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| Laundr‚, J.W. | |
| Summer predation rates on ungulate prey by a large keystone predator: how many ungulates does a large predator kill? | |
| 2008 Journal of Zoology (275): 341-348 | |
Estimates of predation rates by large predators can provide valuable information on their potential impact on their ungulate prey populations. This is especially the case for pumas Puma concolor and its main prey, mule deer Odocoileus hemionus. However, only limited information on predation rates of pumas exist where muledeer are the only ungulate prey available. I used VHF telemetry data collected over24-h monitoring sessions and once daily over consecutive days to derive two independent estimates of puma predation rates on mule deer where they were the only large prey available. For the 24-h data, I had 48 time blocks on female pumas with kittens, 43 blocks on females without kittens and 30 blocks on males. For the daily consecutive data, the average number of consecutive days followed was51.5_4.2 days. There were data on five female pumas with kittens, five pregnant females and nine females without kittens. Predation rates over an average month of 30 days from the 24-h monitoring sessions were 2.0 mule deer per puma month for males (15.1 days per kill), 2.1 mule deer per puma month (14.3 days per kill)for females without kittens and 2.5 mule deer per puma month (12.0 days per kill)for pregnant females and females with kittens. For the consecutive daily data, females without kittens had an estimated predation rate of 2.1_0.14 mule deer per puma month (14.9_0.90 days per kill). Pregnant and females with kittens had predation rates of 2.7_0.18 and 2.6_0.21 mule deer per puma month, respectively(11.4_0.72 and 12.0_1.1 days per kill, respectively). Predation rates estimated in this study compared with those estimated by energetic demand for pumas in the study area but were lower than other field derived estimates. These data help increase our understanding of predation impacts of large predators on their prey. |
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