Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to L.D. Mech.
Single wolves ( Canis lupus arctos ), a pair, and a pack of five habituated to the investigator on an all-terrain vehicle were followed on Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, during summer. Their mean travel speed was measured on barren ground at 8.7 km/h during regular travel and 10.0 km/h when returning to a den.
We examined the effect of progressive nutritional restriction on acid-base balance in seven captive, adult white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) from 4 February to 5 May 1988 in north central Minnesota (USA). Metabolic acidosis was indicated by low mean blood pH (7.25 to 7.33) in deer throughout the study. Mean urinary pH values declined ( P = 0.020) from a mean (±SE) baseline of 8.3 ± 0.1 to 6.7 ± 0.3 as restriction progressed. Acidemia and aciduria were associated with significant variations in mean blood CO 2 ( P = 0.006) and pO 2 ( P = 0.032), serum potassium ( P = 0.004) concentrations, and with a significant ( P = 0.104) handling date × group interaction in urinary potassium : creatinine values. Mean bicarbonate : carbonic acid ratios were consistently below 20:1 during nutritional restriction. Mean packed cell volume increased ( P = 0.019) and serum total protein decreased ( P = 0.001); thus there was evidence for progressive dehydration and net protein catabolism, respectively. Blood pCO 2 , serum sodium, and urinary sodium : creatinine were stable throughout the study. We propose that acidosis and aciduria are metabolic complications associated with nutritional restriction of white-tailed deer.
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A confrontation was photographed and video-taped at close range between a wild alpha mate wolf (Canis lupus) of known history and an alien adult on Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. For 100-110 seconds the two stood near each other, maneuvered around, and snapped at each other until the alien fled. The alpha and his mate, who suddenly joined the encounter, chased the other wolf for 1.2 km and gave up without inflicting wounds. Discussed are possible reasons why this wolf was not killed, while other alien wolves have been.
Three observations of young wolf ( Canis lupus ) pups in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, and two on Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, indicate that pups <33 days of age are highly resistant to inclement weather, contrary to earlier conjecture.
Canine parvovirus infected wild canids more than a decade ago, but no population effect has been documented. In wild Minnesota wolves ( Canis lupus ) over a 12-yr period, the annual percent population increase and proportion of pups each were inversely related to the percentage of wolves serologically positive to the disease. Although these effects did not seem to retard this large extant population, similar relationships in more isolated wolf populations might hinder recovery of this endangered and threatened species.
We describe attacks by wolf (Canis lupus) packs in Minnesota on a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and a moose (Alces alces) in which wolves were within contact distance of the prey but in which the prey escaped.
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Weights, hematology, and serum profIles of white-tailed does in the central Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota were examined year-around to determine seasonal patterns of nutritional condition and metabolism. Deer were initially captured by Clover trap or rocket net. Between 15 February 1989 and 23 January 1990, we recaptured 12 adult (> 1.5 years) female deer 1-9 times each (a total of 59 recaptures) using a radio-controlled capture collar. Monthly weights of deer exhibited a cyclic seasonal pattern. Mean weight declined 22 % from February to an annual minimum during May, then steadily increased 45 % to a maximum in October. Seasonal patterns were most evident for hemoglobin concentration, red blood cells, packed cell volume, serum total protein, urea nitrogen, creatinine, the urea N to creatinine ratio, triiodothyronine, cortisol, and potassium. Wide seasonal variations of these characteristics were indicative of shifts in the deer's metabolic physiology. Although seasonal metabolic shifts are partially attributable to an endogenous rhythm, the intensity of, their expression was most likely affected by nutritional changes and concomitant alterations of body condition. Annual changes in seasonal trends of blood characteristics may be useful in investigating nutritional effects of specific environmental and demographic factors. We compare our findings with those reported for deer on ranges farther south.
If behavioral mechanisms controlling suckling have been shaped by parent-offspring conflict in the ultimate sense, then proximate behavioral determinants of conflict should occur throughout lactation, with greatest intensity in the terminal phase, and offspring should have tactics for overcoming parental resistance. We observed the weaning process in a habituated wild wolf pack (Canis lupus) on Ellesmere Island, Canada, from estimated ages 5 through 10 weeks (including a continuous record for 192 h). The following variables declined with age: percentage of suckling bouts initiated by the nurser, persistence by pups, and mean duration of suckling bouts. Variables that increased with age were interbout interval, percentage of suckling bouts terminated by the nurser, and wincing or agonistic actions of the nurser. Behavioral conflict appeared in the develop mental stage (estimated age 7 -8 weeks) during which pups could feed on opened carcasses. Countertactics by pups to obtain milk were not apparent, although the pups developed diverse tactics for obtaining and sharing meat. In this group of wolves, weaning mechanisms were a complex function of food-delivery by adults, discomfort of the nursing female as pups developed, and declining persistence of pups. If there is a conflict over what is optimal for pups and for the nurser in the ultimate sense, behavioral conflict is more likely to be expressed with regard to access to meat, or as conditional tactics dependent on food availability, rather than weaning conflict being controlleg by fixed rules in this species.
Intermittent aerial observations of 405 radiocollared wolves from November 1968 through March 1989 showed the following percentages of activity: sleeping, 34%; resting, 31%; traveling, 28%, feeding, 6%; other, 2%.
Seven of 35 yearling female white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in a migratory herd in northeastern Minnesota dispersed 18–168 km from natal ranges during late May through June. Dispersal as a proximate event appears voluntary and independent of deer density.
Locations of wolf ( Canus lupus ) dens in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota from 1969 through 1988 were analyzed in relation to winter territories. Dens situated within the central 60% of the territories were randomly located relative to territory centers. However, only 10.5% (2) of the dens were located within a 1-km-wide strip inside the territory boundaries, indicating possible avoidance of neighboring packs. A negative relationship ( r 2 = 0.27; P < 0.05) between territory size and den distance from territory center was found, indicating that in large territories wolves might select the denning site that minimizes travel distance from and to the den. Den use was traditional in 86% (6) of the denning alpha females studied for > 1 year, and possibly the availability of a stable food source helped determine den location.
Resting metabolic rates, weight gains and hematologic profiles of six newborn, captive white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) fawns (four females, two males) were determined during the first 3 mo of life. Estimated mean daily weight gain of fawns was 0.2 kg. The regression equation for metabolic rate was: Metabolic rate (kcal/kg 0.75 /day) = 56.1 + 1.3 (age in days), r = 0.65, P < 0.001). Regression equations were also used to relate age to red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume, white blood cell count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. The age relationships of Hb, MCHC, and smaller RBC's were indicative of an increasing and more efficient oxygen-carrying and exchange capacity to fulfill the increasing metabolic demands for oxygen associated with increasing body size.
Serum samples (n = 204) from 124 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northeastern Minnesota (USA) were collected from 1984 through 1989 and tested for antibodies to six serovars of Leptospira interrogans (bratislava, canicola, grippotyphosa, hardjo, icterohemorrhagiae, and pomona) using a microtiter agglutination test. Eighty-eight (43%) sera were positive at greater than or equal to 1:100 for antibodies against serovars pomona and/or bratislava; none was positive for any of the other four serovars. None of the 31 sera collected in 1984-85 was positive, whereas all 54 sera collected from 1986 through 1988 had titers of greater than or equal to 1:100. During 1989, only 34 (29%) of 119 sera had titers of greater than or equal to 1:100. Based on these results, we believe there to be wide variability in exposure of Minnesota deer to Leptospira interrogans.