Across Time and Territory: Spatio-temporal occurrence of mesopredators in Dutch protected meadow bird areas

Brenninkmeijer, Sanny (2024) Across Time and Territory: Spatio-temporal occurrence of mesopredators in Dutch protected meadow bird areas. Master's Research Project 1, Ecology and Evolution.

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Abstract

Mesopredators, small to mid-size carnivores ranking in the middle of the foodweb, play a critical role in balancing the ecosystem through predation. The decline of biodiversity and apex predators has changed mesopredator-prey dynamics. Land-use intensification and landscape homogenization have reduced abundance of prey, among which meadow birds. The reduced abundance of prey species has intensified competition between mesopredators, particularly those with high diet similarities. In this study, we aimed to gain insight into the spatial and temporal co-occurrence of mesopredators in protected meadowbird areas. A grid of 30 wildlife cameras was set up in two locations in the north of the Netherlands, and monitored during the breeding season, circa March to June. We found high spatial and temporal overlap between 5 different mesopredator species. Smaller species (weasel, stoat) adjusted their activity patterns to that of larger species (European polecat, stone marten), by exhibiting two activity peaks instead of one, except for the domestic cat. Most species pairs had high spatial overlap, except for three species pairs (marten-weasel, cat-stoat, cat-weasel) with large differences in body size. However, for these pairs spatial avoidance was not significant. The high overlap between species pairs is likely influenced by the absence of large predators (such as the red fox), variations in prey availability and niche differentiation, all of which allow mesopredators to coexist.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Research Project 1)
Supervisor name:	Smit, C. and Otte, P.J. and Swankhuisen, E.
Degree programme:	Ecology and Evolution
Thesis type:	Master's Research Project 1
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	03 Dec 2024 09:08
Last Modified:	03 Dec 2024 09:08
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/34467

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