Data from: Interspecific interaction among mammals in Panna Tiger Reserve, Central India: Prey-predator dynamics

Interspecific interactions play a critical role in shaping ecosystem
structure, species assemblages, and food web dynamics. Specifically,
carnivores often exert top-down regulatory control on ecological
communities, and the loss of apex predators can lead to profound changes
in community composition and ecosystem function. Thus, carnivore
reintroduction (trophic rewilding) has gained prominence as a strategy to
restore ecological balance. However, the success of such efforts is
contingent upon the availability of a sufficient prey base capable of
supporting growing carnivore populations, underscoring the significance of
bottom-up regulatory processes. Furthermore, species composition and
assemblage patterns are strongly influenced by environmental variables and
landscape characteristics. In this study, we examined the mammalian
community of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) to evaluate the relative roles of
top-down and bottom-up regulation in shaping mammalian assemblages. We
utilized camera trap data from two seasons (2019) and constructed
hypothesis-driven interaction pathways representing both regulatory
processes within a piecewise structural equation modeling (SEM) framework.
The results demonstrated that both top-down (carnivore-driven) and
bottom-up (prey-driven) mechanisms significantly influence community
structure. Additionally, environmental factors and habitat features were
found to be critical drivers affecting the spatial distribution of both
predators and prey. Importantly, our findings highlight the dominant
influence of top-down effects in species community; however, bottom-up
regulation in facilitating the successful reintroduction and population
recovery of tigers in PTR, despite the presence of a high density of
co-predators. This underscores the essential role of prey abundance and
habitat quality in supporting large carnivore conservation. Overall, this
study provides key insights into trophic rewilding and emphasizes the
importance of maintaining intact habitats, conserving prey populations,
and promoting coexistence within multi-species communities.