Biomass flow and scavengers use of carcasses after re-colonization of an apex predator

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 10; p. e77373
• Main Authors: Wikenros, Camilla, Sand, Håkan, Ahlqvist, Per, Liberg, Olof
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 23-10-2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Alces alces; Animal behavior; Animal populations; Animals; Autoimmune diseases; Biomass; Biota - physiology; Breeding success; Cameras; Canidae; Canis lupus; Carcasses; Casualties; Climate change; Colonization; Comparative analysis; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Conservation of Natural Resources - statistics & numerical data; Deer; Ecology; Ecosystems; Ekologi; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Food; Food Chain; Food sources; Foraging behavior; Gray wolf; Hunting; Moose; Mortality; Population Dynamics; Predation; Predators; Predatory Behavior - physiology; Reproduction; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; Scavengers; Scavenging; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Species; Spring; Temporal variations; Winter; Wolves; Wolves - physiology; Zoologi; Zoology; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077373

Reestablishment of apex predators influences the availability and distribution of biomass for scavengers and can therefore be an important agent for structuring species communities. We studied how the re-colonization of the Scandinavian Peninsula by wolves (Canis lupus) affected the amount and temporal variation in use of moose (Alces alces) carcasses.
We compared the availability of biomass from remains at wolf kills with those killed by hunters, vehicle collisions and natural death. Movement-triggered cameras monitored patterns of use on wolf kills and remains from hunter harvest by scavengers (n = 15,276) in relation to time of year, available carcass biomass, time since the death of the moose and presence of wolves. Remains from hunter harvest were the largest food source for scavengers both within wolf territories (57%) and in areas without wolves (81%). The total annual biomass available were similar in areas with (25,648 kg) and without (24,289 kg) wolves. Presence of wolves lowered the peak biomass available from hunter harvest in October (20%) and increased biomass available during December to August (38-324% per month). The probability of scavengers being present decreased faster with time at remains from hunter harvest compared to wolf kills and both the probability of being present and the number of visits by scavengers to wolf kills increased as the amount of biomass available on the carcass increased.
Wolves reduced the seasonal variation of biomass from moose carcasses and most important increased it during spring. Scavengers also visited wolf kills most frequently during spring when most scavenging species have young, which may lead to an increase in survival and/or reproductive success of scavengers within wolf territories. This applies both for abundant scavenging species that were the most frequent visitors at wolf kills and threatened scavengers with lower visit frequency.