IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Andreasen, A.M.; Beckmann, J.P.; Stewart, K.M.; Longland, W.; Lackey, C. | |
| Variation in prey selection and incidence of individual specialization on novel prey in the Great Basin | |
| 2014 Conference Proceeding | |
Variation in predation behavior and prey selection of predators can have important implications for ecology, conservation and management. We tested hypotheses pertaining to the degree of individual diet specialization, and potential fitness consequences, of mountain lions (_Puma concolor_) in areas with varying abundances and types of prey in the western Great Basin and eastern Sierra Nevada. We visited 1,330 GPS clusters made by 21 mountain lions (7 males; 14 females) fitted with GPS collars from 2009 -2012. We followed individuals an average of 55 weeks (SD = 36) and located remains of predation events at 804 of the clusters searched (61%) comprising 14 species. Diets varied among individuals within and between mountain ranges. Mule deer were the most common prey in the diets of 13 individuals and feral horses were the most common prey killed by 8 individuals. Ten of 13 mountain lions with access to feral horses in Great Basin ranges consumed horses as prey. However, there was considerable variation among the diets of those individuals with some individuals specializing on horses to the near exclusion of other prey items. In some areas of the Great Basin, feral horses provided ecological opportunity for prey specialization where mule deer densities were relatively low; in areas of low availability of total prey, however, all individuals had generalist foraging strategies. We found no difference between specialists and generalists in biological correlates of fitness. Nonetheless, our results suggest that predation on feral horses in arid Great Basin Ranges may result in fitness comparable to those of mountain lions in areas where densities of mule deer are substantially greater, such as the Sierra Nevada. |
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