Seasonal, annual and inter-pack variation in the diet of wolves in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, central Italy.

ORLANDO GALLO; GUERISOLI, MARIA DE LAS MERCEDES; LUIGI BOITANI; PAOLO CIUCCI

Congreso; V Reunión Binacional de Ecología; 2013

We investigated wolf (Canis lupus) food habits in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise (PNALM, Italy) by scat analysis, accounting for seasonal, annual and inter-pack variation.Scats collection (2005-2010) involved three different techniques (systematic collection throughout the study area, snow-tracking and rendez-vous site inspection), and samples were collected within 4 pack territories, defined according to wolf howling and snow-tracking surveys. These sample packs were chosen to represent the different wild and domestic ungulates communities, as well as different degrees of anthropic pressure within the PNALM. We identified mammalian hairs by microscopic examination and quantified every species in each scat with point frame method. We estimate the diet composition using relative frequency of occurrence, number of equivalents and an estimate of the biomass ingested. Scats collected in the rendez-vous sites were analyzed with compositional analysis, that account for the high degree of autocorrelation among them.Wild ungulates were the species most frequently represented in the diet, with frequencies up to 50.4% in winter. We detected however a marked variability in diet composition among packs, seasons and years, and in some packs/seasons livestock predominated the diet.Despite the presence of a large community of wild ungulates, livestock consumption by wolves suggest the lack of appropriate prevention strategies and conflict-resolution strategies, contributing to the maintenance of high levels of wolf-livestock conflict. Therefore, notwithstanding the relevant recovery of the wolf population in the PNALM since the early 70s, the recent changes in pastoral traditions are jeopardizing the achievement of a functional coexistence.