Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul: managing threatened predators of endangered and declining prey species

PeerJ

article

Zeke Davidson¹  Marc Dupuis-Desormeaux⁵  Arjun Dheer¹  Laura Pratt¹  Elizabeth Preston¹  Saibala Gilicho²  Mary Mwololo²  Geoffrey Chege²  Suzanne E. MacDonald⁴  C Patrick Doncaster³ 

[1] Marwell Wildlife, Colden Common, Winchester;Lewa Wildlife Conservancy;School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton;Department of Psychology, York University;Department of Biology, York University;Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Canada

关键词: Grevy’s zebra;    Lion;    Hyena;    Endangered species;    Panthera leo;    Wildlife management;    Predator;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.7916

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Conservation policy and practice can sometimes run counter to their mutual aims of ensuring species survival. In Kenya, where threatened predators such as lion deplete endangered prey such as Grevy’s zebra, conservation practitioners seek to ensure species success through exclusive strategies of protection, population increase and preservation. We found strong selection for the endangered Grevy’s zebra by both lion and hyena on two small fenced conservancies in Kenya. Despite abundant diversity of available prey, Grevy’s zebra were selected disproportionately more than their availability, while other highly available species such as buffalo were avoided. Lions were therefore not alone in presenting a credible threat to Grevy’s zebra survival. Conservation practitioners must consider interlinked characteristics of prey selection, resource availability and quality, the interplay between carnivore guild members and landscape scale population trends performance in wildlife management decisions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY