Top hog not top dog? An invasive scavenger outcompetes native apex scavengers at carrion
摘要
Carrion provides a ubiquitous foraging source globally, serving as a focal resource for scavenger guilds. Invasive species increasingly play important roles in carrion consumption, yet their spatiotemporal scavenging dynamics and interactions with native scavengers remain poorly understood. In Australia, invasive feral pigs (Sus scrofa) have emerged as significant scavengers. We examined feral pig carrion use across cool and warm seasons, in open and closed canopy habitats in the Australian Alps, comparing this to native apex scavengers: the dingo (Canis dingo) and wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax). Feral pigs were 1.32-fold more active and scavenged 2.17-fold longer in cool than warm seasons, and scavenged 1.96-fold longer in open versus closed habitats during the warm season. They accelerated biomass removal in cool seasons, whereas dingoes dominated scavenging in warm seasons. Although carcass discovery times did not differ among species, high feral pig scavenging activity reduced dingo scavenging time. Temporally, feral pigs and dingoes overlapped at carcasses but had distinct peak times: pigs peaked before midnight, dingoes around midnight. Feral pigs did not affect eagle scavenging, likely due to temporal partitioning (nocturnal pigs versus diurnal eagles). Our findings highlight the influential scavenging role feral pigs play in Australian ecosystems, via their ability to monopolise and rapidly consume carrion, thereby reducing resource carrion availability for other scavengers. Understanding invasive species scavenging dynamics is crucial to unravelling complex scavenger networks and energy flow pathways. Recognising invasive species' seasonal reliance on carrion can inform targeted management strategies, particularly where supplementary foraging poses conservation challenges.