifei Liu1, Somayeh Dodge2, Achara Simcharoen3
1Department of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA. yifei_liu@ucsb.edu.
Large carnivores like tigers and leopards coexist by temporally staggering their hunting around prey patches, not just spatial separation. This strategy helps manage competition and avoid conflict in shared habitats.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Wildlife Conservation
- Behavioral Ecology
Background:
- Large carnivores often share habitats, leading to potential interference competition.
- Existing overlap metrics often fail to distinguish intentional interactions from random encounters or account for temporal dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a time-geographic framework to differentiate intentional from incidental interactions between co-occurring large carnivores.
- To investigate the temporal scales and patterns of interaction between tigers and leopards.
- To assess the role of prey distribution in mediating interspecific competition.
Main Methods:
- Utilized long-term GPS tracking data from tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus) in Thailand.
- Quantified interaction frequency and duration across temporal partitions.
- Employed a null model of correlated random walks to test for intentionality of interactions.
Main Results:
- Tiger-leopard coexistence is primarily driven by temporal staggering around prey patches, rather than solely spatial segregation.
- Identified two main interaction patterns: stable coexistence and home range shift competition.
- Prey distribution was found to mediate interspecific competition dynamics.
Conclusions:
- A time-geographic framework effectively distinguishes intentional from incidental overlap in large carnivore interactions.
- Temporal niche partitioning around resources is a key mechanism for coexistence in multi-predator systems.
- Understanding these dynamics is crucial for effective wildlife conservation and management strategies.
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