Resource limitations and competitive interactions affect carnivore community composition at different ecological scales in a temperate island system

Abstract

Abstract Selective pressures (i.e. resource limitation and competitive interaction) that drive the composition of ecological communities vary, and often operate on different ecological scales (ecological variables across varying spatial scales) than observed patterns. We studied the drivers of distribution and abundance of the American marten (Martes americana) and the carnivore community at three ecological scales on a Great Lakes island archipelago using camera traps. We found different drivers appeared important at each ecological scale and studying any of the three scales alone would give a biased understanding of the process driving the system. Island biogeography (resource limitation) was most important for carnivore richness, with higher richness on larger islands and lower richness as distance from the mainland increased. Marten presence on individual islands appeared to be driven by island size (resource limitation) and human avoidance (competitive interaction). Marten abundance at camera trap sites was driven by the cascading effect of coyotes (Canis latrans) on fishers (Pekania pennanti) (competitive interaction). Incorporating three ecological scales gave novel insights into the varying effects of resource limitation and competitive interaction processes. Our data suggests that ecological communities are structured through multiple competing ecological forces, and effective management and conservation relies on our ability to understand ecological forces operating at multiple ecological scales.