Dietary Overlap Between Wolves and Coyotes in Northwestern Montana
We studied effects of recolonizing wolves ( Canis lupus ) in the North Fork of the Flathead area of northwestern Montana on the diets of coyotes ( C. latrans ) from 1994 to 1997. Wolf and coyote diets differed in frequency of occurrence of prey species during 3 of the 4 summers and winters ( P <...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2002
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| Online Access: | http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/83/3/754 https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0754:DOBWAC>2.0.CO;2 |
| Summary: | We studied effects of recolonizing wolves ( Canis lupus ) in the North Fork of the Flathead area of northwestern Montana on the diets of coyotes ( C. latrans ) from 1994 to 1997. Wolf and coyote diets differed in frequency of occurrence of prey species during 3 of the 4 summers and winters ( P < 0.001) during the study. Coyote diets contained more murid prey items, and wolf diets contained more deer ( Odocoileus virginianus and O. hemionus ) in the summer and elk ( Cervus elaphus ) in the winter. Coyotes and wolves ate prey of different size during both the summer ( P < 0.001) and winter ( P < 0.001) months in 1994–1996: wolves took a greater proportion ( P < 0.001) of large (>45 kg) prey species and coyotes, small (<2 kg) prey ( P < 0.001). Wolves selected a larger proportion of adults ( P < 0.001), whereas coyotes selected a larger proportion of juveniles ( P < 0.001) during summer. We believe that differential use of food resources facilitates coexistence of wolves and coyotes in the North Fork of the Flathead area. |
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