Dwindling Deer Numbers In Alaska,
Hungry Wolves
Turn To Sea Otters
A new study shows that wolves in Alaska turned to an unexpected substitute for their typical diet of deer to
sea otters
.
This occurrence highlights the uncertainty of species restoration efforts on local food webs and challenges traditional assumptions about predator-prey relationships.
Layne Adams, a wildlife biologist at the US
Geological
Survey not involved in the study, commented that "this is pretty phenomenal that one predator is basically living off of another predator in a different system.”
Small wolf populations have long been thought to be doomed in the absence of large herbivores to consume, but the wolves on Pleasant Island have escaped this fate.
Researchers collected 700 samples of wolf scat and hair and placed GPS collars on 13 wolves to track their movements and establish their diet.
DNA
from approximately 40 different species were found in the wolves' scat, but Sitka black-tailed deer and sea otters were the most prevalent prey items.
Reintroduction efforts and increased legal protection of sea otters have brought them back from the brink of extinction and onto the plates of wolves.
Sea otters have become the major prey of the wolves on Pleasant Island, accounting for roughly 60% of their diet.
The return of wolves and sea otters to the region may be reuniting an ancient food web, according to ecologist Taal Levi.
Floral Frame
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