Data from: Incorporating disturbance into trophic ecology: fire history shapes mesopredator suppression by an apex predator

1.Apex predators can suppress smaller bodied ‘mesopredators’. In doing so,
they can provide refuge to species preyed upon by mesopredators, which is
particularly important in regions where mesopredators are invasive. While
most studies of mesopredator suppression focus on the response of
mesopredators to human control of apex predators, other factors –including
natural and anthropogenic disturbance – also drive the occurrence of apex
predators and, in doing so, might shape spatial patterns of mesopredator
suppression. 2.We examined the role of fire in shaping the occurrence of
an apex predator and, by extension, mesopredators and small mammals in a
fire-prone region of semi-arid Australia. We measured the activity of an
apex predator (the dingo, Canis dingo); an invasive mesopredator it is
known to suppress, the red fox (Vuples vuples); and two species of native
small mammal (Mitchell's hopping mouse, Notomys mitchelli; silky
mouse, Pseudomys apodemoides) that are potential prey, across 21 fire
mosaics (each 12.56 km2). We used piecewise structural equation modelling
and scenario analysis to explore the interactions between fire, predators
and prey. 3.We found that dingoes were affected by fire history at the
landscape scale, showing a preference for recently burned areas. While
foxes were not directly affected by fire history, a negative association
between dingoes and foxes meant that fire had an indirect impact on foxes,
mediated through dingoes. Despite the suppression of foxes by dingoes, we
did not observe a trophic cascade as small mammals were not negatively
associated with foxes or positively associated with dingoes. 4.Synthesis
and applications. Disturbance regimes have the capacity to shape patterns
of mesopredator suppression when they alter the distributions of apex
predators. Environmental change that promotes native predators can
therefore help suppress mesopredators – a common conservation objective in
regions with invasive mesopredators. The indirect consequences of
disturbance regimes should be considered when managing disturbance (e.g.
fire) for biodiversity conservation.