Projects

Current

Movement Ecology of Coyotes at Long Point National Wildlife Area

The primary goal of this project is to gain better understanding of the relationship between coyotes and the managed deer population at Long Point National Wildlife Area. We are also interested in studying coyote space-use patterns, habitat selection, and the territoriality / interactions between packs in the Long Point National Wildlife Area, along with potential movements out of the study area into southern Ontario.

Demographics, Movement, and Behaviour of Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans) in an Urban Landscape

We have studied coyotes in rural and forested environments for several years, but growing concern from members of the public and responsible authorities from many Ontario municipalities have highlighted the fact that we know very little about how many coyotes occupy our urban areas, and moreover how coyotes are apparently able to thrive in these areas. Preliminary data we have collected highlights the influence green spaces and littering by people have on coyote distribution and abundance in urban landscapes. Therefore, with continued research, we hope to understand how the number, size, and juxtaposition of green patches influences coyote occupancy and determines coyote densities in urban landscapes or entire cities.

Objectives

determine densities, movement, and behaviour of coyotes in an urban area
compare these parameters with those determined for coyotes living in a more rural landscape
use research results to help the public and municipalities reduce conflict with coyotes
study the movement, behaviour, and survival of rehabbed coyotes once released back into the urban landscape

Study Area

Greater Toronto Area

Past Projects

Population dynamics of Algonquin wolves in relation to protected areas in central Ontario

Although once distributed across most of the eastern deciduous forests, Algonquin Provincial Park contains the primary remaining range of the Algonquin Wolf. There are likely fewer than 500 Algonquin wolves remaining in Canada and in early May 2015 the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) recommended that the conservation status of Algonquin wolves be elevated from “Special Concern” to “Threatened”. On June 15th, 2016 the province of Ontario followed suit and uplisted Algonquin wolves to threatened provincially.

Although Algonquin Park is the largest protected area for Algonquin wolves in North America, many wolves from Algonquin were killed by people while following migratory deer out of the Park during the 1980s and 90s. After more than a decade of controversy, Ontario’s minister of Natural Resources announced a ban on all hunting and trapping of wolves in the 39 townships surrounding the Park in December 2001, effectively doubling the size of this protected area for wolves. Our wolf research program in Algonquin launched in 2002 with an abundance estimate for wolves in the Park and we then commenced radio-collaring and monitoring wolves in summer 2002. Since 2002, we have radio-tagged >400 wolves in and around the Park. During the 2000s, the Park itself contained a relatively stable mid-winter population of ~200 wolves distributed across about 35 packs. In 2007, we concluded the first phase of our intensive post harvest-ban monitoring of wolves in the Park. We found that following an initial marked increase in wolf survival, natural mortality largely replaced the killing by humans that occurred during the 1980s and 1990s with the net result of relatively stable population densities through the 2000s. In addition, genetic analyses conducted by PhD student Linda Rutledge and colleagues further indicated that protected areas like Algonquin play an important role in minimizing hybridization between wolves and coyotes, and in maintaining the natural social structure of wolves. Accordingly, we next compared the demography of Algonquin wolves, coyotes and hybrids in Algonquin Park, the newly established Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park (KHSS) and 3 “managed” landscapes adjacent to Algonquin from 2008-11. This work comprised John Benson’s PhD dissertation, defended in 2013. During this period, 22, 51, and 14 percent of pup, yearling and adult wolves, respectively, dispersed from their territories of origin each year. Median dispersal distance was 32.0 km and was similar among age classes. There were no direction biases with respect to dispersal but few wolves emigrated from the protected area. High mortality among the wolves that did disperse suggests that it is unlikely that this population of Algonquin wolves will expand significantly in the unprotected matrix outside APP without additional protection from harvest. Connor Thompson began his PhD on this project in autumn 2016 and Mariah Ward joined the team as a MSc candidate in autumn 2018. Our next steps include continuing to look for breeding populations of Algonquin wolves outside of protected areas in Ontario, continuing to assess the viability of wolves outside of Algonquin, and to conduct further research on the emigration of wolves from Algonquin, including detailed follow up on the habitat preferences and fitness of wolves that emigrate from the Park.

Predator-Prey Interactions between Gray Wolves (Canis lupus), Boreal Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) and North American Beaver (Castor Canadensis) on the Lake Superior Coastal Range

Predation can shape the structure and function of ecosystems. Nonetheless, debate persists regarding whether the abundance of ungulate populations is regulated by top down or bottom up forces. Anthropogenic landscape disturbance exacerbates predation on woodland caribou, often leading to serious conservation concern.

Until recently, caribou remained abundant on the relatively undisturbed 184 km Michipicoten Island, and the 36 km Slate Islands archipelago, in Lake Superior, Ontario. In recent years, these islands have contained most of the caribou remaining in the Lake Superior Coastal Range, which is discontinuous from the rest of caribou range in Ontario by > 100 km. Both island systems were naturally recolonized by wolves via ice bridges in winter 2014.

Our research objectives include contrasting the impacts of wolves on caribou in these two systems. Given its more abundant alternate prey population (beaver) and the less complex habitat structure (e.g. reduced opportunity for caribou to escape wolves by swimming), we predicted that predation would more seriously limit caribou abundance on Michipicoten.

We estimated caribou and wolf numbers via aerial surveys, camera trapping, and DNA mark-recapture. There were likely 50-100 and ≥450 caribou on the Slate and Michipicoten Islands, respectively, at the time of wolf colonization. Caribou subsequently declined rapidly in both systems. We documented no wolf reproduction on the Slate Islands and wolves were extirpated there by June 2017 at which time there were only a few caribou remaining. In winter 2018, we translocated 8 cows and a single bull from Michipicoten to the Slates and we continuie to monitor the recovery of caribou on the Slates.

On Michipicoten, wolves produced pups every summer following their colonization in 2014 and by winter 2018 wolf numbers had at least quadrupled and caribou approached extirpation. The last confirmed caribou on Michipicoten was documented on a trial camera image in April 2018. Wolves continued to persist on Michipicoten into winter 2019 owing to the high beaver population but evidence suggests that all pups born in 2018 perished by late September. In late winter we moved wolves 8 wolves from Michipicoten to Isle Royale National Park, in western Lake Superior and will continue to monitor any remaining wolves on Michipicoten to determine their ability to persist in this system without ungulate prey. Overall, preliminary results highlight the importance of alternate prey in influencing predation on caribou.

Effects of Harvest Pressure on Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans) Population Demography

Coyotes range across the majority of North America and are considered the archetypal generalist, able to adapt and thrive in a variety of environments. Coyotes exhibit much variation in diet, habitat use, activity patterns, and demography, making them an interesting animal to study, but often a difficult one to manage. The continued persecution of coyotes remains generally ineffective in controlling their numbers. Given the perceived increase in coyote numbers and conflicts with humans, we conducted this study to learn more about coyote life history in southern Ontario and better inform management of these animals.

Objectives

understand how coyotes are able to withstand such high levels of persecution without any visible decline in numbers
quantify the spatial and temporal aspects of coyote depredation on livestock in agricultural areas of southern Ontario
based on the above, assess efficiency of common control options employed against coyotes in response to depredation concerns

Study Area

Prince Edward County (PEC), located in southeastern Ontario on a large irregular headland on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario. The area is mostly agricultural and supports a large livestock industry—factors that are favourable to coyotes. With reports of high coyote numbers, high coyote harvest, and increasing cases of livestock depredation, PEC was an ideal area to conduct this study.

Applying Risk and Refuge Effects to White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Hunting Practices

In the last decade, over-abundant deer populations have presented a challenge for deer managers in many areas of southern Ontario. With hunting frequently being the sole management option available, it is necessary to find ways to improve its efficacy at controlling deer populations. Through this study we aimed to determine whether this could be done by making hunting more resemble natural predation by incorporating the response of deer to areas of risk and refuge.

Objectives

measure the response of deer to the risk presented by hunters and the refuge offered by small land parcels where hunting is not permitted due to landowner preference (de facto refugia)
create spatial simulation models to explore: a) whether the response of deer to hunters can be adapted into a management strategy to reduce the negative effects of deer overabundance; and b) how de facto refugia interfere with hunting management by protecting a sufficient proportion of the deer population as to make harvest quotas unachievable and what strategies can compensate for this

Study area

Marlborough Forest, located approximately 25 km southwest of Ottawa, Ontario

Understanding Wolf-Caribou Interactions in Northern Ontario

Forest-dwelling caribou have experienced declining abundance and range retraction throughout large parts of the boreal zone in Ontario, resulting in the designation of woodland caribou as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act in Ontario and nationally under the federal Species at Risk Act. Inadequate food supplies may be one factor related to the recent declines in woodland caribou populations, but in general, unsustainable levels of predation are thought to be a major contributing factor. However, there is no reason to expect that a single factor explains caribou decline across all of Ontario and our goal in this project was to develop a more complex model evaluation design that considers the impact of (and interactions among) multiple causal factors

Objectives

use satellite radio-telemetry data for wolves across 3 areas of northern Ontario to determine patterns of movement, home range use, predation risk, survival, and offspring recruitment
develop mechanistic movement models for woodland caribou and wolves on the basis of energy gain and predation risk
use mechanistic movement models from the study animals to predict patterns of home range use, habitat selection, and predation risk and test those predictions against field observations from the other of study animals
link the movement, energy-gain, predation risk, and vital rates sub-models with a spatially-explicit population viability model for woodland caribou
use the PVA models to predict the long-term effect of forest disturbance from natural and anthropogenic causes on the probability of population persistence by woodland caribou and the potential caribou response to alternative management policies available to the government of Ontario

Study area

3 large study areas in northern Ontario; 2 disturbed landscapes south of the area of the undertaking, and a 3rd control site just west of Pickle Lake

Moose Calf Mortality in Central Ontario

Although some populations remain strong, moose (Alces alces) density and distribution have been declining in many areas along the southern edge of their North American distribution. In many areas hunters commonly blame wolves and bears for low moose numbers, whereas excessive hunting has also been implicated in some declines. In other populations, the causes of decline may be related primarily to factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, white-tailed deer parasites, predation, and climate change. During 2007-2009, we fit 93 adult female moose with vaginal implant transmitters to assist in locating and radio-collaring neonatal moose calves in central Ontario.

Our objectives were to measure calf survival and assess the relative importance of the various causes of death. Calves in the western half of our study area were exposed to a 6 day “open” (i.e. non lottery) hunt, whereas the eastern half of our study area occurred in Algonquin Provincial Park, where no hunting occurred. Annual survival of 87 collared calves was similar among areas and approached 62%. Despite annual survival being similar between areas, predation by wolves and bears was a major source of mortality only in Algonquin where it was single largest cause of death. In the portion of the study area where hunting was permitted, annual calf mortality owing to hunting was only 16%. We conclude that calf survival in our study area was moderate to high and that there is little justification for predator control or further restriction of calf hunting in this area.