Winter diets of wolfCanis lupus and lynxLynx lynx in Estonia and Latvia

Valdmann, Harri; Andersone-Lilley, Zanete; Koppa, Ott; Ozoliņš, Jurijs; Bagrade, Guna

doi:10.1007/bf03192645

Cited by 43 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The few studies conducted in the Baltic region (Valdmann et al, 1998(Valdmann et al, , 2005Andersone, 1999;Andersone & Ozoliņš, 2004) confirm the existing knowledge; however, they have significant implications related to the species conservation policy.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Food habits of the wolfCanis lupusin Latvia based on stomach analyses

Žunna¹,

Ozoliņš²,

Pupila³

2009

Estonian J. Ecol.

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The diet of Canis lupus in Latvia was studied from December 2001 to April 2008 based on analyses of 165 stomachs. Wild ungulates (cervids and wild boar) were the main food of the wolves. Cervids were found in 64.7% of the samples (69.7% of the biomass), wild boar in 25.9% of the samples (22.6% of the biomass), and beavers in 8.6% of the samples (6.4% of the biomass). The average mass of stomach contents was 824.1 g. Empty stomachs made up 26.7% of all stomachs. Statistically significant differences were found comparing variances of stomach content biomass between 1-2-year-old and adult animals and also in beaver remains in the diet of male and female wolves (12.9% and 3.2% of the stomach content biomass, respectively). There were no other significant differences in the diet composition, stomach content biomass, and percentage of empty stomachs among age groups, between sexes, and between eastern and western parts of Latvia. Interpretation and implications to wolf conservation policy based on the given results are suggested.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Food habits of the wolfCanis lupusin Latvia based on stomach analyses

Žunna¹,

Ozoliņš²,

Pupila³

2009

Estonian J. Ecol.

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“…Although the majority of feeding is carried out during winter to decrease mortality during the coldest months, some supplementary feeding also occurs in summer, with the intention of keeping animals within the borders of particular hunting districts. In Estonia, wild boar is a preferred prey item for wolf (Canis lupus) (Valdmann et al 1998) and may occasionally be preyed upon by brown bear (Ursus arctos) (Vulla et al 2009) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) (Valdmann et al 2005). However, in general, large carnivores are not very abundant in Estonia and seem unlikely to be capable of limiting boar numbers-the number of wolves in Estonia is kept below 200.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 97%

Winter severity or supplementary feeding—which matters more for wild boar?

2014

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During recent decades, wild boar have successfully colonised areas previously believed to be unsuitable for the species. Estonia lies close to the northern limit of the species range, and mast foods, which are a common natural food source for many wild boar populations, are practically absent. We hypothesised that the proportion of cultivated area and especially supplementary feeding, which is widely used in Estonia to lower the winter mortality of game species, play important roles in sustaining the local wild boar population. To determine the most important factors shaping the abundance of wild boar in a northern environment, we developed mixed models to account for variation in an index of wild boar abundance (AI) based on winter track counts. The abundance of supplementary feeding sites and mean January temperature were the most important factors determining wild boar winter abundance. We conclude that the current high local population density is sustained by intensive supplementary feeding, which has exceeded the limiting effect of harsh winters.

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“…Several studies have demonstrated that, where natural conditions are present, wild ungulates are staple Table 1 Red fox and wolf annual and seasonal diets in Alpe di Catenaia, Italian Apennines. Data are expressed as average volume (AV%) and frequency of occurrence (FO% in brackets prey for wolves Capitani et al 2004;Gazzola et al 2005;Valdmann et al 2005). Although studies conducted in Central European regions showed that, among wild ungulates, wolves preferred cervids (Jędrzejewska et al 1994;Okarma et al 1998), several studies in Italy Mattioli et al 1995Mattioli et al , 2011 pointed out that wild boar was the most important prey for wolf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic niche overlap and wild ungulate consumption by red fox and wolf in a mountain area in Italy

et al. 2012

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a b s t r a c tRed fox (Vulpes vulpes) and wolf (Canis lupus) are two widespread opportunistic predators living in simpatry in many areas. Nonetheless, scarce information are available on their trophic interactions. We investigated food habits of these two carnivores in a mountain area in Italy and assessed the extent of their trophic niche overlap, focusing on the consumption of wild ungulates. Thereby we analyzed the content of 669 red fox scats and 253 wolf scats collected between May 2008 and April 2009. Red foxes resulted to have a more than three times higher niche breadth than wolves. Vegetables, small mammals, wild ungulates, and invertebrates were major items (altogether 92% of volume) of the red fox annual diet. On the contrary wolf annual diet relied on wild ungulates (94% of volume) with wild boar (Sus scrofa) being the main food item. The degree of trophic niche overlap between the two species was found to be low (Pianka's O = 0.356). Diet variation between the warm and the cold seasons was limited in both species, and higher in red fox than in wolf. The two canids appeared to use wild ungulates unevenly being the former more selective for younger preys, smaller in size (newborn piglets and roe deer Capreolus capreolus fawns), whereas the latter exhibited a preference for medium-sized and large ungulates (10-35 kg wild boar and adult roe deer). Even if wild ungulates represent the main shared food category, the different use of age/weight classes by the two predators, together with their possible consumption as carrions by red fox, suggests a very limited trophic competition between wolf and red fox.This study represents a contribution to the knowledge of trophic interaction in predator-prey systems where sympatric carnivores are present.

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Winter diets of wolfCanis lupus and lynxLynx lynx in Estonia and Latvia

Cited by 43 publications

References 20 publications

Food habits of the wolfCanis lupusin Latvia based on stomach analyses

Food habits of the wolfCanis lupusin Latvia based on stomach analyses

Winter severity or supplementary feeding—which matters more for wild boar?

Trophic niche overlap and wild ungulate consumption by red fox and wolf in a mountain area in Italy

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