Oral Presentations: UC 327
Presentation Type
Presentation - Campus Access Only
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Mark Hebblewhite
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Wildlife Biology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Kill rate, defined as the number of prey killed per predator per unit time, is a key component to understanding predator-prey dynamics. A multitude of factors may affect kill rates, including, variation in age, sex, weight, or presence of offspring of either predator or prey species (intraspecific variation) and events such as the theft of a kill made by another animal (kleptoparasitism). These factors may influence the time a predator spends locating prey (search time) and the pursuing, killing, and consumption of prey (handling time). The sum of search time and handling time may be measured as the time between a subsequent kill, a metric I will use to make inferences on what affects mountain lion (Puma concolor) kill rates. Utilizing kill data obtained from GPS-collared mountain lions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Patagonia, I plan to investigate the impacts of: 1) mountain lion sex, 2) mountain lion age, 3) accompaniment of offspring with mountain lion females, 4) prey weight, and 5) the presence of bears (habitual kleptoparasites) throughout study periods. Applying these factors, I aim to find the most parsimonious and biologically sound statistical model, best describing sources of variation in time between kills for mountain lions. Further knowledge on this subject may be useful for the management of mountain lions.
Category
Life Sciences
Factors Influencing Mountain Lion Kill Rates
UC 327
Kill rate, defined as the number of prey killed per predator per unit time, is a key component to understanding predator-prey dynamics. A multitude of factors may affect kill rates, including, variation in age, sex, weight, or presence of offspring of either predator or prey species (intraspecific variation) and events such as the theft of a kill made by another animal (kleptoparasitism). These factors may influence the time a predator spends locating prey (search time) and the pursuing, killing, and consumption of prey (handling time). The sum of search time and handling time may be measured as the time between a subsequent kill, a metric I will use to make inferences on what affects mountain lion (Puma concolor) kill rates. Utilizing kill data obtained from GPS-collared mountain lions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Patagonia, I plan to investigate the impacts of: 1) mountain lion sex, 2) mountain lion age, 3) accompaniment of offspring with mountain lion females, 4) prey weight, and 5) the presence of bears (habitual kleptoparasites) throughout study periods. Applying these factors, I aim to find the most parsimonious and biologically sound statistical model, best describing sources of variation in time between kills for mountain lions. Further knowledge on this subject may be useful for the management of mountain lions.