Dietary patterns of a generalist carnivore in West Virginia

IF 0.9 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management Pub Date : 2022-07-08 DOI:10.3996/jfwm-22-001

Stephanie M. Landry, Jordan E. Roof, Rich E. Rogers, A. Welsh, C. W. Ryan, James T. Anderson

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

The proportion and diversity of prey species consumed by bobcats Lynx rufus is often correlated with prey abundances, individual skill level, environmental conditions, and habitat quality. Bobcats generally consume prey species that rely on mast – the fruits of trees – for basic life history requirements. In West Virginia forests, many mast-producing tree species have declined over the past 40 years, yet the last known study on bobcat diet in the state was in 1977. Thus, we need current data to understand the effects of forest compositional changes on bobcat dietary patterns. We evaluated stomach contents of 300 bobcats collected over the 2014–2015 (n = 150) and 2015–2016 (n = 150) hunting and trapping seasons in West Virginia. Simpson’s index of diversity indicated an 87% probability that two randomly selected prey items belong to different species, supporting the idea of bobcats as generalist carnivores. White-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus (32%), mice and rats (30.7%), rabbits (21.3%), Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana (18.7%), and squirrels (17.3%) occurred most frequently. We found 92% dietary overlap between sexes and 35% between stage classes. Deer, opossum, and raccoon Procyon lotor occurred more frequently in males, whereas rabbits occurred more frequently in females. Deer occurred more frequently in adults; raccoons in yearlings; and small rodents in juveniles. Overall occurrence of deer (-17.1%), rodents (-9.5%), opossum (+13.5%), and raccoon (+5.1%) differed significantly between the 1977 study and this study, which may allude to changes in the abundance of mast-dependent prey species over time. Similarly, hard mast (i.e., nuts) production had a significant interaction effect with study season on the overall occurrence of squirrels in bobcat diets. By improving our understanding of bobcat trophic interactions, we can better manage their populations and ecological communities by managing for the dietary requirements of their common prey species.

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西弗吉尼亚州一种多面手食肉动物的饮食模式

山猫所捕食物种的比例和多样性通常与猎物的丰度、个体技能水平、环境条件和栖息地质量有关。山猫通常食用依赖桅杆（树木的果实）作为基本生活史需求的猎物。在西弗吉尼亚州的森林中，许多产桅杆的树种在过去40年中有所减少，但该州最后一次已知的山猫饮食研究是在1977年。因此，我们需要最新的数据来了解森林成分变化对山猫饮食模式的影响。我们评估了2014-2015年（n=150）和2015-2016年（n=50）西弗吉尼亚州狩猎和诱捕季节收集的300只山猫的胃内容物。Simpson的多样性指数表明，随机选择的两种猎物属于不同物种的概率为87%，这支持了山猫是广义食肉动物的观点。最常见的是白尾鹿（32%）、小鼠和大鼠（30.7%）、兔子（21.3%）、弗吉尼亚负鼠（18.7%）和松鼠（17.3%）。我们发现92%的性别之间的饮食重叠，35%的阶段阶级之间的饮食重复。鹿、负鼠和浣熊在雄性中更常见，而兔子在雌性中更常见。鹿在成年期发病率更高；一岁大的浣熊；以及幼年期的小型啮齿动物。鹿（-17.1%）、啮齿类动物（-9.5%）、负鼠（+13.5%）和浣熊（+5.1%）的总体发生率在1977年的研究和本研究之间存在显著差异，这可能暗示了依赖桅杆的猎物物种数量随时间的变化。同样，硬桅杆（即坚果）的生产与研究季节对山猫饮食中松鼠的总体出现有显著的相互作用。通过提高我们对山猫营养相互作用的理解，我们可以通过管理它们常见猎物的饮食需求来更好地管理它们的种群和生态群落。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION-ECOLOGY

CiteScore

1.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management encourages submission of original, high quality, English-language scientific papers on the practical application and integration of science to conservation and management of native North American fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats in the following categories: Articles, Notes, Surveys and Issues and Perspectives. Papers that do not relate directly to native North American fish, wildlife plants or their habitats may be considered if they highlight species that are closely related to, or conservation issues that are germane to, those in North America.