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1988), because fox numbers are being kept high by a substantial rabbit population. Rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis) populations in Western Australia are being decimated by fox predation (Kinnear et al. A similar situation was described in England where fox numbers were being maintained by rabbits at numbers high enough to significantly reduce breeding densities of Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) (J. Reynolds, personal communication). Jarman and Johnson (1977) suggested that the decline in introduced hare (Lepus europaeus) and native rat kangaroo (Aepyprymnus spp.) population in Australia may have been a result of introduced fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations being sustained by rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Consequently foxes may have been able to eliminate a less numerous and more catchable prey. The vulnerability of the primary prey relative to an alternate prey determines the impact of predation on the abundance of primary prey (Messier 1993). Inverse density-dependent predation rates occur when predation rate increases while prey density decreases, a situation that could be destabilizing and potentially drive a prey population to extinction. In systems where there is an alternate prey source and prey switching occurs, it is theoretically possible for predation rate to be either directly density-dependent or inversely density-dependent over all densities (Ricklefs 1979). Do Wolf numbers increase in response to the increasing abundance of Bison? If Wolf numbers increased, what impact could this have on the Bison population, and on Moose (Alces alces), the only other ungulate prey population in this study area? Gates and Larter (1990) proposed that an increasing Bison population in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary and adjacent areas, may not be diverting Wolf predation from Moose and Caribou by providing a substantial alternate prey source rather it could be increasing it by maintaining high Wolf populations capable of depleting the more vulnerable prey populations. Beyond documenting that this model's predictions appear to hold for an indigenous ungulate population in the presence of predators, further important questions arise regarding the response of the Wolf population to an increasing prey base. As the population passes through the four stages, food supplies are reduced and the plant community becomes increasingly dominated by more unpalatable species in response to increased grazing intensity. This four-stage equilibrium model predicts that an erupting ungulate population will go through four stages (1) a progressive increase in population size in response to the disparity between the number of animals present and the carrying capacity of the environment, (2) a levelling off in animal numbers in response to decreasing forage availability, (3) a decline in numbers because the population has increased beyond the carrying capacity of the environment, and (4) a phase of relative stability with population density remaining lower than peak density because the carrying capacity of the environment has been reduced by the impact of peak population density. The population has increased rapidly (Gates and Larter 1990) and the current population eruption has followed the dynamics predicted by the Caughley-Riney four-stage equilibrium model (Riney 1964 Caughley 1970) despite the presence of Wolf (Canis lupus) predation (Larter 1994).
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The Response of Predators to an Erupting Bison, Bison bison athabascae,Populationīison (Bison bison athabascae as defined by Van Zyll de long (1986) but see Geist 1992 for a contrasting view on the validity of subspecies in Bison) were reintroduced into the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary in 1963. Reprinted from Canadian Field-Naturalist 108(3): 318-327. Key Words: Bison, Bison bison athabascae, population eruption, Moose, Alces alces, Wolves, Canis lupus, Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, Northwest Territories. Although Bison made up a larger proportion of the Wolf diet (based upon scat analysis) in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary than in the Mink Lake area, Moose made up a significantly greater (P Wolf (Canis lupus)activity was greater in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary than in the Mink Lake area. In adjacent peripheral areas near Mink Lake Moose densities were twice that in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary. Summaryĭuring the past 20 years Bison (Bison bison athabascae) numbers have increased and Moose (Alces alces) numbers appear to have decreased within the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary. The response of predators to an erupting Bison. Resources › Resource Library › Bison Research › Ecology-Bison and the Environment › The Response of Predators to an Erupting Bison, Bison bison athabascae, Population ›