Summer movements,predation and habitat use of wolves in human modified boreal forests |
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Authors: | Eliezer Gurarie Johanna Suutarinen Ilpo Kojola Otso Ovaskainen |
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Institution: | (1) Present address: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, NOAA Fisheries, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115, USA;(2) Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 1, 00014 Helsinki, Finland;(3) Department of Biology, Zoological Museum, University of Oulu, Box 3000, 90014 Oulu, Finland;(4) Oulu Game and Fisheries Research, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Tutkijantie 2 A, 90570 Oulu, Finland |
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Abstract: | Grey wolves (Canis lupus), formerly extirpated in Finland, have recolonized a boreal forest environment that has been significantly altered by humans,
becoming a patchwork of managed forests and clearcuts crisscrossed by roads, power lines, and railways. Little is known about
how the wolves utilize this impacted ecosystem, especially during the pup-rearing summer months. We tracked two wolves instrumented
with GPS collars transmitting at 30-min intervals during two summers in eastern Finland, visiting all locations in the field,
identifying prey items and classifying movement behaviors. We analyzed preference and avoidance of habitat types, linear elements
and habitat edges, and tested the generality of our results against lower resolution summer movements of 23 other collared
wolves. Wolves tended to show a strong preference for transitional woodlands (mostly harvested clearcuts) and mixed forests
over coniferous forests and to use forest roads and low use linear elements to facilitate movement. The high density of primary
roads in one wolf’s territory led to more constrained use of the home territory compared to the wolf with fewer roads, suggesting
avoidance of humans; however, there did not appear to be large differences on the hunting success or the success of pup rearing
for the two packs. In total, 90 kills were identified, almost entirely moose (Alces alces) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus sspp.) calves of which a large proportion were killed in transitional woodlands. Generally, wolves displayed a high level
of adaptability, successfully exploiting direct and indirect human-derived modifications to the boreal forest environment. |
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