Data from: Mesocarnivore community structure under predator control: unintended patterns in a conservation context

Across the Mediterranean, conservation programmes often operate
concomitantly with hunting interests within game-lands. Carnivore guilds
lie at the interface between contrasting management goals, being
simultaneously fundamental components of ecosystems and targets of
predator control to reduce predation on game species. Here, we evaluate
the composition and spatial structure of a mesocarnivore community in a
protected area of Southeast Portugal, with high economic investment in
conservation and significant hunting activity. Between June and August
2015, we deployed 77 camera-traps across a ~80 km2 area. We report on
interspecific disparities in mesocarnivore occupancy and associated
environmental determinants. Contrasting occupancy states suggest an
unbalanced community, biased towards the widespread occurrence of the red
fox Vulpes vulpes ("ψ" ̂ = 0.92±0.04) compared to other species
(stone marten Martes foina, European badger Meles meles, Egyptian mongoose
Herpestes ichneumon, common genet Genetta genetta, and Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra) exhibiting spatially-restricted occupancy patterns
("ψ" ̂ / naïve occupancy < 0.35). The feral cat Felis
silvestris catus was the exception ("ψ" ̂ = 0.48±0.11) and,
together with the stone marten, exhibited a positive association with
human settlements. These findings are consistent with theoretical
predictions on how mesocarnivore communities are shaped by the effects of
non-selective predator control, paradoxically favouring species with
higher population growth rates and dispersal abilities, such as the red
fox. Our results reinforce the need to understand the role of predator
control as a community structuring agent with potential unintended
effects, while exposing issues hindering such attempts, namely
non-selective illegal killing or biased/concealed information on legal
control measures.