Do prey select for vacant hunting domains to minimize a multi‐predator threat?

Michel T. Kohl; Toni K. Ruth; Matthew C. Metz; Daniel R. Stahler; Douglas W. Smith; P.J. White; Daniel R. MacNulty

doi:10.1111/ele.13319

journal article Aug 02, 2019

Do prey select for vacant hunting domains to minimize a multi‐predator threat?

Michel T. Kohl

Toni K. Ruth Matthew C. Metz Daniel R. Stahler

Douglas W. Smith

P.J. White Daniel R. MacNulty

Ecology Letters Vol. 22 No. 11 pp. 1724-1733 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/ele.13319

Abstract

AbstractMany ecosystems contain sympatric predator species that hunt in different places and times. We tested whether this provides vacant hunting domains, places and times where and when predators are least active, that prey use to minimize threats from multiple predators simultaneously. We measured how northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) responded to wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor), and found that elk selected for areas outside the high‐risk domains of both predators consistent with the vacant domain hypothesis. This enabled elk to avoid one predator without necessarily increasing its exposure to the other. Our results demonstrate how the diel cycle can serve as a key axis of the predator hunting domain that prey exploit to manage predation risk from multiple sources. We argue that a multi‐predator, spatiotemporal framework is vital to understand the causes and consequences of prey spatial response to predation risk in environments with more than one predator.

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References

Details

Published: Aug 02, 2019
Vol/Issue: 22(11)
Pages: 1724-1733
License: View

Authors

M

Michel T. Kohl

Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan UT 84322 USA

T

Toni K. Ruth

Hornocker Wildlife Institute/Wildlife Conservation Society Bozeman MT 59715 USA; Salmon Valley Stewardship Salmon ID 83467 USA

M

Matthew C. Metz

Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service Yellowstone National Park WY 82190 USA; Wildlife Biology Program University of Montana Missoula MT 59812 USA

D

Daniel R. Stahler

Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service Yellowstone National Park WY 82190 USA

D

Douglas W. Smith

Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service Yellowstone National Park WY 82190 USA

P

P.J. White

Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service Yellowstone National Park WY 82190 USA

D

Daniel R. MacNulty

Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan UT 84322 USA

Funding

National Science Foundation Award: DEB - 0078130

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

Ford Foundation

National Geographic Society

National Park Service

Alberta Conservation Association

Richard King Mellon Foundation

Utah State University

Charles Engelhard Foundation

Park Foundation

U.S. Geological Survey

Argosy Foundation

Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation

Summerlee Foundation

Eugene V. and Claire E. Thaw Charitable Trust

Tim and Karen Hixon Foundation

Cite This Article

Michel T. Kohl, Toni K. Ruth, Matthew C. Metz, et al. (2019). Do prey select for vacant hunting domains to minimize a multi‐predator threat?. Ecology Letters, 22(11), 1724-1733. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13319

Do prey select for vacant hunting domains to minimize a multi‐predator threat?

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