Skip to main content
SLU:s publikationsdatabas (SLUpub)

Sammanfattning

Conservation successes in Europe have sparked the recovery of apex predators, which may affect the populations of mesopredators. The mesopredator release hypothesis (MRH) predicts that a decline in apex predators triggers a 'release' of mesopredators from suppression. We expanded the MRH to include predictions of inverse responses following increases in apex predator abundance or distribution. We examined European mesopredator responses to changes in apex predator populations and evaluated the extended MRH's explanatory power. We examined the results of 47 studies on European predators for supporting evidence, mixed evidence, no evidence, or contrasting evidence for the extended MRH. Out of 38 apex predator - mesopredator pairings, 10 predominantly supported the extended MRH, while others provided limited or no support. In 23 instances across 17 pairings, mesopredator responses contradicted predictions. Initial findings suggest the extended MRH better predicts mesopredator responses in pairings with intermediate to large body size differences and in pairings where mesopredators primarily hunt. Our results reveal non-uniform mesopredator responses to changing apex predator populations. This emphasises the complexity of predator interactions, which extends beyond suppression. We suggest the MRH's scope is more restricted than previously thought, cautioning against overreliance on the MRH as a default expectation for European mesopredator responses to apex predator population changes.Changes in the populations of higher-ranking predators (apex predators) affect lower-ranking predators (mesopredators). The mesopredator release hypothesis predicts that a decrease in apex predator abundance or distribution leads to a 'release' of mesopredators from suppression, which may lead to changes in behaviour, abundance or distribution of mesopredators. We extended this prediction by including inverse mesopredator responses to an increase in apex predator distribution or abundance. For 47 studies on European predators, we determined whether the results provided supporting evidence, mixed evidence, no evidence or contrasting evidence for this extended mesopredator release hypothesis. The graphical abstract shown here summarises A) the results of all studies for each of 38 apex predator - mesopredator pairings and B) the number of pairings for which the majority of studies did or did not find supporting evidence across different classes of apex predator - mesopredator body weight difference and foraging strategy combination.image

Nyckelord

body size; foraging strategy; interspecific interactions; predator-predator interactions; trophic cascades

Publicerad i

Mammal Review
2025, volym: 55, nummer: 1, artikelnummer: e12357

SLU författare

UKÄ forskningsämne

Ekologi
Zoologi
Etologi

Publikationens identifierare

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12357

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/142001