Glen Alistair S, Dickman Chris R
Institute of Wildlife Research, School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2005 Aug;80(3):387-401. doi: 10.1017/s1464793105006718.
Mammalian carnivore populations are often intensively managed, either because the carnivore in question is endangered, or because it is viewed as a pest and is subjected to control measures, or both. Most management programmes treat carnivore species in isolation. However, there is a large and emerging body of evidence to demonstrate that populations of different carnivores interact with each other in a variety of complex ways. Thus, the removal or introduction of predators to or from a system can often affect other species in ways that are difficult to predict. Wildlife managers must consider such interactions when planning predator control programmes. Integrated predator control will require a greater understanding of the complex relationships between species. In many parts of the world, sympatric species of carnivores have coexisted over an evolutionary time scale so that niche differentiation has occurred, and competition is difficult to observe. Australia has experienced numerous introductions during the past 200 years, including those of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the feral cat (Felis catus). These species now exist in sympatry with native mammalian predators, providing ecologists with the opportunity to study their interactions without the confounding effects of coevolution. Despite an increasing body of observational evidence for complex interactions among native and introduced predators in Australia, few studies have attempted to clarify these relationships experimentally, and the interactions remain largely unacknowledged. A greater understanding of these interactions would provide ecologists and wildlife managers world-wide with the ability to construct robust predictive models of carnivore communities, and to identify their broader effects on ecosystem functioning. We suggest that future research should focus on controlled and replicated predator removal or addition experiments. The dingo (Canis lupus dingo), as a likely keystone species, should be a particular focus of attention.
哺乳动物食肉动物种群通常受到密集管理，原因要么是相关食肉动物处于濒危状态，要么是它被视为有害动物并受到控制措施，或者两者皆有。大多数管理计划都是孤立地对待食肉动物物种。然而，有大量且不断涌现的证据表明，不同食肉动物种群以各种复杂方式相互作用。因此，在一个系统中引入或移除捕食者往往会以难以预测的方式影响其他物种。野生动物管理者在规划捕食者控制计划时必须考虑此类相互作用。综合捕食者控制将需要更深入地了解物种之间的复杂关系。在世界许多地方，同域分布的食肉动物物种在进化时间尺度上共存，从而发生了生态位分化，竞争难以观察到。在过去200年里，澳大利亚经历了无数次物种引入，包括赤狐（赤狐）和野猫（家猫）。这些物种现在与本土哺乳动物捕食者同域分布，为生态学家提供了研究它们相互作用的机会，而不受共同进化的混杂影响。尽管有越来越多的观测证据表明澳大利亚本土和引入的捕食者之间存在复杂的相互作用，但很少有研究试图通过实验来阐明这些关系，而且这些相互作用在很大程度上仍未得到认可。更深入地了解这些相互作用将使全球的生态学家和野生动物管理者能够构建强大的食肉动物群落预测模型，并确定它们对生态系统功能的更广泛影响。我们建议未来的研究应侧重于可控和可重复的捕食者移除或添加实验。澳洲野狗（澳洲野犬）作为一种可能的关键物种，应成为特别关注的焦点。
