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.
Road decommissioning is increasingly recognized as a critical first step in the restoration of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. However, crucial gaps in knowledge exist about the efficacy and ecological effects of road-removal practices. One particularly important issue is the effectiveness of post-road-removal revegetation practices. This study evaluated (1) the short-term effects of road decommissioning on plant community composition, (2) the effects of seed-mix origin, species diversity, and seeding density on vegetative establishment, and (3) the impact of overstory canopy cover and coarse woody debris (CWD) on revegetation success on recently decommissioned roads. One year after decommissioning, total vegetative cover (on the former roadbed) declined by 60%, with non-native plants showing the greatest magnitude of response (circa 90% decline). Although the use of non-native seed is often justified by the need for rapid vegetative establishment on disturbed sites, we did not find significant differences in percent cover of total vegetation between plots seeded with native versus non-native species. As expected, cover of native species was significantly higher in plots seeded with natives compared to those seeded with non-natives (12.3 vs. 7.8%, respectively). Furthermore, in plots seeded with native species, 43% of total vegetative cover was due to cover of seeded species; in comparison, non-native seeded species accounted for only 18% of total vegetative cover in non-native plots. Cover of seeded species was not significantly impacted by overstory canopy cover or CWD. These findings suggest that native seed mixes may outperform non-native seed mixes in terms of vegetative establishment after disturbance associated with road removal.
Previous studies have demonstrated the negative effects of roads on stream characteristics important for fish survival; however, few have examined whether decommissioning reverses these adverse impacts. We examined the relationships between the percentage of fine sediment in stream substrate and roads and looked at whether decommissioning had measurable effects on stream habitat in the Flathead National Forest, Montana. We conducted habitat surveys and substrate coring in 12 streams encompassing three watershed treatment types: (1) roadless areas, (2) areas with roads in use, and (3) areas with decommissioned roads. Significant positive correlations were found between the percentage of fine sediment in substrate and various measures of road impact (road density, roads in use, and number of stream crossings). Watersheds with roads in use had higher percentages of fine sediment than those without roads and those with decommissioned roads. Watersheds with high levels of vegetative regrowth on decommissioned roadbeds had a lower percentage of fines in stream sediment. Decommissioning efforts that enhance regrowth may improve stream habitat, although significant effects of these manipulations are difficult to detect through spatial comparisons. Future studies using either before‐after or before‐after‐control designs to evaluate the effects of decommissioning practices on fish and wildlife habitat and populations are needed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.