Although studies have documented the
potential for coyote (Canis latrans) food use to negatively affect
wildlife populations and domesticated animals, they are often equivocal,
possibly because most are of small spatial extent, and little is known of
factors determining coyote diets. The objectives of this paper were to quantify
the diet and identify factors determining coyote food use, particularly game
species and livestock, over a large spatial and temporal extent.
In this study, contents
of gastrointestinal tracts were identified from 263 coyotes opportunistically
obtained from hunters, trappers, and as road-kills throughout Florida from December 2011 to February 2015. Road-kills
were typically less than 2 days old at the time of collection. Collection date, method, and location (Table 1) were documented for
all animals. The authors employed logistic regression in an information-theoretic
framework to understand determinants of coyote food use. And all research and animal welfare protocols in this study were
reviewed and approved: University of Florida Animal Research Permit (003-11WEC)
and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Research Permit
(SPGS-11-68).
The results showed that
coyotes were opportunistic and omnivorous foragers with a diverse diet of
vegetation, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and more than 25 species of
mammals (including important game species and livestock). They commonly
consumed 11 food items (Virginia opossum [Didelphis virginiana],
non-mast vegetation, feral hog [Sus scrofa], northern raccoon [Procyon
lotor], insects, rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.), skunks [Mephitis
mephitis and Spilogale putorius], white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus),
mast, birds, and cows [Bos taurus]). And the food use was determined by
coyote age, sex, and body mass, season of the year, deer hunting and fawning
seasons, livestock calving season, and coyote collection method and
location/region.
In conclusion, as coyotes expand their range and numbers, conservationists may find it
useful to understand how this opportunistic and adaptable predator uses
available food sources to reduce conflict across the landscape.
Article by Wauren
N. Latine and William M. Giuliano, from University of Florida, Gainesville, FL,
USA.
Full access: http://mrw.so/1ozh2w
Image by Wayne Holt, from Flickr-cc.
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