Flooding, season and habitat interact to drive changes in vertebrate scavenging and carcass persistence rates.

Scavenging dynamics are influenced by many abiotic and biotic factors, but there is little knowledge of how scavengers respond to extreme weather events. As carrion is a major driver of the organisation and structure of food webs within ecological communities, understanding the response of scavengers to extreme weather events is critical in a world that is increasingly subject to climate change. In this study, vertebrate scavenging and carcass persistence rates were quantified in the Simpson Desert of central Australia; a system that experiences major fluctuations and extremes in weather conditions. Specifically, a total of 80 adult red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) carcasses were placed on the landscape and monitored using remote sensor cameras. This included 40 carcasses monitored before and then 40 carcasses monitored after a major flooding event. The carcasses were monitored equally before and after the flood across different seasons (warm and cool) and in dune and interdune habitats. Overall, a total of 8124 scavenging events for 97,976 visitation minutes were recorded for 11 vertebrate species within 30 days of carcass placement pre- and post-flood. Vertebrate scavenging increased post-flood in the warm season, especially by corvids which quadrupled their scavenging events during this time. There was little difference in carcass persistence between habitats, but carcasses persisted 5.3-fold longer post-flood in warm seasons despite increased vertebrate scavenging. The results demonstrate that a flood event can influence scavenging dynamics and suggest a need to further understand how seasons, habitats and extreme weather events can drive changes in carrion-based food webs.

Trends in Rescue and Rehabilitation of Marsupials Surviving the Australian 2019-2020 Bushfires.

The 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season had a devastating impact on native wildlife. It was estimated that 3 billion native animals were impacted by the fires, yet there are few estimates of the number of animals that were rescued and rehabilitated post-fire. Focusing on the state of New South Wales (NSW) and Kangaroo Island, South Australia, we used a case study approach to determine the number of marsupials that were reported rescued due to the 2019-2020 bushfires in these areas and analysed species-specific trends in rescue and release success. In NSW, we found 889 reports of fire-affected marsupials in 2019-2020, mostly comprising kangaroos and wallabies (macropods; n = 458), koalas (n = 204), and possums (n = 162), with a smaller number of wombats (n = 43) and other marsupial species. Most reports of fire-affected marsupials occurred 6-8 weeks after fire ignition, and there was no difference in temporal frequency of rescues between marsupial groups. For the three main groups, the probability of survival and subsequent release differed, with macropods having the lowest probability of release after rescue (0.15 ± 0.04) compared to koalas (0.47 ± 0.04) and possums (0.55 ± 0.10). The type of injury was the main predictor of survival during rehabilitation for all three marsupial groups, with those malnourished/moribund or with traumatic injuries less likely to survive rehabilitation. Death or euthanasia occurred on the day of rescue for 77% of macropods, 48% of possums and 15% of koalas. Koalas most often died during rehabilitation rather than on the day of rescue, with 73% either dying or being euthanised between day 1 and 30 post-rescue, representing a potential welfare concern. On Kangaroo Island, koalas were the most frequently rescued marsupial species; most euthanasia cases and deaths occurred in a hospital, whereas other marsupials were mostly euthanised at triage. In both jurisdictions, koalas were over-represented while possums were under-represented relative to baseline population densities and wildlife rescue trends in the years before the 2019-2020 bushfires. These species differences in presentation post-fire warrant further investigation, as do the differences in triage, survival and release outcomes. It is hypothesised that the high intensity and large scale of the 2019-2020 fires impeded marsupial fire evasion tactics, as evidenced by the small number of animals found for rescue, and the differing rates of presentation relative to underlying population densities for the main marsupial groups. Based on our findings, there is a need for detailed record keeping and data sharing, development of consistent and evidence-based triage, treatment and euthanasia guidelines and deployment of trained wildlife emergency rescue teams with advanced search techniques to minimise animal suffering where safe to do so.

Distinctive diets of eutherian predators in Australia.

Introduction of the domestic cat and red fox has devastated Australian native fauna. We synthesized Australian diet analyses to identify traits of prey species in cat, fox and dingo diets, which prey were more frequent or distinctive to the diet of each predator, and quantified dietary overlap. Nearly half (45%) of all Australian terrestrial mammal, bird and reptile species occurred in the diets of one or more predators. Cat and dingo diets overlapped least (0.64 ± 0.27, n = 24 location/time points) and cat diet changed little over 55 years of study. Cats were more likely to have eaten birds, reptiles and small mammals than foxes or dingoes. Dingo diet remained constant over 53 years and constituted the largest mammal, bird and reptile prey species, including more macropods/potoroids, wombats, monotremes and bandicoots/bilbies than cats or foxes. Fox diet had greater overlap with both cats (0.79 ± 0.20, n = 37) and dingoes (0.73 ± 0.21, n = 42), fewer distinctive items (plant material, possums/gliders) and significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity over 69 years, suggesting the opportunity for prey switching (especially of mammal prey) to mitigate competition. Our study reinforced concerns about mesopredator impacts upon scarce/threatened species and the need to control foxes and cats for fauna conservation. However, extensive dietary overlap and opportunism, as well as low incidence of mesopredators in dingo diets, precluded resolution of the debate about possible dingo suppression of foxes and cats.

A systematic review of factors affecting wildlife survival during rehabilitation and release.

Millions of native animals around the world are rescued and rehabilitated each year by wildlife rehabilitators. Triage and rehabilitation protocols need to be robust and evidence-based, with outcomes consistently recorded, to promote animal welfare and better understand predictors of wildlife survival. We conducted a global systematic review and meta-analysis of 112 articles that reported survival rates of native mammals and birds during rehabilitation and after release to determine intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with their survival. We assessed survival during rehabilitation and in the short- and long-term post-release, with the hypothesis that survival will vary as a function of species body size, diel activity pattern, trophic level and study location (region of the world). We aimed to determine the direction of effect of these factors on survival to assist in decision-making during triage and rehabilitation. Results showed that mammals and birds were equally likely to survive all stages of rehabilitation, and survival rates varied between locations. Birds in North America had the poorest survival rates post-release, particularly long-term, as did diurnal and carnivorous birds in the short-term post-release. Anthropogenic factors such as motor vehicle collisions and domestic or feral animal attack contributed to morbidity and post-release mortality in 45% (168 of 369) of instances. The reasons for rescue and associated severity of diagnosis were commonly reported to affect the likelihood of survival to release, but factors affecting survival were often species-specific, including bodyweight, age, and characteristics of the release location. Therefore, evidence-based, species-specific, and context-specific protocols need to be developed to ensure wildlife survival is maximised during rehabilitation and post-release. Such protocols are critical for enabling rapid, efficient rescue programs for wildlife following natural disasters and extreme weather events which are escalating globally, in part due to climate change.

Monitoring the dead as an ecosystem indicator.

Dead animal biomass (carrion) is present in all terrestrial ecosystems, and its consumption, decomposition, and dispersal can have measurable effects on vertebrates, invertebrates, microbes, parasites, plants, and soil. But despite the number of studies examining the influence of carrion on food webs, there has been no attempt to identify how general ecological processes around carrion might be used as an ecosystem indicator. We suggest that knowledge of scavenging and decomposition rates, scavenger diversity, abundance, and behavior around carrion, along with assessments of vegetation, soil, microbe, and parasite presence, can be used individually or in combination to understand food web dynamics. Monitoring carrion could also assist comparisons of ecosystem processes among terrestrial landscapes and biomes. Although there is outstanding research needed to fully integrate carrion ecology and monitoring into ecosystem management, we see great potential in using carrion as an ecosystem indicator of an intact and functional food web.

Scavenging Effects of Large Canids.

Many large predators are also facultative scavengers that may compete with and depredate other species at carcasses. Yet, the ecological impacts of facultative scavenging by large predators, or their "scavenging effects," still receive relatively little attention in comparison to their predation effects. To address this knowledge gap, we comprehensively examine the roles played by, and impacts of, facultative scavengers, with a focus on large canids: the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), dhole (Cuon alpinus), dingo (Canis dingo), Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), gray wolf (Canis lupus), maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and red wolf (Canis rufus). Specifically, after defining facultative scavenging as use or usurpation of a carcass that a consumer has not killed, we (1) provide a conceptual overview of the community interactions around carcasses that can be initiated by facultative scavengers, (2) review the extent of scavenging by and the evidence for scavenging effects of large canids, (3) discuss external factors that may diminish or enhance the effects of large canids as scavengers, and (4) identify aspects of this phenomenon that require additional research attention as a guide for future work.

Red fox viromes in urban and rural landscapes.

The Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has established large populations in Australia's urban and rural areas since its introduction following European settlement. The cryptic and highly adaptable nature of foxes allows them to invade cities and live among humans whilst remaining largely unnoticed. Urban living and access to anthropogenic food resources also influence fox ecology. Urban foxes grow larger, live at higher densities, and are more social than their rural counterparts. These ecological changes in urban red foxes are likely to impact the pathogens that they harbour, and foxes could pose a disease risk to humans and other species that share these urban spaces. To investigate this possibility, we used a meta-transcriptomic approach to characterise the virome of urban and rural foxes across the Greater Sydney region in Australia. Urban and rural foxes differed significantly in virome composition, with rural foxes harbouring a greater abundance of viruses compared to their urban counterparts. We identified ten potentially novel vertebrate-associated viruses in both urban and rural foxes, some of which are related to viruses associated with disease in domestic species and humans. These included members of the Astroviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Hepeviridae, and Picornaviridae as well as rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus-2. This study sheds light on the viruses carried by urban and rural foxes and emphasises the need for greater genomic surveillance of foxes and other invasive species at the human-wildlife interface.

Exploring nationality and social identity to explain attitudes toward conservation actions in the United States and Australia.

Understanding human attitudes toward wildlife management is critical to implementing effective conservation action and policy. Understanding the factors that shape public attitudes toward different wildlife management actions is limited, however, which can result in unpredictable public responses to interventions. We drew on comparisons between residents of 2 countries on separate continents to explore differences in attitudes toward wildlife management and determine factors important in shaping these attitudes. We surveyed representative publics via market research panels in Australia (n = 881 respondents) and the United States (n = 1287). We applied a social-identity approach and demography to identify factors that explained variance between responses about wildlife management. We compared responses between countries overall and within subgroups of respondents who strongly identified as environmentalists, animal rights activists, wildlife conservation advocates, and farmers. We created aggregate scores for the management-related response items per respondent and used regression analyses to identify the relative importance of country, identity, age, and gender in explaining variance between responses. These factors accounted for 15.3% of variance among responses. Australians overall were generally more accepting of lethal wildlife management actions than U.S. respondents. Differences in national attitudes reflected differences between United States and Australian wildlife management and policy, highlighting the importance of understanding social attitudes in shaping conservation policy. Identifying as a farmer followed by identifying as an animal rights activist most shaped attitudes toward wildlife management. Identity-related conflicts could be initiated or exacerbated by conservation interventions that fail to consider identity-related processes.

Exploración de la Nacionalidad y la Identidad Social para Explicar las Actitudes hacia las Acciones de Conservación en los Estados Unidos y en Australia Resumen El entendimiento de las actitudes humanas hacia el manejo de fauna es muy importante para la implementación efectiva de las acciones y las políticas de conservación. Sin embargo, la comprensión de los factores que forman las actitudes públicas hacia las diferentes acciones de manejo de fauna es limitada, lo que puede resultar en respuestas públicas impredecibles ante las intervenciones. Trabajamos con comparaciones entre residentes de dos países en continentes distintos para explorar las diferencias en actitudes hacia el manejo de fauna y para determinar los factores importantes que intervienen en la formación de estas actitudes. Encuestamos a ciudadanos representativos por medio de paneles de estudios de mercado en Australia (n = 881 respondientes) y en los Estados Unidos (n = 1287). Aplicamos una estrategia de identidad social y demografía para identificar los factores que explican la varianza entre las respuestas al manejo de fauna. Comparamos las respuestas entre ambos países en general y entre subgrupos de respondientes que se identificaron fervientemente como ambientalistas, activistas por los derechos de los animales, defensores de la conservación de fauna y agricultores. Creamos puntajes agregados por respondiente para las respuestas relacionadas al manejo y usamos análisis de regresión para identificar la importancia relativa del país, la identidad, la edad y el género para la explicación de la varianza entre las respuestas. Estos factores explicaron el 15.3% de la varianza entre las respuestas. Como generalidad, los australianos tuvieron una mayor aceptación de las acciones de manejo letal de fauna que los respondientes estadunidenses. Las diferencias en las actitudes nacionales reflejaron las diferencias entre las políticas y el manejo de fauna en los Estados Unidos y en Australia, lo que resalta la importancia del entendimiento de las actitudes sociales en la formación de políticas de conservación. La identidad que más influencia tuvo sobre las actitudes hacia el manejo de fauna fue la de agricultor, seguido de activista por los derechos de los animales. Los conflictos relacionados con la identidad podrían ser iniciados o agudizados por las intervenciones de conservación que omiten considerar los procesos relacionados con la identidad.

Taxonomic status of the Australian dingo: the case for Canis dingo Meyer, 1793.

The taxonomic status and systematic nomenclature of the Australian dingo remain contentious, resulting in decades of inconsistent applications in the scientific literature and in policy. Prompted by a recent publication calling for dingoes to be considered taxonomically as domestic dogs (Jackson et al. 2017, Zootaxa 4317, 201-224), we review the issues of the taxonomy applied to canids, and summarise the main differences between dingoes and other canids. We conclude that (1) the Australian dingo is a geographically isolated (allopatric) species from all other Canis, and is genetically, phenotypically, ecologically, and behaviourally distinct; and (2) the dingo appears largely devoid of many of the signs of domestication, including surviving largely as a wild animal in Australia for millennia. The case of defining dingo taxonomy provides a quintessential example of the disagreements between species concepts (e.g., biological, phylogenetic, ecological, morphological). Applying the biological species concept sensu stricto to the dingo as suggested by Jackson et al. (2017) and consistently across the Canidae would lead to an aggregation of all Canis populations, implying for example that dogs and wolves are the same species. Such an aggregation would have substantial implications for taxonomic clarity, biological research, and wildlife conservation. Any changes to the current nomen of the dingo (currently Canis dingo Meyer, 1793), must therefore offer a strong, evidence-based argument in favour of it being recognised as a subspecies of Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758, or as Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758, and a successful application to the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature - neither of which can be adequately supported. Although there are many species concepts, the sum of the evidence presented in this paper affirms the classification of the dingo as a distinct taxon, namely Canis dingo.

A Scoping Review of Dingo and Wild-Living Dog Ecology and Biology in Australia to Inform Parameterisation for Disease Spread Modelling.

Background: Dingoes and wild-living dogs in Australia, which include feral domestic dogs and dingo-dog hybrids, play a role as reservoirs of disease. In the case of an exotic disease incursion-such as rabies-these reservoirs could be a threat to the health of humans, domestic animals and other wildlife in Australia. Disease spread models are needed to explore this impact and develop mitigation strategies for responding to an incursion. Our study aim was to describe relevant information from the literature, using a scoping review, on specific topics related to dingo and wild-living dog ecology and biology (topics of interest) in Australia to inform parameterisation of disease spread modelling and identify major research gaps. Methods: A broad electronic search was conducted in five bibliographic databases and grey literature. Two levels of screening and two levels of data extraction were each performed independently by two reviewers. Data extracted included topics of interest investigated, type of population sampled, the presence of lethal control, type of environment, years of collection and GPS coordinates of study sites. Results: From 1666 records captured, the screening process yielded 229 individual studies published between 1862 and 2016. The most frequently reported topics of interest in studies were index of abundance (n = 93) and diet (n = 68). Among the three key parameters in disease spread modelling (i.e., density, contacts and home range), data on density and contacts were identified as major research gaps in the literature due to the small number of recent studies on these topics and the scarcity of quantitative estimates. The research reviewed was mostly located around central Australia and the east coast, including a few studies on density, contacts and home range. Data from these regions could potentially be used to inform parameterisation for disease spread modelling of dingoes and wild-living dogs. However, the number of studies is limited in equatorial and tropical climate zones of northern Australia, which is a high-risk area for a rabies incursion. Conclusions: Research in northern regions of Australia, especially to generate data regarding density, contacts and home ranges, should be prioritised for future research on dingoes and wild-living dogs.

An Australian perspective on rewilding.

Rewilding is increasingly recognized as a conservation tool but is often context specific, which inhibits broad application. Rewilding in Australia seeks to enhance ecosystem function and promote self-sustaining ecosystems. An absence of large-bodied native herbivores means trophic rewilding in mainland Australia has focused on the restoration of functions provided by apex predators and small mammals. Because of the pervasive influence of introduced mesopredators, predator-proof fences, and establishment of populations on predator-free islands are common rewilding approaches. This sets Australian rewilding apart from most jurisdictions and provides globally relevant insights but presents challenges to restoring function to broader landscapes. Passive rewilding is of limited utility in arid zones. Although increasing habitat extent and quality in mesic coastal areas may work, it will likely be necessary to undertake active management. Because much of Australia's population is in urban areas, rewilding efforts must include urban areas to maximize effectiveness. Thus rewilding is not synonymous with wilderness and can occur over multiple scales. Rewilding efforts must recognize human effects on other species and benefit both nature and humans. Rewilding in Australia requires development of a shared vision and strategy and proof-of-concept projects to demonstrate the benefits. The repackaging of existing conservation activities as rewilding may confuse and undermine the success of rewilding programs and should be avoided. As elsewhere, rewilding in Australia should be viewed as an important conservation tool.

Una Perspectiva Australiana del Proceso de Resilvestrar Resumen El proceso de resilvestrar es reconocido cada vez más como una herramienta de conservación, pero con frecuencia depende del contexto ambiental, lo que inhibe su aplicación generalizada. En Australia, el proceso de resilvestrar busca mejorar la función ambiental y promover los ecosistemas auto-sustentables. Una ausencia de herbívoros nativos corpulentos significa que el resilvestreo trófico en la isla principal de Australia se ha enfocado en la restauración de las funciones que proporcionan los superdepredadores y los mamíferos pequeños. Debido a la influencia generalizada de los mesodepredadores introducidos, los cercos contra depredadores y el establecimiento de poblaciones en islas libres de depredadores son estrategias comunes de resilvestreo. Esto coloca al resilvestreo australiano aparte del que ocurre en muchas jurisdicciones y proporciona información relevante a nivel mundial, pero presenta retos para la restauración de la función en paisajes más amplios. El resilvestreo pasivo es de utilidad limitada en las zonas áridas. Aunque el aumento de la extensión del hábitat y la calidad en las áreas meso-costeras puede funcionar, probablemente sea necesario emprender un manejo activo. Ya que la mayoría de la población de Australia se encuentra en áreas urbanas, los esfuerzos de resilvestreo deben incluir a las áreas urbanas para maximizar su efectividad. Por lo tanto, el resilvestreo no es sinónimo de la naturaleza y puede ocurrir en múltiples escalas. Los esfuerzos de resilvestreo deben reconocer los efectos que los humanos tienen sobre otras especies y deben beneficiar a la naturaleza y a las personas. El resilvestreo en Australia requiere del desarrollo de una visión compartida y de proyectos con prueba de concepto para demostrar sus beneficios. La reinvención de las actividades de conservación existentes como resilvestreo podría confundir y debilitar el éxito de los programas de resilvestreo, por lo que debería evitarse. Como en todos lados, el proceso de resilvestrar en Australia debería verse como una herramienta importante de conservación.

Animal movements in fire-prone landscapes.

Movement is a trait of fundamental importance in ecosystems subject to frequent disturbances, such as fire-prone ecosystems. Despite this, the role of movement in facilitating responses to fire has received little attention. Herein, we consider how animal movement interacts with fire history to shape species distributions. We consider how fire affects movement between habitat patches of differing fire histories that occur across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from daily foraging bouts to infrequent dispersal events, and annual migrations. We review animal movements in response to the immediate and abrupt impacts of fire, and the longer-term successional changes that fires set in train. We discuss how the novel threats of altered fire regimes, landscape fragmentation, and invasive species result in suboptimal movements that drive populations downwards. We then outline the types of data needed to study animal movements in relation to fire and novel threats, to hasten the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology by identifying key research questions that emerge from our synthesis of animal movements in fire-prone ecosystems.

Carnivore conservation needs evidence-based livestock protection.

Carnivore predation on livestock often leads people to retaliate. Persecution by humans has contributed strongly to global endangerment of carnivores. Preventing livestock losses would help to achieve three goals common to many human societies: preserve nature, protect animal welfare, and safeguard human livelihoods. Between 2016 and 2018, four independent reviews evaluated >40 years of research on lethal and nonlethal interventions for reducing predation on livestock. From 114 studies, we find a striking conclusion: scarce quantitative comparisons of interventions and scarce comparisons against experimental controls preclude strong inference about the effectiveness of methods. For wise investment of public resources in protecting livestock and carnivores, evidence of effectiveness should be a prerequisite to policy making or large-scale funding of any method or, at a minimum, should be measured during implementation. An appropriate evidence base is needed, and we recommend a coalition of scientists and managers be formed to establish and encourage use of consistent standards in future experimental evaluations.

A biodiversity-crisis hierarchy to evaluate and refine conservation indicators.

The Convention on Biological Diversity and its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 form the central pillar of the world's conservation commitment, with 196 signatory nations; yet its capacity to reign in catastrophic biodiversity loss has proved inadequate. Indicators suggest that few of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi targets that aim to reduce biodiversity loss will be met by 2020. While the indicators have been criticized for only partially representing the targets, a bigger problem is that the indicators do not adequately draw attention to and measure all of the drivers of the biodiversity crisis. Here, we show that many key drivers of biodiversity loss are either poorly evaluated or entirely lacking indicators. We use a biodiversity-crisis hierarchy as a conceptual model linking drivers of change to biodiversity loss to evaluate the scope of current indicators. We find major gaps related to monitoring governments, human population size, corruption and threat-industries. We recommend the hierarchy is used to develop an expanded set of indicators that comprehensively monitor the human behaviour and institutions that drive biodiversity loss and that, so far, have impeded progress towards achieving global biodiversity targets.

Managing conflict between large carnivores and livestock.

Large carnivores are persecuted globally because they threaten human industries and livelihoods. How this conflict is managed has consequences for the conservation of large carnivores and biodiversity more broadly. Mitigating human-predator conflict should be evidence-based and accommodate people's values while protecting carnivores. Despite much research into human and large-carnivore coexistence strategies, there have been few attempts to document the success of conflict-mitigation strategies on a global scale. We conducted a meta-analysis of global research on conflict mitigation related to large carnivores and humans. We focused on conflicts that arise from the threat large carnivores pose to livestock. We first used structured and unstructured searching to identify replicated studies that used before-after or control-impact design to measure change in livestock loss as a result of implementing a management intervention. We then extracted relevant data from these studies to calculate an overall effect size for each intervention type. Research effort and focus varied among continents and aligned with the histories and cultures that shaped livestock production and attitudes toward carnivores. Livestock guardian animals most effectively reduced livestock losses. Lethal control was the second most effective control, although its success varied the most, and guardian animals and lethal control did not differ significantly. Financial incentives have promoted tolerance of large carnivores in some settings and reduced retaliatory killings. We suggest coexistence strategies be location-specific, incorporate cultural values and environmental conditions, and be designed such that return on financial investment can be evaluated. Improved monitoring of mitigation measures is urgently required to promote effective evidence-based policy.

Prey selection and dietary flexibility of three species of mammalian predator during an irruption of non-cyclic prey.

Predators often display dietary shifts in response to fluctuating prey in cyclic systems, but little is known about predator diets in systems that experience non-cyclic prey irruptions. We tracked dietary shifts by feral cats (Felis catus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and dingoes (Canis dingo) through a non-cyclic irruption of small mammalian prey in the Simpson Desert, central Australia. We predicted that all three predators would alter their diets to varying degrees as small mammals declined post irruption, and to test our predictions we live-trapped small mammals through the irruption event and collected scats to track predator diets. Red foxes and dingoes included a broader variety of prey in their diets as small mammals declined. Feral cats did not exhibit a similar dietary shift, but did show variable use and selectivity of small mammal species through the irruption cycle. Results were largely consistent with prior studies that highlighted the opportunistic feeding habits of the red fox and dingo. They also, however, showed that feral cats may exhibit less dietary flexibility in response to small mammal irruptions, emphasizing the importance of tracking predator diets before, during and after irruption events.