Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Population Regulation In Wolves, Jane M. Packard, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The possibility of social regulation of wolf populations has been discussed in the literature for several years. Some of the first ecological studies of wolves indicated that their populations did not increase as rapidly as was theoretically possible, and that they reached a saturation point apparently not set by food. Subsequent captive studies demonstrated the existence of social mechanisms possibly capable of regulating population growth. However, the importance of these factors in wild populations has not been established. This paper has four objectives: (1) to evaluate the existing concept of "intrinsic limitation," (2) to propose that wolf population dynamics may …

Wolf Howling And Its Role In Territory Maintenance, Fred H. Harrington, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The wolf (Canis lupus) is a wide-ranging social carnivore with a complex spatial organization (MECH, 1972; 1973). The precise manner in which this organization is maintained is unknown, but territory advertisement using olfactory and acoustic modes seems to be involved.

The acoustic mode includes primarily howling. Within a wolf pack, howling may be useful to reassemble separated members (MECH, 1966; THEBERGE & FALLS, 1967), and may communicate information on individual identity, location, and other behavioral and environmental contingencies (THEBERGE & FALLS, 1967). Between packs, however, howling may serve to advertise territory, communicating the locations of packs and thus …

Relating Wolf Scat Content To Prey Consumed, Theodore J. Floyd, L. David Mech, Peter A. Jordan

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

In 9 trials, captive wolves (Canis lupus) were fed prey varying in size from snowshoe (Lepus americanus) to adult deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and the resulting scats were counted. collectible scats were distinguished from liquid, noncollectible stools. In collectible scats, the small prey occurred in greater proportion relative to the prey's weight, and in lesser proportion to the prey's numbers, than did the remains of larger prey. A regression equation with an excellent the data (r² = 0.97) was derived to estimate the weight of prey eaten per collectible scat for With this information …

Productivity, Mortality, And Population Trends Of Wolves In Northeastern Minnesota, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Population parameters, mortality causes, and mechanisms of a population decline were studied in wolves (Canis lupus lycaon) from 1968 to 1976 in the Superior National Forest. The main method was aerial radio-tracking of 129 wolves and their packmates. Due to a decline in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the wolf population decreased during most of the study. Average annual productivity varied from 1.5 to 3.3 pups per litter, and annual mortality rates from 7 to 65 percent. Malnutrition and intraspecific strife accounted equally for 58 percent of the mortality; human causes accounted for the remainder. As wolf …

Wolf-Pack Buffer Zones As Prey Reservoirs, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Abstract. In a declining herd, surviving deer inhabited overlapping edges of wolf- pack territories. There, wolves hunted little until desperate, in order to avoid fatal encounters with neighbors. Such encounters reduce wolf numbers and predation pressure and apparently allow surviving deer along territory edges to repopulate the area through dispersal of their prime, less vulnerable offspring into territory cores.

Canis Lupus., L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Order Carnivora, Family Canidae. The genus Canis includes eight species. Approxi- mately 24 New World and eight Old World subspecies of C. lupus are recognized, the number depending on authorities accepted. For summary, see Mech (1970); for full synonymy, see Pocock (1935), Goldman (1944), Ellerman and Morrison- Scott (1951), Novikov (1956), and Hall and Kelson (1959).

Factors Affecting Nesting Success Of The Canvasback In The Aspen Parklands, Jerome H. Stoudt

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The Minnedosa study area is located in the southwestern portion of Manitoba just south of the town of Minnedosa. It is 90 square miles in size and roughly square in shape. The Aspen Parkland, in which the study area is located, is characterized by gently rolling terrain and black soils. Mixed farming is the rule with emphasis on small grain production consisting of wheat, barley, and oats. Roughly 50 percent of the water areas in the parkland are ringed with aspen, Populus tremuloides, and large blocks of aspen are interspersed throughout the area. The Minnedosa area differs because of …