Livestock guardian dogs as surrogate top predators? How Maremma sheepdogs affect a wildlife community.

Linda Van Bommel,Chris N Johnson

doi:10.1002/ece3.2412

Linda Van Bommel, Chris N Johnson

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2412

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Abstract

Use of livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) to reduce predation on livestock is increasing. However, how these dogs influence the activity of wildlife, including predators, is not well understood. We used pellet counts and remote cameras to investigate the effects of free ranging LGDs on four large herbivores (eastern gray kangaroo, common wombat, swamp wallaby, and sambar deer) and one mesopredator (red fox) in Victoria, Australia. Generalized mixed models and one‐ and two‐species detection models were used to assess the influence of the presence of LGDs on detection of the other species. We found avoidance of LGDs in four species. Swamp wallabies and sambar deer were excluded from areas occupied by LGDs; gray kangaroos showed strong spatial and temporal avoidance of LGD areas; foxes showed moderately strong spatial and temporal avoidance of LGD areas. The effect of LGDs on wombats was unclear. Avoidance of areas with LGDs by large herbivores can benefit livestock production by reducing competition for pasture and disease transmission from wildlife to livestock, and providing managers with better control over grazing pressure. Suppression of mesopredators could benefit the small prey of those species. Synthesis and applications: In pastoral areas, LGDs can function as a surrogate top‐order predator, controlling the local distribution and affecting behavior of large herbivores and mesopredators. LGDs may provide similar ecological functions to those that in many areas have been lost with the extirpation of native large carnivores.

Highlights

Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs, Canis familiaris) have been used for centuries to protect livestock from predators and thieves in Europe and Asia, and their use is increasing in other parts of the world (Gehring, Vercauteren, & Landry, 2010; Rigg, 2001)
Few studies have investigated the influence of livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) on the movements and behavior of other species of wildlife that coexist with livestock
Most LGDs do not need to hunt for food, as they are regularly fed by their owners (Van Bommel, 2010), but predation can still occur: LGDs have

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs, Canis familiaris) have been used for centuries to protect livestock from predators and thieves in Europe and Asia, and their use is increasing in other parts of the world (Gehring, Vercauteren, & Landry, 2010; Rigg, 2001). 2012; Gehring et al, 2010; Rigg, 2001) This implies that LGDs influence the movements and behavior of predators in some way. Few studies have investigated the influence of LGDs on the movements and behavior of other species of wildlife that coexist with livestock. To reduce harassment or risk of attack other species might change their behavior, decreasing their activity in areas used by LGDs, or avoiding these areas either spatially or temporally. Such responses might be especially strong for species with an evolutionary background as prey or competitors of large canids. We used pellet counts and remote cameras to determine how the presence of LGDs (Maremma sheepdogs, “Maremmas,” Fig. 1) affected the activity

| METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION