Download or read book The Predictability of Food Resources and It s Effect on Foraging and Exploratory Behaviour of Captive Coyotes Canis Latrans written by Lynne Gilbert-Norton and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Effects of Social Status and Learning on Captive Coyote Canis Latrans Behavior written by Lynne Barbara Gilbert-Norton and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many canids live within hierarchical social systems that could promote differences in learning or in behavior between ranked individuals. Differences in foraging and territorial behavior have been observed between ranked coyotes (Canis latrans), yet effects of learning and social status on coyote behavior are not thoroughly understood. I explored a) coyote response to an artificial scent boundary and whether response differed by status, b) how foraging coyotes tracked temporal resource change, and c) how coyotes find spatially distributed food, and the effect of dominance on foraging behavior. I used male/female pairs of captive coyotes at the National Wildlife Research Center Predator Research Facility in Utah. Prior to testing, I identified social rank within pairs by testing for food dominance. In study 1, I laid a scent boundary and monitored space use with GPS and observed behavioral responses directly. All coyotes investigated and crossed the boundary, but were repelled more by human presence. Subordinates investigated and marked the boundary more than dominants. Further investigation is needed to mimic natural boundaries for management purposes. In study 2, I gave eight individual coyotes an operant test with concurrent variable interval (VI) schedules. I varied the ratio of resources and measured the time spent on two choices, then fitted the generalized matching equation to the data. I found that all coyotes efficiently tracked changes in resource ratios and matched their relative rate of foraging time to relative rate of resources. Matching theory provides an effective methodology to explore foraging strategies and behavioral flexibility in coyotes. In study 3, I tested 16 coyotes in a spatial foraging task. Coyotes searched for food in eight potential locations, and were tested individually and in respective pairs. I recorded the area and number of locations searched, approach time, and frequency of marking by dominant and subordinate coyotes. Results showed individual subordinates increased efficiency by relocating, but their efficiency decreased when foraging in pairs. Dominant coyotes did not increase efficiency in company by following subordinates. Coyotes marked the correct feeder more than incorrect feeders. Results suggest coyotes use memory and odor (scent marks) to find food, but that social status overrules information use.

Download or read book Seasonal Variations in Scavenging Diet and Foraging Behavior of Eastern Coyotes Canis Latrans on the Edwin S George Reserve written by Karl Day Malcolm and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Effect of Early Experience with Flavors on the Subsequent Food Preferences of Captive Coyotes Canis Latrans written by Krista Mari Wenning and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Effect of Housing Type on Captive Coyote Canis Latrans Behavior and Physiology written by Stacey P. Brummer and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Food Habits of Coyotes in a Semidesert Grass shrub Habitat written by Henry L. Short and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Living with Coyotes written by Stuart R. Ellins and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The coyote may well be North America's most adaptable large predator. While humans have depleted or eliminated most other native predators, the coyote has defied all attempts to exterminate it, simultaneously expanding its range from coast to coast and from wilderness to urban areas. As a result, coyotes are becoming the focus of increasing controversy and emotion for people across the continent— from livestock growers who would like to eradicate coyotes to conservationists who would protect them at any cost. In this thoughtful, well-argued, and timely book, Stuart Ellins makes the case that lethal methods of coyote management do not work and that people need to adopt a more humane way of coexisting with coyotes. Interweaving scientific data about coyote behavior and natural history with decades of field experience, he shows how endlessly adaptive coyotes are and how attempts to kill them off have only strengthened the species through natural selection. He then explains the process of taste aversion conditioning—which he has successfully employed—to stop coyotes from killing domestic livestock and pets. Writing frankly as an advocate of this effective and humane method of controlling coyotes, he asks, "Why are we mired in the use of archaic, inefficient, unsophisticated, and barbaric methods of wildlife management in this age of reason and high technology? This question must be addressed while there is still a wildlife to manage."

Download or read book Disturbance Predation Risk and Social Environment Create Predictable Spatial Patterns in Animal Foraging Behavior and Trophic Interactions written by Savannah Lynn Bartel and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Animal foraging behavior not only affects individual fitness of animals but can also mediate the magnitude of granivory and herbivory of plant communities. As a result, understanding how aspects of the environment affect animal foraging behavior is critical to predicting how changes in the environment may directly affect animal populations and indirectly affect plant communities. Since animals must avoid attack by predators or costly encounters with conspecific competitors while foraging, animal behavior may be shaped by characteristics of the environment that predict the likelihood of predation or intraspecific competition. Disturbances, such as fire and forest harvest, can have profound impacts on habitat characteristics (e.g., vegetative concealment from predators) that affect the identity and behavior of animals foraging in a habitat. Moreover, the legacies of historic disturbances, like past agricultural land use in restored habitats, can also impact habitat structure and, as a consequence, animal foraging behavior. By conducting an experiment that coupled canopy harvesting at sites containing both post-agricultural land use and nonagricultural land use, I found that land-use history and canopy harvesting determine the outcomes of seed-granivore interactions by modifying environmental characteristics relevant to mammal behavior. Seed predation rates in harvested plots were positively correlated with cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) foraging activity, which was lower in post-agricultural harvested plots than in nonagricultural harvested plots. In unharvested plots, seed predation increased with fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) activity, but fox squirrels were not affected by land-use history. In another experiment that measured white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) foraging and antipredator behavior across longleaf pine woodlands varying in past land use and contemporary fire frequency, I found that frequent fires generated riskier habitats for deer, but deer utilized different antipredator strategies while foraging in habitats with different land-use histories. Experimental manipulation of acoustic predator cues (i.e., coyote (Canis latrans) vocalizations) revealed that deer only modify their foraging behavior in response to a direct cue of predator activity in frequently burned, nonagricultural woodlands. Long-term herbivore exclosures revealed that deer herbivory only reduced deer-preferred plant species richness in infrequently burned woodlands, where deer perceptions of risk were lower. These results suggest that past and present disturbances can interact to generate "landscapes of fear" in which spatial variation in deer antipredator behavior may help explain large-scale patterns in plant communities. Omnivorous predators, such as coyotes, that consume both animal prey and fleshy fruits may also affect plant communities as agents of seed dispersal. Since coyote foraging decisions determine individual diet and space use, understanding how aspects of the environment affect individual coyote foraging decisions is essential to understanding how environmental changes may affect seed dispersal by coyotes. By experimentally manipulating seed association with coyote scat and granivore access to seeds, I found that seed dispersal in coyote scat reduced predation of larger seeds by rodents but increased predation of smaller seeds by arthropods. Coyote scat composition was also important in affecting rodent seed predation such that seed predation was lower in the presence of meat-rich scat compared with fruit-rich scat. These results illustrate that individual coyote foraging decisions can have cascading effects on seed dispersal and survival. In an experiment evaluating how time of day and conspecific activity affect coyote foraging decisions, I found that coyotes were more likely to investigate experimental resource patches towards the end of the diel activity period and were less likely to consume resources at patches that were visited by other conspecifics. Collectively, these studies illustrate that individual coyote foraging decisions may plan an important role in mediating seed dispersal and survival, and coyote foraging decisions may be shaped by an individual's social environment.

Download or read book Cognitive Inference and Resulting Behaviors in Response to Ambiguous Threat in the Coyote Canis Latrans written by Sarah Shawnee Dawson and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While antipredator strategies have been a focus of behavioral research for decades, scientists generally study the responses of prey toward overt, explicit threat. However, risk can also be significant when a threat is covert, such as when an ambush predator may be nearby or a secondary threat remains after a predator's departure. Little is known about the mechanism that prey use to assess risk in a predator's absence. Tests were conducted to determine the manner in which coyotes respond to these ambiguous threats. Specifically, I tested whether coyotes respond to prior anthropogenic activity that has occurred near their only food source, whether they investigate human activity at both profitable (feeding) and unprofitable (non-feeding) locations, and what sort of information coyotes are capable of gaining through their investigation. I explored these questions in three experiments spanning 4 years at the USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research Center's Logan field station. Test subjects were eight pairs of captive coyotes. Results showed that coyotes delayed or avoided feeding in response to prior anthropogenic activity, and that often a delay was due to investigation of human scent trails. Investigation of non-feeding areas occurred but was relatively brief. When coyotes were prevented from investigating locations of prior anthropogenic activity, foraging ceased altogether. In addition, coyotes were able to differentiate among the activity of different humans based on their association with negative, neutral, or positive threat levels, even in the presence of confounding visual and olfactory cues. They remembered these associations even after one month. This study is the first that provides evidence suggesting that canids gather and interpret complex information for cognitive inference about threat level associated with access to food.

Download or read book Impacts of Coyotes Canis Latrans on White tailed Deer Odocoileus Virginianus Behavior and Mortality in the Chicago Region written by Gretchen C. Anchor and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) have spread into metropolitan areas in recent decades. How these species interact with the landscape, other species, and each other is of interest to managers of these human-dominated areas. In the Chicago region, little is known about the relationship of white-tailed deer and coyotes. Our study aimed to elucidate the predator-prey relationship as well as how white-tailed deer respond behaviorally to coyotes as a result of this relationship. To answer questions on the predator-prey relationship between these two species, 81 white-tailed deer fawns were collared and monitored to determine causes of mortality. The analysis of 172 coyote scats also provided insight into this relationship by determining dominant food sources. Predation by coyotes was the primary cause of mortality (77.8%) of white-tailed deer fawns at our study site. Furthermore, white-tailed deer remains were found in most coyote scats (53.5%) but the presence of these remains were highest in scats collected in the summer (83.9% in 2017; 61.3% in 2018). The results of the fawn mortality analysis and scat analysis suggest that there are high incidents of coyote predation on white-tailed deer fawns but provide little evidence of predation on adults. With this specific predator-prey relationship, there is potential for behavioral asymmetries between age classes and sexes of white-tailed deer. To determine how this relationship influences white-tailed deer behavior, we chose to study antipredator behaviors because these behaviors are expressed in relation to predation risk. Following the “ecology of fear” framework, we expected to see increases in antipredator behavior by fawns and does with fawns in response to coyotes coyotes due to the possibility of habituation as a result of exposure to high coyote densities. We chose to investigate the antipredator behaviors of vigilance and avoidance in response to coyotes. Through the use of camera traps, we captured white-tailed deer foraging behavior in response to an indicator of coyote presence, specifically coyote urine. Through this test, we found that white-tailed deer of each age class and sex do not increase the amount of time spent vigilant while foraging when an indicator of coyote presence was present. To look for signs of avoidance of coyotes, white-tailed deer and coyotes were fitted with radio collars and monitored concurrently. Home range overlap was found for all deer-coyote dyads studied indicating that white-tailed deer are not selecting home ranges that allow the complete avoidance of coyotes. After analysis using the half-weight association index, however, results suggested avoidance behavior occurred for all deer-coyote dyads. These results show that the white-tailed deer monitored in our study avoid being within 200 m of coyotes. The results of both the vigilance survey and avoidance testing provide evidence of habituation, regardless of age class and sex, to an indicator of coyote presence and the lack of avoidance at the landscape level. These results, however, indicate that white-tailed deer at this site show finer-scale avoidance by avoiding coming into close proximity with coyotes. Our study provides valuable information on the coyote-deer predator-prey relationship and the behavioral responses of deer to this relationship in the Chicago region.

Download or read book Urbanization and Its Effects on Resource Use and Individual Specialization in Coyotes Canis Latrans in a Southern California written by Rachel Nicole Larson and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecological opportunity in the form of habitat and food heterogeneity are thought to be important mechanisms in maintaining individual specialization. Urban environments are unique because fragments of natural or semi-natural habitat are embedded within a permeable matrix of human-dominated areas, creating increased habitat heterogeneity compared to the surrounding landscape. In addition, urban areas can provide diet subsidies in the form of human trash and domestic animals, which also increases ecological opportunities. I investigated the degree to which coyotes (Canis latrans) utilized anthropogenic subsidies and exhibited individual specialization across the urban-rural gradient in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, California. I used scat analysis to analyze population-level differences in diet combined with stable isotope analysis to understand diet variation on an individual level. Land use surrounding scat and isotope sample collection sites was also evaluated to determine the effect of urban land cover on diet. Human food constituted a significant portion of urban coyote diet (22% of scats, 38% of diet as estimated by stable isotope analysis). Domestic cats (Felis catus) and non-native fruit and seeds were also important prey items in urban coyote diets. Consumption of anthropogenic items decreased with decreasing urbanization. In suburban areas, seasonality influenced the frequency of occurrence of anthropogenic subsidies with increased consumption in the dry season. Seasonal effects were not seen in urban areas. The amount of altered open space (defined as golf courses, cemeteries, and mowed parks) in a coyote's home range had a negative effect on the consumption of anthropogenic items. Urban coyotes displayed reduced among-individual variation compared to suburban and rural coyotes. It is possible that the core urban areas of cities are so densely developed and subsidized that wildlife inhabiting these areas actually have reduced ecological opportunity. Suburban animals had the broadest isotopic niches and maintained similar individual specialization to rural coyotes. Wildlife in suburban areas still have access to relatively undisturbed natural areas while being able to take advantage of anthropogenic subsidies in neighboring residential areas. Therefore, areas with intermediate urban development may be associated with increased ecological opportunity and specialization.

Download or read book The Effect of Food Availability on the Social Organization and Behavior of Captive Coyotes C a n i s L a t r a n s written by Susan Lyndaker Lindsey and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Habituation and Variable Captive Coyote Response to Behavior Contingent Stimuli written by Patrick Austin Darrow and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I performed a pilot studies using a behavior-contingent scare device to protect a novel food. I examined the hypothesis that a scare device would increase latency until food consumption. I performed a second observational pilot study examined the variation in the response of captive coyotes to the behavior-contingent scare device. A third experiment examined the effects of individual stimuli or a combination of stimuli on coyote habituation. A chi-square test of homogeneity of proportions showed a larger proportion of coyotes specifically habituated to the sound-only treatment. (chi 2 = 7.8, DF = 2, P = 0.02), I analyzed the variables of gender, age, social status, rearing, and distance from another pen with a scare device to determine if they predicted trends in boldness or shyness. Social status was the only variable that predicted boldness, with subordinate coyotes being the most likely habituate to the scare device and attempt to eat.

Download or read book Food Habits of the Coyote Canis Latrans in Urban and Suburban Areas of Western Tennessee written by Tommy S. Parker and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Home Range Size Vegetation Density and Season Influences Prey Use by Coyotes Canis Latrans written by Jennifer N. Ward and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To ensure reproductive success, Canis species establish contiguous mosaics of territories in suitable habitats to partition space and defend limiting resources. Consequently, Canis species can exert strong effects on prey populations locally because of their year-round maintenance of territories. We assessed prey use by coyotes (Canis latrans) by sampling scats from within known territories in southeastern Alabama and the Savannah River area of Georgia and South Carolina. We accounted for the size and habitat composition of coyote home ranges to investigate the influence of space use, vegetation density, and habitat type on coyote diets. Coyote use of prey was influenced by a combination of mean monthly temperature, home range size, vegetation density, and hardwood forests. For example, coyote use of adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was associated with cooler months and smaller home ranges, whereas use of rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) was associated with cooler months, larger home ranges, and less vegetation density. Coyotes in our study relied primarily on nutritionally superior mammalian prey and supplemented their diet with fruit when available, as their use of mammalian prey did not appreciably decrease with increasing use of fruit. We suggest that differential use of prey by coyotes is influenced by habitat heterogeneity within their home ranges, and prey-switching behaviors may stabilize local interactions between coyotes and their food resources to permit stable year-round territories. Given that habitat composition affects coyote prey use, future studies should also incorporate effects of habitat composition on coyote distribution and abundance to further identify coyote influences on prey communities.

Download or read book Coyote Foraging Ecology and Vigilance in Response to Gray Wolf Reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park written by Thomas Adam Switalski and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coyotes (Canis latrans) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have lived in the absence of wolves (Canis lupus) for over 60 years. I examined whether wolf reintroduction in 1995 and 1996 in YNP influenced coyote vigilance and foraging ecology. From December 1997 to July 2000, my co-workers and I collected 1708 h of coyote activity budgets. Once wolves became established in the Park, they once again provided a continuous source of carrion in the Lamar Valley and we found that coyotes began feeding on carcasses throughout the year. Although we documented that wolves killed coyotes, it also became clear that surviving coyotes quickly adjusted their behaviors when wolves were present. When coyotes were near wolves or in areas of high wolf use, they fed on carcasses much more; however, they increased the amount of time spent in vigilance activities and decreased rest. There appears to be a trade-off in which wolf kills provide a quick source of food that is energetically advantageous to coyotes; however, attendant costs included increased vigilance, decreased rest, and a higher risk of being killed. Changes in the behavior of coyotes in response to the reintroduction of this large carnivore may ultimately have wide-ranging cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.

Download or read book Dissertation Abstracts International written by and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: