Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Wild Ungulates Constitute the Basis of the Diet of the Iberian Wolf in a Recently Recolonized Area: Wild Boar and Roe Deer as Key Species for Its Conservation

Isabel Barja
* ORCID logo ,
Álvaro Navarro-Castilla
ORCID logo ,
Lorena Ortiz-Jiménez
ORCID logo ,
Angel España
,
Roberto Hinojosa
,
David Sánchez-Sotomayor
,
Angel Iglesias
,
Jose España
,
Sergio Rubio-Sánchez
,
Santiago Martín-Romero
,
Juan Vielva
,
Fernando Horcajada-Sánchez
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 29 September 2023 / Approved: 30 September 2023 / Online: 1 October 2023 (10:12:05 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Barja, I.; Navarro-Castilla, Á.; Ortiz-Jiménez, L.; España, Á.; Hinojosa, R.; Sánchez-Sotomayor, D.; Iglesias, Á.; España, J.; Rubio-Sánchez, S.; Martín-Romero, S.; Vielva, J.; Horcajada-Sánchez, F. Wild Ungulates Constitute the Basis of the Diet of the Iberian Wolf in a Recently Recolonized Area: Wild Boar and Roe Deer as Key Species for Its Conservation. Animals 2023, 13, 3364. Barja, I.; Navarro-Castilla, Á.; Ortiz-Jiménez, L.; España, Á.; Hinojosa, R.; Sánchez-Sotomayor, D.; Iglesias, Á.; España, J.; Rubio-Sánchez, S.; Martín-Romero, S.; Vielva, J.; Horcajada-Sánchez, F. Wild Ungulates Constitute the Basis of the Diet of the Iberian Wolf in a Recently Recolonized Area: Wild Boar and Roe Deer as Key Species for Its Conservation. Animals 2023, 13, 3364.

Abstract

The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is recolonizing historical distribution areas after decades of absence. As in other human-dominated landscapes, finding a balance to protect this species by favoring recolonization and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts is a challenge. Since wolves are often generalist opportunistic predators, we studied their diet composition in the Central Spain to evaluate the consumption of domestic ungulates and provide reliable data that help local authorities to deal with the current wolf-cattle ranchers conflict and coexistence. Diet composition (% prey occurrence, % prey ingested biomass) was analyzed through the identification of prey hairs present in 671 scats collected between 2017 and 2021. Wolves fed more on wild ungulates (82% occurrence) than domestic ones (18%). Wild boar (Sus scrofa, 44% occurrence) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus, 35%) were the most consumed prey. Wolves positively selected these two species. The wolf's diet varied between seasons, years, and forest regions, but a diet based on wild ungulates predominated over domestic ones. Food niche breadth and showed variations depending on seasons and years. Preserving the availability and diversity of wild ungulates may favor reducing livestock attacks and would be an achievable goal that help to conserve this species and reduce conservation conflicts.

Keywords

Canis lupus signatus; domestic ungulates; wild ungulates; Iberian wolf; recolonization

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Ecology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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