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Prey Selection of Scandinavian Wolves: Single Large or Several Small?

Sand, Håkan; Eklund, Ann; Zimmermann, Barbara; Wikenros, Camilla; Wabakken, Petter
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2427377
Date
2016
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  • Artikkel - fagfellevurdert vitenskapelig / Articles - peer-reviewed [1179]
Abstract
Research on large predator-prey interactions are often limited to the predators' primary

prey, with the potential for prey switching in systems with multiple ungulate species rarely

investigated. We evaluated wolf (Canis lupus) prey selection at two different spatial scales,

i.e., inter- and intra-territorial, using data from 409 ungulate wolf-kills in an expanding wolf

population in Scandinavia. This expansion includes a change from a one-prey into a twoprey

system with variable densities of one large-sized ungulate; moose (Alces alces) and

one small-sized ungulate; roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Among wolf territories, the proportion

of roe deer in wolf kills was related to both pack size and roe deer density, but not to

moose density. Pairs of wolves killed a higher proportion of roe deer than did packs, and

wolves switched to kill more roe deer as their density increased above a 1:1 ratio in relation

to the availability of the two species. At the intra-territorial level, wolves again responded to

changes in roe deer density in their prey selection whereas we found no effect of snow

depth, time during winter, or other predator-related factors on the wolves' choice to kill

moose or roe deer. Moose population density was only weakly related to intra-territorial prey

selection. Our results show that the functional response of wolves on moose, the species

hitherto considered as the main prey, was strongly dependent on the density of a smaller,

alternative, ungulate prey. The impact of wolf predation on the prey species community is

therefore likely to change with the composition of the multi-prey species community along

with the geographical expansion of the wolf population.
Publisher
Plos
Journal
Plos one

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