Not avian but mammalian scavengers efficiently consume carcasses under heavy snowfall conditions: a case from northern Japan
Not avian but mammalian scavengers efficiently consume carcasses under heavy snowfall conditions: a case from northern Japan
复制标题
DOI：
10.1007/s42991-020-00097-9
复制
发表时间：
2021-01-18
影响因子：
1.6
通讯作者：
Enari, Haruka S.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Enari, Hiroto;Enari, Haruka S.
食腐动物对动物尸体的摄食引起的营养相互作用和生态系统功能的研究日益受到重视。在这里，我们进行了第一次评估的清除过程中的生态系统与大雪，位于日本北方，其特点是视觉和气味线索的局限性，以检测尸体。在这项研究中，我们验证了鸟类和哺乳动物的食腐动物的行为特征和组合组成，其中消耗六种不同的尸体埋在雪中。我们使用相机陷阱测量了2010年至2020年期间清道夫的访问。观察到的总清道夫丰富度相对较低（只有12种）相比，温暖的生物群落。我们观察到7种鸟类清道夫，但他们的访问频率极低相比，夜间哺乳动物清道夫，如浣熊狗（Nyctereutes procyonoides）和貂（Martes melampus），这是能够更迅速，更频繁地发现尸体。我们的研究结果表明，大雪堆显着阻止鸟类食腐动物发现尸体。相比之下，雪堆可以保护尸体免受冰冻空气的影响，并确保发生基础水平的微生物分解，可能导致尸体分解。这可能导致尸体仍然为嗅觉灵敏的哺乳动物食腐动物提供气味线索。此外，考虑到高的尸体消耗率（91.3%的全身尸体，n = 23）和短的尸体检测时间（约90小时）观察，它是可能的，清除在大雪条件下已成为系统集成到许多哺乳动物清道夫的觅食策略。
Interest in trophic interactions and ecosystem functions derived from carcass consumption by scavengers has been increasing. Here, we conducted the first evaluation of scavenging processes in an ecosystem with heavy snow, located in northern Japan, which is characterized by the limitations of visual and odor cues to detect carcasses. In this study, we verified the behavioral traits and assemblage compositions of avian and mammalian scavengers, which consumed six different carcass types buried in snow. We measured the visits of scavengers using camera traps between 2010 and 2020. The total scavenger richness observed was relatively low (only 12 species) compared to warmer biomes. We observed seven avian scavenger species, but their visit frequencies were extremely low compared with those of nocturnal mammalian scavengers, such as raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and martens (Martes melampus), which were able to detect carcasses more rapidly and frequently. Our findings imply that large snow piles significantly prevent avian scavengers from detecting carcasses. In contrast, the snow piles could protect carcasses from the freezing air and ensure the occurrence of a basal level of microbial decomposition, possibly leading to carcass decomposition. This probably results in carcasses still providing odor cues for mammalian scavengers with heightened sense of smell. Moreover, considering the high carcass consumption rate (91.3% of full-body carcass; n = 23) and short carcass detection times (approximately 90 h) observed, it is possible that scavenging in heavy snowfall conditions has become systematically integrated into the foraging tactics of many mammalian scavengers.