![]() ![]() 2003, 2011), regulate the negative ecological impacts of some species that can use subsidiary food sources (Butler and du Toit 2002 Oro et al. 2013), enhance redistribution and energy transfer pathways within an ecosystem (DeVault et al. For example, the elimination of carrion by scavengers can reduce the probability of disease transmission (Markandya et al. In addition, scavengers provide important supporting, regulatory, and cultural ecosystem services (MoleĆ³n et al. Scavenging plays an important role in the maintenance of ecological processes, affecting species assemblages and ecosystem function (Ogada et al. This interaction could have substantial implications for disease transmission, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem function. Therefore, altering the facultative scavenger community in Mediterranean woodlands can reduce the efficiency of small carcass removal and benefit other opportunistic species, such as the Egyptian mongoose, by increasing the carrion available to them. Of the small scavenger species, only the Egyptian mongoose significantly increased its carrion consumption in the exclusion area, and was the main beneficiary of the exclusion of dominant facultative scavengers. Although carrion consumption by the non-excluded species increased inside the exclusion area relative to the control area, it was insufficient to compensate for the carrion not eaten by the dominant scavengers. The exclusion of dominant facultative scavengers led to a significant reduction in the amount of carrion consumed and an increase in carrion available for smaller species and decomposers, over a longer period of time. We studied the response of the Mediterranean facultative scavenger community to the exclusion of larger scavenger species (red fox Vulpes vulpes, European badger Meles meles, and wild boar Sus scrofa) using an exclusion fence permeable to small scavenger species (mainly Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon, common genet Genetta genetta, and stone marten Martes foina). These species provide several important ecosystem services which can suffer if the scavenger community composition is altered, thus reducing the ecosystem provided. ![]() Carrion is a valuable resource exploited not only by obligate scavengers but also by a wide variety of facultative scavengers. ![]()
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