Abstract
Temporal partitioning can allow sympatric carnivores to coexist, especially if overlap of other resources is high. Using camera trap data from 2013 to 2017, we investigated the temporal partitioning of a community of wild felids and a canid in Nam Et–Phou Louey National Protected Area, Laos, to determine the extent to which temporal avoidance might be facilitating coexistence of similarly sized carnivores. We also investigated temporal overlap of these carnivore species and their presumed main prey, to determine if their activity is likely most influenced by their prey or potential competitors. The dhole (Cuon alpinus) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), the two largest carnivores, had low temporal overlap, and activity appeared to be synchronized with the main prey for dhole, but not clouded leopard. Thus, it was possible that clouded leopard used temporal partitioning to coexist with dhole. The temporal overlap of Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) was high with clouded leopard and moderate with dhole, and overall appeared to be influenced most by its presumed prey species, rather than by its potential competitors. The two small felids had the least temporal overlap between any species, as the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) was primarily diurnal whereas the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was primarily nocturnal. Given that the two small felids reportedly have similar diets consisting of small rodents and birds, their temporal partitioning is likely to help facilitate their coexistence. For carnivore species in northern Laos that are most similar in body size and diet, temporal partitioning is likely to be an important mechanism of coexistence. Otherwise, temporal patterns appear to be synchronized with their main prey.
Highlights
Species coexistence is one of the most complex topics in ecology (Gordon 2000)
Activity patterns are determined by numerous factors, and often activity patterns of carnivores are driven by the activity of their main prey
Of the five carnivore species, the leopard cat had the highest number of notionally independent photographs followed by the Asian golden cat, whereas the marbled cat had the lowest number of independent events (Table 2)
Summary
Species that are ecologically similar cannot coexist in the same area (Hardin 1960) For such species to coexist, theory anticipates some degree of niche differentiation whereby interspecific competition is reduced (Schoener 1974). Temporal partitioning has been shown to reduce interference competition and facilitate coexistence among species (Kronfeld-Schor and Dayan 2003;Hayward and Slotow 2009). Small felids and small canids have been shown to use temporal partitioning to coexist with larger members of their guilds (Kamler et al 2012b, 2013; Lynam et al 2013; McCarthy et al 2015b; Hearn et al 2018; Santos et al 2019), especially those with high dietary overlap (Lucherini et al 2009; Nagy-Reis et al 2019). Activity patterns are determined by numerous factors, and often activity patterns of carnivores are driven by the activity of their main prey
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