Comparison of feeding habits and habitat use between invasive raccoons and native raccoon dogs in Hokkaido, Japan.

IF 2.2 2区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Aya Osaki, Mariko Sashika, Go Abe, Kohei Shinjo, Ayako Fujimoto, Mariko Nakai, Michito Shimozuru, Toshio Tsubota
{"title":"Comparison of feeding habits and habitat use between invasive raccoons and native raccoon dogs in Hokkaido, Japan.","authors":"Aya Osaki, Mariko Sashika, Go Abe, Kohei Shinjo, Ayako Fujimoto, Mariko Nakai, Michito Shimozuru, Toshio Tsubota","doi":"10.1186/s12898-019-0249-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Japan, invasive raccoons cause severe ecological and social problems by transmitting pathogens to humans, livestock, and native species, causing substantial crop damage, and competing with native species. Possible competition between invasive raccoons and native raccoon dogs is of concern in Japan because Japanese raccoon dogs have a limited distribution and are native only to Japan and the two species have similar characteristics. We assessed potential competition between raccoons and raccoon dogs by comparing feeding habits and habitat use.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Both species were captured in Hokkaido, Japan from 2004 to 2017. More raccoons were captured close to agricultural land at the forest periphery (70.1%, 358/511); conversely, more raccoon dogs were captured in the forest core (74.9%, 253/338). Feeding habits were then examined by fecal analysis and stable isotope analyses. Fecal analysis revealed both species to be opportunistic omnivores that consumed easily found food items. However, raccoon feces contained more crops, whereas raccoon dog feces contained more insects, reflecting the different locations in which the species were trapped. Moreover, stable isotope ratios were significantly higher in raccoons than raccoon dogs (Corn has the highest carbon stable isotope (δ<sup>13</sup>C) value, and amphibians and reptiles are high in nitrogen stable isotope (δ<sup>15</sup>N); forest resources such as insects and wild fruits are low in δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We conclude that both species ate similar food types, but their food preferences appeared to differ. Raccoon and raccoon dog habitat use also differed, possibly because the two species inhabited areas where they could easily obtain their preferred foods. Therefore, the current feeding habits and habitat use of raccoons do not appear to overlap sufficiently with those of raccoon dogs to impact the latter. The results of this study, particularly the stable isotope data, may provide a useful precedent for future studies of competition in medium-sized mammals, particularly canids.</p>","PeriodicalId":9232,"journal":{"name":"BMC Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2019-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6737712/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-019-0249-5","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Agricultural and Biological Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: In Japan, invasive raccoons cause severe ecological and social problems by transmitting pathogens to humans, livestock, and native species, causing substantial crop damage, and competing with native species. Possible competition between invasive raccoons and native raccoon dogs is of concern in Japan because Japanese raccoon dogs have a limited distribution and are native only to Japan and the two species have similar characteristics. We assessed potential competition between raccoons and raccoon dogs by comparing feeding habits and habitat use.

Results: Both species were captured in Hokkaido, Japan from 2004 to 2017. More raccoons were captured close to agricultural land at the forest periphery (70.1%, 358/511); conversely, more raccoon dogs were captured in the forest core (74.9%, 253/338). Feeding habits were then examined by fecal analysis and stable isotope analyses. Fecal analysis revealed both species to be opportunistic omnivores that consumed easily found food items. However, raccoon feces contained more crops, whereas raccoon dog feces contained more insects, reflecting the different locations in which the species were trapped. Moreover, stable isotope ratios were significantly higher in raccoons than raccoon dogs (Corn has the highest carbon stable isotope (δ13C) value, and amphibians and reptiles are high in nitrogen stable isotope (δ15N); forest resources such as insects and wild fruits are low in δ13C and δ15N).

Conclusions: We conclude that both species ate similar food types, but their food preferences appeared to differ. Raccoon and raccoon dog habitat use also differed, possibly because the two species inhabited areas where they could easily obtain their preferred foods. Therefore, the current feeding habits and habitat use of raccoons do not appear to overlap sufficiently with those of raccoon dogs to impact the latter. The results of this study, particularly the stable isotope data, may provide a useful precedent for future studies of competition in medium-sized mammals, particularly canids.

日本北海道入侵浣熊与本土浣熊的摄食习性及栖息地利用比较
背景:在日本,入侵浣熊会将病原体传播给人类、牲畜和本地物种,对农作物造成严重破坏,并与本地物种竞争,因此造成了严重的生态和社会问题。在日本,入侵浣熊与本地浣熊犬之间可能存在的竞争令人担忧,因为日本浣熊犬分布有限,仅原产于日本,而且这两个物种具有相似的特征。我们通过比较浣熊和浣熊犬的进食习惯和栖息地使用情况,评估了它们之间潜在的竞争关系:结果:2004 年至 2017 年,我们在日本北海道捕获了这两种动物。在森林外围靠近农田的地方捕获的浣熊较多(70.1%,358/511);相反,在森林核心区捕获的浣熊犬较多(74.9%,253/338)。然后通过粪便分析和稳定同位素分析研究了浣熊和浣熊狗的进食习惯。粪便分析表明,浣熊和浣熊犬都是机会主义杂食动物,吃容易找到的食物。不过,浣熊的粪便中含有更多农作物,而浣熊犬的粪便中含有更多昆虫,这反映出两种动物被诱捕的地点不同。此外,浣熊的稳定同位素比值也明显高于浣熊犬(玉米的碳稳定同位素(δ13C)值最高,两栖类和爬行类动物的氮稳定同位素(δ15N)值较高;昆虫和野果等森林资源的δ13C和δ15N值较低):我们得出的结论是,这两种动物的食物类型相似,但它们对食物的偏好似乎有所不同。浣熊和浣熊犬对栖息地的利用也不尽相同,这可能是因为这两种动物栖息在容易获得其偏好食物的地区。因此,浣熊目前的觅食习惯和栖息地利用似乎与浣熊犬的觅食习惯和栖息地利用没有充分重叠,不会对后者造成影响。这项研究的结果,尤其是稳定同位素数据,可能为今后研究中型哺乳动物,尤其是犬科动物的竞争提供了有益的先例。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
BMC Ecology
BMC Ecology ECOLOGY-
CiteScore
5.80
自引率
4.50%
发文量
0
审稿时长
22 weeks
期刊介绍: BMC Ecology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on environmental, behavioral and population ecology as well as biodiversity of plants, animals and microbes.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信