LE3 .A278 1997

1997

Harrington, F.H.

Acadia University

Master of Science

Masters

Biology

Biology

This study investigates the influence of infrastructure (roads, power lines, and railways), landscape parameters (rivers, lakes, clearcuts, and forest cover type), prey densities (moose, Alces alces), and the presence of garbage dumps on habitat use, home range sizes, and travel patterns of wolves (Canis lupus) on the north shore of Lake Superior, Ontario. Wolves neither avoided nor preferred roads but used them according to their availability. Road densities in the core areas of two packs which fed seasonally at a garbage dump exceeded the most commonly reported road density threshold of 0.60 km/km$\sp2.$ Although roads appear to aid in travel of wolves, they also increased human access and human-caused mortality. Lakes and clearcuts were found not to influence habitat use. Conifer cover type dominated the study area and home ranges of the packs but wolves were located more often in mixed forest cover. Rivers were used by the wolves as travel corridors in winter. Moose densities in the overall study area and in the pack home ranges were near or below 0.20 moose/km$\sp2,$ often considered as the minimum prey density to sustain a viable wolf population. Four of the five packs failed to reproduce during the period of the study, one wolf starved to death, and three died of diseases. These results support the validity of this prey density threshold. The consumption of garbage was observed for two packs during the winter. Wolves that used the garbage dump traveled shorter distances than wolves which fed on moose. The additional food supply of the dump and less energy expended in travel seemed to enhance the reproductive success of one study pack, but also exposed the wolves to higher mortality risks. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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