Does spatial co-occurrence of carnivores in a Central European agricultural landscape follow the null model?

Abstract

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the distribution of resources, interspecific competition and predation are important factors determining the spatial distribution and co-occurrence of many animal taxa. Here, we use data from scent station field studies and permutation-based null model analyses to test whether spatial co-occurrence of different carnivores’ species is non-random in a Central European landscape that has been strongly modified and fragmented through human activity. In general, our results suggest a higher degree of spatial co-occurrence of different carnivore species than expected by chance; though it should be noted that this difference was not detectable under the conservative form of the null model. On the other hand, our data do not provide evidence for a significant degree of spatial segregation at the interspecific level. In conclusion, our results imply that antagonistic interactions, such as interspecific competition and predation, are not the dominant factors shaping spatial distribution of carnivores. Consequently, we suggest that the high degree of spatial co-occurrence might be a consequence of spatial heterogeneity in distribution of resources that are shared at the interspecific level.