Wolverine foraging strategies in a multiple-use landscape

Abstract

The principal objective of the research project Wolverines in a Changing World was to gain better insights into the role wolverines have in ecosystem dynamics, their adaptation to ecosystem change, and its implications for sustainable management of the natural environment. The aim of this thesis, within these settings, was to investigate wolverine foraging strategies in a multiple-use landscape, especially in higher alpine habitat where livestock are grazed without human supervision or protection and in the boreal forest where wolverines co-exist with other intra-guild species. This aim was addressed by focusing on the following research questions.

1. Which analytical method is most appropriate to analyze wolverine diet? [Paper I]

2. Do wolverines shift their food habit in areas where they co-exist with wolves? [Paper II]

3. Which foraging strategies do wolverines employ within a predator guild? [Paper III]

4. Is the large carnivore guild differentiated in habitat tolerances and distribution, and what effect does this have on the potential for regional zoning of large carnivores? [Paper IV]

5. Can spatio-temporal variation in lamb depredation rates be explained by local wolverine density and/or predator removal programs, and are certain demographic classes of wolverines responsible for the increased depredation rate during the latter portion of the grazing season? [Paper V]