Apex predator ≈ Apex predator
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Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss Open
Significance Invasive mammalian predators are arguably the most damaging group of alien animal species for global biodiversity. Thirty species of invasive predator are implicated in the extinction or endangerment of 738 vertebrate species—…
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Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data Open
Microplastic (MP) contamination has been well documented across a range of habitats and for a large number of organisms in the marine environment. Consequently, bioaccumulation, and in particular biomagnification of MPs and associated chem…
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Range contractions of the world's large carnivores Open
The majority of the world's terrestrial large carnivores have undergone substantial range contractions and many of these species are currently threatened with extinction. However, there has been little effort to fully quantify the extent o…
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Marine top predators as climate and ecosystem sentinels Open
The rapid pace of environmental change in the Anthropocene necessitates the development of a new suite of tools for measuring ecosystem dynamics. Sentinel species can provide insight into ecosystem function, identify hidden risks to human …
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Environmental DNA reveals seasonal shifts and potential interactions in a marine community Open
Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis allows the simultaneous examination of organisms across multiple trophic levels and domains of life, providing critical information about the complex biotic interactions related to ecosystem change. Here w…
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Diel predator activity drives a dynamic landscape of fear Open
A “landscape of fear” (LOF) is a map that describes continuous spatial variation in an animal's perception of predation risk. The relief on this map reflects, for example, places that an animal avoids to minimize risk. Although the LOF con…
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Paws without claws? Ecological effects of large carnivores in anthropogenic landscapes Open
Large carnivores are frequently presented as saviours of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through their creation of trophic cascades, an idea largely based on studies coming primarily out of relatively natural landscapes. However, in…
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Prey depletion as a threat to the world's large carnivores Open
Large terrestrial carnivores are an ecologically important, charismatic and highly endangered group of species. Here, we assess the importance of prey depletion as a driver of large carnivore endangerment globally using lists of prey speci…
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Fear of the human ‘super predator’ reduces feeding time in large carnivores Open
Large carnivores' fear of the human ‘super predator’ has the potential to alter their feeding behaviour and result in human-induced trophic cascades. However, it has yet to be experimentally tested if large carnivores perceive humans as pr…
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Spatio-temporal interactions facilitate large carnivore sympatry across a resource gradient Open
Species within a guild vary their use of time, space and resources, thereby enabling sympatry. As intra-guild competition intensifies, such behavioural adaptations may become prominent. We assessed mechanisms of facilitating sympatry among…
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Memory and resource tracking drive blue whale migrations Open
In terrestrial systems, the green wave hypothesis posits that migrating animals can enhance foraging opportunities by tracking phenological variation in high-quality forage across space (i.e., “resource waves”). To track resource waves, an…
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Enemies with benefits: integrating positive and negative interactions among terrestrial carnivores Open
Interactions among terrestrial carnivores involve a complex interplay of competition, predation and facilitation via carrion provisioning, and these negative and positive pathways may be closely linked. Here, we developed an integrative fr…
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Feasting on microplastics: ingestion by and effects on marine organisms Open
Ingestion of microplastics by marine organisms is a common occurrence in marine ecosystems, but the experimental demonstration of the effects of ingested microplastics on marine organisms has only recently become an important subject of re…
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Fear of the human “super predator” far exceeds the fear of large carnivores in a model mesocarnivore Open
The fear (perceived predation risk) large carnivores inspire in mesocarnivores can affect ecosystem structure and function, and loss of the "landscape of fear" large carnivores create adds to concerns regarding the worldwide loss of large …
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Corridors or risk? Movement along, and use of, linear features varies predictably among large mammal predator and prey species Open
Space‐use behaviour reflects trade‐offs in meeting ecological needs and can have consequences for individual survival and population demographics. The mechanisms underlying space use can be understood by simultaneously evaluating habitat s…
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Independent evolution of baleen whale gigantism linked to Plio-Pleistocene ocean dynamics Open
Vertebrates have evolved to gigantic sizes repeatedly over the past 250 Myr, reaching their extreme in today's baleen whales (Mysticeti). Hypotheses for the evolution of exceptionally large size in mysticetes range from niche partitioning …
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Circumpolar habitat use in the southern elephant seal: implications for foraging success and population trajectories Open
In the Southern Ocean, wide‐ranging predators offer the opportunity to quantify how animals respond to differences in the environment because their behavior and population trends are an integrated signal of prevailing conditions within mul…
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Havens for threatened Australian mammals: the contributions of fenced areas and offshore islands to the protection of mammal species susceptible to introduced predators Open
Context Many Australian mammal species are highly susceptible to predation by introduced domestic cats (Felis catus) and European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). These predators have caused many extinctions and have driven large distributional …
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<span>DNA</span> metabarcoding for diet analysis and biodiversity: A case study using the endangered Australian sea lion (<i>Neophoca cinerea</i>) Open
The analysis of apex predator diet has the ability to deliver valuable insights into ecosystem health, and the potential impacts a predator might have on commercially relevant species. The Australian sea lion ( Neophoca cinerea ) is an end…
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Persistent pollutants, persistent threats Open
Polychlorinated biphenyls remain a major threat to marine apex predators such as orcas
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Island extinctions: processes, patterns, and potential for ecosystem restoration Open
SUMMARY Extinctions have altered island ecosystems throughout the late Quaternary. Here, we review the main historic drivers of extinctions on islands, patterns in extinction chronologies between islands, and the potential for restoring ec…
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Does hunting or hiking affect wildlife communities in protected areas? Open
Summary Managed public wild areas have dual mandates to protect biodiversity and provide recreational opportunities for people. These goals could be at odds if recreation, ranging from hiking to legal hunting, disrupts wildlife enough to a…
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Causes and consequences of individual variability and specialization in foraging and migration strategies of seabirds Open
Technological advances in recent years have seen an explosion of tracking and stable isotope studies of seabirds, often involving repeated measures from the same individuals. This wealth of new information has allowed the examination of th…
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Hypoxic areas, density-dependence and food limitation drive the body condition of a heavily exploited marine fish predator Open
Investigating the factors regulating fish condition is crucial in ecology and the management of exploited fish populations. The body condition of cod ( Gadus morhua ) in the Baltic Sea has dramatically decreased during the past two decades…
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Saving endangered species using adaptive management Open
Significance A replicated management experiment was conducted across >90,000 km 2 to test recovery options for woodland caribou, a species that was functionally extirpated from the contiguous United States in March 2018. Recovery options w…
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High-energy, high-fat lifestyle challenges an Arctic apex predator, the polar bear Open
A demanding lifestyle Polar bears appear to be well adapted to the extreme conditions of their Arctic habitat. Pagano et al. , however, show that the energy balance in this harsh environment is narrower than we might expect (see the Perspe…
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Non‐consumptive predator effects on prey population size: A dearth of evidence Open
There is a large and growing interest in non‐consumptive effects (NCEs) of predators. Diverse and extensive evidence shows that predation risk directly influences prey traits, such as behaviour, morphology and physiology, which in turn, ma…
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Space Use and Movement of a Neotropical Top Predator: The Endangered Jaguar Open
Accurately estimating home range and understanding movement behavior can provide important information on ecological processes. Advances in data collection and analysis have improved our ability to estimate home range and movement paramete…
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Trophic Transfer of Microplastics From Copepods to Jellyfish in the Marine Environment Open
Microplastics (MPs) can be ingested by marine organisms directly or indirectly through trophic transfer from contaminated prey. In the marine ecosystem, zooplankton are an important link between phytoplankton and higher trophic levels in t…
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Evaluating the Potential Impacts of the Diurnal Vertical Migration by Marine Organisms on Marine Biogeochemistry Open
Diurnal vertical migration (DVM) of marine organisms is an ubiquitous phenomenon in the ocean that generates an active vertical transport of organic matter. However, the magnitude and consequences of this flux are largely unknown and are c…