Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus behaviour and resource use in response to other African large carnivores

Competition occurs between species for shared resources. Subordinate species employ resource selection to shift their resource use away from that of dominant species in order to avoid the negative consequences of competition. Only in Africa is the post-Pleistocene large carnivore guild intact, consisting of lions Panthera leo, spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta, leopards Panthera pardus, cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus, and African wild dogs Lycaon pictus. Therefore, only in Africa can we explore how large carnivores co-exist with one another in a diverse community. Cheetahs are a subordinate member of the large carnivore guild due to their small stature and solitary nature. However, we still do not fully understand how competition shapes cheetah behaviour and resource use. I used cheetahs as a model subordinate predator to determine the behavioural responses and resource selection of cheetah in response to assumed competition from other large carnivores. I experimentally explored the behavioural response of cheetah to large carnivore scent sources (scats) and their presence at cheetah scent-marking sites to test for avoidance of such cues. Moreover, using unplanned experiments based on the resource use of cheetahs in the absence and then presence of lions (assessing space and time use by cheetah) and African wild dogs (assessing prey use by both species), I evaluated resource selection by cheetahs as a way to reduce competition with these large carnivores. In addition, I measured spatial and temporal partitioning between cheetahs and all four large carnivores at camera trap sites. Finally, I assessed whether cheetahs responded to competitors using a long term proactive response or a short term reactive response. I found that all four of the other large carnivores in the guild shaped cheetahs resource use, however, all did so on different axes in accordance with the niche complementarity hypothesis. Lions and spotted hyenas were avoided through time, African wild dogs through space and prey use, and lions and leopards on the spatiotemporal axis. Moreover, I show that cheetahs utilize a reactive response to competition that allows them to avoid risk while still obtaining necessary resources