The effect of body size on co-occurrence patterns within an African carnivore guild

Intraguild interactions among mammalian carnivores are important in shaping carnivore guild composition. Competing species may inhabit different areas and/or being active during different times to reduce the risk of aggressive interactions, but the role of body size in intraguild interactions within carnivore guilds remains largely unknown. We determined spatial and temporal co-occurrence of small, medium-sized and large carnivores of the carnivore guild in central Tuli, Botswana: lion Panthera leo, leopard Panthera pardus, spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta, brown hyena Parahyaena brunnea, black-backed jackal Canis mesomelas, bat-eared fox Otocyon megalotis, African wildcat Felis sylvestris lybica, African civet Civettictis civetta, honey badger Mellivora capensis and small-spotted genet Genetta genetta. We used camera trap data over a 2-year period and quantified the degree of temporal and spatial overlap by comparing activity patterns and calculating Pianka’s index respectively. Our resul...