CNRS UMR 5558 LBBE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bat. Gregor Mendel, 43, Bd. du 11 Novembre 1918, 69 622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), c/Américo Vespucio s/n, Isla de la Cartuja, 41 092, Sevilla, Spain.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2015 Nov;90(4):1197-214. doi: 10.1111/brv.12152. Epub 2014 Dec 20.
Interactions among species, which range from competition to facilitation, have profound effects on ecosystem functioning. Large carnivores are of particular importance in shaping community structure since they are at the top of the food chain, and many efforts are made to conserve such keystone species. Despite this, the mechanisms of carnivore interactions are far from understood, yet they are key to enabling or hindering their coexistence and hence are highly relevant for their conservation. The goal of this review is thus to provide detailed information on the extents of competition and facilitation between large carnivores and their impact in shaping their life histories. Here, we use the example of spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) and lions (Panthera leo) and provide a comprehensive knowledge of their interactions based on meta-analyses from available literature (148 publications). Despite their strong potential for both exploitation and interference competition (range and diet overlap, intraguild predation and kleptoparasitism), we underline some mechanisms facilitating their coexistence (different prey-age selection and scavenging opportunities). We stress the fact that prey abundance is key to their coexistence and that hyaenas forming very large groups in rich ecosystems could have a negative impact on lions. We show that the coexistence of spotted hyaenas and lions is a complex balance between competition and facilitation, and that prey availability within the ecosystem determines which predator is dominant. However, there are still many gaps in our knowledge such as the spatio-temporal dynamics of their interactions. As both species' survival becomes increasingly dependent on protected areas, where their densities can be high, it is critical to understand their interactions to inform both reintroduction programs and protected area management.
物种间的相互作用，从竞争到促进，对生态系统功能有深远的影响。大型食肉动物在塑造群落结构方面尤为重要，因为它们处于食物链的顶端，因此许多努力都致力于保护这些关键物种。尽管如此，食肉动物相互作用的机制还远未被理解，但它们是促进或阻碍它们共存的关键，因此对它们的保护具有高度相关性。因此，本综述的目的是提供关于大型食肉动物之间竞争和促进的详细信息，并探讨它们对塑造其生活史的影响。在这里，我们以斑点鬣狗（Crocuta crocuta）和狮子（Panthera leo）为例，并根据现有文献的荟萃分析（148 篇出版物）提供了它们相互作用的综合知识。尽管它们具有很强的掠夺和干扰竞争潜力（范围和饮食重叠、种内捕食和食腐寄生），但我们强调了一些促进它们共存的机制（不同的猎物年龄选择和捡食机会）。我们强调了猎物丰度是它们共存的关键，并且在丰富的生态系统中形成非常大群体的鬣狗可能对狮子产生负面影响。我们表明，斑点鬣狗和狮子的共存是竞争和促进之间的复杂平衡，而生态系统内的猎物可用性决定了哪种捕食者占主导地位。然而，我们的知识仍然存在许多空白，例如它们相互作用的时空动态。由于这两个物种的生存越来越依赖于保护区，而这些保护区的密度可能很高，因此了解它们的相互作用对于指导重新引入计划和保护区管理至关重要。
