Abstract:
Interactions between different species of predators are not uncommon, yet they are generally understudied in North America. Across their range, gray wolves (Canis lupus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo) occupy similar habitats and dietary niches. However, due to the elusiveness and relatively low density of these two species, interactions between them are not well documented. Here, we describe three instances of a single wolf pack killing a wolverine in the span of 13 months. None of the wolverines killed by wolves were consumed, suggesting that food was not the primary motivation behind the killings. Alternatively, defense of a food resource, territoriality, interspecific competitive killing, or some combination of those behaviors appear to be the cause of these actions. Documentation of these occurrences improves our understanding of wolf and wolverine ecology, interspecific predator interactions, and potential future changes to this aspect of community ecology.
摘要:
不同物种的捕食者之间的相互作用并不少见,然而,它们在北美通常被研究不足。在他们的范围内,灰狼(Canis狼疮)和金刚狼(GuloGulo)占据相似的栖息地和饮食生态位。然而,由于这两个物种的难以捉摸和相对较低的密度,它们之间的相互作用没有很好的记录。这里,我们描述了一个狼群在13个月内杀死金刚狼的三个例子。被狼杀死的金刚狼都没有被吃掉,这表明食物不是杀戮背后的主要动机。或者,保护食物资源,地域性,种间竞争性杀伤,或者这些行为的某种组合似乎是这些行为的原因。这些事件的记录提高了我们对狼和金刚狼生态的理解,种间捕食者的相互作用,以及社区生态这一方面的潜在未来变化。