scholarly journals Initial effects of reintroduced wolves Canis lupus on bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis dynamics in Yellowstone National Park

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. White ◽  
Thomas O. Lemke ◽  
Daniel B. Tyers ◽  
Julie A. Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Ovis Canadensis

Coyote foraging ecology and vigilance in response to gray wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Adam Switalski
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Large Carnivore ◽  
Continuous Source

Coyotes (Canis latrans) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have lived in the absence of wolves (Canis lupus) for over 60 years. I examined whether wolf reintroduction in 1995 and 1996 in YNP influenced coyote vigilance and foraging ecology. From December 1997 to July 2000, my co-workers and I collected 1708 h of coyote activity budgets. Once wolves became established in the Park, they once again provided a continuous source of carrion in the Lamar Valley and we found that coyotes began feeding on carcasses throughout the year. Although we documented that wolves killed coyotes, it also became clear that surviving coyotes quickly adjusted their behaviors when wolves were present. When coyotes were near wolves or in areas of high wolf use, they fed on carcasses much more; however, they increased the amount of time spent in vigilance activities and decreased rest. There appears to be a trade-off in which wolf kills provide a quick source of food that is energetically advantageous to coyotes; however, attendant costs included increased vigilance, decreased rest, and a higher risk of being killed. Changes in the behavior of coyotes in response to the reintroduction of this large carnivore may ultimately have wide-ranging cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Composition, Distribution, and Habitat Use of Reintroduced Desert Bighorn Sheep in Arches National Park, Utah

1989 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
C. Haas ◽  
Gar Workman
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
National Park ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Ovis Canadensis ◽  
Desert Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Habitat Analysis ◽  
Park Service

The ecology of a reintroduced population of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni} is being investigated in Arches National Park. National Park Service objectives are: (1) determine general ecological parameters, including population and social dynamics, seasonal distribution and habitat use patterns, and general health characteristics; and (2) develop a comprehensive program of habitat analysis and evaluation that can be used to determine habitat suitability and identify transplant sites in other National Park Service units.

scholarly journals A Distributional and Habitat Study of the Bighorn Sheep in Winter, Grand Teton National Park

1978 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 53-56
Author(s):  
Michael Whitfield ◽  
Barry Keller
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Ovis Canadensis ◽  
Population Status ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Habitat Factors ◽  
History Of ◽  
Teton Range

This study was initiated in order to determine the population status of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in the Teton Range. Intensive field studies were initiated in the summer of 1978 and will be continued during the winter of 1978-79 in order to delineate the distribution of sheep and to relate this distribution to habitat factors which affect seasonal distributions. Additionally, information on the history of bighorn sheep has been sought through interviews of longtime residents of the several valleys surrounding the Teton Range.

The acceptance of a new breeding male into a wild wolf pack

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R Stahler ◽  
Douglas W Smith ◽  
Robert Landis
Keyword(s):  
Direct Observation ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Alpha Male ◽  
Stereotyped Behaviors ◽  
Close Range

The acceptance of an unfamiliar male wolf (Canis lupus) into a wolf pack after the recent death of the pack's alpha male was observed and filmed at close range in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, U.S.A. A 2½-year-old dispersing male from a neighboring pack was accepted as a new pack member over the course of a 6-h interaction. This observation involved stereotyped behaviors and canid body posturing in association with dominance/submission, play solicitation, and courtship. Although documented before via radiotelemetry, this interaction marks the first direct observation of a wild wolf pack accepting and incorporating a strange wolf as a breeder and pack leader.

scholarly journals Unusual Behavior by Bison, Bison bison, Toward Elk, Cervus elaphus, and Wolves, Canis lupus

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. David Mech ◽  
Rick T. McIntyre ◽  
Douglas W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bison Bison ◽  
Unusual Behavior

Incidents are described of Bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone National Park mauling and possibly killing a young Elk (Cervus elaphus) calf, chasing wolves (Canis lupus) off Elk they had just killed or were killing, and keeping the wolves away for extended periods. During one of the latter cases, the Bison knocked a wolf-wounded Elk down. Bison were also seen approaching wolves that were resting and sleeping, rousting them, following them to new resting places and repeating this behavior. These behaviors might represent some type of generalized hyper-defensiveness that functions as an anti-predator strategy.

scholarly journals Foraging and Feeding Ecology of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus): Lessons from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

2006 ◽  
Vol 136 (7) ◽  
pp. 1923S-1926S ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Stahler ◽  
Douglas W. Smith ◽  
Debra S. Guernsey
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Gray Wolf

Winter Ecology of Bighorn Sheep in Yellowstone National Park

1971 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Oldemeyer ◽  
William J. Barmore ◽  
Douglas L. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Winter Ecology

scholarly journals DNA Fingerprinting of Wolves

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 155-156
Author(s):  
Patricia Rabenold ◽  
Mauricio De Gortari
Keyword(s):  
Dna Fingerprinting ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
National Park ◽  
Genetic Test ◽  
Genetic Purity ◽  
Breeding Structure ◽  
Viable Population

There are proposals to reintroduce (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone National Park through translocation of individuals from other populations. Ideally, these wolves should have a genotype similar to that possessed by the subspecies previously found in the Park. This genetic similarity would enhance the probability that genetically based adaptations to the environment of the Park were present, and thus enhance the likelihood that a viable population would be established with minimum animals and effort. Concern has been expressed about preserving the genetic purity of potentially translocated wolves. A genetic test which would permit differentiation between restored pure wolves and clandestinely introduced ones, as well as between pure wolf and wolf x coyote, and wolf x dog hybrid genotypes would be valuable. Furthermore, it is important to understand the power of DNA fingerprinting as a tool for monitoring breeding structure of the restored pack(s) at intervals subsequent to their release in Yellowstone.

scholarly journals Breeding displacement in gray wolves (Canis lupus): Three males usurp breeding position and pup rearing from a neighboring pack in Yellowstone National Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy SunderRaj ◽  
Jack W. Rabe ◽  
Kira A. Cassidy ◽  
Rick McIntyre ◽  
Daniel R. Stahler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Gray Wolves ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Dominant Female ◽  
Territorial Group

Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) are territorial, group living carnivores that live in packs typically consisting of a dominant breeding pair and their offspring. Breeding tenures are relatively short and competitive, with vacancies usually occurring following a breeder’s death, and are often filled by unrelated immigrants or by relatives of the previous breeder. The frequency and conditions of active breeder displacements are poorly understood. Position changes in the dominance hierarchy are common yet rarely documented in detail. We describe a turnover in male breeding position in a wolf pack by males from a neighboring pack in mid-summer 2016 in Yellowstone National Park. Over the course of two months, three males from the Mollie’s pack displaced the breeding male of the neighboring Wapiti Lake pack, joined the pack’s two adult females, and subsequently raised the previous male’s four approximately three-month old pups. In the four years following the displacement (2017 to 2020), at least one of the intruding males has successfully bred with the dominant female and most years with a subordinate female (who was one of the pups at the time of displacement). The pack reared pups to adulthood each year. Male breeding displacements are likely influenced by male-male competition and female mate choice. These changes are the result of individuals competing to improve breeding position and may lead to increased pack stability and greater reproductive success. We report in detail on the behavior of a closely observed breeding displacement and we discuss the adaptive benefits of the change.

Factors affecting gray wolf (Canis lupus) encounter rate with elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (9) ◽  
pp. 1032-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.W. Martin ◽  
L.D. Mech ◽  
J. Fieberg ◽  
M.C. Metz ◽  
D.R. MacNulty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
National Park ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Encounter Rates ◽  
Hunting Success ◽  
Kill Rate ◽  
The Relationship

Despite encounter rates being a key component of kill rate, few studies of large carnivore predation have quantified encounter rates with prey, the factors that influence them, and the relationship between encounter rate and kill rate. The study’s primary motivation was to determine the relationship between prey density and encounter rate in understanding the mechanism behind the functional response. Elk (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) population decline and variable weather in northern Yellowstone National Park provided an opportunity to examine how these factors influenced wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) encounter rates with elk. We explored how factors associated with wolf kill rate and encounter rate in other systems (season, elk density, elk group density, average elk group size, snow depth, wolf pack size, and territory size) influenced wolf–elk encounter rate in Yellowstone National Park. Elk density was the only factor significantly correlated with wolf–elk encounter rate, and we found a nonlinear density-dependent relationship that may be a mechanism for a functional response in this system. Encounter rate was correlated with number of elk killed during early winter but not late winter. Weak effects of snow depth and elk group size on encounter rate suggest that these factors influence kill rate via hunting success because kill rate is the product of hunting success and encounter rate.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document