The trophic ecology of wolves and their predatory role in ungulate communities of forest ecosystems in Europe

Abstract

H. 1995. The trophic ecology of wolves and their predatory role in ungulate communities of forest ecosystems in Europe. Acta Theriologica 40: 335-386.Predation by wolves Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 in ungulate communities in Europe, with special reference to the multi-species system o f Białowieża Primeval Forest (Poland/Belarus), was assessed on the basis results of original research and literature. In historical times (post-glacial period), the geographical range of the w olf and most ungulate species in Europe decreased considerably. Community richness of ungulates and potential prey for wolves, decreased over most o f the continent from 5 -6 species to 2 -3 species. The w olf is typically an opportunistic predator with a highly diverse diet; however, cervids are its preferred prey. Red deer Ceruus elaphus are positively selected from ungulate communities in all localities, moose Alces alces are the major prey only where middle-sized species are scarce. Roe deer Capreolus capreolus are locally preyed on intensively, especially where they have high density, co-exist mainly with moose or wild boar Sus scrofa, and red deer is scarce or absent. Wild boar are generally avoided, except in a few locations; and European bison Bison bonasus are not preyed upon by wolves. W olf predation contributes substantially to the total natural mortality of ungulates in Europe: 42.5% for red deer, 34.5% for moose, 25.7% for roe der, and only 16% for wild boar. Food niche breadth (B) o f wolves in Europe, calculated only for the ungulates considered in this study, increases with the number o f ungulate species in the community. There is also a significant rela tionship between ungulate community breadth and food niche breadth of wolves. Food niche breadth o f wolves, however, does not achieve very high values even in the richest ungulate communities. Wolves easily adapt to locally abundant food of anthropogenic origin (livestock, garbage). The level of predation on livestock may be a result of different husbandry practices (eg use of livestock guarding dogs) rather than of differences in availability of wild and domestic prey. Available data from Europe suggest that wolves likely limit density of red deer and moose in some areas. Roe deer density can be decreased locally by wolves but is limited mainly by lynx Lynx lynx. Wild boar density is more influenced by mast crops of Quercus spp. and Fagus siluatica (and to a lesser extent by snow depth) than by w olf predation.

Diet composition of wolves Canis lupus in east-central Finland

“…Moose is the only wild ungulate in the study area (Helle et al 1997), and we hypothesized moose to be the major food source for the wolves in accordance with the findings of the majority of wolf diet studies, revealing that ungulates are the primary prey of wolves (eg Okarma 1995). As recommended by Ciucci et al (1996) we used more than one scat-analysis method, since comparison of results and interpretation of possible discrepancies help to avoid misleading conclusion by relying on a single method.…”

“…Wolf diet studies conducted in Europe reveal that wolves Canis lupus often consume a wide spectrum of different prey species, but the major food source is wild ungulates (eg Okarma 1995, Olsson et al 1997. In our study area the dependence of wolves on ungulates was also clearly demonstrated, as moose was found to constitute far the most important food source in both summer and winter.…”

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

“…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).…”

Predation of Eurasian lynx on roe deer and red deer in Bialowieza Primeral Forest, Poland

“…For instance, in the forests of Europe, up to five coexisting species of ungulates are subject to predation by (most typically) three large carnivores (eg Okarma 1995, to say nothing of the temperate forests in the Russian Far East (eg Sikhote-Alin Reserve), where seven large carnivores coexist with seven species of ungulates (Rakov 1979). A diverse spectrum of potential prey most likely affects both functional and numerical responses by predators, and -in consequence -the total predation rates.…”