Temporal Activity Patterns of the Eurasian Beaver and Coexisting Species in a Mediterranean Ecosystem.

Abstract

Simple SummaryCompetition and predation are the main factors shaping interspecific coexistence in wildlife communities. Species reappearance and introductions may alter these dynamics. The Eurasian beaver Castor fiber is a widespread species in Europe, and it is part of the diet of many birds and mammalian carnivores of all sizes. Additionally, competition with other herbivorous mammals at feeding sites could occur. For this reason, we computed the overlap of activity rhythms among the recently reappeared Eurasian beaver and its potential predators (red fox Vulpes vulpes and grey wolf Canis lupus) and competitors (coypu Myocastor coypus) in Central Italy. The beaver was confirmed as a mostly crepuscular species, avoiding the bright moonlight nights and the activity of its predators, which is potentially shaped by the behaviour of their main prey.Analyses of temporal partitioning and overlaps in activity rhythms are pivotal to shed light on interspecific coexistence between similar species or prey and predators. In this work, we assessed the overlap of activity rhythms between the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber and its potential competitors and predators through camera trapping in an area in Central Italy. Interspecific overlaps of temporal activity patterns were estimated for the beavers, potential predators (the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the grey wolf Canis lupus), and a potential competitor, the coypu Myocastor coypus. The beavers showed a mostly crepuscular behaviour. Although high temporal overlap was observed between the Eurasian beavers and the red foxes and grey wolves, the activity of the beavers did not overlap with that of the predators. Accordingly, the beavers were more active on the darkest nights, i.e., avoiding bright moonlight.