Large carnivores, dominant scavengers, and livestock management pressure shape carrion-associated vertebrates guilds in the Patagonian steppe
5 affiliations
- 1Laboratorio de Manejo y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Instituto de Conservación, Biodiversidad y Territorio, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile; Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Mención Ecología y Evolución, Escuela de Graduados, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- 2Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, United States of America
- 3School of Natural Sciences (Biological Science), University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
- 4Departamento de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Acuícolas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile
- 5Laboratorio de Manejo y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Instituto de Conservación, Biodiversidad y Territorio, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile; Corresponding author.
Abstract
Carrion is a nutrient-rich yet unpredictable resource sustaining diverse vertebrate scavengers. We examined how environmental filters and species associations relate to scavenger guild structure under land-use change. In the Chilean Patagonian steppe, we deployed 70 ram carcasses across gradients of livestock management pressure, using a camera traps. At each carcass, we quantified species richness and a relative abundance index and applied Hill numbers ( q = 0, 1, 2) to assess diversity, relating patterns to environmental variables and to large carnivores (puma Puma concolor and culpeo fox Lycalopex culpaeus ) and dominant scavengers (Andean condor Vultur gryphus, grey fox L. griseus, kelp gull Larus dominicanus ). We recorded 41 vertebrate species using carrion (i.e., interacting directly with carcass tissue or fluids), representing the highest richness reported for steppe ecosystems. Guild composition varied spatially, with facultative scavengers (kelp gulls, grey foxes) numerically replacing condors at some sites. Presence of puma and culpeo fox was associated with more even and diverse assemblages, whereas Andean condor and grey fox were associated with increased unevenness. These patterns suggest that species identity and livestock management are important correlates of scavenger community structure. Our findings provide a regional baseline for understanding how livestock management and large carnivore occurrence relate to carrion-mediated ecosystem processes.
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BibTeX
@article{jimeneztorres2026large,
title = {{Large carnivores, dominant scavengers, and livestock management pressure shape carrion-associated vertebrates guilds in the Patagonian steppe}},
author = {Marina Jiménez-Torres and Manuel Ruiz-Aravena and Rowena Hamer and Sergio Radic-Schilling and Paulo Corti},
journal = {Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.pecon.2026.07.004},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2026.07.004},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Large carnivores, dominant scavengers, and livestock management pressure shape carrion-associated vertebrates guilds in the Patagonian steppe
AU - Marina Jiménez-Torres
AU - Manuel Ruiz-Aravena
AU - Rowena Hamer
AU - Sergio Radic-Schilling
AU - Paulo Corti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation
DO - 10.1016/j.pecon.2026.07.004
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2026.07.004
AB - Carrion is a nutrient-rich yet unpredictable resource sustaining diverse vertebrate scavengers. We examined how environmental filters and species associations relate to scavenger guild structure under land-use change. In the Chilean Patagonian steppe, we deployed 70 ram carcasses across gradients of livestock management pressure, using a camera traps. At each carcass, we quantified species richness and a relative abundance index and applied Hill numbers ( q = 0, 1, 2) to assess diversity, relating patterns to environmental variables and to large carnivores (puma Puma concolor and culpeo fox Lycalopex culpaeus ) and dominant scavengers (Andean condor Vultur gryphus, grey fox L. griseus, kelp gull Larus dominicanus ). We recorded 41 vertebrate species using carrion (i.e., interacting directly with carcass tissue or fluids), representing the highest richness reported for steppe ecosystems. Guild composition varied spatially, with facultative scavengers (kelp gulls, grey foxes) numerically replacing condors at some sites. Presence of puma and culpeo fox was associated with more even and diverse assemblages, whereas Andean condor and grey fox were associated with increased unevenness. These patterns suggest that species identity and livestock management are important correlates of scavenger community structure. Our findings provide a regional baseline for understanding how livestock management and large carnivore occurrence relate to carrion-mediated ecosystem processes.
SN - 2530-0644
ER -