Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

I Ain't Afraid Of No Crab: Intertidal Gastropod Littorina Littorea Behavioral Response To Predation Risk By Carcinus Maenas, Isabelle Erin Smy

Honors College

Littorina littorea is an intertidal, invasive gastropod species common in the Gulf of Maine. In this paper, I studied the avoidance and risk-reducing behavioral responses of L. littorea to predation risk by invasive crustacean species Carcinus maenas. Avoidance and risk-reducing behavior in this study are defined by the tendency to move towards the edge and out of a simulated tide pool and the tendency to reduce feeding. The goal of this study was to determine whether the exposure to chemical cues of predators resulted in an increase in avoidance behavior, risk-reducing behavior, and a reduction in the time before the …

Free-Ranging And Feral Cats, Alex Dutcher, Kyle Pias, Grant Sizemore, Stephen M. Vantassel

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are a common household pet in the United States, with an estimated 25.4% of households owning cats (American Veterinary Medical Association 2018). While an increasing number of cat owners keep their pet cats exclusively indoors, a portion of society maintains that domestic cats are entitled to a free-ranging lifestyle and may even consider unowned domestic cats to be wildlife. Although wildlife managers recognize the beliefs of many concerned stakeholders, including advocates who use strong emotional appeals on behalf of cats, it remains that free-ranging and feral domestic cats are an invasive species spread by humans (Lowe …

Spiders (Araneae) Collected As Prey By The Mud-Dauber Wasps Sceliphron Caementarium And Chalybion Californicum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) In Southeastern Nebraska1, Tyler B. Corey, Earl Agpawa, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Predator diets represent a potential interaction between local prey availability, prey antipredator defenses, and predator foraging behavior. Female spider-specialist muddauber wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) collect spiders and provision them intact, but paralyzed, to their developing larvae, providing a unique means of quantifying the diversity and abundance of prey that they capture. Mud-dauber wasps are hypothesized to be a major source of selection on antipredator defenses in web-building spiders, and the spiny and thickened abdomens of female spiny orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Araneidae) are hypothesized to function as antiwasp defenses. We inventoried spider prey from nests of the mud-dauber wasps Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) …

Coyotes, Rick Tischaefer

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The coyote (Canis latrans; Figure 1) is a medium-sized member of the canid family. Once primarily found in western deserts and grasslands, coyotes have expanded their range across North America and into diverse habitats, including urban areas. This expansion occurred during a time of extensive habitat change and efforts by people to suppress coyote populations to prevent damage. Coyotes can cause a variety of conflicts related to agriculture, natural resources, property, and human health and safety. This document highlights a variety of methods for reducing those conflicts. Coyotes are a highly adaptable species and may become habituated to some management …

Common Ravens, Luke W. Peebles, Jack O. Spencer Jr.

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Damage Management Methods for Common Ravens

Type of Control -- Available Management Options

Exclusion -- Often ineffective or impractical

Fertility Control -- None available

Frightening Devices -- Effigies • Pyrotechnics and propane cannons • Lasers and flashing lights

Habitat Modification -- Bale and bury garbage • Install dumpsters with secure lids • Remove or bury dead livestock • Remove abandoned houses, sheds, and barns to eliminate nesting structures

Nest Treatment -- Allowed with proper Federal and State permits; Egg oiling or addling and nest destruction

Repellents -- Methiocarb (EPA Reg. No. 56228-33) • Methyl anthranilate (food-grade grape flavoring agent)

Shooting …

An Historical Overview And Update Of Wolf-Moose Interactions In Northeastern Minnesota, L. David Mech, John Fieberg, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wolf (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces americanus) populations in northeastern Minnesota, USA, have fluctuated for decades and, based on helicopter counts, moose numbers declined to a new low from 2006 to about 2012. Other steep declines were found in 1991 and 1998 during periods when moose counts were done with fixed-wing aircraft; these declines also appeared to be real. Winter wolf numbers, monitored in part of the moose range, had been increasing since about 2002 to the highest population in decades in 2009. However, from 2009 to 2016, wolves decreased precipitously, and the moose- population decline leveled …

Inter- And Intra-Individual Variation In Predator-Related Behavioral Plasticity Expressed By Female Green Swordtails (Xiphophorus Hellerii), Rachael A. Disciullo

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of one genotype to express multiple phenotypes under variable environments. Behavioral plasticity is a type of phenotypic plasticity in which individuals adjust behavior in response to changes in environment. Often, behavioral plasticity is studied at the level of the population, rather than at the level of the individual. Further, few studies have considered the effect of individual traits, such as size and age, on the expression of behavioral plasticity, or, how individual plasticity may be correlated across different contexts. In this study, we used female green swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii) to test the effects …

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Fawn Risk From Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) Predation During Summer, L. David Mech, Aaron Morris, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Little is known about how often various prey animals are at risk of predation by Gray Wolves (Canis lupus). We used a system to monitor the presence during the day of two radio-collared Gray Wolves within 2 km of a radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with a fawn or fawns in August 2013 in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota. We concluded that the fawn or fawns were at risk of predation by at least one wolf at least daily.

Plasticity In Female Mate Choosiness: A Result Of Variation In Perceived Predation Risk And The Interaction Of Female Age And Male Density, Ashley Atwell

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In many species, female mate choices can be a strong source of sexual selection. Females often prefer a certain male phenotype, and this can be due to benefits females gain from mating with preferred males. However, such benefits can sometimes be outweighed by the cost of searching for a preferred male. These costs and benefits often change concomitantly with changes in environmental (e.g., predator abundance and conspecific density) and internal factors (e.g., female age). Thus, female mate choosiness (the degree to which preferences for certain males are expressed) should often be plastic. Plasticity in female mate choosiness may be complicated …

Effects Of Predation Upon The Long-Spined Sea Urchin Diadema Antillarum By The Spotted Spiny Lobster Panulirus Guttatus, Meredith D. Kintzing, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Sea urchins, important herbivores in marine ecosystems, are strongly impacted by both the direct and indirect effects of predation, and the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum is no exception. Once abundant on Caribbean coral reefs, D. antillarum populations were decimated by disease in the early 1980s, and only where their natural predators have been over-fished has D. antillarum recovery been observed. Spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) are predators of sea urchins, and although there are several species of spiny lobster in the Caribbean, only the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus is restricted to coral reefs where D. antillarum dwells. We investigated the …

Predation And Behavioral Plasticity In Green Swordtails: Mate Choice In Females And Exploratory Behavior In Males, Andrew J. Melie

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Two studies were carried out with green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, to investigate the effect of predation on swordtail behavior, and to determine how behavioral plasticity operates in both a mate choice and an anti-predator context. Male green swordtails vary in colorful conspicuous traits, e.g. the colorful dorsal fin and sword. Female swordtails have a preexisting bias for males with a sword, and prefer long-sworded males to short-sworded males, but this preference is plastic. The first study examined predator-related plasticity in the behavior of males differing in size. Smaller males showed greater behavioral plasticity; they were more active in the absence …

Age Structure Of Moose (Alces Alces) Killed By Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In Northeastern Minnesota, 1967–2011, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The ages of 77 adult Moose (Alces alces) killed by gray Wolves (Canis lupus) during the period 1967–2011 in northeastern Minnesota were significantly older than those of a sample of 17 585 Moose killed by hunters in nearby Ontario. Our findings support those of earlier studies of protected Moose populations in national parks that found that gray Wolves tend to kill disproportionately more older Moose.

Nonlinear Effects Of Group Size On The Success Of Wolves Hunting Elk, Daniel R. Macnulty, Douglas W. Smith, L. David Mech, John A. Vucetich, Craig Packer

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Despite the popular view that social predators live in groups because group hunting facilitates prey capture, the apparent tendency for hunting success to peak at small group sizes suggests that the formation of large groups is unrelated to prey capture. Few empirical studies, however, have tested for nonlinear relationships between hunting success and group size, and none have demonstrated why success trails off after peaking. Here, we use a unique dataset of observations of individually known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to show that the relationship between success and group …

Ramphotyphlops Braminus (Brahminy Blindsnake): Predation, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Ramphotyphlops braminus currently has the most widespread, near worldwide, nonindigenous distribution of any snake. In Florida, USA, R. braminus is rapidly expanding its distribution.

The stomach contents of a necropsied Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo) found on the premises of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gaisesville in March 2011 included an intact adult R. braminus. Dasypus novemcinctus is nonindigenous in Florida. It has a primarily insectivorous diet but occasionally preys upon small vertebrates, including reptiles. This is the first record of R. braminus in the diet of D. novemcinctus.

More Ornamented Males Exhibit Increased Predation Risk And Antipredatory Escapes, But Not Greater Mortality, Kasey D. Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Secondary sexual traits not only confer benefits to their bearer through increased mate acquisition, but may also have inherent costs, including the attraction of predators. Here, we examined the relationship between conspicuous secondary sexual traits and predation costs using two male morphs of Schizocosa wolf spiders: brushlegged and non-ornamented. In the field, we ran two predation experiments using artificial enclosures to directly test mortality costs of predation on the two male morphs. Using a natural predator, a larger wolf spider in the genus Hogna, we found no difference in predation on brush-legged vs. non-ornamented males. However, predation was depends …

Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) Movements And Behavior Around A Kill Site And Implications For Gps Collar Studies, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Global Positioning System (GPS) radio-collars are increasingly used to estimate Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates. In interpreting results from this technology, researchers make various assumptions about wolf behavior around kills, yet no detailed description of this behavior has been published. This article describes the behavior of six wolves in an area of constant daylight during 30 hours, from when the pack killed a Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) calf and yearling on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, to when they abandoned the kill remains. Although this is only a single incident, it demonstrates one possible scenario of pack …

Problems With Studying Wolf Predation On Small Prey In Summer Via Global Positioning System Collars, Vicente Palacios, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We attempted to study predation on various-sized prey by a male and female wolf (Canis lupus) with global positioning system (GPS) collars programmed to acquire locations every 10 min in the Superior National Forest of Minnesota. During May to August 2007, we investigated 147 clusters of locations (31% of the total) and found evidence of predation on a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn and yearling, a beaver (Castor canadensis), ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), and fisher (Martes pennanti) and scavenging on a road-killed deer and other carrion. However, we missed finding …

Proportion Of Calves And Adult Muskoxen, Ovibos Moschatus Killed By Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, In July On Ellesmere Island, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Generally Gray Wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) tend to focus predation on young-of-the-year ungulates during summer, and I hypothesized that wolves preying on Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus Zimmerman, 1780) in summer would follow that trend. Over 23 July periods observing wolves on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, I found that packs of 2-12 adult wolves killed seven calves, one yearling, and five adult muskoxen at distances of 2.9 to 32 km from their current dens and pups. Given a possible bias against finding calves because of their fewer remains, these results do not necessarily refute the hypothesis, but they do …

Wolf, Canis Lupus, Visits To White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Summer Ranges: Optimal Foraging?, Dominic J. Demma, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We tested whether Wolf (Canis lupus) visits to individual female White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) summer ranges during 2003 and 2004 in northeastern Minnesota were in accord with optimal-foraging theory. Using GPS collars with 10- to 30-minute location attempts on four Wolves and five female deer, plus eleven VHF-collared female deer in the Wolves’ territory, provided new insights into the frequency of Wolf visits to summer ranges of female deer. Wolves made a mean 0.055 visits/day to summer ranges of deer three years and older, significantly more than their 0.032 mean visits/day to ranges of two-year-old deer, …

Factors Influencing Predation On Juvenile Ungulates And Natural Selection Implications, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. D. Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Juvenile ungulates are generally more vulnerable to predation than are adult ungulates other than senescent individuals, not only because of their relative youth, fragility, and inexperience, but also because of congenital factors. Linnell et al.’s (Wildl. Biol. 1: 209-223) extensive review of predation on juvenile ungulates concluded that research was needed to determine the predisposition of these juveniles to predation. Since then, various characteristics that potentially predispose juvenile ungulates have emerged including blood characteristics, morphometric and other condition factors, and other factors such as birth period, the mother’s experience, and spatial and habitat aspects. To the extent that any of …

Survival And Sources Of Mortality In Florida Sandhill Crane Chicks – Hatching To Fledging, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Stephen T. Schwikert, Marilyn G. Spalding

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Forty-five pairs of Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) were monitored during the nesting seasons from 1996 through 1999. Thirty-eight chicks were produced from 25 successful nests. Twenty-one of these survived to fledging age. Predation was the source of most (81%) of the mortality for which a cause was determined. Mammals were the primary predator. Average age at time of mortality was 27.2 days for the 17 chicks lost.

Elk Calf Survival And Mortality Following Wolf Restoration To Yellowstone National Park La Supervivencia Y La Mortalidad De Las Crı´As De Wapiti Tras La Restauracio´ N Del Lobo Al Parque Nacional De Yellowstone La Survie Et La Mortalite´ Des Faons De Wapitis Qui A Suivi La Re´Introduction Du Loup Au Parc De Yellowstone, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, P. J. White

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We conducted a 3-year study (May 2003–Apr 2006) of mortality of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) calves to determine the cause for the recruitment decline (i.e., 33 calves to 13 calves/100 adult F) following the restoration of wolves (Canis lupus). We captured, fit with radiotransmitters, and evaluated blood characteristics and disease antibody seroprevalence in 151 calves ≤ 6 days old (68M:83F). Concentrations (x, SE) of potential condition indicators were as follows: thyroxine (T4; 13.8 µg/dL, 0.43), serum urea nitrogen (SUN; 17.4 mg/dL, 0.57), c-glutamyltransferase (GGT; 66.4 IU/L, 4.36), gamma globulins (GG; 1.5 g/dL, 0.07), and insulin-like …

Morbidity And Mortality Factors In Pre-Fledged Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis Pratensis) Chicks, Robert J. Dusek, Marilyn G. Spalding, Donald J. Forrester, Nicholas Komar, Jonathan F. Day

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

One hundred and fifteen Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) chicks were captured in Osceola and Lake Counties, Florida in 1998 - 2000 and examined for evidence of disease. Evidence of Eimeria gruis and/or E. reichenowi infection was found in 52% of chicks examined. Ten chicks were positive for antibodies to St. Louis encephalitis virus and 1 of these chicks was also positive for antibodies to eastern equine encephalitis virus. Predation was the most commonly identified cause of mortality. An unidentified microfilaria, and an unknown protozoan were detected in blood smears from crane chicks. A number of other …

Terrestrial Behavior Of Ateles Spp., Christina J. Campbell, Filippo Aureli, Colin A. Chapman, Gabriel Ramos-Fernández, Kim Matthews, Sabrina E. Russo, Scott Suarez, Laura Vick

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) are well known for their highly arboreal lifestyle, spending much of their time in the highest levels of the canopy and rarely venturing to the ground. To investigate terrestriality by Ateles and to illuminate the conditions under which spider monkeys venture to the ground, we analyzed ad libitum data from 5 study sites, covering 2 species and 5 subspecies. Three of the sites are in Central/North America: Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama (Ateles geoffroyi panamensis), Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica (A. g. frontatus), and Punta Laguna, Mexico (A. g. yucatanensis). The 2 remaining sites are …

Do Female Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia Spp.) Prefer To Shoal With Familiar Individuals Under Predation Pressure?, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Shoaling with familiar individuals may have many benefits including enhanced escape responses or increased foraging efficiency. This study describes the results of two complimentary experiments. The first utilised a simple binary choice experiment to determine if rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp.) preferred to shoal with familiar individuals or with strangers. The second experiment used a “free range” situation where familiar and unfamiliar individuals were free to intermingle and were then exposed to a predator threat. Like many other small species of fish, rainbowfish were capable of identifying and distinguishing between individuals and choose to preferentially associate with familiar individuals as opposed to …

Winter Severity And Wolf Predation On A Formerly Wolf-Free Elk Herd, L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Kerry M. Murphy, Daniel R. Macnulty

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We studied wolf (Canis lupus) predation on elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park from 17 March to 15 April 1997 (severe winter conditions) and from 2 to 31 March 1998 (mild winter conditions) 2-3 years after wolves were reintroduced to the park. Elk composed 91% of 117 kills. Data comparisons for 1997 versus 1998 were: hunting success rate, 26% versus 15%; kill rate, 17.1 kg/wolf/day versus 6.1; percent of kill consumed in first day, 7 versus 86; percent femur marrow fat of adult kills, 27 versus 70; calf:adult ratios of kills, 2:33 versus 17:23; sex …

Mortality Of Whooping Crane Colts In Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, 1997-99, Douglas G. Bergeson, Brian W. Johns, Geoffrey L. Holroyd

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Twenty-two whooping crane (Grus americana) pairs with 2 young were monitored in Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) over 3 years to determine causes of colt mortality. The family groups were monitored from the ground, air, and with the aid ofradioteiemetry. We attached transmitters to 18 colts: 5 (28%) fledged, 5 (28%) succumbed to cumulative effects (head trauma, stress, exposure and/or infection), 4 (22%) were lost to unknown causes (3 of these went missing after they had lost their transmitters), 2 (11%) were taken by foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 1 (5.5%) was lost to raven (Corvus corax …

Proximity Of White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Ranges To Wolf, Canis Lupus, Pack Homesites, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Seven adult female White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northeastern Minnesota lived within 1.8 km of Wolf pack (Canis lupus) homesites without vacating their home ranges. Six of these deer and at least three of their fawns survived through the Wolf homesite period.

Assessing Factors That May Predispose Minnesota Farms To Wolf Depredations On Cattle, L. David Mech, Elizabeth K. Harper, Thomas J. Meier, William J. Paul

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wolf (Canis lupus) depredations on livestock cause considerable conflict and expense in Minnesota. Furthermore, claims are made that such depredations are fostered by the type of animal husbandry practiced. Thus, we tried to detect factors that might predispose farms in Minnesota to wolf depredations. We compared results of interviews with 41 cattle farmers experiencing chronic cattle losses to wolves (chronic farms) with results from 41 nearby "matched" farms with no wolf losses to determine farm characteristics or husbandry practices that differed and that therefore might have affected wolf depredations. We also used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to …

Survival And Habitat Use Of Greater Sandhill Crane Colts On Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, California, Kevin J. Desroberts

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Radiotelemetry was used to monitor 13 (1990) and 14 (1992) greater sandhill crane (Grus canadensis tabida) colts on Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, California, to determine causes of mortality, brood habitat utilization, and effects of habitat management on colt survival. Colt survival rates were 0.36 (1990) and 0.54 (1992). Coyotes (Canis latrans) killed 3 colts and mink (Mustela vison) killed 4; I colt died because of a bacterial infection (Staphylococcus aureous). Broods used 6 different habitat types and 79% used more than I type. Irrigated meadows (74%), cultivated uplands (53 %), and marsh …