A carregar...
Publicação
Do Roads Alter the Trophic Behavior of the Mesocarnivore Community Living Close to Them?
| Nome: | Descrição: | Tamanho: | Formato: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 820.85 KB | Adobe PDF |
Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Roads have impacts on the fauna arising from habitat fragmentation, roadkill and the
barrier effect. Furthermore, roads lead species to change their activity with repercussions on predator–
prey interactions and trigger indirect effects that are currently unknown. This study analyzes
the effect of a motorway on the trophic behavior of the terrestrial carnivore community of its
surroundings. Monthly scat sampling was conducted over a year at three distances from a motorway
(0–50 m, 500–550 m and 1000–1050 m). We collected 498 scats, these originating from red fox
(39.16%), cat (24.50%), stone marten (24.09%) and badger (12.25%). The relative abundance of the
trophic resources in them was estimated together with the trophic diversity and niche overlap of the
carnivore species. The results showed a distinct effect of distance from the road on trophic behavior
of carnivores, as well as differences between species and seasons. The scats nearest the road had
10–20% more biomass of small mammals, equivalent in relative terms to a 21–48% increase in small
mammals’ biomass when compared with scats collected further from the road. This finding indicates
changes in predator–prey interactions near the road and shows that the human-generated structural
and functional changes to ecosystems spread throughout trophic networks.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
feeding ecology predator–prey interactions road effects small mammals
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Ruiz-Capillas, P.; Mata, C.; Fernández, B.; Fernandes, C.; Malo, J.E. Do Roads Alter the Trophic Behavior of the Mesocarnivore Community Living Close to Them? Diversity 2021, 13, 173. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13040173
Editora
MDPI