Scavengers animals11/14/2022 ![]() The feeding behavior observed by carnivores in cities contributes to the structure of natural urban communities, for example, by limiting the population size of their prey. Between these two extremes, several species act as facultative scavengers, consuming both live prey and carrion or human refuse, such as the coyotes ( Canis latrans) and gulls. Therefore, urban carnivorous species can consume meat (i.e., vertebrate biomass) in two different ways: by predation (actively hunting their prey) or by scavenging (eating the remains of already dead animals or garbage). In general, urban carnivores range from obligate carnivores, such as the barn owls ( Tyto alba), to generalist omnivores, such as the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) and corvids, which eat meat, vegetables, fruits, and berries, with different preponderance of each food source depending on the species. Moreover, a growing amount of research reports the progressive inclusion of human refuse in the diet of urban animals in the form of organic and inorganic garbage. Thus, different prey form part of the urban diet of raptors, mammals, and other carnivores. The diet of several urban carnivores has been assessed, and as such we have gained an appreciation both for the items they consume and the prevalence of the different sources of food. This mostly occurs in cities with inefficient waste treatment, but also in landfills and ports located in typical peri-urban areas. It appears in the form of both domestic and wild vertebrates, and also as carrion (i.e., roadkill and anthropogenic refuse ). Meat is an abundant and heterogeneously distributed food resource present in urban and peri-urban areas. Other factors influencing urban species composition include diet-related aspects, as species that thrive in cities usually can feed on a wide variety of foods, which sometimes are directly or indirectly related to humans. The same can be attributed to the other most common vertebrates in cities, mammals, as certain reproduction-related traits and their behavioral flexibility favor the successful use of cities for a limited number of taxa. For vertebrates such as birds, urbanization acts as a filter, but a combination of traits, including phenotypic and behavioral flexibility, dispersal strategies, and niche flexibility, allow a certain number of species to exploit cities. Factors related to cities that influence species composition and their exploitation of this novel ecosystem include urban structure and development, different types of pollution found in cities (e.g., noise, artificial light, chemical contamination ), and the existence of refuge and food sources. However, recent studies have demonstrated that cities are exploited by more species than previously thought (sometimes reaching higher population densities than in their original habitats ), and are even capable of hosting endangered species. Typically, the growth of cities has been linked to biodiversity loss. Today, in an increasingly urbanized world, scientists, conservationists, and politicians agree that understanding the patterns that explain the biodiversity of cities and conserving this biodiversity along with its ecological functions is a priority within urban planning and nature conservation. #Scavengers animals fullUnderstanding the trophic role of carnivores in urban environments and its ecological consequences will require full recognition of both their predation and scavenging facets, which is especially desirable given the urban sprawl that has been predicted in the coming decades. The species reported in both predation and scavenging articles were mainly wild and domestic mammals with high meat-based diets and nocturnal habits, and the majority of the studies were conducted in the interior zone of cities compared to peri-urban areas. Moreover, research was biased towards cities located in temperate biomes, while tropical regions were less well-represented, a pattern that was more evident in the case of articles on scavenging. Our results confirmed that scavenging is largely overlooked compared to predation in urban carnivore research. In particular, we explored the number of articles dealing with predation and scavenging, and assessed the geographical distribution, biomes and habitats represented in the scientific literature, together with the richness of species reported and their traits. In this paper, we reviewed the scientific literature on urban carnivores with the aim of identifying major biases in this topic of research. Despite the ecological and conservation implications relating to carnivores in cities, our general understanding of their potential role in urban food webs lacks synthesis. Many researchers highlight the role of urban ecology in a rapidly urbanizing world. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |