Interference competition between wolves and coyotes during variable prey abundance ...
Interference competition occurs when two species have similar resource requirements and one species is dominant and can suppress or exclude the subordinate species. Wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (C. latrans) are sympatric across much of their range in North America where white-tailed deer (Odocoi...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Dataset |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Dryad
2020
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4f4qrfj9w https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.4f4qrfj9w |
Summary: | Interference competition occurs when two species have similar resource requirements and one species is dominant and can suppress or exclude the subordinate species. Wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (C. latrans) are sympatric across much of their range in North America where white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can be an important prey species. We assessed the extent of niche overlap between wolves and coyotes using activity, diet, and space use as evidence for interference competition during 3 periods related to the availability of white-tailed deer fawns in the Upper Great Lakes region of the USA. We assessed activity overlap (Δ) with data from accelerometers onboard global positioning system (GPS) collars worn by wolves (n = 11) and coyotes (n = 13). We analyzed wolf and coyote scat to estimate dietary breadth (B) and food niche overlap (α). We used resource utilization functions (RUFs) with canid GPS location data, white-tailed deer RUFs, ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and snowshoe hare (Lepus ... |
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