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Barros, Ana Luisa

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  • Biotic interactions as structuring factors of mesocarnivore communities in human-altered landscapes
    Publication . Barros, Ana Luisa; Reis, Margarida Santos; MacKenzie, Darryl
    The conversion of natural landscapes for agricultural purposes is a main driver of biodiversity loss worldwide, but in Europe many of these agroecosystems still maintain a high species richness. Low-intensity farming systems are mostly preserved in the Mediterranean region creating a mosaic of natural and cultural landscapes. Mammalian carnivores assume complex regulatory roles on ecosystems as top predators. In Europe, mostly mesocarnivores persist as many species thrive in humanized landscapes and in the absence of large carnivores. The taxonomic and ecological diversity of this group leads to species-specific responses to human disturbance and sub-lethal interactions between similar-sized species are thought to shape mesocarnivore community structure. In this thesis, I investigated the species and community ecology of a mesocarnivore guild in human-altered landscapes. The reliance on extensive camera-trapping datasets led me to first examine recent technological and methodological developments for camera traps, providing evidence on their performance and cost-benefit for carnivore research. I then assessed the species-specific response to agroforestry practices and demonstrated the conservation value of sustainable and dynamic management in these systems. To determine the potential for interspecific interactions, I explored the mechanisms of coexistence through niche segregation at multiple dimensions and different scales. Empirical evidence of spatial association seems to support similar habitat preferences between species and could also be a consequence of the largely generalist requirements of this carnivore guild. Nonetheless, fine adjustments in trophic resource use and temporal activity somewhat explained mesocarnivore coexistence. Lastly, I assessed the geographical variation in mesocarnivore community structure by addressing assumptions of conservation-surrogacy and ecological regulation from large carnivores. Across Europe’s humanized landscapes, the environmental and anthropogenic context structures the mesocarnivore communities, as the occurrence of low-density wolf populations weakens spatial signatures of top-down effects. The research from this thesis contributes to mesocarnivore community ecology in human-altered landscapes and supports the capacity of predator species to coexist with human presence and potential competitors.