Face-off: Novel depredation and nest defense behaviors between an invasive and a native predator in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA

Andrea F Currylow; Matthew F McCollister; Gretchen E Anderson; Jillian M Josimovich; Austin L Fitzgerald; Christina M Romagosa; Amy A Yackel Adams

doi:10.1002/ece3.8639

Face-off: Novel depredation and nest defense behaviors between an invasive and a native predator in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA

Ecol Evol. 2022 Feb 19;12(2):e8639. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8639. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Authors

Andrea F Currylow¹, Matthew F McCollister², Gretchen E Anderson¹, Jillian M Josimovich^{1

3}, Austin L Fitzgerald¹, Christina M Romagosa⁴, Amy A Yackel Adams⁵

Affiliations

¹ U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center - South Florida Field Station in Everglades National Park Homestead Florida USA.
² National Park Service Big Cypress National Preserve Ochopee Florida USA.
³ Present affiliation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Avon Park Air Force Range Avon Park Florida USA.
⁴ Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA.
⁵ U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center Fort Collins Colorado USA.

Abstract

We describe several photo-documented novel interactions between intraguild predators in southern Florida-the native bobcat (Lynx rufus) and the invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus). Over several days we documented a bobcat's depredation of an unguarded python nest and subsequent python nest defense behavior following the return of both animals to the nest. This is the first documentation of any animal in Florida preying on python eggs, and the first evidence or description of such antagonistic interactions at a python nest.

Keywords: Burmese python; bobcat; intraguild predation; nest depredation; reptile–mammal interaction.