美洲狮,狼和人类带动了鹿恐惧的动态景观
Taylor R Ganz1, Melia T DeVivo2, Aaron J Wirsing1
1School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Ecology
|February 16, 2024
概括
鹿通过调整活动以适应迪尔循环来避免狼和美洲狮,并使用人类作为对狼的盾牌. 人类是鹿的主要威胁,影响了捕食者-猎物动态.
科学领域:
- 生态生态学 生态生态学
- 野生动物生物学 野生动物生物学
- 保护科学 保护科学
背景情况:
- 猎物物种在受到捕食者存在,特征和活动模式影响的恐惧的复杂景观中进行导航.
- 人类活动带来了新的风险,并可能改变捕食者与猎物的相互作用,既是对野生动物的盾牌,也是直接威胁.
研究的目的:
- 研究鹿 (Cervus canadensis) 息地选择如何受到美洲狮 (Puma concolor),狼 (Canis lupus) 和美国华盛顿东北部人类的存在的影响.
- 了解生物周期,季节和息地结构在这些捕食者-猎物-人类相互作用中介作用.
主要方法:
- 利用GPS遥测数据从63只鹿,42只美洲狮和16只狼收集在2017年和2021年之间.
- 采用步骤选择功能,分析与捕食者存在,人类活动,白天时间,季节和息地类型 (开放或关闭) 相关的鹿息地使用情况.
主要成果:
- 鹿对捕食者表现出明显的反应,总是避免狼和熊,主要是在晚上.
- 鹿通常使用开放的息地,无论捕食物种如何,并利用人类的存在作为对狼的盾牌,但不是美洲狮.
- 人类活动是成年雌鹿死亡的主要原因,这表明人类在这个生态系统中充当了"超级捕食者".
结论:
- 迪尔循环对于鹿的风险管理至关重要,使它们能够减轻与捕食者的遭遇.
- 人类的存在显著塑造了捕食者-猎物动态,在鹿中产生了复杂的行为反应,并强调了对人类景观的研究的需要.
- 保护战略必须考虑人类在野生动物生态中的多方面的作用.
相关概念视频
Threats to Biodiversity
22.3K
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
22.3K
Predator-Prey Interactions
16.2K
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.
16.2K
Conservation of Small Populations
13.1K
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...
13.1K
Competition
21.7K
When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.
21.7K
Communication
7.7K
Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. Organisms communicate with one another in a host of different ways. Signals can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a combination of these. Communication is a critical behavioral adaptation that promotes survival, growth, and reproduction.
7.7K
What is Conservation Biology?
18.4K
Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the human population. Humans require properly functioning ecosystems to maintain our supply of natural resources, including food, medicines, and building materials.
18.4K


