Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations
Large predators often are believed to cause declines in hunter harvests of ungulates due to direct competition for prey with hunters. In Alberta, predators of elk ( Cervus elaphus ), including grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos ), cougar ( Puma concolor ), and wolf ( Canis lupus ), have increased in recent...
Published in: | PLOS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 |
id |
crplos:10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crplos:10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 2024-05-19T07:38:42+00:00 Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations Trump, Tyler Knopff, Kyle Morehouse, Andrea Boyce, Mark S. Bishop, Chad Alberta Conservation Association Alberta Fish and Game Association Safari Club International-Northern Alberta Chapter 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 en eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ PLOS ONE volume 17, issue 10, page e0269407 ISSN 1932-6203 journal-article 2022 crplos https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 2024-05-01T07:08:08Z Large predators often are believed to cause declines in hunter harvests of ungulates due to direct competition for prey with hunters. In Alberta, predators of elk ( Cervus elaphus ), including grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos ), cougar ( Puma concolor ), and wolf ( Canis lupus ), have increased in recent years. We used trend analysis replicated by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) to examine regional trends in elk harvest and hunter success. Over a 26-yr period, average harvest of elk increased by 5.46% per year for unrestricted bull and by 6.64% per year for limited-quota seasons. Also, over the same time frame, average hunter success increased by 0.2% per year for unrestricted bull and by 0.3% per year for limited-quota seasons, but no trend was detected in hunter effort (P>0.05). Our results show that increasing large-predator populations do not necessarily reduce hunter harvest of elk, and we only found evidence for this in Alberta’s mountain WMUs where predation on elk calves has reduced recruitment. Furthermore, data indicate that Alberta’s elk harvest management has been sustainable, i.e., hunting has continued while populations of elk have increased throughout most of the province. Wildlife agencies can justify commitments to long-term population monitoring because data allow adaptive management and can inform stakeholders on the status of populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Ursus arctos PLOS PLOS ONE 17 10 e0269407 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PLOS |
op_collection_id |
crplos |
language |
English |
description |
Large predators often are believed to cause declines in hunter harvests of ungulates due to direct competition for prey with hunters. In Alberta, predators of elk ( Cervus elaphus ), including grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos ), cougar ( Puma concolor ), and wolf ( Canis lupus ), have increased in recent years. We used trend analysis replicated by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) to examine regional trends in elk harvest and hunter success. Over a 26-yr period, average harvest of elk increased by 5.46% per year for unrestricted bull and by 6.64% per year for limited-quota seasons. Also, over the same time frame, average hunter success increased by 0.2% per year for unrestricted bull and by 0.3% per year for limited-quota seasons, but no trend was detected in hunter effort (P>0.05). Our results show that increasing large-predator populations do not necessarily reduce hunter harvest of elk, and we only found evidence for this in Alberta’s mountain WMUs where predation on elk calves has reduced recruitment. Furthermore, data indicate that Alberta’s elk harvest management has been sustainable, i.e., hunting has continued while populations of elk have increased throughout most of the province. Wildlife agencies can justify commitments to long-term population monitoring because data allow adaptive management and can inform stakeholders on the status of populations. |
author2 |
Bishop, Chad Alberta Conservation Association Alberta Fish and Game Association Safari Club International-Northern Alberta Chapter |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Trump, Tyler Knopff, Kyle Morehouse, Andrea Boyce, Mark S. |
spellingShingle |
Trump, Tyler Knopff, Kyle Morehouse, Andrea Boyce, Mark S. Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations |
author_facet |
Trump, Tyler Knopff, Kyle Morehouse, Andrea Boyce, Mark S. |
author_sort |
Trump, Tyler |
title |
Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations |
title_short |
Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations |
title_full |
Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations |
title_fullStr |
Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sustainable elk harvests in Alberta with increasing predator populations |
title_sort |
sustainable elk harvests in alberta with increasing predator populations |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 |
genre |
Canis lupus Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Ursus arctos |
op_source |
PLOS ONE volume 17, issue 10, page e0269407 ISSN 1932-6203 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269407 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
e0269407 |
_version_ |
1799478171686404096 |