Data from: Top carnivore decline has cascading effects on scavengers and carrion persistence

Top carnivores have suffered widespread global declines, with
well-documented effects on mesopredators and herbivores. We know less
about how carnivores affect ecosystems through scavenging. Tasmania’s top
carnivore, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), has suffered severe
disease-induced population declines, providing a natural experiment on the
role of scavenging in structuring communities. Using remote cameras and
experimentally-placed carcasses, we show that mesopredators consume more
carrion in areas where devils have declined. Carcass consumption by the
two native mesopredators was best predicted by exploitation competition
for carrion, whereas consumption by the invasive mesopredator, the feral
cat (Felis catus), was better predicted by the landscape-level abundance
of devils, suggesting a relaxed landscape of fear where devils are
suppressed. Reduced discovery of carcasses by devils was balanced by
increased discovery by mesopredators. Nonetheless, carcasses persisted
~2.6-fold longer where devils have declined, highlighting their importance
for rapid carrion removal. The major beneficiary of increased carrion
availability was the forest raven (Corvus tasmanicus). Population trends
of ravens increased 2.2-fold from 1998-2017, the period of devil decline,
but this increase occurred Tasmania-wide, making the cause unclear. This
case study provides a little-studied potential mechanism for mesopredator
release, with broad relevance to the vast areas of the world that have
suffered carnivore declines.