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Hayward MW, Mitchell CD, Kamler JF, Rippon P, Heit DR, Nams V, Montgomery RA. Diet selection in the Coyote Canis latrans. J Mammal 2023; 104:1338-1352. [PMID: 38059008 PMCID: PMC10697429 DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyad094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The Coyote (Canis latrans) is one of the most studied species in North America with at least 445 papers on its diet alone. While this research has yielded excellent reviews of what coyotes eat, it has been inadequate to draw deeper conclusions because no synthesis to date has considered prey availability. We accounted for prey availability by investigating the prey selection of coyotes across its distribution using the traditional Jacobs' index method, as well as the new iterative preference averaging (IPA) method on scats and biomass. We found that coyotes selected for Dall's Sheep (Ovis dalli), White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), and California Vole (Microtus californicus), which yielded a predator-to-preferred prey mass ratio of 1:2. We also found that coyotes avoided preying on other small mammals, including carnivorans and arboreal species. There was strong concordance between the traditional and IPA method on scats, but this pattern was weakened when biomass was considered. General linear models revealed that coyotes preferred to prey upon larger species that were riskier to hunt, reflecting their ability to hunt in groups, and were least likely to hunt solitary species. Coyotes increasingly selected Mule Deer (O. hemionus) and Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) at higher latitudes, whereas Black-tailed Jackrabbit (L. californicus) were increasingly selected toward the tropics. Mule Deer were increasingly selected at higher coyote densities, while Black-tailed Jackrabbit were increasingly avoided at higher coyote densities. Coyote predation could constrain the realized niche of prey species at the distributional limits of the predator through their increased efficiency of predation reflected in increased prey selection values. These results are integral to improved understandings of Coyote ecology and can inform predictive analyses allowing for spatial variation, which ultimately will lead to better understandings about the ecological role of the coyote across different ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt W Hayward
- Conservation Science Research Group, College of Engineering, Science and the Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2207, Australia
- Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Tshwane X001, South Africa
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6213, South Africa
| | | | - Jan F Kamler
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13 5QL, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Rippon
- School of Information and Physical Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2207, Australia
| | - David R Heit
- University of New Hampshire, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
| | - Vilis Nams
- Department of Plant, Food and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Campus, Dalhousie University, Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 5E3, Canada
| | - Robert A Montgomery
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13 5QL, United Kingdom
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Bugir CK, Butynski TM, Hayward MW. Prey preferences of the chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes). Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7138-7146. [PMID: 34188801 PMCID: PMC8216973 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The common chimpanzee Pan troglodytes is the closest extant relative of modern humans and is often used as a model organism to help understand prehistoric human behavior and ecology. Originally presumed herbivorous, chimpanzees have been observed hunting 24 species of birds, ungulates, rodents, and other primates, using an array of techniques from tools to group cooperation. Using the literature on chimpanzee hunting behavior and diet from 13 studies, we aimed to determine the prey preferences of chimpanzees. We extracted data on prey-specific variables such as targeted species, their body weight, and their abundance within the prey community, and hunter-specific variables such as hunting method, and chimpanzee group size and sex ratio. We used these data in a generalized linear model to determine what factors drive chimpanzee prey preference. We calculated a Jacobs' index value for each prey species killed at two sites in Uganda and two sites in Tanzania. Chimpanzees prefer prey with a body weight of 7.6 ± 0.4 kg or less, which corresponds to animals such as juvenile bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and adult ashy red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus tephrosceles). Sex ratio in chimpanzee groups is a main driver in developing these preferences, where chimpanzees increasingly prefer prey when in proportionally male-dominated groups. Prey preference information from chimpanzee research can assist conservation management programs by identifying key prey species to manage, as well as contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of human hunting behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra K. Bugir
- Conservation Biology Research GroupSchool of Environmental and Life SciencesUniversity of NewcastleCallaghanNSWAustralia
| | - Thomas M. Butynski
- Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation ProgramLolldaiga Hills Research ProgrammeNanyukiKenya
| | - Matt W. Hayward
- Conservation Biology Research GroupSchool of Environmental and Life SciencesUniversity of NewcastleCallaghanNSWAustralia
- Mammal Research InstituteUniversity of PretoriaTshwaneSouth Africa
- Centre for African Conservation EcologyNelson Mandela UniversityPort ElizabethSouth Africa
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