When carrion (and on this occasion, I refer to large-sized carcasses such as those of wild boar, deer, moose, bison etc.) appears in the habitat, the carrion site might become a relatively long-term activity-magnet for many scavenging species and these species are often predatory, as well (although some are omnivores with low or absent levels of active predation).
I have been wondering how this affects the distribution and behaviour (e.g., typical routes) of other, smaller prey species.
The attractants such as large-sized carcasses can persist in the habitat, especially, during winter.
If the carcass is expected to be around for a longer time, smaller prey species might find it beneficial to alter their behaviour in order to avoid predators (by choosing more distant den sites or modifying their routes from dens to foraging sites etc.).
(If the carcass is small and should disappear quickly, of course, it is of little value for the animal to adjust their behaviour significantly and beyond mere vigilance/short-term avoidance.)
It might be interesting to learn how spatial / temporal habitat use changes (if it does) around a carrion site in other prey species.
I expect that these changes would differ between seasons (and, of course, among species).
Summer might even attract other prey species if these species are consumers of, e.g., carrion-utilizing beetles, larvae etc.
Thus, the new pattern might not be that of avoidance but also that of attraction.
However, in winter some smaller prey species could attempt to avoid sites close to carcasses and this could concern species of different activity strata because scavengers, as well, can be arboreal, terrestrial, aerial, sub-terrestrial etc.
The location of the carcass might play a role because, for example, carrion deeper in the forest might not be visited by as many large birds of prey which could be inconvenienced by the webs of boughs and dense canopies.
Therefore, arboreal species that mostly watch out for birds of prey might not alter their behaviour (although many such species can also be predated on by, e.g., small arboreal mustelids).
These interactions could also depend on the degree of scavenging behaviour in the dominant predator species of the smaller prey species (some scavengers are highly facultative and opportunistic while others are more specialized).
A factor might be the taxon of the carrion-providing species, as well, because some species could attract their own distinct scavenging communities.
I think this would be curious to study.
Notes by Ieva 