Abstract
Carrion plays an essential role in shaping the structure and functioning of ecosystems and has far‐reaching implications for biodiversity conservation. The change in availability and type of carcasses throughout ecosystems can involve negative effects for scavenging communities. To address this issue, there have been recent conservation management measures of carrion provision in natural systems. However, the optimal conditions under which exposing carcasses to optimize conservation outcomes are still limited. Here, we used camera traps throughout elevational and vegetational gradients to monitor the consumption of 48 deer carcasses over a study period of six years by evaluating 270,279 photographs resulting out of 15,373 trap nights. We detected 17 species visiting carcass deployments, including five endangered species. Our results show that large carcasses, the winter season, and a heterogeneous surrounding habitat enhanced the frequency of carcass visits and the species richness of scavenger assemblages. Contrary to our expectations, carcass species, condition (fresh/frozen), and provision schedule (continuous vs single exposure) did not influence scavenging frequency or diversity. The carcass visitation frequency increased with carcass mass and lower temperatures. The effect of large carcasses was especially pronounced for mesopredators and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). Lynx were not too influenced in its carrion acquisition by the season, but exclusively preferred remote habitats containing higher forest cover. Birds of prey, mesopredators, and top predators were also positively influenced by the visiting rate of ravens (Corvus corax), whereas no biotic or abiotic preferences were found for wild boars (Sus scrofa). This study provides evidence that any ungulate species of carrion, either in a fresh or in previously frozen condition, attracts a high diversity of scavengers especially during winter, thereby supporting earlier work that carcass provisions may support scavenger communities and endangered species.
Highlights
Scavenging of animal carcasses is an important ecological process that is reported to affect 45%of food web trophic links worldwide (Wilson and Wolkovich 2011)
Two of the observed avian species are in the Red List of threatened bird species in Bavaria (Haliaeetus albicilla, class R; Milvus milvus, class V; Rudolph et al 2016)
On 1569 trap nights, 2943 independent encounters on 48 carcasses were detected (Table 2), revealing that species richness was higher in winter than in summer and that diversity did not significantly differ between continuous placement sites and single placement
Summary
Scavenging of animal carcasses is an important ecological process that is reported to affect 45%of food web trophic links worldwide (Wilson and Wolkovich 2011). Scavenging of animal carcasses is an important ecological process that is reported to affect 45%. As a part of this necrophagous network, vertebrate scavengers provide both supporting and regulating ecosystem services through nutrient cycling and carcass removal from the landscape that mediates habitat quality (DeVault et al 2003, Parmenter and MacMahon 2009, Benbow et al 2015). Most available carcasses are successfully scavenged if they are found before extensive decomposition by microbes and insects occurs (Putman 1983). Depending on environmental conditions, scavenging vertebrates can account for up to 90% of the carrion biomass assimilation (Houston 1986, DeVault et al 2011). Carrion plays an important role in scavenger ecology, especially during times of the year with limited alternative food sources (Selva et al 2003, 2005)
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