The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems
Driving into Yellowstone National Park for the first time is a moving experience. Gazing over the sweeping landscapes, seeing a geyser erupt 80 feet into the air, and having your first ‘wildlife encounter’, whether that be a 2 ton bull bison aggressively wallowing on his dirt mound, snorting and kic...
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ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-6687 2023-12-24T10:15:52+01:00 The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems Tallian, Aimee 2017-05-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5629 https://doi.org/10.26076/53b2-2cc8 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/6687/viewcontent/2017_Tallian_Aimee.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@USU https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5629 doi:10.26076/53b2-2cc8 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/6687/viewcontent/2017_Tallian_Aimee.pdf Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023 behavior bison Canis lupus dangerous prey ecology predator-prey interactions Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Population Biology text 2017 ftutahsudc https://doi.org/10.26076/53b2-2cc8 2023-11-30T18:41:56Z Driving into Yellowstone National Park for the first time is a moving experience. Gazing over the sweeping landscapes, seeing a geyser erupt 80 feet into the air, and having your first ‘wildlife encounter’, whether that be a 2 ton bull bison aggressively wallowing on his dirt mound, snorting and kicking up dust, or watching a pack of 6 wolves move through a valley off in the distance, pausing to howl in search of their companions. Yellowstone staff wishes to manage our park in a way that preserves these remarkable experiences. In order to effectively manage this dynamic ecosystem, it is critical to thoroughly understand how different animal and plant species interact with each other and their environment. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995-1997 and park researchers and managers are still trying to understand how their presence impacts the ecosystem. In Yellowstone, wolves primarily prey on elk; however, predation on bison has started to increase in recent years. We still know little about how wolves hunt bison and what impacts wolves have had on how bison use their environment. The objective of this study was to better understand the behavioral and ecological interactions of wolves and bison, the most dangerous prey for wolves in North America. Since reintroduction, researchers have collected data on how wolves hunt both elk and bison. I used these data to understand 1) the conditions that allow wolves to capture their most dangerous prey, bison, 2) whether wolves have started preying on bison more often as the bison population increased, and 3) whether wolf reintroduction has limited bison use of Yellowstone’s most extreme high-elevation winter range. Finally, I collaborated with ecologists in Scandinavia to determine how wolf predation was affected by a competitor, the brown bear. My study adds to the current body of work addressing the effects of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone. This research is unique because it focuses on wolf bison interactions, about which little is known in this system. ... Text Canis lupus Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
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collection |
Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
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ftutahsudc |
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unknown |
topic |
behavior bison Canis lupus dangerous prey ecology predator-prey interactions Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Population Biology |
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behavior bison Canis lupus dangerous prey ecology predator-prey interactions Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Population Biology Tallian, Aimee The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems |
topic_facet |
behavior bison Canis lupus dangerous prey ecology predator-prey interactions Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Population Biology |
description |
Driving into Yellowstone National Park for the first time is a moving experience. Gazing over the sweeping landscapes, seeing a geyser erupt 80 feet into the air, and having your first ‘wildlife encounter’, whether that be a 2 ton bull bison aggressively wallowing on his dirt mound, snorting and kicking up dust, or watching a pack of 6 wolves move through a valley off in the distance, pausing to howl in search of their companions. Yellowstone staff wishes to manage our park in a way that preserves these remarkable experiences. In order to effectively manage this dynamic ecosystem, it is critical to thoroughly understand how different animal and plant species interact with each other and their environment. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995-1997 and park researchers and managers are still trying to understand how their presence impacts the ecosystem. In Yellowstone, wolves primarily prey on elk; however, predation on bison has started to increase in recent years. We still know little about how wolves hunt bison and what impacts wolves have had on how bison use their environment. The objective of this study was to better understand the behavioral and ecological interactions of wolves and bison, the most dangerous prey for wolves in North America. Since reintroduction, researchers have collected data on how wolves hunt both elk and bison. I used these data to understand 1) the conditions that allow wolves to capture their most dangerous prey, bison, 2) whether wolves have started preying on bison more often as the bison population increased, and 3) whether wolf reintroduction has limited bison use of Yellowstone’s most extreme high-elevation winter range. Finally, I collaborated with ecologists in Scandinavia to determine how wolf predation was affected by a competitor, the brown bear. My study adds to the current body of work addressing the effects of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone. This research is unique because it focuses on wolf bison interactions, about which little is known in this system. ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Tallian, Aimee |
author_facet |
Tallian, Aimee |
author_sort |
Tallian, Aimee |
title |
The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems |
title_short |
The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems |
title_full |
The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems |
title_fullStr |
The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-Level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems |
title_sort |
behavior and ecology of cursorial predators and dangerous prey: integrating behavioral mechanisms with population-level patterns in large mammal systems |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@USU |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5629 https://doi.org/10.26076/53b2-2cc8 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/6687/viewcontent/2017_Tallian_Aimee.pdf |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023 |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5629 doi:10.26076/53b2-2cc8 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/6687/viewcontent/2017_Tallian_Aimee.pdf |
op_rights |
Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26076/53b2-2cc8 |
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1786203069389733888 |