Spatial and temporal wolf distribution in the Beaver Hills

Wolves have recently recolonized the Beaver Hills region.  The return of an apex predator may present interesting trophic consequences as well as being of management concern for agricultural activity in this landscape.  Over approximately the past year wolf presence and movements have been monitored in Elk Island National Park (EINP) and the Cooking-Lake Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area (BPRA) using remote camera traps. During this time, we have processed approximately 190,000 images and recorded 79 unique wolf observations. Using these remote images, we describe the spatial distribution of wildlife at camera sites.  Similarly using GIS, we compare the diversity of wildlife observed at a particular camera location to the diversity of habitat types associated with the camera’s location.  Secondly, we describe the temporal distribution of wildlife activity in EINP and BPRA as indicated by the distribution of when remote images were captured.  Thirdly, we have observed a relationship between the proportions of wolves at cameras compared to coyotes. As the wolves recolonize EINP and BPRA, we hypothesize that we should observe spatial partitioning between them and the resident coyote population.  However, we found that the number of wolf and coyote images was correlated across sites suggesting that the wolf population is currently not high enough to limit coyote activity through competitive exclusion.  The results of these analyses can be used to better understand the relative abundance and distribution of wildlife on this landscape and in particular provide information for management to promote predator co-existence in this recently recolonized, multi-use agriculture landscape. *Indicates faculty mentor

Scat Based Dietary Analysis of Beaver Hills Canids

Recently, the Cooking Lake Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area (BPRA), has been recolonized by wolves, an apex predator.  The potential inclusion of domestic ungulates into the wolf diet through depredation events poses concerns for the local grazing community. Additionally, the arrival of an apex predator may have trophic consequences for the coyote, the current top predator in the BPRA. The diet of canids in the BPRA is being determined using scat analysis. A small sample of each collected scat is cleaned with acetone to isolate twenty representative hairs and/or presence of other food for identification. During the summer season, results indicate that canid diet is primarily composed of insects, berries, and small mammals. A comparison of the girth and composition of canid scat suggests that as scat diameter increases the likelihood of the scat containing large mammals and plants increases, as does the likelihood of a given scat being from a wolf. Smaller scats were found to contain more insects and small mammals. These results suggest that, during the summer of 2015, domestic ungulates play a very small role in the diet of canids, an observation confirmed by the grazing association as only one calf was depredated.  The results also suggest that the recolonizing and resident canids are currently competing in terms of diet but that as the wolf population increases we expect to see a divergence in diet due to resource partitioning.  Further genetic work to confirm the species of scat is ongoing. *Indicates faculty mentor

Optimizing procedures for genomic analyses of Beaver Hills canid scat

There are significant economic and ecological motivations to study the recently recolonized wolf (Canis lupus) population in the Beaver Hills region of Alberta, Canada. The reappearance of an apex predator presents challenges for land management.  Competing claims for both agricultural and environmental priority necessitate an accurate description of the wolf population to inform an effective management solution.  Faecal analysis presents a non-invasive technique for obtaining estimates of the population size, habitat use and genetic structure of wolves and coyotes (C. latrans).  As a preliminary step, we sought to develop a procedure for obtaining and analyzing genetic material from canid scat.  Ultimately this protocol will be applied to a 500-sample collection gathered in the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Recreation Area and Elk Island National Park between May 2015 and January 2016.  We compared and assessed protocols for scat storage and handling, DNA extraction and diagnostic molecular analyses.  Extractions performed on scat samples stored at -20oC using the QIAmp Stool protocol produced DNA that could be successfully amplified using Scat ID primers.  Diagnostic restriction digests match published fragment patterns for Alberta canids (i.e., dog and wolf).  Based on these findings we present a protocol for species identification from canid scat collected in the Beaver Hills region. *Indicates faculty mentor