Livestock guardian dogs establish a landscape of fear for wild predators: implications for the role of guardian dogs in reducing human-wildlife conflict and supporting biodiversity conservation

Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) are increasingly used to protect livestock
from predators, but their effects on the distribution and behaviour of
wild predators are mostly unknown. A key question is whether LGDs exclude
predators from grazing land, or if predators continue to use areas with
LGDs but modify their behaviour in ways that reduce impacts on livestock.
We studied effects of LGDs (Maremma sheepdogs) on distribution and
behaviour of red foxes Vulpes vulpes in north-eastern Victoria, Australia.
We mapped the activity of LGDs across the study areas using GPS tracking
and measured fox activity using remote cameras. We also measured
risk-sensitive foraging in foxes to test if they reduced feeding time at
sites regularly used by LGDs. Foxes occurred throughout areas occupied by
LGDs, but their probability of detection was negatively related to
probability of LGD presence. Foxes extracted fewer food items from
experimental food stations in proportion to the intensity of local
activity of LGDs. This indicates that though foxes overlapped with LGDs,
they responded to risk of encountering LGDs by allocating less time to
foraging.  While LGDs do not necessarily exclude wild predators
from areas used for livestock production, they can have strong effects on
predator behaviour. Reduction in time allocated to foraging in areas
regularly used by LGDs could lead to suppression of hunting behaviour and
therefore a reduction in attacks on livestock. The flexible response of
predators to LGDs should facilitate coexistence of wild predators with
livestock farming, by allowing predators to continue to use areas occupied
by livestock while still preventing attacks on those livestock. Our
results therefore strengthen the case for use of LGDs in the conservation
of predators threatened by conflict with farming. Suppression of hunting
behaviour should also mean that prey species experience reduced rates of
predation on farmland with LGDs. This effect could be valuable for
conservation of threatened species of prey.