The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem
Through global positioning system (GPS) collar locations, remote cameras, field observations and the first wild wolf to be GPS-collared with a camera collar, we describe when, where and how wolves fish in a freshwater ecosystem. From 2017 to 2021, we recorded more than 10 wolves ( Canis lupus ) hunt...
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2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230210 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.230210 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.230210 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.230210 2024-06-02T08:05:02+00:00 The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem Freund, Danielle R. Gable, Thomas D. Johnson-Bice, Sean M. Homkes, Austin T. Windels, Steve K. Bump, Joseph K. Vectronic-Aerospace Arc'teryx Voyageurs Conservancy University of Minnesota Van Sloan Foundation The 06 Legacy National Wolfwatcher Coalition Northern Michigan University Rainy Lake Conservancy NSF Wolf Conservation Center International Wolf Center Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund National Park Service Wildlife Science Center 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230210 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.230210 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.230210 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 5 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2023 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230210 2024-05-07T14:16:39Z Through global positioning system (GPS) collar locations, remote cameras, field observations and the first wild wolf to be GPS-collared with a camera collar, we describe when, where and how wolves fish in a freshwater ecosystem. From 2017 to 2021, we recorded more than 10 wolves ( Canis lupus ) hunting fish during the spring spawning season in northern Minnesota, USA. Wolves ambushed fish in creeks at night when spawning fish were abundant, available and vulnerable in shallow waters. We observed wolves specifically targeting sections of rivers below beaver ( Castor canadensis ) dams, suggesting that beavers may indirectly facilitate wolf fishing behaviour. Wolves also cached fish on shorelines. We documented these findings across five different social groups at four distinct waterways, suggesting that wolf fishing behaviour may be widespread in similar ecosystems but has probably remained difficult to study given its annual brevity. Spawning fish may serve as a valuable pulsed resource for packs because the spring spawning season coincides with low primary prey (deer Odocoileus virginianus) availability and abundance, and when packs have higher energetic demands owing to newly born pups. We demonstrate the flexibility and adaptability of wolf hunting and foraging behaviour, and provide insight into how wolves can survive in a myriad of ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus The Royal Society Royal Society Open Science 10 5 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Through global positioning system (GPS) collar locations, remote cameras, field observations and the first wild wolf to be GPS-collared with a camera collar, we describe when, where and how wolves fish in a freshwater ecosystem. From 2017 to 2021, we recorded more than 10 wolves ( Canis lupus ) hunting fish during the spring spawning season in northern Minnesota, USA. Wolves ambushed fish in creeks at night when spawning fish were abundant, available and vulnerable in shallow waters. We observed wolves specifically targeting sections of rivers below beaver ( Castor canadensis ) dams, suggesting that beavers may indirectly facilitate wolf fishing behaviour. Wolves also cached fish on shorelines. We documented these findings across five different social groups at four distinct waterways, suggesting that wolf fishing behaviour may be widespread in similar ecosystems but has probably remained difficult to study given its annual brevity. Spawning fish may serve as a valuable pulsed resource for packs because the spring spawning season coincides with low primary prey (deer Odocoileus virginianus) availability and abundance, and when packs have higher energetic demands owing to newly born pups. We demonstrate the flexibility and adaptability of wolf hunting and foraging behaviour, and provide insight into how wolves can survive in a myriad of ecosystems. |
author2 |
Vectronic-Aerospace Arc'teryx Voyageurs Conservancy University of Minnesota Van Sloan Foundation The 06 Legacy National Wolfwatcher Coalition Northern Michigan University Rainy Lake Conservancy NSF Wolf Conservation Center International Wolf Center Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund National Park Service Wildlife Science Center |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Freund, Danielle R. Gable, Thomas D. Johnson-Bice, Sean M. Homkes, Austin T. Windels, Steve K. Bump, Joseph K. |
spellingShingle |
Freund, Danielle R. Gable, Thomas D. Johnson-Bice, Sean M. Homkes, Austin T. Windels, Steve K. Bump, Joseph K. The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
author_facet |
Freund, Danielle R. Gable, Thomas D. Johnson-Bice, Sean M. Homkes, Austin T. Windels, Steve K. Bump, Joseph K. |
author_sort |
Freund, Danielle R. |
title |
The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
title_short |
The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
title_full |
The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
The ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
title_sort |
ethology of wolves foraging on freshwater fish in a boreal ecosystem |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230210 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.230210 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.230210 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 5 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230210 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
5 |
_version_ |
1800749782372712448 |