Causal evidence linking resource competition to species divergence is scarce. In this study, we coupled field observations with experiments to ask if the degree of character displacement reflects the intensity of competition between two closely related spadefoot toads (Spea bombifrons and S. multiplicata). Tadpoles of both species develop into either a small-headed omnivorous morph, which feeds...

During 2003–2005, I surveyed 82 sites on the North and South rims of Grand Canyon, Coconino County, Arizona, to test effectiveness of four non-invasive techniques for detecting carnivores and to assess patterns of co-occurrence among pairs of species. Techniques were not equally effective for detecting carnivores. Searches of transects for feces, tracks, and other evidence yielded the greatest ...

Management strategies to reduce human-carnivore conflict are most effective when accepted by local communities. Previous studies have suggested that the acceptance depends on emotions toward carnivores, cultural importance of and livestock depredation, it may vary depending types carnivores involved. However, no study so far considered these factors simultaneously compare their influence manage...

The societies of group-living carnivores that neither hunt nor interact cooperatively may arise due to ecological drivers and/or constraints. In this study we evaluate whether group-living may be intrinsically associated with fossoriality; a link that is well supported in other taxa, but hitherto under-evaluated in the Carnivora. We make two over-arching predictions: (i) that fossoriality will ...

Large carnivores are decreasing in number due to growing pressure from an expanding human population. It is increasingly recognised that state-protected conservation areas are unlikely to be sufficient to protect viable populations of large carnivores, and that private land will be central to conservation efforts. In 2000, a fast-track land reform programme (FTLRP) was initiated in Zimbabwe, os...

Large carnivores are making remarkable comebacks in Europe, but how this affects human-wildlife conflict remains unclear. Rebounding carnivore populations lead to increasing livestock depredation, which turn leads greater economic losses for farmers. However, returning could also influence the behavior of wild ungulates, themselves responsible major crop damage and associated losses. Here, we e...