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Potential resource competition between an invasive mammal and native birds: overlap in tree cavity preferences of feral raccoons and Ural owls

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Abstract

Invasive mammals include good tree climbers that use tree cavities for resting and nesting. Tree cavities are important but limited resources in most forests; thus, some invasive mammals can be serious competitors for native cavity-using species, especially cavity-nesting birds. Despite the potential impact, such inter-class competition has rarely been considered. We examined the possibility of resource competition for tree cavities between the invasive raccoon Procyon lotor and the native Ural owl Strix uralensis. Both species are nocturnal and use tree cavities during daytime. We assessed an overlap in cavity use for both species as an indication of potential competition by monitoring 341 cavities during their breeding season in a natural park in Hokkaido, Japan. Of 341 potentially available cavities, raccoons and Ural owls used 37 and 32, respectively. The characteristics of 58 cavities used by raccoons or owls were compared to 49 random cavities to determine if they selected cavities with certain characteristics. As predicted from a large amount of tree cavities and a low raccoon density in this managed forest, we did not find direct evidence of competition, such as physical interaction, intrusion to cavities, or habitat segregation. Cavity types used by both species overlapped considerably in terms of height, entrance size, depth, and other characteristics: their habitats were widely overlapped. Further, in four cavities, one species was replaced by the other. Given the similar habitat requirements, the invasive raccoon could be a potential competitor for Ural owl when raccoon density increases and/or cavity availability decreases, which is the case for many forests in Japan. This study suggests that potential threats of resource competition among not only closely but also distantly related taxa should be taken into consideration when studying the impacts of invasive species.

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Acknowledgments

We appreciated valuable comments by Teru Yuta and two anonymous reviewers on the earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank Keiichi Fukaya for statistical analysis and Anna Sano, Kento Asahi, Michiko Fuziura, Shinji Moriya, and Satoshi Takagi for field assistance. This study was supported in part by a research Grant from Fujiwara Natural History Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan

    Fumiya Kobayashi & Itsuro Koizumi

  2. Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan

    Masahiro Toyama & Itsuro Koizumi

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  1. Fumiya Kobayashi
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  2. Masahiro Toyama
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  3. Itsuro Koizumi
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Correspondence to Itsuro Koizumi.

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Table 5 Categorical characteristics of cavities
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Kobayashi, F., Toyama, M. & Koizumi, I. Potential resource competition between an invasive mammal and native birds: overlap in tree cavity preferences of feral raccoons and Ural owls. Biol Invasions 16, 1453–1464 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0583-z

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