Food habits and trophic niche overlap of the Wolf Canis lupus L. 1758 and the Red fox Vulpes vulpes (L.1758) in a Mediterranean mountain area

Patalano, Marianna; Lovari, Sandro

doi:10.3406/revec.1993.2107

Cited by 19 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In our study area, its trophic niche includes resources ranging from fruits to invertebrates, to small-medium-sized vertebrates and to ungulates [ 13 , 36 ]. The red fox is a major consumer of carcasses of wolf prey [ 85 , 101 ], potentially showing an overlap with the wolf diet concerning the use of ungulates [ 4 , 73 ]. Preliminary work in our study area showed increased use of ungulate carcasses by foxes in respect to times when the wolf was absent [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between carnivore species: limited spatiotemporal partitioning between apex predator and smaller carnivores in a Mediterranean protected area

Ferretti,

Oliveira,

Rossa

et al. 2023

Front Zool

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Background There is need of information on ecological interactions that keystone species such as apex predators establish in ecosystems recently recolonised. Interactions among carnivore species have the potential to influence community-level processes, with consequences for ecosystem dynamics. Although avoidance of apex predators by smaller carnivores has been reported, there is increasing evidence that the potential for competitive-to-facilitative interactions is context-dependent. In a protected area recently recolonised by the wolf Canis lupus and hosting abundant wild prey (3 ungulate species, 20–30 individuals/km2, together), we used 5-year food habit analyses and 3-year camera trapping to (i) investigate the role of mesocarnivores (4 species) in the wolf diet; (ii) test for temporal, spatial, and fine-scale spatiotemporal association between mesocarnivores and the wolf. Results Wolf diet was dominated by large herbivores (86% occurrences, N = 2201 scats), with mesocarnivores occurring in 2% scats. We collected 12,808 carnivore detections over > 19,000 camera trapping days. We found substantial (i.e., generally ≥ 0.75, 0–1 scale) temporal overlap between mesocarnivores—in particular red fox—and the wolf, with no support for negative temporal or spatial associations between mesocarnivore and wolf detection rates. All the species were nocturnal/crepuscular and results suggested a minor role of human activity in modifying interspecific spatiotemporal partitioning. Conclusions Results suggest that the local great availability of large prey to wolves limited negative interactions towards smaller carnivores, thus reducing the potential for spatiotemporal avoidance. Our study emphasises that avoidance patterns leading to substantial spatiotemporal partitioning are not ubiquitous in carnivore guilds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between carnivore species: limited spatiotemporal partitioning between apex predator and smaller carnivores in a Mediterranean protected area

Ferretti,

Oliveira,

Rossa

et al. 2023

Front Zool

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“…Despite the strong possibility of wolves scavenging horses that died of other causes (i.e., scavenging is less risky than predation), predation of winter-weakened or newborn horses by wolves is likely. Predation could be expected, given the deep evolutionary history of wolves as predators of ungulates (Mech et al 2015), the occurrence of horse in scats throughout the year in our combined study areas, and the documentation of wolves hunting free-ranging horses and/or ponies elsewhere (Patalano and Lovari 1993;Meriggi and Lovari 1996;Vos 2000;van Duyne et al 2009;Webb 2009;Dorj and Namkhai 2013;Newsome et al 2016;Lagos and Bárcena 2018;Chetri et al 2019). Thus, we hypothesize that at least some of the horse in the wolf diet is from predation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Gray Wolves in Alberta's Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve are known to hunt free-ranging horses (Webb 2009;Webb et al 2009). Studies in Europe (Patalano and Lovari 1993;Meriggi and Lovari 1996;Vos 2000;Lagos and Bárcena 2018) and Asia (van Duyne et al 2009;Dorj and Namkhai 2013;Newsome et al 2016;Chetri et al 2019) also report wolves hunting freeranging horses and/or ponies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Gray Wolves (<i>Canis lupus</i>) consume free-ranging horses (<i>Equus ferus caballus</i>) on the Chilcotin plateau, British Columbia

Parr

McCrory²

2023

Can Field Nat

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We analyzed 122 Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) scats, collected at all seasons during 2013–2017, to determine what wolves were eating in two adjacent study areas of the Chilcotin region, British Columbia: Brittany Triangle and Nemiah Valley. Free-ranging horses (Equus ferus caballus), Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus), Moose (Alces americanus), and small mammals contributed to wolf diet throughout the year. In both study areas, horse appeared more frequently than other species in occurrence-per-faeces (OF) and occurrence-per-item (OI) analyses. Horse occurred in 58 of 97 wolf scats from Brittany (OF 59.8%, OI 52.7%), deer in 26 (OF 26.8%, OI 23.6%), small mammals in 17 (OF 17.5%, OI 17.3%), Moose in four (OF 4.1%, OI 3.6%), and bird and fish minimally (both OF <2.5%, OI <2.5%). The sample size in the more human-developed Nemiah Valley was too small to estimate reliable patterns, but results suggest a similar ranking of dietary items. Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus), available in both study areas, appeared infrequently (combined area OF <3.5%, OI <3.0%). Based on our scat findings, free-ranging horses were a regular dietary item for wolves in the area. Studies elsewhere have found that, where wolves and free-ranging horses are sympatric, a predator–prey relationship exists.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lepitzki¹

2023

Can Field Nat

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Promoting the study and conservation of northern biodiversity since 1880The Ottawa Field-Naturalists ' Club Founded 1863 (Current Incorporation 1879 The objectives of this Club shall be to promote the appreciation, preservation, and conservation of Canada's natural heritage; to encourage investigation and publish the results of research in all fields of natural history and to diffuse information on these fields as widely as possible; to support and cooperate with organizations engaged in preserving, maintaining, or restoring environments of high quality for living things.

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Food habits and trophic niche overlap of the Wolf Canis lupus L. 1758 and the Red fox Vulpes vulpes (L.1758) in a Mediterranean mountain area

Abstract: Very few comparative studies have been carried out simultaneously on the di et of wolves and red foxes living in a same area (Macdonald et al. , 1980 ;Reig et al. , 1985).While there is a wealth of data on the fo od habits of the Fox in a variety of Mediterranean areas (e.g.

Cited by 19 publications

References 10 publications

Interactions between carnivore species: limited spatiotemporal partitioning between apex predator and smaller carnivores in a Mediterranean protected area

Interactions between carnivore species: limited spatiotemporal partitioning between apex predator and smaller carnivores in a Mediterranean protected area

Gray Wolves (<i>Canis lupus</i>) consume free-ranging horses (<i>Equus ferus caballus</i>) on the Chilcotin plateau, British Columbia

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