Global apex scavenger declines strongly alter food web dynamics, but studies rarely test whether trophic downgrading impacts ecosystem functions. Here, we leverage a unique, disease‐induced gradient in Tasmanian devil ( Sarcophilus harrisii ) population densities to assess feedbacks between carcass persistence, subordinate scavenger guilds, and biogeochemical cycling. We further explored interkingdom and seasonal interactions...

Large carnivores can influence smaller scavengers through both positive and negative interactions (e.g., carrion provisioning and intraguild killing) and ultimately shape scavenging efficiency. However, we know little about this trade‐off in anthropogenic landscapes where humans kill carnivores and provide carrion subsidies. In the context of wolf ( Canis lupus ) recolonization of human‐impacted landscapes in Washington, USA,...

Non-native deer are becoming increasingly common in peri-urban landscapes, where they pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of people. Professional vehicle-based shooting is commonly used to control deer populations in these complex landscapes, but the effectiveness and cost of this method have seldom been evaluated. We analyzed the effectiveness and cost of using professional vehicle-based shooting to reduce the abundance a...

Changes to the spatiotemporal patterns of wildfire are having profound implications for ecosystems and society globally, but we have limited understanding of the extent to which fire regimes will reorganize in a warming world. While predicting regime shifts remains challenging because of complex climate–vegetation–fire feedbacks, understanding the climate niches of fire regimes provides a simple way to identify locations most...

Infectious diseases are strong drivers of wildlife population dynamics, however, empirical analyses from the early stages of pathogen emergence are rare. Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), discovered in 1996, provides the opportunity to study an epizootic from its inception. We use a pattern‐oriented diffusion simulation to model the spatial spread of DFTD across the species' range and quantify population effects by...

Apex predators can limit the abundance and behaviour of mesopredators, thereby reducing predation on smaller species. We know less about whether native apex predators are effective in suppressing invasive mesopredators, a major global driver of vertebrate extinctions. We use the severe disease‐induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil, as a natural experiment to test whether devils limit abundance of invasive fe...