Deciphering wolf diets in Southeast Alaska using scats

Project ID: CT 160001422

Federal Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Partner Institution: Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Partner Institution: Oregon State University

Fiscal Year: 2016

Initial Funding: $100,000

Total Funding: $100,000

Principal Investigator: Roffler, Gretchen

Agreement Technical Representative: Levi, Taal

Abstract: Deciphering wolf diets can provide information about spatial and temporal variability in wolf prey use throughout Southeast Alaska. A better understanding of variability in wolf diets across different biogeographical regions containing various assemblages of prey species will help refine our ability to predict resilience of wolves. Additionally, improved understanding of how wolves use prey species in relation to their availability can provide insights into the functional responses to prey abundance, an important consideration where deer populations are low and intensive management actions are currently being considered. Finally, wolf population densities at the regional scale (which are crudely estimated with ungulate densities) may be produced more accurately by accounting for the extent to which wolves rely on ungulates compared to alternate prey items, and how this varies spatially throughout the region.