Extreme temperatures can intensify predation risk

<b>Abstract</b>Extreme temperatures and heatwave events present challenging conditions for wildlife and are increasing in frequency and intensity in many regions due to climate change. High daily temperatures increase physiological stress and cause mortality in susceptible individuals (e.g., from poor health or exposure) but may also drive behavioural changes as individuals seek to thermoregulate (e.g., seeking shelter or water). As daily high temperatures accumulate into heatwave events, the ability of wildlife to tolerate conditions can diminish and exacerbate stress. Although climate change is well known to decouple species interactions, here we examine how extreme conditions may intensify interactions between predators and prey. In particular, we explore whether predators can exploit the thermoregulatory requirements of prey as they increasingly require access to water. We present evidence from the use of artificial waterpoints by dingoes and eastern grey kangaroos in Australia’s semi-arid rangelands, asking whether high temperatures and heatwaves alter species behaviour and interactions between them. Both species increasingly accessed waterpoints as daily maximum temperatures increased, however, the degree of co-occurrence at waterpoints increased significantly as temperatures became extreme and resulted in heatwaves. Not only did waterpoints become increasingly important for both species during heatwaves, dingo predation on kangaroos at these times also significantly increased, exploiting the apparent inability of kangaroos to avoid these water sources despite increased dingo presence. We found that 50 of 67 documented predation events at waterpoints occurred during heatwaves and that the predisposition of dingoes to hunt kangaroos of poor body condition was relaxed such that all kangaroos experienced predation at these times. Our results highlight the capacity of climate change to intensify predator-prey interactions in ways that may impact on persistence if prey are unable to adapt to predators exploiting their thermoregulatory requirements.<b>GENERAL INFORMATION</b>1. Corresponding Author Information Name: Loic Q. Juillard 2. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): November 2019 - April 20213. Geographic location of data collection: South-western Queensland, Australia.4. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: Detroit Zoological Foundation (donations), Australia Zoo (in-kind)<b>Sharing/Access information</b>1. Links to publications that cite or use the data: To be updated post paper publication2. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: NA3. Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: NA4. Was data derived from another source? NA5. Recommended citation for this dataset: Cite the paper.<b>DATA &amp; FILE OVERVIEW</b>1\. File List:PredictedMourachan_BOM_Daily_Temp_1913_2021.xlsx - Predicted daily temperature of the Mourachan property based on BOM temperature data for the St George town from 1913 to 2021.Kangaroo_dingo_events_Heatwave_indices.xlsx - Kangaroo and dingo events at waterpoints split by camera and time of event, event durations as well as temperature and heatwave index data also present.All_Heatwave_Indices_Tested.xlsx - All heatwave indices (with daily values) created from the MMM found for the field site (32.102 degrees C)Calculating_Heatwave_Indices.R - R script used to calculate heatwave indices found in spreadsheet All_Heatwave_Indices_Tested.xlsx using mean daily temperature and MMM of 32.102 degrees C.<b>METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION</b>1\. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: All animal-based data were collected from camera trapping, temperature data for the Mourachan property were collected using iButton temperature sensors. Past temperature data and heatwave conditions were collected using iButton data along with long-term BOM data for the nearest town (St George).2\. Methods for processing the data:Read the full paper for details.3\. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: N/A4\. Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: NA5\. Environmental/experimental conditions: NA6\. Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: NA7\. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: All authors<b>DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR:</b> PredictedMourachan_BOM_Daily_Temp_1913_2021.xlsx1. Number of variables: 72. Number of cases/rows: 356683. Variable List:Date: Day/Month/YearMourachan_maximum_daily_temperature_C: Max daily temp for MourachanMourachan_minimum_daily_temperature_C: Min daily temp for MourachanMourachan_average_daily_temperature_C: Mean daily temp for MourachanStGeorge_maximum_daily_temperature_C: Max daily temp for St George (BOM)StGeorge_minimum_daily_temperature_C: Min daily temp for St George (BOM)StGeorge_average_daily_temperature_C: Mean daily temp for St George (BOM)<b>DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: </b>Kangaroo_dingo_events_Heatwave_indices.xlsx1. Number of variables: 182. Number of cases/rows: 346473. Variable List:Date: Day/Month/Year for each kangaroo and dingo eventsDam: Name of waterpoints where cameras were presentDateTime: Date and time of events observedTime: Time of events observednTime: nTime of events observedtimeSinceLastVisit_mins: Number of minutes between current and previous eventRoo_Duration: Length of events where kangaroos were observed (minutes)Dingo_Duration: Length of events where dingoes were observed (minutes)Dingo_pres_abs: Whether dingoes were present on a specific event (1 = yes)Kangaroo_pres_abs: Whether kangaroos were present on a specific event (1 = yes)Species: Species nameDaily_max_ibutton_temp: Daily maximum temperature for the Mourachan propertyMean_Daily_Adjusted_Temperature: Daily mean temperautre for the Mourachan propertyMMM_1971-2000: the Maximum Monthly Mean used by this study (32.102C) found from a 1971-2000 baselineHin_0_degree_threshold__13_day_window: Heatwave metric made and used for this study (negative values represent days where temperature was below the MMM, while positive values exceeded the MMM and represent the intensity of heatwave conditions)<b>DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: </b>All_Heatwave_Indices_Tested.xlsx1. Number of variables: 262. Number of cases/rows: 5153. Variable List:Date: List of days from start to end of the study periodMean_temperature: Mean daily temperature in degrees Celsius0_degree_threshold__1_day_window (onward): heatwave indices showing the threshold used as well as rolling average (day window) used.0_degree_threshold__13_day_window: heatwave index used in the research article<br><br>