Feeding ecology of wolvesCanis lupus returning to Germany

Ansorge, Hermann; Kluth, Gesa; Hahne, Susann

doi:10.1007/bf03192661

Cited by 64 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…In contrast, red deer was generally positively selected in central-eastern Europe (Okarma 1995;Jędrzejewski et al 2000;Andersone and Ozolins 2004;Nowak et al 2005) and in the western Alps (Gazzola et al 2005), on the contrary roe deer was selected in fewer locations of Sweden (Olsson et al 1997), Saxony (Ansorge et al 2006), Russia and Belarus (Okarma 1995). Apart from Italy, wild boar was selected as secondary prey in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland, during winter (Smietana and Klimek 1993;Gula 2004), in two locations of central Russia and Caucasus (Okarma 1995), and as main prey only in Estonia (Valdmann et al 1998).…”

Section: Prey Selectionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Prey selection and dietary response by wolves in a high-density multi-species ungulate community

Mattioli¹,

Capitani

Gazzola

et al. 2011

Eur J Wildl Res

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Studies on predation by the wolf (Canis lupus) have often reported contradictory results about the role of prey density and vulnerability on wolf prey use. We investigated dietary response and prey selection by wolves in a high-density and multi-species ungulate community, analysing scats collected over a period of 11 years in the Casentinesi Forests, Italy. The second most abundant species, wild boar (Sus scrofa), was found to be the main wolf prey, and we did not observe any dietary response of wolves to variations in the density of either primary or secondary prey species. Selection patterns were uniform throughout the study period. Wolves strongly selected for wild boar piglets, while roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) fawns and adults, red deer (Cervus elaphus) adults and fallow deer (Dama dama) adults were avoided. Wolf preference for wild boar was inversely density dependent. Within each species, juveniles were preferred to adults. Medium-sized, young individuals of both wild boar and roe deer were optimal prey, although with different selection patterns related to the different anti-predator strategies adopted by each prey species. The results of this study suggest that in productive ecosystems with high density and high renewal rates of prey, selection patterns by wolves are determined by prey vulnerability, which is connected to prey age and body size. The different patterns of wild boar versus cervids use by wolf across Europe seems to be related to their relative abundances, while the strong selection of wild boar in Italian Apennines with respect to the more frequent avoidance in central-eastern Europe is better explained by higher piglet productivity and smaller body size of adults boar in Mediterranean temperate forests.

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Section: Prey Selectionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Prey selection and dietary response by wolves in a high-density multi-species ungulate community

Mattioli¹,

Capitani

Gazzola

et al. 2011

Eur J Wildl Res

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“…Besides habitat factors, predation risk can influence the habitat choice of ungulates (Lima, 1998;Brown et al, 1999;Zollner and Lima, 1999) and therefore the intensity of browsing (Ripple and Beschta, 2004). Wolves (Canis lupus), one of the main predators of ungulates, are re-colonising parts of North America and Europe (Mech et al, 1995;Mladenoff et al, 1999;Valiè re et al, 2003;Ansorge et al, 2006). It is therefore timely to better understand the impact of these carnivores on ungulate space use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Habitat selection by ungulates in relation to predation risk by wolves and humans in the Białowieża Forest, Poland

Theuerkauf

Rouys

2008

Forest Ecology and Management

104

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“…In Europe the diet of wolves (Canis lupus) recolonising areas from which they were extirpated long ago has been studied mostly in Italy (Meriggi et al 1991;Patalano and Lovari 1993;Capitani et al 2004), the Scandinavian Peninsula (Müller 2006) and Germany (Ansorge et al 2006). In Italy wolves which were studied in eight locations fed, depending on local food base, on very diverse foods, from garbage and fruits to livestock and wild ungulates, such as roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (Meriggi and Lovari 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet and prey selection of wolves (Canis lupus) recolonising Western and Central Poland

Nowak¹,

Mysłajek²,

Kłosińska

et al. 2011

Mammalian Biology

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a b s t r a c tWolf Canis lupus diet was studied by scat analysis in four main and several other locations recolonised by this species in Central and Western Poland between 2002 and 2009. Wild ungulates made up 94.8% of the total biomass of food consumed, with the most common being roe deer Capreolus capreolus (42.8%), wild boar Sus scrofa (22.6%) and red deer Cervus elaphus (22.2%). Supplementary prey were: fallow deer Dama dama (2.7%), brown hare Lepus europeus (2.5%) and Eurasian beaver Castor fiber (1.4%). Domestic animals, exclusively dogs and cats, made up 1.0% of food biomass. A high similarity in the ratio of wild ungulate species in wolf food biomass between study sites was observed. Wolves hunted wild ungulate species accordingly to their relative abundance in the community. As wild ungulates are abundant and livestock density is low the large forest tracts of Western Poland seems to be very good habitat for wolves. Therefore, with more dispersing wolves from Eastern Poland and Eastern Germany, wolf recovery could significantly accelerate in the next few years in this region.

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Feeding ecology of wolvesCanis lupus returning to Germany

Cited by 64 publications

References 26 publications

Prey selection and dietary response by wolves in a high-density multi-species ungulate community

Prey selection and dietary response by wolves in a high-density multi-species ungulate community

Habitat selection by ungulates in relation to predation risk by wolves and humans in the Białowieża Forest, Poland

Diet and prey selection of wolves (Canis lupus) recolonising Western and Central Poland

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