(Press-News.org) Woodland caribou populations in Canada are declining because of habitat changes that benefit common prey species of wolves (such as moose and deer), leading to increasing numbers of wolves that kill caribou. To protect caribou, wildlife managers have reduced wolf numbers in some caribou ranges, but this may cause moose populations to grow, resulting in a wolf rebound. New research in The Journal of Wildlife Management has found that reducing moose populations to historical levels through hunting could be helpful for caribou conservation.
The analysis included regions in British Columbia and Alberta with high moose populations where lethal wolf removals were annually conducted for caribou recovery. In some places, moose populations were also reduced through hunting. Reducing moose populations led to fewer wolves killed to protect caribou populations; specifically, 3.2 times fewer wolves were removed in areas with reduced moose populations.
“Policies that allow increasing moose abundance in association with wolf removals are anticipated to make ongoing wolf removal objectives increasingly difficult to achieve, thereby challenging caribou conservation,” said corresponding author Michelle L. McLellan, PhD, of the Wildlife Science Centre and the University of British Columbia. “Our findings highlight the importance of considering entire ecosystems when developing policies to protect endangered wildlife.”
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.22673
Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.
About the Journal
The Journal of Wildlife Management publishes original research contributing to fundamental wildlife science. Topics encompass biology and ecology of wildlife and their habitats with implications for conservation or management.
About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.
END
Can reducing moose numbers help protect Canadian caribou populations from wolf predation?
2024-10-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
How limiting new fast-food outlets may reduce childhood obesity
2024-10-23
Planning policies to restrict the number of new fast-food outlets leads to fewer overweight and obese children according to research led by Lancaster University.
Researchers examined the impact of policy in the North East of England where Gateshead Council prevented any existing non-fast-food commercial property from being converted into a hot fast-food takeaway.
The lead authors of the study, published in the journal Obesity, are Dr Huasheng Xiang from Lancaster University Management School and Professor of Health Inequalities Heather Brown from the Faculty of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University.
The researchers used Government collected data that ...
Sleep experts call for UK to abolish twice-yearly clock changes
2024-10-23
A team of leading sleep researchers from the British Sleep Society have called for the government to abolish the twice-yearly clock changes in the UK due to the adverse effects on sleep and circadian health.
After considering the available scientific evidence that circadian and sleep health are positively affected by the availability of natural daylight during the morning and negatively affected by the twice-yearly changes of clock time, especially when the clocks move forward in spring, the British Sleep Society recommends the abolition of the twice-yearly clock changes in the UK.
With sleep being central to health and wellbeing, the Society has issued a statement ...
Risk of cardiovascular disease linked to long-term exposure to arsenic in community water supplies
2024-10-23
Long term exposure to arsenic in water may increase cardiovascular disease and especially heart disease risk even at exposure levels below the federal regulatory limit (10µg/L) according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. This is the first study to describe exposure-response relationships at concentrations below the current regulatory limit and substantiates that prolonged exposure to arsenic in water contributes to the development of ischemic heart disease.
The researchers ...
Taking the “vibrational fingerprints” of molecules got 100 times faster
2024-10-23
Researchers Takuma Nakamura, Kazuki Hashimoto, and Takuro Ideguchi of the Institute for Photon Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo have increased by a 100-fold the measurement rate of Raman spectroscopy, a common technique for measuring the “vibrational fingerprint” of molecules in order to identify them. As the measurement rate has been a major limiting factor, this improvement contributes to advancements in many fields that rely on identifying molecules and cells, such as biomedical diagnostics and material analytics. The findings were published in the journal Ultrafast ...
Gardens prevent pollinators from starving when farmland nectar is scarce, new study finds
2024-10-23
Gardens offer a steady and reliable source of nectar all year round, helping to keep pollinators fed when farmland sources are limited, researchers have discovered.
This consistency means that even small patches of gardens in rural areas can sustain pollinators, particularly in early spring and late summer when nectar is scarce.
In the findings, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists at the University of Bristol discovered that gardens can provide between 50% and 95% of the total nectar during these critical ...
Addiction treatment decreases suicide risk among people with opioid dependence
2024-10-23
Treating opioid use disorder significantly lowers the very high rate (8 times the general population) of suicide among people with opioid dependence.
A Scottish study led by Glasgow Caledonian University of over 45,000 patients receiving methadone or buprenorphine for opioid use disorder reported this important result today in the scientific journal Addiction.
There were 575 suicides among the group of 46,453 people with opioid use disorder, accounting for 1.2% of the group. Although every member of the group received an OAT prescription at some point between 2011 and 2020, some ...
Abundant urban green space linked to lower rates of heat related illness and death
2024-10-22
Abundant green space in urban areas is linked to lower rates of heat related illness and death as well as better mental health and wellbeing, finds a systematic review of the available research, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.
Green space may help offset the adverse health effects of high temperatures, conclude the researchers.
In recognition of the detrimental heat related effects of increasing urbanisation and climate change, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goal targets stipulates the ...
Lifetime sudden cardiac death risk 4+ times higher for those with schizophrenia
2024-10-22
The lifetime risk of an unexpected and sudden death from a cardiovascular cause in the absence of pre-existing heart disease—known as sudden cardiac death—is more than 4 times higher for people with schizophrenia than it is for the general population, indicates Danish research published online in the journal Heart.
The risk is still around twice as high for those with other types of mental ill health, such as depression, whatever their age, indicate the findings, which suggest that an 18 year old can expect to live around 10 fewer years than someone of the same age without mental health issues.
The research to date indicates ...
Scurvy may be re-emerging amid cost of living crisis and rise of weight loss surgery
2024-10-22
The scourge of scurvy, which is caused by vitamin C deficiency, may be re-emerging amid the cost of living crisis and the rise in weight loss (bariatric) surgery, suggest doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports after treating a middle-aged man with the condition.
Scurvy is eminently treatable, but because it’s a disease of the past, first associated with sailors during the Renaissance era, it may be mistaken for other conditions, especially inflamed blood vessels (vasculitis), potentially risking fatal bleeding if left untreated, highlight the authors.
Signs can appear as early as a month after a daily intake ...
Ethical framework aims to counter risks of geoengineering research
2024-10-22
WASHINGTON — As interest grows in geoengineering as a strategy for tackling global warming, the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists today launched an ethical framework as a guide to responsible decision-making and inclusive dialogue.
The report, facilitated by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and advised by a global panel of experts, says any research into large-scale interventions in Earth’s climate system must be grounded in sound ethical principles so society can make informed choices about whether to deploy them. It warns that the unintended consequences ...