What happens when a disease disrupts a protected ecosystem so forcefully that cascading consequences are felt by nearly all wildlife and plants within it? A study examines how the mange outbreak among vicunas restructured tightly linked food-chain interactions that were previously driven by pumas.

Other times, the connection is devastatingly clear.

Argentina’s wild vicunas are close relatives of alpacas and llamas. For decades, vicunas, pumas and condors have been intrinsically connected, sustaining the high Andes ecosystem of Argentina’s San Guillermo National Park: Vicunas grazed the grass. Pumas preyed extensively upon the vicuna. And condors depended on the pumas’ leftovers.

That is, until recent years, when one by one, each of these relationships unraveled across the landscape after a mange outbreak decimated the park’s vicuna population in less than five years.

What happens when a disease disrupts a protected ecosystem so forcefully that cascading consequences are felt by nearly all wildlife and plants within it?

A study published in the journal Ecology Letters examines how the mange outbreak among vicunas restructured tightly linked food-chain interactions that were previously driven by pumas, also called mountain lions or cougars.

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of California — Davis. Original written by Kat Kerlin. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.