Social and nutritional factors influencing the dispersal of resident coyotes

Gese, Eric M.; Ruff, Robert L.; Crabtree, Robert L.

doi:10.1006/anbe.1996.0250

Cited by 132 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…On the VCNP, we found the territories of the resident coyote packs to be relatively stable both seasonally and annually, similar to other studies in high-elevation environments (Gese et al 1996a;Dowd et al 2014). Even when availability of various sized prey changed seasonally and annually (Gifford 2013), space use and social ecology of the coyote packs remained unchanged.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Our study provides insight into a high-elevation ecosystem with a predator-prey environment in which no anthropogenic predator removal is permitted, similar to studies on coyotes in several national parks (Murie 1940;Bekoff and Wells 1980;Gese et al 1996a). The Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) was federally purchased in 2000 as a ''unique land mass, with significant scientific, cultural, historic, recreational, ecological, wildlife, fisheries, and productive values'' with the specifics of management to be determined by a trust and board of trustees (Valles Caldera Preservation Act 2000).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Winter home ranges of coyotes in southwestern Montana (1300-to 2500-m elevation) were 11.02 km 2 ± 1.03 (SE), and were calculated using a 95 % fixed kernel (Atwood and Gese 2010). In Yellowstone, Gese et al (1996a) reported territory sizes ranged from 8.8 to 14.3 km 2 (mean 10.3 ± 0.42 SE) in the Lamar Valley. The size of resident pack territories of the VCNP did not vary significantly by season or year, consistent with previous studies (Camenzind 1978;Bowen 1982;Andelt 1985), though differences have been found between seasons in other studies (e.g., Gese et al 1988a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been numerous studies of coyote (Canis latrans) social and spatial ecology throughout North America (e.g., Messier and Barrette 1982;Andelt 1985;Mills and Knowlton 1991), but few studies have been conducted on coyotes at high elevations (e.g., Bekoff and Wells 1980;Bowen 1982;Gese et al 1996a;Dowd et al 2014). A general consensus of studies indicates coyote space use can be stable through time (Kitchen et al 2000a;Young et al 2006), but varies by geographic location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space use and social ecology of coyotes (Canis latrans) in a high-elevation ecosystem: relative stability in a changing environment

Gifford

Gese

Parmenter³

2016

J Ethol

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Coyote (Canis latrans) spatial and social ecology are variable, but have been little studied in high-elevation environments. In these temperate ecosystems, large ungulates are prevalent and coyote pack size may be large in order for them to scavenge and defend ungulate carcasses from conspecifics in neighboring packs. We initiated a study to understand the spatial and social ecology of coyotes on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, a high-elevation (2450-3400 m) protected area in northern New Mexico. Our objectives were to (1) describe the home range size and habitat use of coyotes in the preserve, (2) describe coyote movements within and outside of packs, and (3) to evaluate the relationship between coyote social cohesion and the amount of elk (Cervus elaphus) in the coyote diet. We acquired global positioning system and telemetry locations from 33 coyotes from August 2005 to July 2009. We classified 23 coyotes (70 % of individuals) as residents (i.e., territorial) during at least part of the study and ten coyotes (30 %) as transients. Overall mean home range size of resident packs was 10.6 ± 2.2 (SD) km 2 . Home range size varied between packs, but did not vary by season or year. Coyotes used dry and wet meadow habitats as expected based on availability; coyotes used riparian habitat more than expected, and forests less than expected. Social cohesion did not vary among biological seasons. Alpha coyotes were more socially cohesive with each other than with other pack members, and a transient exhibited temporal-spatial avoidance of pack members while inside the pack's territory followed by integration into the pack. Contrary to expectations, we found no relationship between coyote social cohesion and the proportion of elk in coyote diets. We concluded that coyote space use and sociality on the preserve were relatively stable year-round despite changes in biological needs, snow depth, and utilization of variously sized prey.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Space use and social ecology of coyotes (Canis latrans) in a high-elevation ecosystem: relative stability in a changing environment

Gifford

Gese

Parmenter³

2016

J Ethol

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“…Coyotes in this region have home ranges of 13.12 ( 1.59) km 2 (Berger and Gese 2007), with dispersal to adjacent packs over 40 km (Gese et al 1996). The targeted removal site was 80 and 66 km from the non-targeted and no removal sites, respectively.…”

Section: Coyote Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%