Ecological Functions of Vertebrate Scavenging

Abstract

Although the process of converting nutrients sequestered within carcasses has historically been portrayed as occurring at the detrital level, there is a growing consensus that vertebrate scavenging is pervasive among ecosystems across the globe. Throughout this chapter we highlight the central role scavenging plays in ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and transport within and among ecosystems, biodiversity maintenance, and disease transmission dynamics. Vertebrate scavenging of carrion also can create more stable food webs by promoting food web complexity, providing routes by which communities may sequester resources at higher trophic levels, and subsidizing populations of vertebrates during periods of food limitation. However, anthropogenic activities that directly alter vertebrate scavenging communities or shift the competitive balance among the various groups of organisms that utilize carrion may have cascading impacts within ecosystems and disrupt ecosystem services provided by carrion consumers.