Wolf diet and prey selection in Croatia

Octenjak, Darija; Pađen, Lana; Šilić, Valentina; Reljić, Slaven; Vukičević, Tajana Trbojević; Kusak, Josip

doi:10.1007/s13364-020-00517-8

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Our results also suggest the preference of local wolf populations to either wild boar (Muráň Plateau NP) or red deer (Poloniny NP), while roe deer was always avoided i.e., being less consumed than its availability. These findings support the idea that wolf diet might vary depending on the environmental context, which contradicts previous works showing that wolves hunt the most abundant prey as in Poland [ 87 ], Romania [ 6 , 88 ], Italy [ 82 , 89 ], Spain [ 86 ] and Croatia [ 21 ]. However, wolf diet during summer might be different because in other parts of the Carpathians, high consumption of wild boar has been observed in winter but dropped considerably during summer [ 48 , 90 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

“…Despite the general geographic pattern in wolf diet throughout Europe, wolf may show local adaptations to other prey species depending on the availability of prey [ 19 , 20 ] and environmental conditions [ 21 , 22 ]. For example, opportunistic predators living in multiple prey systems tend to select the most abundant prey ( apostatic selection ) [ 23 ], and the pattern of selection is influenced by changes in prey availability [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians

et al. 2022

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The wolf is a generalist-opportunistic predator that displays diverse and remarkably adaptable feeding strategies across its range with local adaptations to certain prey species depending on their availability and vulnerability. The multi-prey system of the Slovak Carpathians supports important portion of the European wolf population; however, it has been markedly understudied. We evaluated winter diet composition and prey selection of Slovak wolves based on 321 scat samples collected between September–April within four different study areas during 2015–2017. The winter diet of wolves in the Slovak Carpathians was characterized by a 98% occurrence of wild large-sized and medium-sized ungulates with red deer occurring in wolf scats most often, consistent with their highest density among other wild ungulates. However, by comparing the consumption with availability of wild prey, we found that wolves in fact selected for wild boar especially in areas with higher altitudinal range, while selected for red deer in areas with low altitudinal range where this prey species was more spatially predictable. Although wolves showed the potential to switch between red deer and wild boar when their density increases, we found that this variation can be rather linked to changing prey vulnerability, which is dependent on particular environmental conditions at local scale such as topography and snow accumulation. The present study provides valuable insights into the winter foraging ecology of Slovak wolves in a multi-prey system of the Carpathians and allows for practical implications in the management of the rapidly increasing populations of wild ungulates across Europe.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians

et al. 2022

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“…Our results also suggest the preference of local wolf populations to either wild boar (in Muráň Plateau NP) or red deer (in Poloniny NP), while roe deer was always avoided, being less consumed than its availability. These findings support the idea that wolf diet might vary depending on the environmental context, which contradicts previous works showing that wolves hunt the most abundant prey as in Poland [87], Romania [6,88], Italy [82,89], Spain [86] and Croatia [21]. However, wolf diet during summer might be different because in other parts of the Carpathians, high consumption of wild boar has been observed in winter but dropped considerably during summer [48,90].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 47%

“…In this context, wolf damage to livestock production, as well as wolf depredation on hunting game species, is a constant source of conflict regarding coexistence with human activities [16][17][18]. Despite the general geographic pattern in wolf diet throughout Europe, wolf may show local adaptations to other prey species depending on the availability of prey [19] [20] and environmental conditions [21,22]. For example, opportunistic predators living in multiple prey systems tend to select the most abundant prey (apostatic selection) [23], and the pattern of selection is influenced by changes in prey availability [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians

Guimarães

Álvares²,

Ďurová

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The wolf is a generalist-opportunistic predator that displays diverse and remarkably adaptable feeding strategies across its range with local adaptations to certain prey species depending on their availability and vulnerability. The multi-prey system of the Slovak Carpathians supports important portion of the European wolf population; however, it has been markedly understudied. We evaluated winter diet composition and prey selection of Slovak wolves based on 321 scat samples collected between September – February within four different study areas during 2015 – 2017. The winter diet of wolves in the Slovak Carpathians was characterized by a 98% occurrence of wild large-sized and medium-sized ungulates with red deer occurring in wolf scats most often, consistent with their highest density among other wild ungulates. However, by comparing the consumption with availability of wild prey, we found that wolves in fact selected for wild boar especially in areas with higher altitudinal range, while selected for red deer in areas with low altitudinal range where this prey species was more spatially predictable. Although wolves showed the potential to switch between red deer and wild boar when their density increases, we found that this variation can be rather linked to changing prey vulnerability, which is dependent on particular environmental conditions at local scale such as topography and snow accumulation. The present study provides valuable insights into the winter foraging ecology of Slovak wolves in a multi-prey system of the Carpathians and allows for practical implications in the management of the rapidly increasing populations of wild ungulates across Europe.

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“…Our study adds further support for the west‐east population structure of Dinaric‐Balkan wolves, as previously observed for various taxa across the Balkans (e.g., Djan et al, 2014 ; Glasnović et al, 2018 ; Šnjegota et al, 2018 ; Sotiropoulos et al, 2007 ; Ursenbacher et al, 2008 ; Veličković et al, 2015 ). Numerous factors may contribute to the observed structure, and demographic history, landscape type, prey selection, wolf–dog hybridization, environmental, and ecological factors have all been reported to influence wolf population structure in Europe, North America, and Asia (e.g., Czarnomska et al, 2013 ; Djan et al, 2014 ; Jędrzejewski et al, 2012 ; Koblmüller et al, 2016 ; Kusak et al, 2000 ; Muñoz‐Fuentes et al, 2009 ; Octenjak et al, 2020 ; Pilot et al, 2006 , 2012 ; Schweizer et al, 2016 ; Stronen et al, 2015 ; Werhahn et al, 2018 ; vonHoldt et al, 2010 ). Furthermore, recent findings from wolves indicate that functional genetic variation can be linked to important environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation (Schweizer et al, 2016 ), and elevation (Werhahn et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric‐Balkan region

Šnjegota

Strønen

Boljte

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Wolf diet and prey selection in Croatia

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians

What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians

What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians

Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric‐Balkan region

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