SREL Reprint #3515
Scavenging in the Anthropocene: Human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale
Esther Sebastián-González1, Jomar Magalhães Barbosa1,2, Juan M. Pérez-García1,3, Zebensui Morales-Reyes1, Francisco Botella1, Pedro P. Olea4,5, Patricia Mateo-Tomás6,7, Marcos Moleón8, Fernando Hiraldo2, Eneko Arrondo2, José A. Donázar2, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda2,9, Nuria Selva10, Sergio A. Lambertucci11, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee12,13, Alexis Brewer12,13, José D. Anadón12,13, Erin Abernethy14, Olin E. Rhodes Jr15, Kelsey Turner15, James C. Beasley15, Travis L. DeVault16, Andrés Ordiz17, Camilla Wikenros18, Barbara Zimmermann19, Petter Wabakken19, Christopher C. Wilmers20, Justine A. Smith21, Corinne J. Kendall22, Darcy Ogada23,24, Evan R. Buechley25,26,27, Ethan Frehner25, Maximilian L. Allen28, Heiko U. Wittmer29, James R. A. Butler30, Johan T. du Toit31, John Read32, David Wilson33, Klemen Jerina34, Miha Krofel34, Rich Kostecke35, Richard Inger36, Arockianathan Samson37, Lara Naves-Alegre1, and José A. Sánchez-Zapata1
1Departamento de Biología Aplicada, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain
2Department of Conservation Biology, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Seville, Spain
3Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain
4Centro de Investigacion en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM),
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
5Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
6Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
7Biodiversity Research Unit (UMIB), UO-CSIC-PA, Oviedo University, Mieres, Spain
8Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
9Animal Ecology and Demography Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain
10Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland
11Grupo de Investigaciones en Bilogía de la Conservacion, Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA (CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue), Bariloche, Argentina
12Department of Biology, Queens College, City University of New York, Queens, New York
13Biology Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York
14Integrative Biology Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
15Savannah River Ecology Lab, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources,
University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina
16National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Sandusky, Ohio
17Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management,
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
18Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
19Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology,
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway
20Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department,
University of California, Santa Cruz, California
21Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management,
University of California, Berkeley, California
22North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, North Carolina
23Ornithology Section, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
24The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho
25Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
26HawkWatch International, Salt Lake City, Utah
27Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Washington, District of Columbia
28Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois
29School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
30CSIRO Land and Water, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
31Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
32Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
33The Biodiversity Consultancy, Cambridge, UK
34Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
35The Nature Conservancy, Austin, Texas
36Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
37Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College, The Nilgiris, India
Abstract: Understanding the distribution of biodiversity across the Earth is one of the most challenging questions in biology. Much research has been directed at explaining the species latitudinal pattern showing that communities are richer in tropical areas; however, despite decades of research, a general consensus has not yet emerged. In addition, global biodiversity patterns are being rapidly altered by human activities. Here, we aim to describe large-scale patterns of species richness and diversity in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger (carrion-consuming) assemblages, which provide key ecosystem functions and services. We used a worldwide dataset comprising 43 sites, where vertebrate scavenger assemblages were identified using 2,485 carcasses monitored between 1991 and 2018. First, we evaluated how scavenger richness (number of species) and diversity (Shannon diversity index) varied among seasons (cold vs. warm, wet vs. dry). Then, we studied the potential effects of human impact and a set of macroecological variables related to climatic conditions on the scavenger assemblages. Vertebrate scavenger richness ranged from species-poor to species-rich assemblages (4-30 species). Both scavenger richness and diversity also showed some seasonal variation. However, in general, climatic variables did not drive latitudinal patterns, as scavenger richness and diversity were not affected by temperature or rainfall. Rainfall seasonality slightly increased the number of species in the community, but its effect was weak. Instead, the human impact index included in our study was the main predictor of scavenger richness. Scavenger assemblages in highly human-impacted areas sustained the smallest number of scavenger species, suggesting human activity may be overriding other macroecological processes in shaping scavenger communities. Our results highlight the effect of human impact at a global scale. As species-rich assemblages tend to be more functional, we warn about possible reductions in ecosystem functions and the services provided by scavengers in human-dominated landscapes in the Anthropocene.
Keywords: carrion, climate, human footprint, latitudinal hypothesis, species diversity
SREL Reprint #3515
Sebastián-González, S., J. M. Barbosa, J. M. Pérez-García, Z. Morales-Reyes, F. Botella, P. P. Olea, P. Mateo-Tomás, M. Moleón, F. Hiraldo, E. Arrondo, J. A. Donázar, A. Cortés-Avizanda, N. Selva, S. A. Lambertucci, A. Bhattacharjee, A. Brewer, J. D. Anadón, E. F. Abernethy, O. E. Rhodes Jr., K. L. Turner, J. C. Beasley, T. L. DeVault, A. Ordiz, C. Wikenros, B. Zimmermann, P. Wabakken, C. C. Wilmers, J. A. Smith, C. J. Kendall, D. Ogada, E. R. Buechley, E. Frehner, M. L. Allen, H. U. Wittmer, J. R. A. Butler, J. T. du Toit, J. Read, D. Wilson, K. Jerina, M. Krofel, R. Kostecke, R. Inger, A. Samson, L. Naves-Alegre, and J. A. Sánchez-Zapata. 2019. Scavenging in the Anthropocene: Human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale. Global Change Biology 25(9): 3005-3017.
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).