Predation risk constrains herbivores’ adaptive capacity to warming

Global warming compels larger endothermic animals to adapt either
physiologically or behaviourally to avoid thermal stress, especially in
tropical ecosystems. Their adaptive responses may however be compromised
by other constraints, such as predation risk or starvation. Using an
exceptional camera trap dataset spanning 32 protected areas across
Southern Africa, we find that intermediate-sized herbivores (100-550kg)
switch activity to hotter times of the day when exposed to predation by
lions. These herbivores thus face a tight window for foraging activity
being exposed to nocturnal predation and to heat during the day,
suggesting a trade-off between predation risk and thermoregulation
mediated by body size. These findings stress the importance of
incorporating trophic interactions into climate change predictions.