How to translate text using browser tools
29 July 2021 Isotope analysis reveals dietary overlap among sympatric canids
Sarah C. Webster, Michael J. Chamberlain, Joseph W. Hinton, James C. Beasley
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

When colonizing new regions, invading species might compete strongly with phylogenetically related species native to the regions they are colonizing, eventually leading to coexistence or displacement. In the southeast of the United States, recently established coyotes (Canis latrans) compete with red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), although it remains unclear if competition is leading to resource partitioning or displacement by species. Using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes, we tested the hypothesis that coyotes compete with foxes for food resources, with canids partitioning those resources to mitigate competition. We compared diets of canids in the southeast to those in the Plains region of the United States, a region where all three species historically have coexisted. We analyzed 217 hair samples from both regions pre-1960, prior to coyote colonization of the southeast, and post-2000, after coyotes were ubiquitous there, to assess differences in diet among species for both regions (southeast versus Plains and time periods, pre- versus postcolonization by coyotes). Modeling revealed significant dietary overlap among historical and contemporary populations in the southeast. Historically, all species partitioned resources in the Plains. Contemporarily, red fox and coyotes co-occurring in the Plains overlapped in diet; however, gray fox diet did not overlap with those of red fox and coyotes. Absence of partitioning in diet among co-occurring canids in the southeast indicates that interspecific competition could be strong in the region. Competition among canid populations in the southeast could lead to further resource partitioning among species that promotes coexistence or competitive exclusion of smaller fox species where coyote populations are abundant.

Sarah C. Webster, Michael J. Chamberlain, Joseph W. Hinton, and James C. Beasley "Isotope analysis reveals dietary overlap among sympatric canids," Journal of Mammalogy 102(5), 1222-1234, (29 July 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab077
Received: 24 March 2021; Accepted: 17 June 2021; Published: 29 July 2021
KEYWORDS
canid ecology
diet composition
interspecific competition
resource partitioning
stable isotopes
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top