Author Archives: Nathan Lyle
Yellowstone Science – The Challenge of Understanding Northern Yellowstone Elk Dynamics after Wolf Reintroduction
July 4, 2019
The status and trend of the northern Yellowstone elk herd has been an enduring conservation issue throughout the history of Yellowstone National Park. It is the largest of about seven migratory elk herds that graze the park’s high-elevation meadows during … read more
Posted in General | Tagged challenge, dynamics, northern, science, understanding, yellowstone
Studying the Winter Nutritional Status of Moose and its Relationship to Moose Survival, the Population Trend, and Climate Change in a Declining Population in Northeastern Minnesota
July 4, 2019
Winter nutritional restriction of moose and other northern ungulates may be physiologically assessed by serial collection and chemical analysis of fresh urine in snow (snow-urine). Controlled studies of captive ungulate species have demonstrated that urinary urea nitrogen:creatinine (UN:C) ratios have … read more
Posted in Moose | Tagged moose, nutritional, relationship, status, studying, winter
Killing Wolves And Farming Caribou Benefit Industry, Not Caribou: A Response To Stan Boutin
July 4, 2019
In Nature Alberta Fall 2016, we wrote an open letter to Premier Notley (Proulx et al. 2016), where we requested that the Alberta Government refrain from predator control and fencing caribou for recovering the Little Smoky caribou population. In addition, … read more
Posted in General | Tagged benefit, caribou, farming, industry, killing, wolves
Where and How Wolves Kill Beaver
July 4, 2019
Beavers (Castor canadensis) can be a significant prey item for wolves (Canis lupus) in boreal ecosystems due to their abundance and vulnerability on land. How wolves hunt beavers in these systems is largely unknown, however, because observing predation is challenging. … read more
Predator Foraging Response To A Resurgent Dangerous Prey
July 4, 2019
Prey switching occurs when a generalist predator kills disproportionately more of an abundant prey species and correspondingly spares a rarer species. Although this behaviour is a classic stabilizing mechanism in food web models, little is known about its operation in … read more
Posted in General | Tagged dangerous, foraging, predator, response, resurgent
Density-Dependent Intraspecific Aggression Regulates Survival In Northern Yellowstone Wolves (Canis Lupus)
July 4, 2019
Understanding the population dynamics of top-predators is essential to assess their impact on ecosystems and to guide their management. Key to this understanding is identifying the mechanisms regulating vital rates. Determining the influence of density on survival is necessary to … read more
Posted in General | Tagged aggression, density, dependent, intraspecific, northern, regulates, survival
