Diet reconstruction of wolves following a decline in Manitoba moose populations

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dc.contributor.authorMocker, Danielle
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeDetwiler, Jillian (Biological Sciences) Baydack, Rick (Environment and Geography)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorRoth, James (Biological Sciences)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-14T16:36:26Z
dc.date.available2015-09-14T16:36:26Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.degree.disciplineBiological Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science (M.Sc.)en_US
dc.description.abstractMoose populations in southern Manitoba have declined. Although the primary cause of this decline is unclear, wolf predation is considered a main contributor because wolves have limited moose populations elsewhere. To help understand the role of wolf predation in limiting moose populations we reconstructed the proportional diet of wolves using stable isotope analysis and a Bayesian stable isotope mixing model (MixSIAR). We tested the assumptions of MixSIAR by running sensitivity analyses on trophic discrimination and prior information. We observed differences in wolf diet in areas where moose and deer coexist and are spatially separated, with changes both seasonally and annually. Our results suggest white-tailed deer were preyed on during winter, even in areas where deer are locally rare, suggesting prey catchability is more important than local prey density. Seasonal changes in prey accessibility strongly affect wolf predation rates, and manipulating alternative prey populations could mitigate predation impacts on moose.en_US
dc.description.noteOctober 2015en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/30789
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectStable isotope analysisen_US
dc.subjectWolfen_US
dc.subjectMooseen_US
dc.subjectPredator-preyen_US
dc.subjectDieten_US
dc.subjectMixSIARen_US
dc.subjectWhite-tailed deeren_US
dc.subjectApparent competitionen_US
dc.subjectPrey limitationen_US
dc.subjectBayesian stable isotope modelen_US
dc.titleDiet reconstruction of wolves following a decline in Manitoba moose populationsen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
local.subject.manitobayesen_US
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