DEER DISTRIBUTION IN RELATION TO WOLF PACK TERRITORY EDGES Northeastern Minne

[Special T]

http://www.bearstudy.org/website/images/stories/Publications/Deer_Distribution_in_Relation_to_Wolf_Pack_Territory_Edges.pdf

I ran across this study while looking for soemthing else but just had to share. This study was done in 1980.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The data generally support the hypotheses that deer densities tend to he greater along wolf pack territory buffer zones than in territory centers (Hoskinson and Mech 1976; Mech 1977a,b; Nelson and Mech, unpubl. data). Whether this is true only during a deer decline or whether it also applies to increasing or stable populations is unclear.
The east-west gradient in deer densities within wolf pack territories might be explained in terms of a gradient in wolf predation. The depletion of deer after winter 1968-69 progressed from east to west over a 6-year period in the 3,000-km2 region that included the northeast end of our study area (Mech and Karns 1977). During the last 3 years of this progression there was an unusual migrating, shifting, and trespassing of wolf packs from east to west, especially during winter (Mech, unpubl. data). Such shifting no doubt increased predation on deer along the west edge of the zone of depletion and exacerbated the decline (Mech and Karns 1977).
Therefore, the east-west gradient in deer density seen in our data from 1968 to 1969 might have resulted from the beginnings of the above trend even before the severe winter of 1968-69 precipitated the major decline. It seems significant that the depletion of deer began in virgin forest, the poorest deer habitat of the region, just northeast of the current study area (Mech and Karns 1977).
Because habitat did not appear to differ between wolf pack territory edges and centers, the differences in deer density.
found in our study must be attributable to some other factor. This lends support to the hypothesis that the cause is reduced wolf predation in the pack territory buffer zones (Hoskinson and Mech 1976; Mech 1977a,b).
Acknowledgments.—This study was financed by the USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the University of Minnesota Agricul-ture Experiment Station.

I think its interesting because it shows that there have been wolves in the states fro quite some time and did not really require any "Help" from the ESA. 

[bearpaw]

Dr David Mech is from Minnesota, wolves were never extirpated from northern Minnesota.

I am amazed by many of these studies, who would have guessed that the deer would have disappeared from the core of the wolf territory where the wolves spend most of their time. 

increased predation on deer along the west edge of the zone of depletion and exacerbated the decline

So it was understood by the leading wolf experts that game would be depleted within the pack territory. I don't remember seeing this citation n the WA Wolf Plan. 

[RG]

I wish I could find a government grant to pay me to come up with such interesting conclusions.  It's like, based upon extensive research, financed by the government, it has been discovered that your butt gets sore if you sit too long on a small bicycle seat.

Some people must live in a box and never get to see the real world if they pay people to come up with these conclusions.  I could have asked a bunch of kindergartners if they thought there was more food in the center of the wolf territory or along the outer edges.  They would have come up with the same conclusion and you would only have to pay them a cookie.