An apex predator is considered to be on the top of the food chain and be the alpha predator, which all the big bodied cats are. Although the title apex predator sounds scary, these cats actually play a huge role in our ecosystem. They influence herbivore numbers, nutrient cycling and disease dynamics (Predators on Top, 2018). Apex predators in general also help control disease, waste and agricultural pests (Predators on Top, 2018).
Big cats are keystone species or umbrella species, where they help provide for several other species in the ecosystem (Williams, 2018). For example, when a puma makes a kill, that individual feeds itself as well as smaller mammals and scavengers, like condors (Williams, 2018). A puma kill can benefit 275 species from the food left behind (Gross, 2019). The big cats are ecosystem engineers because they are feeding multiple other species when they make a kill and are finished eating. They also change species’ browsing habits which can change vegetation patterns and soil composition (Williams, 2018). These species have complex interactions with the environment which changes the structure, resilience, and biodiversity of many ecosystems (CBD & MLF, 2019; Williams, 2018). They also pump nutrients throughout the environment which helps drive biodiversity and ensures that everyone gets a chance to eat (Williams, 2018). These nutrients feed other animals and become absorbed into the soil (Gross, 2019; Williams, 2018).
The vegetation will be different in areas with big cats versus areas without big cats. With different vegetation, the presence of animal species also varies.
Literature Cited
Center for Biological Diversity, & Mountain Lion Foundation. (2019, June 26). A petition to list the southern California/ central coast evolutionary significant unit (ESU) of mountain lions as threatened under the California endangered species act (CESA). https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3-wagtail.biolgicaldiversity.org/documents/CESA_petition_-_Southern_California_Central_Coast_Mountain_Lions.pdf
Gross, L. (2019, February 26). Master regulators: how mountain lions boost biodiversity.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/master-regulators-how -mountain-lions-boost-biodiversity/
Predators on top. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 199 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0472-z
Smithsonian Channel. (2019, November 12). Apex predator decline spells trouble for the environment [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvaUaEwQvko
Wild Futures. (N.D.). Mountain lions increase an ecosystem’s health and biodiversity [medium]. Wild Futures. https://www.wildfutures.us/ecology--research.html
Williams, J. (2018). Path of the Puma (1st ed.). Patagonia.
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