Within predator-prey systems behavior can heavily influence spatial dynamics, and accordingly, the theoretical study of how spatial dynamics relate to stability within these systems has a rich history. However, our understanding of these behaviors in large mammalian systems is poorly developed. To address the relationship between predator selection patterns, prey density, and prey vulnerability, we quantified selection patterns for two fine-scale behaviors of a recovering wolf (Canis lupus) population in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Wolf spatial data were collected between November and May from 1998-1999 until 2001-2002. Over four winters, 244 aerial locations, 522 ground-based telemetry locations, 1287 km of movement data from snow tracking, and the locations of 279 wolf kill sites were recorded. There was evidence that elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) densities had a weak effect on the sites where wolves traveled and made kills. Wolf movements showed a strong selection for geothermal areas, meadows, and areas near various types of habitat edges. Proximity to edge and habitat class also had a strong influence on the locations where elk were most vulnerable to predation. There was little evidence that wolf kill sites differed from the places where wolves traveled, indicating that elk vulnerability influenced where wolves selected to travel. Our results indicate that elk are more vulnerable to wolves under certain conditions and that wolves are capable of selecting for these conditions. As such, vulnerability plays a central role in predator-prey behavioral games and can potentially impact the systems to which they relate.

In the absence of natural or anthropogenic disturbance, many pinyon pine (Pinus edulis)–Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) woodland habitats reach late seral stages that encroach into forest openings. This encroachment typically occurs at the expense of browse species that are preferred by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Wildlife managers often treat habitat management as a tool to bolster mule deer populations, but documented changes in deer vital rates in response to habitat manipulations are lacking. We evaluated the effects of different levels of habitat improvement on pinyon pine–Utah juniper winter ranges in Colorado on mule deer overwinter survival. Mule deer fawns that overwintered on areas that received both a traditional mechanical treatment as well as follow‐up chemical treatments experienced increased survival (trueSˆ = 0.768, SE = 0.0851) over fawns on winter range that had only received traditional mechanical treatments or no habitat treatments (trueSˆ = 0.675, SE = 0.112). When treatment intensity was partitioned into 3 levels: no treatment, traditional mechanical treatments, and advanced treatments comprised of both mechanical and chemical treatments, mule deer fawns inhabiting winter range subjected to advanced treatments experienced higher survival (trueSˆ = 0.768, SE = 0.0849) than fawns on units that experienced only traditional mechanical treatments (trueSˆ = 0.687, SE = 0.108), which in turn experienced higher survival than fawns in areas that had received no habitat treatments (trueSˆ = 0.669, SE = 0.113). Our study provides evidence that habitat management on winter ranges can positively influence a key vital rate for mule deer in pinyon pine–Utah juniper ecosystems. We recommend that as habitat treatments are planned for benefit of mule deer, those plans include follow‐up reseeding and weed control efforts. © 2014 The Wildlife Society.

Wildlife managers often need tangible evidence of density dependence in populations to support decision making. Field experimentation to identify density dependent eff ects is often cost and time prohibitive. h us, assimilation of existing knowledge into a balance of probabilities can serve as a surrogate for experimental research. A case study of such a process is found in the mule deer Odocoileus hemionus herds of Colorado. Wildlife managers and hunters expressed concern over a recent decline in western Colorado mule deer herds, yet the underlying cause of this decline is yet to be determined. In response to this management concern, we conducted a review of scientifi c evidence on Colorado ' s mule deer population dynamics. h is review was done in the context of a conceptual model that portrays population growth as a function of population size, per capita growth rate and population carrying capacity. Similar declines that occurred during the 1960s and early 1990s resulted in similar reviews that identifi ed research and management topics that would benefi t mule deer. h ese topics included: harvest, predation, intraspecifi c competition, disease, interspecifi c competition, and habitat loss and degradation. Between the late 1990s and present time, many of these topics were addressed by research. h e conventional working hypothesis in Colorado is that mule deer herds are limited by winter range habitat. We identify new gaps in knowledge and suggest potential, future research topics, as well as potential management strategies. We suggest a focus on integrated studies of multiple herbivores with density reduction experiments to address intra-and inter-specifi c competition. In addition, we suggest focused experiments that address the roles of mountain lion predation, black bear predation, and disease in mule deer population dynamics.

Our understanding of factors that limit mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations may be improved by evaluating neonatal survival as a function of dam characteristics under free‐ranging conditions, which generally requires that both neonates and dams are radiocollared. The most viable technique facilitating capture of neonates from radiocollared adult females is use of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs). To date, VITs have allowed research opportunities that were not previously possible; however, VITs are often expelled from adult females prepartum, which limits their effectiveness. We redesigned an existing VIT manufactured by Advanced Telemetry Systems (ATS; Isanti, MN) by lengthening and widening wings used to retain the VIT in an adult female. Our objective was to increase VIT retention rates and thereby increase the likelihood of locating birth sites and newborn fawns. We placed the newly designed VITs in 59 adult female mule deer and evaluated the probability of retention to parturition and the probability of detecting newborn fawns. We also developed an equation for determining VIT sample size necessary to achieve a specified sample size of neonates. The probability of a VIT being retained until parturition was 0.766 (SE = 0.0605) and the probability of a VIT being retained to within 3 days of parturition was 0.894 (SE = 0.0441). In a similar study using the original VIT wings (Bishop et al. 2007), the probability of a VIT being retained until parturition was 0.447 (SE = 0.0468) and the probability of retention to within 3 days of parturition was 0.623 (SE = 0.0456). Thus, our design modification increased VIT retention to parturition by 0.319 (SE = 0.0765) and VIT retention to within 3 days of parturition by 0.271 (SE = 0.0634). Considering dams that retained VITs to within 3 days of parturition, the probability of detecting at least 1 neonate was 0.952 (SE = 0.0334) and the probability of detecting both fawns from twin litters was 0.588 (SE = 0.0827). We expended approximately 12 person‐hours per detected neonate. As a guide for researchers planning future studies, we found that VIT sample size should approximately equal the targeted neonate sample size. Our study expands opportunities for conducting research that links adult female attributes to productivity and offspring survival in mule deer. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Although numerous authors are investigating indirect effects of wolf recovery, the most fundamental ecological impact of the Greater Yellowstone Area wolf reintroduction, the effects of wolf predation on ungulate populations, remains unclear. We report on a 5‐year comparative study of wolf (Canis lupus)‐elk (Cervus elaphus) dynamics on an elk herd in the headwaters of the Madison River within Yellowstone National Park and the lower Madison elk herd that winters 40 km downriver outside the Park. A resident pack became established on the Madison headwaters area in 1997 and grew to multiple packs totaling 30–40 animals by 2002. During winter 1999 emigrates from Yellowstone established a pack on the lower Madison area. However, poor recruitment and low adult survival limited wolf population growth, with the area supporting a single pack, never exceeding 5 animals. Wolf kill rates on the lower Madison area were approximately double that documented for the Madison headwaters area. Moderate kill rates in the Madison headwaters, combined with high wolf densities and modest elk densities, resulted in an estimated 20% of the elk population being killed during winter and projections for a declining elk population. In contrast, high kill rates on the lower Madison area, combined with low wolf densities and high elk densities, resulted in winter predation estimates not exceeding 4% of the elk population. We suspect this level of mortality will be of little biological significance with respect to elk population trajectory. These results suggest that the effects of wolf predation on elk populations differ substantially over relatively small spatial scales, depending on a complex suite of interacting factors. Thus, we caution against generalizing the effects of wolf restoration on elk dynamics from any single study and encourage collaborations to develop comparative predator‐prey studies that improve our understanding of wolf‐ungulate interactions and enhance conservation.