Winter diet of the Common Genet (Genetta genetta) and the African Golden Wolf (Canis anthus) in altitudinal locality of the Edough forest (Northeastern Algeria)

Abstract

The understanding of several interactions between carnivores is very important to plan effective programs of conservation. In this study, we tested the hypothesis of interspecificcompetition when trophic resources are the most limited by comparing the diets of the african golden wolf and the common genet in winter period, and in altitudinal locality on Edough mountain. To achieve this goal, a total of 60 scat samples were collected from the study area.We were able to identify four food categories for genets (arthropods, small mammals, birds and plants) and 6 food categories in the diet of african golden wolf (arthropods, small mammals, large mammals, birds, fruits and anthropogenic wastes).Our results showed a significant variation in the diets between the species,more than 50% of diets consist of fruits and large mammals for the African golden golf, and small mammals and birds for the Common Genet. Prey category richness was highest for the African golden wolf than for genets. The trophic niche overlap was partial between the two predators (Pianka’s overlap index = 0,688). All these results probably reflect a compromise in use of resources in order to minimize the competitive pressure between the two predators.

Keywords

• sympatric carnivores
• comparative analysis
• trophic niche overlap
• winter period
• edough moutain