Using camera traps to assess carcass use and the intraguild dynamics of understudied African mesocarnivores

Abstract

The consumption of carrion is a key process in food web ecology and a common foraging strategy for facultative scavengers in the carnivore guild. As carrion represents a high-quality trophic resource, carcasses may be visited by multiple carnivore species and have the potential to act as hotspots for intraguild interactions. Mesocarnivores frequently consume carrion, yet the mechanisms used by these species to access carcasses and coexist with larger carnivores have been poorly studied. Here, we investigate the factors influencing carcass use by two understudied African mesocarnivores, the side-striped jackal (Canis adustus) and the African civet (Civettictis civetta). Using camera traps to monitor ungulate carcasses in Liwonde National Park (LNP), Malawi, we assess the influence of competing carnivores (spotted hyena; Crocuta crocuta), carcass size and carcass age on mesocarnivore detection rates. Jackals frequently consumed carrion and their detection at a carcass was positively associated with civet presence, increasing the potential for competitive interactions. Co-occurrence of jackals and civets, where both species were detected simultaneously, were mainly recorded at large (>200 kg) carcasses, suggesting competitive interactions were reduced when more abundant resources were available. Jackal and civet detection at a carcass was not influenced by the presence of spotted hyena, although we found evidence that civets use temporal partitioning to access carcasses at times of reduced spotted hyena activity. Continued monitoring of carcasses will be important to further understand carnivore coexistence dynamics, particularly as large carnivore populations recover in LNP.