Spatio-temporal variation in the demographic attributes of a generalist mesopredator

• Published in: Landscape ecology Vol. 26; no. 7; pp. 937 - 950
• Main Authors: Beasley, James C., Olson, Zachary H., Dharmarajan, Guha, Eagan, Timothy S., Rhodes, Olin E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.08.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural land; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cavities; Community ecology; Crops; Data processing; Demographics; Demography; Ecology; Environmental Management; Forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; General aspects; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Habitat; Habitats; Land economics; Land use; Landscape; Landscape Ecology; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Life Sciences; Local population; Nature Conservation; Plant diversity; Plant species; Population density; Population dynamics; Population stability; Predation; Predators; Procyon lotor; Research Article; Rural areas; Sustainable Development; Temporal variations; Trees; Water availability; Water resources; Sex ratio; Disease; Habitat quality; Age structure; Agricultural ecosystem; Raccoon; Population dynamics; Predation; Program MARK; Fissipedia; Carnivora; Demography; Program; Spatial variation; Time variation; Mesopredator; Agroecosystem; Procyon lotor; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Habitat; Age distribution; Environment quality
• ISSN: 0921-2973; 1572-9761
• DOI: 10.1007/s10980-011-9619-x

Human land-use practices have dramatically altered the composition and configuration of native habitats throughout many ecosystems. Within heterogeneous landscapes generalist predators often thrive, causing cascading effects on local biological communities, yet there are few data to suggest how attributes of fragmentation influence local population dynamics of these species. We monitored 25 raccoon ( Procyon lotor ) populations from 2004 to 2009 in a fragmented agricultural landscape to evaluate the influence of local and landscape habitat attributes on spatial and temporal variation in demography. Our results indicate that agricultural ecosystems support increased densities of raccoons relative to many other rural landscapes, but that spatial and temporal variation in demography exists that is driven by non-agricultural habitat attributes rather than the availability of crops. At the landscape scale, both density and population stability were positively associated with the size and contiguity of forest patches, while at the local scale density was positively correlated with plant diversity and the density of tree cavities. In addition, populations occupying forest patches with greater levels of plant diversity and stable water resources exhibited less temporal variability than populations with limited plant species complexity or water availability. The proportion of populations comprised of females was most strongly influenced by the availability of tree cavities and soft mast. Despite the abundance of mesopredators in heterogeneous landscapes, our results indicate that all patches do not contribute equally to the regional abundance and persistence of these species. Thus, a clear understanding of how landscape attributes contribute to variation in demography is critical to the optimization of management strategies.