Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Long-term data reveal equivocal evidence for intraguild suppression among sympatric canids

Biodiversity and Conservation volume 31, pages 2965–2979 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Interspecific interactions among predators can shape ecological communities across trophic levels, including among predator guilds. The strength and directions of these interactions, however, may vary spatially and temporally in regions undergoing widespread landscape changes (e.g., urbanization, agricultural production). We investigated intraguild effects of coyotes (Canis latrans), a de facto apex predator, and land-cover changes on abundance indices of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) using two long-term and independent time series: direct observations of canids by archery deer hunters (26 years) and harvest data from canid trappers (41 years) from across Illinois, USA. Abundance indices from both time series for red and gray foxes declined whereas coyote abundance indices increased, suggesting increasing coyote abundance may have led to decreases in fox population abundances. Empirical support among candidate models explaining fox declines was generally equivocal yet differed between fox species. Models including effects of coyote abundance were generally competitive for red foxes and estimated negative coyote effects even after controlling for declining farm size. The empirical support among our landscape hypotheses also varied by species despite increasing forest cover and farm size during our study. The estimated effects of coyote in our study were weaker than reported at more northerly latitudes suggesting that increasing coyote populations may not be fully responsible for observed declines in fox populations in the midwestern USA.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Data availability

The data and R script used during this current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

  • Allen ML, Avrin AC, Farmer MJ et al (2021) Limitations of current knowledge about the ecology of grey foxes hamper conservation efforts. J Threat Taxa 13:19079–19092

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen ML, Green AM, Moll RJ (2022) Modelling the distribution and intraguild associations of an understudied mesocarnivore across the contiguous United States. Divers Distrib 28:1022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauder JM, Allen ML, Ahlers AA et al (2020) Identifying and controlling for variation in canid harvest data. J Wildl Manag 84:1234–1245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauder JM, Allen ML, Benson TJ et al (2021a) An approach for using multiple indices for monitoring long-term trends of mesopredators at broad spatial scales. Biodivers Conserv 30:3529–3547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauder JM, Cervantes AM, Avrin AC et al (2021b) Mismatched spatial scales can limit the utility of citizen science data for estimating wildlife-habitat relationships. Ecol Res 36:87–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry B, Schooley RL, Ward MP (2017) Landscape context affects use of restored grasslands by mammals in a dynamic agroecosystem. Am Midl Nat 177:165–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beschta RL, Ripple WJ (2009) Large predators and trophic cascades in terrestrial ecosystems of the western United States. Biol Conserv 142:2401–2414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain MJ, Leopold BD (2005) Overlap in space use among bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Am Midl Nat 153:171–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clare JDJ, Linden DW, Anderson EM, Macfarland DM (2016) Do the antipredator strategies of shared prey mediate intraguild predation and mesopredator suppression? Ecol Evol 6:3884–3897

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper SE, Nielsen CK, McDonald PT (2012) Landscape features affecting relative abundance of gray foxes Urocyon cinereogentus at large scales in Illinois, USA. Wildl Biol 18:366–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crimmins SM, Van Deelen TR (2019) Limited evidence for mesocarnivore release following wolf recovery in Wisconsin, USA. Wildl Biol 2019:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cypher BL, Spencer KA (1998) Competitive interactions between coyotes and San Joaquin kit foxes. J Mammal 79:204–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeCesare NJ, Hebblewhite M, Robinson HS, Musiani M (2010) Endangered, apparently: the role of apparent competition in endangered species conservation. Anim Conserv 13:353–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egan ME, Day CC, Katzner TE, Zollner PA (2021) Relative abundance of coyotes (Canis latrans) influences gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) occupancy across the eastern United States. Can J Zool 99:63–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estes JA, Palmisano JF (1974) Sea otters—their role in structuring nearshore communities. Science 185:1058–1060

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Estes JA, Terborgh J, Brashares JS et al (2011) Trophic downgrading of planet earth. Science 333:301–306

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farias V, Fuller TK, Wayne RK, Sauvajot RM (2005) Survival and cause-specific mortality of gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in southern California. J Zool 266:249–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedriani JM, Fuller TK, Sauvajot RM, York EC (2000) Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores. Oecologia 125:258–270

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fidino M, Gallo T, Lehrer EW et al (2021) Landscape-scale differences among cities alter common species’ responses to urbanization. Ecol Appl 31:e02253

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fowler NL, Kautz TM, Petroelje TR et al (2021) Marginal support for a trophic cascade among sympatric canids in peripheral wolf range. Ecology 102:e03494

  • Frtizell EK, Haroldson KJ (1982) Urocyon cinereoargenteus. Mamm Species 189:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gehrt SD, Riley SPD (2010) Coyotes (Canis latrans). In: Gehrt SD, Riley SPD, Cypher BL (eds) Urban carnivores: ecology, conflict, and conservation. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 79–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosselink TE, Van Deelen TR, Warner RE, Joselyn MG (2003) Temporal habitat partitioning and spatial use of coyotes and red foxes in east-central Illinois. J Wildl Manag 67:90–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosselink TE, Van Deelen TR, Warner RE, Mankin PC (2007) Survival and cause-specific mortality of red foxes in agricultural and urban areas of Illinois. J Wildl Manag 71:1862–1873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison DJ, Bissonette JA, Sherburne JA (1989) Spatial relationships between coyotes and red foxes in eastern Maine. J Wildl Manag 53:181–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson LR (1988) Land-use changes in Illinois, USA: the influence of landscape attributes on current and historic land use. Landsc Ecol 2:45–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jachowski DS, Butler A, Eng RYY et al (2020) Identifying mesopredator release in multi-predator systems: a review of evidence from North America. Mamm Rev 50:367–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamler JF, Ballard WB, Gilliland RL et al (2003) Impacts of coyotes on swift foxes in northwestern Texas. J Wildl Manag 67:317–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karki SM, Gese EM, Klavetter ML (2007) Effects of coyote population reduction on swift fox demographics in southeastern Colorado. J Wildl Manag 71:2707–2718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellner KF, Hill JE, Gantchoff MG et al (2020) Responses of sympatric canids to human development revealed through citizen science. Ecol Evol 10:8705–8714

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • LeFlore EG, Fuller TK, Finn JT et al (2019) Wild canid distribution and co-existence in a natural-urban matrix of the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. Northeast Nat 26:325–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesmeister DB, Nielsen CK, Schauber EM, Hellgren EC (2015) Spatial and temporal structure of a mesocarnivore guild in Midwestern North America. Wildl Monogr 191:1–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levi T, Wilmers CC (2012) Wolves-coyotes-foxes: a cascade among carnivores. Ecology 93:921–929

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Linnell JDC, Strand O (2000) Interference interactions, co-existence and conservation of mammalian carnivores. Divers Distrib 6:169–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mankin PC, Warner RE (1999) A regional model of the eastern cottontail and land-use changes in Illinois. J Wildl Manag 63:956–963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaren BE, Peterson RO (1994) Wolves, moose, and tree-rings on Isle Royale. Science 266:1555–1558

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moll RJ, Cepek JD, Lorch PD et al (2018) Humans and urban development mediate the sympatry of competing carnivores. Urban Ecosyst 21:765–778

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morin DJ, Lesmeister DB, Nielsen CK, Schauber EM (2022) Asymmetrical intraguild interactions with coyotes, red foxes, and domestic dogs may contribute to competitive exclusion of declining gray foxes. Ecol Evol 12:e9074

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller MA, Drake D, Allen ML (2018) Coexistence of coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban landscape. PLoS ONE 13:e0190971

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nawrocki JA, Schooley RL, Ward MP (2019) When good animals love restored habitat in bad neighborhoods: ecological traps for eastern cottontails in agricultural landscapes. Biodivers Conserv 28:953–973

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newsome TM, Ripple WJ (2015) A continental scale trophic cascade from wolves through coyotes to foxes. J Anim Ecol 84:49–59

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols JD, Thomas L, Conn PB (2009) Inferences about landbird abundance from count data: recent advances and future directions. In: Thomson DL, Cooch EG, Conroy MJ (eds) Modeling demographic processes in marked populations. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Palomares F, Caro TM (1999) Interspecific killing among mammalian carnivores. Am Nat 153:492–508

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prugh LR, Sivy KJ (2020) Enemies with benefits: integrating positive and negative interactions among terrestrial carnivores. Ecol Lett 23:902–918

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prugh LR, Stoner CJ, Epps CW et al (2009) The rise of the mesopredator. Bioscience 59:779–791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randa LA, Yunger JA (2006) Carnivore occurrence along an urban-rural gradient: a landscape-level analysis. J Mammal 87:1154–1164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ribic CA, Warner RE, Mankin PC (1998) Changes in upland wildlife habitat on farmland in Illinois 1920–1987. Environ Manag 22:303–313

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rich M, Thompson C, Prange S, Popescu VD (2018) Relative importance of habitat characteristics and interspecific relations in determining terrestrial carnivore occurrence. Front Ecol Evol 6:13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ripple WJ, Estes JA, Beschta RL et al (2014) Status and ecological effects of the world’s largest carnivores. Science 343:151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson QH, Bustos D, Roemer GW (2014) The application of occupancy modeling to evaluate intraguild predation in a model carnivore system. Ecology 95:3112–3123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rota CT, Ferreira MAR, Kays RW et al (2016) A multispecies occupancy model for two or more interacting species. Methods Ecol Evol 7:1164–1173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sargeant AB, Allen SH (1989) Observed interactions between coyotes and red foxes. J Mammal 70:631–633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schooley RL, Bestelmeyer BT, Wagnon CJ, Coffman JM (2021) Shrub encroachment, landscape restoration, and intraguild predation. J Arid Environ 193:104588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shores CR, Dellinger JA, Newkirk ES et al (2019) Mesopredators change temporal activity in response to a recolonizing apex predator. Behav Ecol 30:1324–1335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sirén APK, Morelli TL (2020) Interactive range-limit theory (iRLT): An extension for predicting range shifts. J Anim Ecol 89:940–954

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sivy KJ, Pozzanghera CB, Grace JB, Prugh LR (2017) Fatal attraction? intraguild facilitation and suppression among predators. Am Nat 190:663–679

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soulsbury CD, Baker PJ, Iossa G, Harris S (2010) Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). In: Gehrt SD, Riley SPD, Cypher BL (eds) Urban carnivores: ecology, conflict, and conservation. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 63–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinmetz R, Seuaturien N, Chutipong W (2013) Tigers, leopards, and dholes in a half-empty forest: assessing species interactions in a guild of threatened carnivores. Biol Conserv 163:68–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson A, Caro T, Davies-Mostert H et al (2014) Cheetahs and wild dogs show contrasting patterns of suppression by lions. J Anim Ecol 83:1418–1427

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (2017) 2017 Census of agriculture. National Agriculture Statistics Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Washington, DC

  • Walk JW, Ward MP, Benson TJ et al (2010) Illinois birds: a century of change. Illinois Natural History Survey Special Publication 31.

  • Wang YW, Allen ML, Wilmers CC (2015) Mesopredator spatial and temporal responses to large predators and human development in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Biol Conserv 190:23–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner RE (1994) Agricultural land use and grassland habitat in Illinois—future shock for Midwestern birds. Conserv Biol 8:147–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wootton JT (1994) The nature and consequences of indirect effects in ecological communities. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 25:443–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank M. Alessi, S. McTaggart, B. Bluett, G. Hubert, W. Anderson, and L. Campbell, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for their support. We also thank the many trappers and archery deer hunters of Illinois who participated in our surveys. We are thankful for the comments of A. Loyau and two anonymous reviewers, which greatly improved this manuscript.

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program (W-112-R to C.A.M and W-198-R to K.W.S.), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA

    Javan M. Bauder, Maximilian L. Allen, Thomas J. Benson, Craig A. Miller & Kirk W. Stodola

  2. Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Adam A. Ahlers

Authors
  1. Javan M. Bauder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maximilian L. Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adam A. Ahlers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thomas J. Benson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Craig A. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kirk W. Stodola
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Javan M. Bauder.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict or competing interests.

Ethical approval

All research was approved by the University of Illinois’ Institutional Review Board (IRB 10236).

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Additional information

Communicated by Adeline Loyau.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 1045 kb)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bauder, J.M., Allen, M.L., Ahlers, A.A. et al. Long-term data reveal equivocal evidence for intraguild suppression among sympatric canids. Biodivers Conserv 31, 2965–2979 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02465-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02465-y

Keywords

search

Navigation