Author : Hans W. Martin
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 42 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (13 download)
Book Synopsis Factors Affecting Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) Encounter Rate with Elk (Cervus Elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park by : Hans W. Martin
Download or read book Factors Affecting Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) Encounter Rate with Elk (Cervus Elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park written by Hans W. Martin and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite encounter rates being a key component of kill rate, few studies of large carnivore predation have quantified encounter rates with prey, the factors that influence them, and the relationship between encounter rate and kill rate. The study's primary motivation was to determine the relationship between prey density and encounter rate in understanding the mechanism behind the functional response. Elk (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) population decline and variable weather in northern Yellowstone National Park (YNP) provided an opportunity to examine how these factors influenced wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) encounter rates with elk. We explored how factors associated with wolfkill rate and encounter rate in other systems (season, elk density, elk-group density, average elk-group size, snow depth, wolf-pack size and territory size) influenced wolf-elk encounter rate in YNP. Elk density was the only factor significantly correlated with wolfelk encounter rate, and we found a non-linear density-dependent relationship which may be a mechanism for a functional response in this system. Encounter rate was correlated with number of elk killed during early winter, but not late winter. Weak effects of snow depth and elk group size on encounter rate suggest that these factors influence kill rate via hunting success because kill rate is the product of hunting success and encounter rate.