Full text loading...
Mammal Study
Abstract
Abstract.
Food habits and dietary overlaps of the three sympatric mesocarnivores (golden jackal Canis aureus, red fox Vulpes vulpes, and stone marten Martes foina) in a mountain-forest region in central Bulgaria were investigated. These species showed high dietary overlaps, commonly consuming rodents and fruits through studied period. Moreover, their dietary overlaps were higher in November that in the earlier months, because rodents were a predominant prey for all carnivore species in this season. Spatiotemporal separations of smaller carnivores from larger competitor may enable their sympatry, when their food habits were similar.
The study was conducted as an international partnership agreement between Trakia University and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. The study was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI JP26257404) for HT and YK. The authors would like to thank K. Mihaylova for the English language review in the draft. We also thank to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments through reviewing processes.
Data & Media loading...