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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

Published on: May 16, 2025

Multi-trophic resource selection function enlightens the behavioural game between wolves and their prey.

Nicolas Courbin¹, Daniel Fortin, Christian Dussault

¹Chaire de recherche industrielle CRSNG-Université Laval en sylviculture et faune, Département de biologie, Université Laval, 1045 Av. de la Médecine, pavillon Alexandre Vachon, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.

The Journal of Animal Ecology

|May 25, 2013

Summary

Predator-prey movement tactics shape encounter risks. Wolves focus on moose by adjusting habitat use, creating asymmetric risks for prey like caribou, influencing evolutionary tactics.

Keywords:

Alces alces Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus managed Canadian boreal forest multi‐trophic analyses predator‐multi‐prey behavioural game search tactic wolf–prey encounter

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

Published on: May 16, 2025

Area of Science:

Ecology
Behavioral Ecology
Spatial Ecology

Background:

Habitat selection and movement tactics are key to predator-prey dynamics.
Analyzing cover types at encounter sites versus home-range overlap (HRO) and movement paths (MP) reveals species-specific strategies.
Differences in selection at varying scales inform fitness-rewarding actions.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the predator-prey spatial game between wolves and their prey (caribou and moose) using a habitat selection framework.
To understand how fine-scale movement tactics influence encounter probabilities.
To identify potential weaknesses in current movement tactics that could drive evolutionary changes.

Main Methods:

Compared cover-type availability at potential encounter sites with availability within home-range overlap (HRO) and along movement paths (MP).
Utilized GPS-collared wolves (Canis lupus), caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and moose (Alces alces).
Analyzed changes in cover-type availability between HRO and MP scales to infer movement decisions.

Main Results:

Wolves increased use of regenerating cuts along their paths (MP) compared to HRO, altering encounter rates with caribou.
Caribou faced higher intersection risk with wolves in regenerating cuts, while wolves had lower risk.
Wolves showed movement similarities with moose, indicating a focus on moose as prey.

Conclusions:

Fine-scale movement tactics create asymmetric encounter probabilities between predators and prey.
Scale-dependent habitat selection analysis reveals weaknesses in prey movement tactics (e.g., caribou in cutovers).
These insights can inform on evolutionary adaptations in habitat selection strategies driven by predator-prey interactions.