Wolf Predation on White-tailed Deer Before, During, and After a Historically Mild Winter in Northern Minnesota.

ABSTRACT: In many southern boreal ecosystems of North America, wolves are the primary predators of white-tailed deer, and white-tailed deer are the primary prey of wolves. Furthermore, wolf-deer systems have and will continue to become more common as white-tailed deer range continues expanding northward in North America. Despite this, there is little information on kill rates of wolves on deer (i.e., the number of deer killed per wolf per unit of time)-a fundamental metric of wolf predation on deer-and how kill rates vary with deer density, wolf density, and environmental conditions. We estimated kill rates of wolves on deer before, during, and after a historically mild winter in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, Minnesota, USA. Kill rates of wolves on deer were low (0.009-0.018 deer/wolf/day) in fal

SUBMITTER: Gable TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11570190 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature