In Nepal, leopards ( Panthera pardus) avoided habitats where tiger ( Panthera tigris) densities were high, while another study found a significant pattern of avoidance of spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta) by the smaller brown hyenas ( Hyaena brunnea Mills & Mills, 1982). Carnivores of the same guild may compete for similar prey resources, often resulting in smaller species either being excluded from, or actively avoiding, areas with higher densities of the larger competitor –. Past studies have focused on carnivore-prey interactions or exploitative competition between carnivores, while recent studies have increasingly recognized the significant effects carnivores can have on each other through interference competition –. Large carnivores play a key role in regulating terrestrial ecosystems, and competition between them is considered a key ecological factor affecting carnivore species within the same guild. Thus, this does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

There is therefore no competing interest. There was no commercial use of the HiP data for the funder.

There was no direct accountability from the HiP lion research to the funders, there was no restriction from the funders on the work that could be conducted, and no restrictions on use of data from the funders. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Ĭompeting interests: One commercial funding source (MGM and Grand Hotels) was discretionary funds to support research on lions, including in South Africa, and part of the funding was used as a small component of the overall funding. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.įunding: Funding for this project was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Undersecretary for Science Endowment Funds, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association Conservation Endowment Fund, and Humboldt State University Sponsored Program Foundation (MSG) University of Pretoria, The Green Trust (WWF-SA), and Bateleurs and Wildlife Conservation Trust (KZN) (MS) NRF, NSF, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Walt Disney Foundation and MGM, Wild about Cats, and Hluhluwe Tourism Association (RS) and THRIP (N. Received: SeptemAccepted: Published: June 4, 2014Ĭopyright: © 2014 Darnell et al. PLoS ONE 9(6):Įditor: John Goodrich, Panthera, United States of America Understanding that larger carnivores affect the movements and space use of other carnivores is important for managing current small and fragmented carnivore populations, especially as reintroductions and translocations are essential tools used for the survival of endangered species, as with African wild dogs.Ĭitation: Darnell AM, Graf JA, Somers MJ, Slotow R, Szykman Gunther M (2014) Space Use of African Wild Dogs in Relation to Other Large Carnivores. However, wild dogs did not exhibit spatial or temporal avoidance of spotted hyenas, likely because wild dog pack sizes were large enough to adequately defend their kills.

Wild dogs avoided lions, particularly during denning, through a combination of spatial and temporal avoidance. Using locations of large carnivores in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa, we found different responses from wild dogs to their two main competitors. High competition among large African carnivores, associated with extensive diet overlap, manifests in interactions between subordinate African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus) and dominant lions ( Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta). Interaction among species through competition is a principle process structuring ecological communities, affecting behavior, distribution, and ultimately the population dynamics of species.

Wild dogs vs hyenas