Competition refuges and coexistence: an example from Serengeti carnivores

Durant tested how subordinate cheetahs persist alongside dominant lions and hyenas in the Serengeti, proposing that they exploit competition refuges, places and times where the risk of encountering dominant competitors is reduced even if prey is somewhat less abundant. By analyzing cheetah distribution relative to lions, hyenas and prey, she showed cheetahs trade off food for safety, avoiding areas of high competitor density. The study demonstrated that fine-scale spatial avoidance, not just prey partitioning, enables coexistence within a dominant-predator guild, and it introduced a mechanism applicable across felid communities. It is a foundational reference for understanding how intraguild competition and the fear of competitors shape subordinate-predator space use.