1. Hunting-mediated predator facilitation and superadditive mortality in a European ungulate.
- Author
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Gehr, Benedikt, Hofer, Elizabeth J., Pewsner, Mirjam, Ryser, Andreas, Vimercati, Eric, Vogt, Kristina, and Keller, Lukas F.
- Subjects
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HABITAT selection , *PREDATORY animals , *HABITATS , *PREDATION , *ANTAGONISM (Ecology) - Abstract
Predator-prey theory predicts that in the presence of multiple types of predators using a common prey, predator facilitation may result as a consequence of contrasting prey defense mechanisms, where reducing the risk from one predator increases the risk from the other. While predator facilitation is well established in natural predator-prey systems, little attention has been paid to situations where human hunters compete with natural predators for the same prey. Here, we investigate hunting-mediated predator facilitation in a hunter-predator-prey system. We found that hunter avoidance by roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus) exposed them to increase predation risk by Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx). Lynx responded by increasing their activity and predation on deer, providing evidence that superadditive hunting mortality may be occurring through predator facilitation. Our results reveal a new pathway through which human hunters, in their role as top predators, may affect species interactions at lower trophic levels and thus drive ecosystem processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
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