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Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf? Coyotes
September 12, 2007While the wily coyote reigns as top dog in much of the country, it leads a nervous existence wherever it coexists with its larger relative, the wolf, according to a new study from the Wildlife Conservation Society. In fact, coyote densities are more than 30 percent lower in areas that they share with wolves.
The paper, which appears in the most recent edition of the Journal of Animal Ecology, details the results of a study examining the effects of wolves on the distribution and abundance of coyotes in those areas.
"The study tests the hitherto unproven hypothesis that wolves limit the range and numbers of coyotes in places where the two species compete with one another," said Dr. Kim Murray Berger, a WCS researcher and lead author of the study. "In this instance, the findings do support the theory, but coyotes can hold their own against wolves by living in packs."
Working in Grand Teton National Park in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, researchers followed radio-collared coyotes at wolf-abundant and wolf-free locations. They found that while coyotes remained the numerically dominant predator in locations where wolves exist, the densities of coyotes was substantially lower in areas containing both canid species. Specifically, coyote densities were 33 percent lower in wolf-abundant sites in the Tetons. Similarly, coyote densities declined 39 percent in Yellowstone National Park after wolves were recently reintroduced there.
In terms of direct mortality, actual predation of wolves on coyotes was low, accounting for some 16 percent of the radio-collared animals. Also there was a clear indication that, with coyotes, there's safety in numbers; transient coyotes without packs were more likely to fall prey to wolves, with 56 percent of transient coyote mortality being attributable to wolves. Also, transient coyotes in wolf-abundant sites were 117 percent more likely to leave an area frequented by wolves.
A bigger threat to coyotes than wolves is humans, with 29 percent of the mortality in the study animals being human-related.
Wildlife Conservation Society
Working in Grand Teton National Park in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, researchers followed radio-collared coyotes at wolf-abundant and wolf-free locations. They found that while coyotes remained the numerically dominant predator in locations where wolves exist, the densities of coyotes was substantially lower in areas containing both canid species. Specifically, coyote densities were 33 percent lower in wolf-abundant sites in the Tetons. Similarly, coyote densities declined 39 percent in Yellowstone National Park after wolves were recently reintroduced there.
In terms of direct mortality, actual predation of wolves on coyotes was low, accounting for some 16 percent of the radio-collared animals. Also there was a clear indication that, with coyotes, there's safety in numbers; transient coyotes without packs were more likely to fall prey to wolves, with 56 percent of transient coyote mortality being attributable to wolves. Also, transient coyotes in wolf-abundant sites were 117 percent more likely to leave an area frequented by wolves.
A bigger threat to coyotes than wolves is humans, with 29 percent of the mortality in the study animals being human-related.
Wildlife Conservation Society
Coyotes Current Events and Coyotes News RSSFunny, you don't look related
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Skunk's Strategy Not Just Black and White
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Loss of top predators causing surge in smaller predators, ecosystem collapse
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Biologists solve mystery of black wolves
Why do nearly half of North American wolves have black coats while European wolves are overwhelmingly gray or white? The surprising answer, according to teams of biologists and molecular geneticists from Stanford University, UCLA, Sweden, Canada and Italy, is that the black coats are the result of historical matings between black dogs and wild gray wolves.
Outdoor enthusiasts scaring off native carnivores in parks
Even a quiet stroll in the park can dramatically change natural ecosystems, according to a new study by conservation biologists from the University of California, Berkeley. These findings could have important implications for land management policies.
Are wolves the pronghorn's best friend?
As western states debate removing the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act, a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society cautions that doing so may result in an unintended decline in another species: the pronghorn, a uniquely North American animal that resembles an African antelope.
Texas A&M testing oral contraceptives for animals
If you're a land owner and animals such as coyotes or wild pigs are driving you hog wild, help may soon be on the way to control their numbers in a humane way - in the form of a birth control pill for animals being developed at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
Hareless: Yellowstone's rabbits have vanished, study says
A new study by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society found that jack rabbits living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have apparently hopped into oblivion.
Foxes get frisky in the far north
Bees do it, chimps do it- Now it seems Arctic foxes do it, too. New research looking at the DNA fingerprints of canids in the Far North has revealed that foxes once thought to be monogamous are in fact quite frisky.
Mule deer moms rescue other fawns
An intriguing study of mule deer and whitetail deer conducted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada and the University of Lethbridge, also in Canada, showed that both species responded to the recorded distress calls of fawns, similar to the responses elicited when coyotes attack fawns, with mule deer mothers responding to both whitetail and mule deer calls, even when their own fawn stood next to them.
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