The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale
Large carnivores are being globally reintroduced with the goal of restoring ecological interactions. However, the extent that competitive interactions are restored within communities is often unclear. In a before–after study within Isle Royale National Park (in the US state of Michigan), we quantifi...
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crwiley:10.1002/fee.2750 2024-09-15T17:38:39+00:00 The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale Rodriguez Curras, Mauriel Romanski, Mark C Pauli, Jonathan N 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fee.2750 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/fee.2750 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment volume 22, issue 6 ISSN 1540-9295 1540-9309 journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2750 2024-08-06T04:16:03Z Large carnivores are being globally reintroduced with the goal of restoring ecological interactions. However, the extent that competitive interactions are restored within communities is often unclear. In a before–after study within Isle Royale National Park (in the US state of Michigan), we quantified the spatial, behavioral, trophic, and demographic effects of the reintroduction of a large carnivore (gray wolf; Canis lupus ) on meso‐carnivores (red fox; Vulpes vulpes ) and small carnivores (American marten; Martes americana ). The wolf reintroduction produced a phase‐dependent pulse perturbation: wolves constrained the distribution of foxes, thereby benefiting martens, yet foxes altered their behavior, notably using human‐provided resource subsidies (campsites and food) more frequently, which buffered demographic consequences. Once wolf packs coalesced, all observed changes subsided, and competitive interactions returned to their pre‐wolf values. Our results show that some predicted—and often desired—consequences of large carnivore reintroductions may not be permanent due to the transitory dynamics of social carnivores and the presence of humans, even within a “pristine wilderness”. Article in Journal/Newspaper American marten Canis lupus gray wolf Martes americana Wiley Online Library Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 22 6 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Large carnivores are being globally reintroduced with the goal of restoring ecological interactions. However, the extent that competitive interactions are restored within communities is often unclear. In a before–after study within Isle Royale National Park (in the US state of Michigan), we quantified the spatial, behavioral, trophic, and demographic effects of the reintroduction of a large carnivore (gray wolf; Canis lupus ) on meso‐carnivores (red fox; Vulpes vulpes ) and small carnivores (American marten; Martes americana ). The wolf reintroduction produced a phase‐dependent pulse perturbation: wolves constrained the distribution of foxes, thereby benefiting martens, yet foxes altered their behavior, notably using human‐provided resource subsidies (campsites and food) more frequently, which buffered demographic consequences. Once wolf packs coalesced, all observed changes subsided, and competitive interactions returned to their pre‐wolf values. Our results show that some predicted—and often desired—consequences of large carnivore reintroductions may not be permanent due to the transitory dynamics of social carnivores and the presence of humans, even within a “pristine wilderness”. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rodriguez Curras, Mauriel Romanski, Mark C Pauli, Jonathan N |
spellingShingle |
Rodriguez Curras, Mauriel Romanski, Mark C Pauli, Jonathan N The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale |
author_facet |
Rodriguez Curras, Mauriel Romanski, Mark C Pauli, Jonathan N |
author_sort |
Rodriguez Curras, Mauriel |
title |
The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale |
title_short |
The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale |
title_full |
The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale |
title_fullStr |
The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale |
title_full_unstemmed |
The pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of Isle Royale |
title_sort |
pulsed effects of reintroducing wolves on the carnivore community of isle royale |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fee.2750 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/fee.2750 |
genre |
American marten Canis lupus gray wolf Martes americana |
genre_facet |
American marten Canis lupus gray wolf Martes americana |
op_source |
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment volume 22, issue 6 ISSN 1540-9295 1540-9309 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2750 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |
container_volume |
22 |
container_issue |
6 |
_version_ |
1810474563254878208 |