eprintid: 10111380 rev_number: 14 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/11/13/80 datestamp: 2020-10-06 11:19:42 lastmod: 2021-10-04 00:05:31 status_changed: 2020-10-06 11:19:42 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Vilella, M creators_name: Ferrandiz-Rovira, M creators_name: Sayol, F title: Coexistence of predators in time: Effects of season and prey availability on species activity within a Mediterranean carnivore guild ispublished: inpress divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C08 divisions: D09 divisions: F99 keywords: activity pattern, camera trapping, mesocarnivore, relative activity index, small mammals, temporal niche note: © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). abstract: The degree of coexistence among predators can determine the structure of ecological communities. Niche partitioning is a common strategy applied by species to enhance their coexistence. Diet, habitat, or time use can be responsible for segregation among carnivore species, the latter factor being the least studied in Mediterranean ecosystems. Terrestrial medium‐sized carnivores (i.e., mesocarnivores) carry out important functions in ecosystems, and identifying their interactions is essential for their conservation. In this study, we explore the activity of a terrestrial mesocarnivore guild in order to determine seasonal differences in daily activity patterns of competitors and prey. We also investigate how the abundance of a common mesocarnivore prey in the region, small mammals, influences the activity of predators. During a year, camera trap devices (n = 18) were installed in Montseny Natural Park (Catalan Pre‐Coastal Range, North‐East Iberian Peninsula), a region that hosts five mesocarnivore species. Camera trapping detections were used to estimate their daily activity patterns and corresponding overlaps. We also surveyed small mammal plots (n = 5) in order to calculate prey abundance and test its effect on the relative activity of each carnivore species. Despite all target mesocarnivores are mainly nocturnal, the activity overlap among them varies according to species particularities and season. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) appears as a generalist species in terms of time use, whereas stone marten (Martes foina) and genet (Genetta genetta) show the most similar activity patterns and both of them seem to be positively influenced by small mammal abundance. Overall, the diversity found in the way mesocarnivore species use time could facilitate their coexistence. Despite activity pattern similarities among carnivore species should not be directly translated to negative interactions, they can have a strong influence in habitat and resource‐limited ecosystems. Therefore, activity overlaps should be taken into account when discussing wildlife management actions. date: 2020-09-12 date_type: published publisher: WILEY official_url: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6778 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1816487 doi: 10.1002/ece3.6778 lyricists_name: Sayol, Ferran lyricists_id: FSAYO96 actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette actors_id: BFFLY94 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Ecology and Evolution pages: 15 citation: Vilella, M; Ferrandiz-Rovira, M; Sayol, F; (2020) Coexistence of predators in time: Effects of season and prey availability on species activity within a Mediterranean carnivore guild. Ecology and Evolution 10.1002/ece3.6778 <https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6778>. (In press). Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10111380/1/ece3.6778.pdf