Predatory senescence in ageing wolves Export

@article{citeulike:6017773, abstract = {It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have different impacts on prey populations. These findings suggest that predatory senescence is an important, though overlooked, factor affecting predator-prey dynamics.}, address = {Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA; School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA; Yellowstone Centre for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USA; US Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Centre, Jamestown, ND 58401, USA}, author = {MacNulty, Daniel R. and Smith, Douglas W. and Vucetich, John A. and Mech, L. David and Stahler, Daniel R. and Packer, Craig}, citeulike-article-id = {6017773}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/122605227/ABSTRACT}, doi = {10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x}, issn = {1461-0248}, journal = {Ecology Letters}, keywords = {population-dynamics, predator, senescence, wolf}, number = {9999}, posted-at = {2009-10-28 08:53:03}, priority = {2}, title = {Predatory senescence in ageing wolves}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x}, volume = {9999}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:6017773 L3 - citeulike-article-id:6017773 N2 - It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have different impacts on prey populations. These findings suggest that predatory senescence is an important, though overlooked, factor affecting predator-prey dynamics. IS - 9999 JF - Ecology Letters SN - 1461-0248 AD - Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA; School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA; Yellowstone Centre for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USA; US Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Centre, Jamestown, ND 58401, USA TI - Predatory senescence in ageing wolves VL - 9999 KW - population-dynamics KW - predator KW - senescence KW - wolf AU - MacNulty, Daniel AU - Smith, Douglas AU - Vucetich, John AU - Mech, David AU - Stahler, Daniel AU - Packer, Craig PY - 2009/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01385.x ER -