Carcass predictability but not domestic pet introduction affects functional response of scavenger assemblage in urbanised habitats

Urbanisation alters species richness and composition, but studies of urbanisation effects on ecological functions have often quantified variation in functional traits and changes in functional diversity rather than measuring directly how ecological functions vary between rural and urban assemblages.
Consuming dead animal matter and recycling its nutrients stabilizes and structures food webs and therefore represents a key component of ecosystem functioning. Introduction of free-ranging domestic pet animals adds additional scavenger species to urban habitats, and increased predictability of carcass resources produced by human activities characterizes urban habitats.
Here, we investigate the effect of urbanisation on the composition of diurnal and nocturnal scavenger assemblages and on the ecological function of carcass removal by using a carcass placement experiment in Swiss urban and adjacent rural habitats.
While diurnal and nocturnal scavenger assemblages changed considerab...