Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T09:52:59.106Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Inconstancy in predator/prey ratios in Quaternary large mammal communities of Italy, with an appraisal of mechanisms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Pasquale Raia ,
Carlo Meloro  and
Carmela Barbera
Pasquale Raia*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento STAT Università degli Studi del Molise, Via Mazzini 10, 86170 Isernia, Italy Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy
Carlo Meloro
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy
Carmela Barbera
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: +39 081 552 09 71. E-mail address:[email protected] (P. Raia).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Constancy in predator/prey ratio (PPR) is a controversial issue in ecological research. Published reports support both constancy and inconstancy of the ratio in animal communities. Only a few studies, however, specifically address its course through time. Here we study the course of predator/prey ratio in communities of large Plio-Pleistocene mammals in Italy. After controlling for taphonomic biases, we find strong support for PPR inconstancy through time. Extinction, dispersal events, and differences in body size trends between predators and their prey were found to affect the ratio, which was distributed almost bimodally. We suggest that this stepwise dynamic in PPR indicates changes in ecosystem functioning. Prey richness was controlled by predation when PPR was high and by resources when PPR was low.

Keywords

Predator/prey ratioQuaternaryLarge mammalsPaleocommunitiesMegaherbivoresAlternative community statesPredation
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 67 , Issue 2 , March 2007 , pp. 255 - 263
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrams, P.A. The evolution of predator–prey interactions: theory and evidence. Annual Review in Ecology and Systematics 31, (2000). 79–105.Google Scholar
Abrams, P.A., and Ginzburg, L.R. The nature of predation: prey dependent, ratio dependent or neither?. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15, (2000). 337–341.Google Scholar
Abrams, P.A., and Matsuda, H. Positive indirect effects between prey species that share predators. Ecology 77, (1996). 610–616.Google Scholar
Alberdi, M., Prado, J.L., and Ortiz-Jareguizar, E. Patterns of body size changes in fossil and living Equini (Perissodactyla). Biological Journal of Linnean Society 54, (1995). 349–370.Google Scholar
Alroy, J. Constant extinction, constrained diversification, and uncoordinated stasis in North American mammals. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 127, (1996). 285–311.Google Scholar
Arnold, S.J. Species densities of predators and their prey. American Naturalist 106, (1972). 220–236.Google Scholar
Azzaroli, A. Quaternary mammals and the “end-Villafranchian” event—A turning point in the history of Eurasia. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 44, (1983). 117–139.Google Scholar
Azzaroli, A., DeGiuli, C., Ficcarelli, G., and Torre, D. Late Pliocene to Early Mid-Pleistocene mammals in Eurasia: Faunal succession and dispersal events. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 66, (1988). 77–100.Google Scholar
Bocherens, H., Fizet, M., and Mariotti, A. Diet, physiology and ecology of fossil mammals as inferred from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope biogeochemistry: implications for Pleistocene bears. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 107, (1994). 213–225.Google Scholar
Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E., Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Jacobs, L.L., Lindsay, E.H., Raza, S.M., and Solounias, N. Patterns of faunal turnover and diversity in the Neogene Siwaliks of Northern Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Paleoecology 115, (1995). 209–226.Google Scholar
Boltovskoy, D. The range-through method and first–last appearance data in paleontological surveys. Journal of Paleontology 62, (1988). 157–159.Google Scholar
Bowman, J., Jaeger, J.A.G., and Fahrig, L. Dispersal distance of mammals is proportional to home range size. Ecology 83, (2002). 2049–2055.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carbone, C., Mace, G.M., Roberts, C.S., and Macdonald, D.W. Energetic constraints on the diet of terrestrial carnivores. Nature 402, (1999). 286–288.Google Scholar
Christiansen, P. What size were Arctodus simus and Ursus spelaeus (Carnivora: Ursidae)?. Annales Zoologici Fennici 36, (1999). 93–102.Google Scholar
Christiansen, P. Body size in proboscideans, with notes on elephant metabolism. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140, (2004). 523–549.Google Scholar
Cohen, J.E. Ratio of prey to predators in community food webs. Nature 270, (1977). 165–167.Google Scholar
Cristoffer, C., and Peres, C.A. Elephants versus butterflies: the ecological role of large herbivores in the evolutionary history of two tropical worlds. Journal of Biogeography 30, (2003). 1357–1380.Google Scholar
Croft, D. Do marsupials make good predators? Insights from predator–prey diversity ratios. Evolutionary Ecology Research 8, 7 (2006). 1193–1214.Google Scholar
Damuth, J., and MacFadden, B.J. Body Size in Mammalian Paleobiology. (1990). Cambridge Univ. Press, Google Scholar
Foote, M. Origination and extinction components of taxonomic diversity: general problems. Erwin, D.H., Wing, S.L. Deep Time. Paleobiology Supp. vol. 26, (2000). 74–102.Google Scholar
Fritz, H., Duncan, P., Gordon, I.J., and Illius, A.W. Megaherbivores influence trophic guilds structure in African ungulate communities. Oecologia 131, (2002). 620–625.Google Scholar
Fortelius, M., Werdelin, L., Andrews, P., Bernor, R., Gentry, L., Humphrey, A., Mittmann, L., and Viranta, W. Provinciality, diversity, turnover and paleoecology in land mammal faunas of the later Miocene of western Eurasia. Bernor, R., Fahlbusch, V., and Mittmann, W. The Evolution of Western Eurasian Neogene Mammal Faunas. (1996). Columbia Univ. Press, 414–448.Google Scholar
Gaston, K.J. The structure and dynamics of geographic range. (2003). Oxford Univ. Press, Google Scholar
Gaston, K.J., Warren, P.H., and Hammond, P.M. Predator:non-predator ratios in beetle assemblages. Oecologia 90, (1992). 417–421.Google Scholar
Geist, V. The relation of social evolution and dispersal in ungulates during the Pleistocene, with emphasis on the Old World Deer and the genus Bison. Quaternary Research 1, (1971). 283–315.Google Scholar
Geist, V. Deer of the world. Stackpole Books (1998). Google Scholar
Geist, V. Descent, adaptation, adjustment: lessons from the Cervidae and other beasts. Vrba, E.S., and Schaller, G.B. Antelopes, Deer and Relatives. (2000). Yale Univ. Press, 180–188.Google Scholar
Gittleman, J.L. Carnivore body size: ecological and taxonomic correlates. Oecologia 67, (1985). 540–554.Google Scholar
Guthrie, R.D. Origin and causes of the mammoth steppe: a story of cloud cover, woolly mammal tooth pits, buckles, and inside-out Beringia. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 549–574.Google Scholar
Hoekstra, H.E., and Fagan, W.E. Body size, dispersal ability and compositional disharmony: the carnivore-dominated fauna of the Kuril Islands. Diversity and Distribution 4, (1998). 135–149.Google Scholar
Janis, C.M. The significance of fossil ungulate communities as indicators of vegetation structure and climate. Brenchley, P.J. Fossils and Climate. (1984). John Wiley and Sons, New York. 85–104.Google Scholar
Janis, C.M., Damuth, J., and Theodor, J. Miocene ungulates and terrestrial primary productivity: where have all the browsers gone?. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97, (2000). 7899–7904.Google Scholar
Janis, C.M., Damuth, J., and Theodor, J. The species richness of Miocene browsers, and implications for habitat type and primary productivity in the North American grassland biome. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 207, (2004). 371–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffries, M.J., and Lawton, J.H. Predator–prey ratios in communities of freshwater invertebrates: the role of enemy free spaces. Freshwater Biology 15, (1985). 105–112.Google Scholar
Kelt, D.A., and VanVuren, D.H. The ecology and macroecology of home range area. American Naturalist 157, (2001). 637–645.Google Scholar
Klein, R.G. Carnivore size and Quaternary climatic change in Southern Africa. Quaternary Research 26, (1986). 153–170.Google Scholar
Klein, R.G., and Scott, K. Glacial/Interglacial size variation in fossil spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) from Britain. Quaternary Research 32, (1989). 88–95.Google Scholar
Koenigswald, W. von, and Werdelin, L. Mammalian Migration and dispersal events in the European quarternary. Courier Forschung-Institute (1992). 153 Google Scholar
Kotsakis, T., Petronio, C., Angelone, C., Argenti, P., Barisone, G., Bedetti, C., CapassoBarbato, L., DiCanzio, E., Marcolini, F., and Sardella, R. Endemisms in Plio-Pleistocene vertebrate faunas of Italian peninsula and their palaeobiogeographical meaning. Abstract 1st Intern. Paleont. Congress. 6–10 Jul. 2002, Sidney, Australia. (2002). 93–94.Google Scholar
Kruuk, H. The Spotted hyena. A study of predation and social behaviour. (1972). University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Marwick, P.J. Crocodilian diversity in space and time: the role of climate in paleoecology and its implication for understanding K/T extinctions. Paleobiology 24, (1998). 470–497.Google Scholar
Maas, M.C., Anthony, M.R.L., Gingerich, P.D., Gunnell, G.F., and Krause, D.W. Mammalian generic diversity and turnover in the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of the Bighorn and Crazy Mountains basins, Wyoming and Montana (USA). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 115, (1995). 181–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, A.I., and Foote, M. Calibrating the Ordovician Radiation of marine life: implications for Phanerozoic diversity trends. Paleobiology 22, (1996). 304–309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mithen, S.J., and Lawton, J.H. Food-web models that generate constant predator–prey ratios. Oecologia 69, (1986). 542–550.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N. Pleistocene extinctions: the pivotal-role of megaherbivores. Paleobiology 13, (1987). 351–362.Google Scholar
Owen Smith, N. Megaherbivores. (1990). Cambridge Univ. Press, Google Scholar
Palmqvist, P., Martínez-Navarro, B., and Arribas, A. Prey selection by terrestrial carnivores in a lower Pleistocene paleocommunity. Paleobiology 22, (1996). 514–534.Google Scholar
Radloff, F.G.T., and Du Toit, J.T. Large predators and their prey in a southern African savanna: a predator's size determines its prey size range. Journal of Animal Ecology 73, (2004). 410–423.Google Scholar
Raia, P., Piras, P., and Kotsakis, T. Turnover pulse or Red Queen? Evidence from the large mammal communities during the Plio-Pleistocene of Italy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 221, (2005). 293–312.Google Scholar
Raia, P., Meloro, C., Loy, A., and Barbera, C. Species occupancy and its course in the past, macroecological patterns in extinct communities. Evolutionary Ecology Research 8, (2006). 181–194.Google Scholar
Raia, P., Piras, P., and Kotsakis, T. Detection of Plio-Quaternary large mammal communities of Italy: integration to biochronology. Quaternary Science Review 25, (2006). 846–854.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, J., Alberdi, M.T., Azanza, B., and Prado, J.L. Body size structure in north-western Mediterranean Plio-Pleistocene mammalian faunas. Global Ecology and Biogeography 13, (2004). 163–176.Google Scholar
Rook, L., and Torre, D. The wolf-event in western Europe and the beginning of the Late Villafranchian. Neuse Jahrbuch, Geologie unt Palantologie Mh H 8, (1996). 495–501.Google Scholar
Rosenzweig, M.J. Species diversity in space and time. (1995). Cambridge Univ. Press, Google Scholar
Ruggiero, R.G. Opportunistic predation on elephant calves. African Journal of Ecology 29, (1991). 86–89.Google Scholar
Sanders, H.L. Marine benthic diversity: a comparative study. American Naturalist 102, (1968). 243–282.Google Scholar
Schaller, G.B. The Serengeti lion. A study of predator–prey relations. (1972). University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Shoenly, K., Beaver, R.A., and Heumier, T.A. On the trophic relations of insects: a food-web approach. American Naturalist 137, (1991). 597–638.Google Scholar
Shröder, A., Persson, L., and De Roos, A.M. Direct experimental evidence for alternative stable states: a review. Oikos 110, (2005). 3–19.Google Scholar
Simberloff, D. Trophic structure determination and equilibrium in an arthropod community. Ecology 57, (1976). 395–398.Google Scholar
Sinclair, A.R.E. Does interspecific competition or predation shape the African ungulate community?. Journal of Animal Ecology 54, (1985). 899–918.Google Scholar
Sinclair, A.R.E. Adaptation, niche partitioning, and coexistence of African bovidae: clues to the past. Vrba, E.S., and Schaller, G.B. Antelopes, Deer and Relatives. (2000). Yale Univ. Press, 247–260.Google Scholar
Sinclair, A.R.E., Mduma, S., and Brashares, J.S. Patterns of predation in a diverse predator–prey system. Nature 425, (2003). 288–290.Google Scholar
Spencer, M. Are predators rare?. Oikos 89, (2000). 115–122.Google Scholar
Spencer, M., Blaustein, L., Swaitz, S., and Cohen, J.E. Species richness and the proportion of predatory animal species in temporary freshwater pools: relationships with habitat size and permanence. Ecology Letters 2, (1999). 157–166.Google Scholar
Stiner, M., Achyuthan, H., Arsebuck, G., Howell, F.C., Josephson, S.C., Juell, K.E., Pigati, J., and Quade, J. Reconstruing cave bear paleoecology from skeletons: a cross-disciplinary study of middle Pleistocene bears from Yarimburgaz Cave, Turkey. Paleobiology 24, (1998). 74–98.Google Scholar
Sugihara, G., Shoenly, K., and Trombla, A. Scale invariance and food web properties. Science 245, (1989). 48–52.Google Scholar
Sutherland, G.D., Harestad, A.S., Price, K., and Lertzman, K.P. Scaling of natal dispersal distances in terrestrial birds and mammals. Conservation Ecology 4, (2000). 16 Google Scholar
Turner, A. The Villafranchian large carnivore guild: geographical distribution and structural evolution. Il Quaternario 8, (1995). 349–356.Google Scholar
Valentine, J.W., Roy, K., and Jablonsky, D. Carnivore/non-carnivore ratios in northeastern Pacific marine gastropods. Marine Ecology. Progress Series 228, (2002). 153–163.Google Scholar
Van Valkenburgh, B. Trophic diversity in past and present guilds of large predatory mammals. Paleobiology 14, (1988). 155–173.Google Scholar
Van Valkenburgh, B., and Janis, C.M. Historical diversity patterns in North American Large herbivores and carnivores. Ricklefs, R.E., and Schluter, D. Species Diversity in Ecological Communities. (1993). The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 330–340.Google Scholar
Vezina, A. Empirical relationship between predator and prey size among terrestrial vertebrate predators. Oecologia 67, (1985). 555–565.Google Scholar
Warren, P.H., and Gaston, K.J. Predator–prey ratios: a special case of a general pattern?. Phil. Trans. R Soc. Lond. Ser. B Biol. Sci. 338, (1992). 113–130.Google Scholar
Wilson, J.B. The myth of constant predator:prey ratios. Oecologia 106, (1996). 272–276.Google Scholar