Snowshoe hare carcasses feed more then the usual suspects

Date:
August 13, 2020
Source:
University of Alberta
Summary:
What do lynx, flying squirrels, ravens, and wolverines have
in common? They will all scavenge from snowshoe hare carcasses
under the right conditions, according to ecologists. And they're not
alone. In fact, researchers documented 24 different species feeding
from snowshoe hare carcasses in Canada's northern boreal forest.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
What do lynx, flying squirrels, ravens, and wolverines have in common?

==========================================================================
They will all scavenge from snowshoe hare carcasses under the
right conditions, according to a new study by University of Alberta
ecologists. And they're not alone. In fact, researchers documented
24 different species feeding from snowshoe hare carcasses in Canada's
northern boreal forest.

"This is one of the most diverse scavenger communities recorded," said
lead author Michael Peers, who conducted this research during his PhD
studies under the supervision of ProfessorStan Boutin in the Department
of Biological Sciences.

"Species we may think of as scavengers like common ravens, magpies, and wolverines were recorded, but also species that people might not expect to
be scavengers. We documented snowshoe hares, Canada lynx, red squirrels, Northern flying squirrels, arctic ground squirrels, and chipmunks all scavenging." The researchers examined the northern boreal forest in the
Yukon over a four- year period from 2015 to 2018. Using remote sensing
cameras, the researchers examined which animals scavenged from nearly 100 opportunistically placed snowshoe hare carcasses throughout the region.

The results indicate that prey species may have a more complex impact on
food webs than previously thought, because their numbers influence both
their direct predators as well as other animals who commonly scavenge.

"Scavenging by animals can have important impacts on food webs, but
is often overlooked in food web research," explained Peers. "Our data
shows that a lot of species scavenge in the boreal forest of Canada,
and that changing temperatures or the abundance of keystone species can
impact scavenging communities."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Alberta. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Michael J. L. Peers, Sean M. Konkolics, Clayton T. Lamb, Yasmine N.

Majchrzak, Allyson K. Menzies, Emily K. Studd, Rudy Boonstra,
Alice J.

Kenney, Charles J. Krebs, April Robin Martinig, Baily McCulloch,
Joseph Silva, Laura Garland, Stan Boutin. Prey availability
and ambient temperature influence carrion persistence in
the boreal forest. Journal of Animal Ecology, 2020; DOI:
10.1111/1365-2656.13275 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200813134551.htm

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