Exploring the diet of Arctic wolves (Canis lupus arctos) at their northern range limit

The grey wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758) is one of the most widespread large carnivores on Earth, and occurs throughout the Arctic. Although wolf diet is well studied, we have scant information from high Arctic areas. Global warming is expected to increase the importance of predation for ecosystem regulation in Arctic environments. To improve our ability to manage Arctic ecosystems under environmental change, we therefore need knowledge about Arctic predator diets. Prey remains in 54 wolf scats collected at three sites in the high Arctic region surrounding the Hall Basin (Judge Daly Promontory, Ellesmere Island, Washington Land and Hall Land, both northwest Greenland), pointed to a dietary importance of Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus (Ross, 1819), 55% frequency of occurrence) and muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus (Zimmerman, 1780), 39% frequency of occurrence), although we observed diet variation among the sites. A literature compilation suggested that Arctic wolves preferentially feed on caribou and muskoxen, but can sustain themselves on Arctic hares and lemmings in areas with limited or no ungulate populations. We suggest that climate change may alter the dynamics among wolves, Arctic hare, muskoxen, and caribou, and we encourage further studies evaluating how climate change influence predator-prey interactions in high Arctic environments.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author