RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Echoes of the late Pleistocene in a novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.04.13.439662
DO 10.1101/2021.04.13.439662
A1 Erick J. Lundgren
A1 Daniel Ramp
A1 Owen M. Middleton
A1 Mairin Balisi
A1 William J. Ripple
A1 Chris D. Hasselerharm
A1 Jessica N. Sanchez
A1 Eamonn I. F. Wooster
A1 Mystyn Mills
A1 Arian D. Wallach
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/14/2021.04.13.439662.abstract
AB Introduced large herbivores have partly filled ecological gaps formed in the late Pleistocene, when many of the Earth’s megafauna were driven extinct. However, surviving predators are widely considered unable to influence introduced megafauna, leading them to exert unusually strong herbivory and disturbance-related effects. We report on a behaviorally-mediated trophic cascade between cougars (Puma concolor) and feral donkeys (Equus africanus asinus) at desert wetlands in North America. In response to predation of juveniles, donkeys shifted from nocturnal to almost exclusively diurnal, thereby avoiding peaks in cougar activity. Furthermore, donkeys reduced the time they spent at desert wetlands by 87%: from 5.5 hours a day to 0.7 hours at sites with predation. These shifts in activity were associated with increased activity and richness of other mammal species and reduced disturbance and herbivory-related effects on these ecologically-distinct wetland ecosystems, including 49% fewer trails, 35% less trampled bare ground, and 227% more canopy cover. Cougar predation on introduced donkeys rewires an ancient food web, with diverse implications for modern ecosystems.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.