Predation or Scavenging? Prey Body Condition Influences Decision‐Making in a Facultative Predator, the Wolverine

Mattisson, Jenny; Rauset, Geir Rune; Oddén, John; Andrén, Henrik; Linnell, John D. C.; Persson, Jens

doi:10.1002/bes2.1281

Cited by 21 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Concerning interference relationships between predators, red fox was expected to suppress arctic fox by interference competition and/or intraguild killing (Elmhagen et al 2017). As a potential top predator, wolverine was predicted to potentially suppress both fox species by intraguild killing (Ehrich et al 2016, Mattisson et al 2016.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lynx Lynx lynx is known to limit red fox abundance in boreal forest (Elmhagen et al 2010), but its distribution generally does not comprise Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra (Anon 2015, Breitenmoser et al 2015). Finally, wolverine are known to kill red fox (Mattisson et al 2016), suggesting wolverine potentially could exert top-down control on red fox and counteract its expansion in the mountain tundra.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The fluctuating world of a tundra predator guild: bottom‐up constraints overrule top‐down species interactions in winter

Stoessel

Elmhagen

Vinka³

et al. 2018

Ecography

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Global warming is predicted to change ecosystem functioning and structure in Arctic ecosystems by strengthening top-down species interactions, i.e. predation pressure on small herbivores and interference between predators. Yet, previous research is biased towards the summer season. Due to greater abiotic constraints, Arctic ecosystem characteristics might be more pronounced in winter. Here we test the hypothesis that top-down species interactions prevail over bottom-up effects in Scandinavian mountain tundra (Northern Sweden) where effects of climate warming have been observed and top-down interactions are expected to strengthen. But we test this 'a priori' hypothesis in winter and throughout the 3-4 yr rodent cycle, which imposes additional pulsed resource constraints. We used snowtracking data recorded in 12 winters (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) to analyse the spatial patterns of a tundra predator guild (arctic fox Vulpes lagopus, red fox Vulpes vulpes, wolverine Gulo gulo) and small prey (ptarmigan, Lagopus spp). The a priori top-down hypothesis was then tested through structural equation modelling, for each phase of the rodent cycle. There was weak support for this hypothesis, with top-down effects only discerned on arctic fox (weakly, by wolverine) and ptarmigan (by arctic fox) at intermediate and high rodent availability respectively. Overall, bottom-up constraints appeared more influential on the winter community structure. Cold specialist predators (arctic fox and wolverine) showed variable landscape associations, while the boreal predator (red fox) appeared strongly dependent on productive habitats and ptarmigan abundance. Thus, we suggest that the unpredictability of food resources determines the winter ecology of the cold specialist predators, while the boreal predator relies on resource-rich habitats. The constraints imposed by winters and temporary resource lows should therefore counteract productivity-driven ecosystem change and have a stabilising effect on community structure. Hence, the interplay between summer and winter conditions should determine the rate of Arctic ecosystem change in the context of global warming.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fluctuating world of a tundra predator guild: bottom‐up constraints overrule top‐down species interactions in winter

Stoessel

Elmhagen

Vinka³

et al. 2018

Ecography

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“…Predation was the most common cause of death, but proportions of predation differed among landscapes, indicating land-use changes by humans may alter predator-prey dynamics. Fawns are a temporally limited food resource and lack specialized predators; consequently, their generalist predators may make trade-offs between humancreated food resources (e.g., crops) and fawns (Burroughs et al 2006, Mattisson et al 2016. As such, human activity can create a low-risk-high-forage scenario for prey in landscapes with greater human influence (Rodewald et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape‐level patterns in fawn survival across North America

Gingery

Diefenbach

Wallingford³

et al. 2018

J Wildl Manag

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A landscape‐level meta‐analysis approach to examining early survival of ungulates may elucidate patterns in survival not evident from individual studies. Despite numerous efforts, the relationship between fawn survival and habitat characteristics remains unclear and there has been no attempt to examine trends in survival across landscape types with adequate replication. In 2015–2016, we radiomarked 98 white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns in 2 study areas in Pennsylvania. By using a meta‐analysis approach, we compared fawn survival estimates from across North America using published data from 29 populations in 16 states to identify patterns in survival and cause‐specific mortality related to landscape characteristics, predator communities, and deer population density. We modeled fawn survival relative to percentage of agricultural land cover and deer density. Estimated average survival to 3–6 months of age was 0.414 ± 0.062 (SE) in contiguous forest landscapes (no agriculture) and for every 10% increase in land area in agriculture, fawn survival increased 0.049 ± 0.014. We classified cause‐specific mortality as human‐caused, natural (excluding predation), and predation according to agriculturally dominated, forested, and mixed (i.e., both agricultural and forest cover) landscapes. Predation was the greatest source of mortality in all landscapes. Landscapes with mixed forest and agricultural cover had greater proportions and rates of human‐caused mortalities, and lower proportions and rates of mortality due to predators, when compared to forested landscapes. Proportion and rate of natural deaths did not differ among landscapes. We failed to detect any relationship between fawn survival and deer density. The results highlight the need to consider multiple spatial scales when accounting for factors that influence fawn survival. Furthermore, variation in mortality sources and rates among landscapes indicate the potential for altered landscape mosaics to influence fawn survival rates. Wildlife managers can use the meta‐analysis to identify factors that will facilitate comparisons of results among studies and advance a better understanding of patterns in fawn survival. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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“…In the southern portion of their North American range, wolverines appear to be tightly linked to the area defined by the presence of persistent spring snow (Aubry et al 2007, Copeland et al 2010, Inman et al 2013. The underlying ecological requirements that drive this close relationship may include denning requirements Copeland 1998, Copeland et al 2010), a dependence on scavenging large ungulate carcasses effectively preserved within and under the snowpack (Mattisson et al 2016), caching food (Inman et al 2012a), and competitor or predator avoidance (Mattisson et al 2016). Heim et al (2017) suggested that the association of wolverines to persistent spring snow makes them vulnerable to climate changes, and McKelvey et al (2011) predicted a 67% loss of wolverine habitat in the western United States by 2059 due to loss of snowpack.…”

Section: Cumulative Impacts Of Climate Change and Winter Recreationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wolverines in winter: indirect habitat loss and functional responses to backcountry recreation

et al. 2019

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Outdoor recreation is increasingly recognized to impact nature and wildlife, yet few studies have examined recreation within large natural landscapes that are critical habitat to some of our most rare and potentially disturbance‐sensitive species. Over six winters (2010–2015) and four study areas (>1.1 million ha) in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, we studied the responses of wolverines (Gulo gulo) to backcountry winter recreation. We fit Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to 24 individual wolverines and acquired >54,000 GPS locations over 39 animal‐years during winter (January–April). Simultaneously, we monitored winter recreation, collecting ~6000 GPS tracks (~200,000 km) from backcountry recreationists. We combined the GPS tracks with trail use counts and aerial recreation surveys to map the extent and relative intensity of motorized and non‐motorized recreation. We integrated our wolverine and backcountry recreation data to (1) assess patterns of wolverine habitat selection and (2) evaluate the effect of backcountry recreation on wolverine habitat relationships. We used resource selection functions to model habitat selection of male and female wolverines within their home ranges. We first modeled habitat selection for environmental covariates to understand male and female habitat use then incorporated winter recreation covariates. We assessed the potential for indirect habitat loss from winter recreation and tested for functional responses of wolverines to differing levels and types of recreation. Motorized recreation occurred at higher intensity across a larger footprint than non‐motorized recreation in most wolverine home ranges. Wolverines avoided areas of both motorized and non‐motorized winter recreation with off‐road recreation eliciting a stronger response than road‐based recreation. Female wolverines exhibited stronger avoidance of off‐road motorized recreation and experienced higher indirect habitat loss than male wolverines. Wolverines showed negative functional responses to the level of recreation exposure within the home range, with female wolverines showing the strongest functional response to motorized winter recreation. We suggest indirect habitat loss, particularly to females, could be of concern in areas with higher recreation levels. We speculate that the potential for backcountry winter recreation to affect wolverines may increase under climate change if reduced snow pack concentrates winter recreationists and wolverines in the remaining areas of persistent snow cover.

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Predation or Scavenging? Prey Body Condition Influences Decision‐Making in a Facultative Predator, the Wolverine

Cited by 21 publications

References 26 publications

The fluctuating world of a tundra predator guild: bottom‐up constraints overrule top‐down species interactions in winter

The fluctuating world of a tundra predator guild: bottom‐up constraints overrule top‐down species interactions in winter

Landscape‐level patterns in fawn survival across North America

Wolverines in winter: indirect habitat loss and functional responses to backcountry recreation

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