Title
Tigers and their prey: Predicting carnivore densities from prey abundance
Author(s)
Karanth, K. U.; Nichols, J. D.; Kumar, N. S.; Link, W. A.; Hines, J. E.
Published
2004
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abstract
The goal of ecology is to understand interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms. In principle, ecologists should be able to identify a small number of limiting resources for a species of interest, estimate densities of these resources at different locations across the landscape, and then use these estimates to predict the density of the focal species at these locations. In practice, however, development of functional relationships between abundances of species and their resources has proven extremely difficult, and examples of such predictive ability are very rare. Ecological studies of prey requirements of tigers Panthera tigris led us to develop a simple mechanistic model for predicting tiger density as a function of prey density. We tested our model using data from a landscape-scale long-term (1995-2003) field study that estimated tiger and prey densities in 11 ecologically diverse sites across India. We used field techniques and analytical methods that specifically addressed sampling and detectability, two issues that frequently present problems in macroecological studies of animal populations. Estimated densities of ungulate prey ranged between 5.3 and 63.8 animals per km(2). Estimated tiger densities (3.2-16.8 tigers per 100 km(2)) were reasonably consistent with model predictions. The results provide evidence of a functional relationship between abundances of large carnivores and their prey under a wide range of ecological conditions. In addition to generating important insights into carnivore ecology and conservation, the study provides a potentially useful model for the rigorous conduct of macroecological science.
Keywords
ecology, leopard, dhole, India, article, carnivore, density, model, nonhuman, population density, population size, prey, priority journal, species, tiger, ungulate, animals, Carnivora, predatory behavior, Animalia, Panthera, Panthera tigris, Ungulata
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PUB11154