Research in Carnivores: From Their Interspecific Relationships to Their Prey
A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 59306
Special Issue Editors
Interests: carnivore ecology and conservation; predator–prey relationships; management and conservation of small game; ecological mechanisms for carnivore coexistence
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Mammalian carnivores are widespread in most ecosystems, where they establish multiple ecological interactions that can extend beyond direct interveners, spreading through multiple levels of the ecological community, sometimes even causing trophic cascades. Interactions with their prey are the most obvious, but other less conspicuous interactions can have important ecological impacts. Many studies in recent decades have shown that indirect, non-consumptive effects of predators on their prey can often be as important as direct predation. However, obtaining sound inferences about these subtle effects is challenging; hence, further studies are required to expand our understanding of multi-level interactions. Similarly, interactions among carnivore species can occur at different ecological dimensions (spatial, temporal, trophic), eventually leading to intraguild killing under specific circumstances, which may involve consumption (intraguild predation) or not. However, recent evidence suggests that most often, coexistence in carnivore communities is achieved through different ecological mechanisms, which alleviate the potential competition among carnivore species. These mechanisms for coexistence are still poorly understood and require further research. The purpose of this Special Issue is to compile high-quality papers focusing on 1) predator–prey relationships between carnivore predators and their prey, 2) multidimensional ecological interactions between carnivore species, 3) how these interactions facilitate coexistence in carnivore communities, and 4) the ecological consequences of these interactions on other ecological levels, such as herbivores or beyond. We welcome field studies analyzing ecological interactions between carnivore species and their prey, in particular, case studies and review articles summarizing and analyzing trends from other studies and modeling articles based on data obtained from the literature. We expect that this Special Issue will contribute to fill the gaps in our knowledge of how carnivore species coexist and interact with other ecosystem elements.
Dr. Pablo Ferreras
Dr. Pedro S. Monterroso
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- Ecological mechanisms for coexistence in carnivore communities
- Carnivore–prey interactions
- Carnivore intraguild interactions
- Carnivore competition
- Non-consumptive effects of carnivore predators on their prey
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