Authors: Leigh West, Kasim Rafiq, Sarah J. Converse, Alan M. Wilson, Neil R. Jordan, Krystyna A. Golabek, J. Weldon McNutt, Briana Abrahms
Journal: Journal of Animal Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14192
From the Abstract:
Droughts are increasing in frequency and severity globally due to climate change, leading to changes in resource availability that may have cascading effects on animal ecology. Although several studies have demonstrated the ecological impacts of drought, the behavioural responses of individuals that scale up to these broader-scale effects are not well known, particularly among animals in top trophic levels like large carnivores. Using 11 years of GPS data from four sympatric large carnivore species in southern Africa, spanning 4 severe drought events, we test whether drought conditions impact (1) large carnivore space use, (2) broad-scale intraguild spatial overlap and (3) fine-scale intraguild interactions.
