Time Partitioning Favors the Coexistence of Sympatric Crab-Eating Foxes (Cerdocyon thous) and Pampas Foxes (Lycalopex gymnocercus)

By M. D. Di Bitetti, Y. D. Di Blanco, J. Pereira, Agustín Paviolo, I. Pérez. 2009

145 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) and pampas foxes (Lycalopex gymnocercus) are very similar in body size and food habits, with distributional ranges that overlap extensively in South America. We used camera-trap records of both species obtained at the Iberá Nature Reserve (INR), northeastern Argentina, to test the hypothesis that, when living in sympatry, they reduce competition by using different habitats and by being active at different times. Camera-trap records obtained at 2 additional sites inhabited by only 1 of these species, the Atlantic Forest of Misiones (AF) and Lihué Calel National Park (LCNP), were used to determine the activity patterns of these foxes when living alone. At INR, we set 41 camera-trap stations in 2 habitats (shrubland forest and flooded grassland), and in 2 treatments per habitat (with or without cattle). Three stations also were set in gallery forests. We obtained 540 photographs of crab-eating foxes (289 records) and 175 photographs of pampas foxes (115 records) in 1,521 camera-trap days. At LCNP, 27 camera-trap stations (1,002 camera-trap days) provided 109 records of pampas foxes. At AF, 195 camera-trap stations (11,689 camera-trap days) provided 103 records of crab-eating foxes. At INR, crab-eating foxes were more frequently recorded in forest habitats, whereas pampas foxes preferred opened grasslands. However, both species were found in all habitats and their recording rates were not negatively correlated. At INR, crab-eating foxes were nocturnal, with peaks of activity after dusk and before dawn, a pattern similar to that observed at AF and elsewhere. At INR, pampas foxes showed a peak of activity between 0000 and 0400 h and another between 1000 and 1300 h, a pattern that differed from that observed at LCNP and other places, where the species is mostly nocturnal. At INR, pampas foxes reduced their activity at times when activity of presumably dominant crab-eating foxes was high, which may facilitate their coexistence.

Subfields: Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Genetics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/fa77b259072b097c3e7b4283ec98715d370f57fd

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Citations in the corpus

Niche partitioning and species coexistence in a Neotropical felid assemblage. (2010, background): “For example, two similar Neotropical foxes seem to coexist as a result of the subordinate one being able to adjust its daily activity pattern to the presence of the other (Di Bitetti et al., 2009).”
Altered activity patterns and reduced abundance of native mammals in sites with feral dogs in the high Andes (2016, methodology): “We used nonparametric circular Mardia-Watson-Wheeler tests to evaluate whether diel activity patterns of native mammals differed between areas with and without feral dogs (Di Bitetti et al. 2009; Gerber et al. 2012).”
Activity patterns of carnivores in the rain forests of Madagascar: implications for species coexistence (2012, unknown): “Temporal niche segregation by ecologically similar carnivores has been demonstrated in diverse systems (Chen et al. 2009; Di Bitetti et al. 2009; Hayward and Slotow 2009; Lucherini et al. 2009).”
Investigating animal activity patterns and temporal niche partitioning using camera‐trap data: challenges and opportunities (2017, background): “For example, Di Bitetti et al. (2009) observed that pampas foxes Lycalopex gymnocercus showed significantly different activity patterns in areas where the competitively dominant crab-eating fox occurred.”
Spatial and Temporal Structure of a Mesocarnivore Guild in Midwestern North America (2015, background): “Although gray foxes and red foxes may compete for resources, their similar body size suggests that the species are not a real danger to each other, which was also found between other canid pairs of similar size (Mitchell and Banks 2005, Di Bitetti et al. 2009).”