Predatory senescence in ageing wolves
It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we u...
Published in: | Ecology Letters |
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2009
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ftmichigantuniv:oai:digitalcommons.mtu.edu:michigantech-p-30648 2023-05-15T15:50:09+02:00 Predatory senescence in ageing wolves MacNulty, Daniel R. Smith, Douglas W. Vucetich, John A. Mech, L. David Stahler, Daniel R. Packer, Craig 2009-12-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/11346 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x unknown Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/11346 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x Michigan Tech Publications Age structure Ageing Elk Hunting ability Life history Predator-prey interaction Senescence Serum albumin Survival Wolf text 2009 ftmichigantuniv https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x 2022-03-03T18:38:18Z It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have different impacts on prey populations. These findings suggest that predatory senescence is an important, though overlooked, factor affecting predator-prey dynamics. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS. Text Canis lupus Michigan Technological University: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Ecology Letters 12 12 1347 1356 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Michigan Technological University: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech |
op_collection_id |
ftmichigantuniv |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Age structure Ageing Elk Hunting ability Life history Predator-prey interaction Senescence Serum albumin Survival Wolf |
spellingShingle |
Age structure Ageing Elk Hunting ability Life history Predator-prey interaction Senescence Serum albumin Survival Wolf MacNulty, Daniel R. Smith, Douglas W. Vucetich, John A. Mech, L. David Stahler, Daniel R. Packer, Craig Predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
topic_facet |
Age structure Ageing Elk Hunting ability Life history Predator-prey interaction Senescence Serum albumin Survival Wolf |
description |
It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have different impacts on prey populations. These findings suggest that predatory senescence is an important, though overlooked, factor affecting predator-prey dynamics. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS. |
format |
Text |
author |
MacNulty, Daniel R. Smith, Douglas W. Vucetich, John A. Mech, L. David Stahler, Daniel R. Packer, Craig |
author_facet |
MacNulty, Daniel R. Smith, Douglas W. Vucetich, John A. Mech, L. David Stahler, Daniel R. Packer, Craig |
author_sort |
MacNulty, Daniel R. |
title |
Predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
title_short |
Predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
title_full |
Predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
title_fullStr |
Predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
title_full_unstemmed |
Predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
title_sort |
predatory senescence in ageing wolves |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/11346 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Michigan Tech Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/11346 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x |
container_title |
Ecology Letters |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
1347 |
op_container_end_page |
1356 |
_version_ |
1766385128328658944 |