What's in a Name? Not All Mesopredators Are Mesocarnivores
Ecological terms like <i>mesopredator</i> and <i>mesocarnivore</i> have distinct meanings, the former denoting trophic rank, the latter diet composition. Yet these terms are frequently conflated, leading to conceptual ambiguity. We argue for returning to original definitions and advocate for context-sensitive, precise language to improve clarity and accuracy in scientific communication about fundamental ecological characteristics of species.
Authors
- Lovemore Sibanda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3866-6548)
- Jennifer F. Linden
- Salum Kulunge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4951-9364)
- Sandra Lai
- D Hare
- Betty J. Rono
- David W. Macdonald
- David Kimaili
- Claudio Sillero‐Zubiri
- Femke Broekhuis
- Yolanda Mutinhuma
- Jessica Tacey
- Lucy Eckersley
- Emily K. Madsen
- Lisanne Petracca
Institutions
- Royal Society of Medicine (GB)
- Zoological Society of London (GB)
- Texas A&M University – Kingsville (US)
- Egerton University (KE)
- Rhodes University (ZA)
- Cornell University (US)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- South Eastern Kenya University (KE)
- Royal Society of Chemistry (GB)
- Cheetah Conservation Fund (NA)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Sokoine University of Agriculture (TZ)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Ecology and Evolution
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72768
- Primary Topic
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00