ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON COYOTES IN NORTHWESTERN INDIANA
Abstract
This coyote study centered in southern Tippecanoe County, Indiana, was made from June 1977 to May 1980. Four juvenile coyotes monitored by telemetry in cropland in fall and winter were found in standing corn fields a disproportionately high 71.7% of the time prior to and during corn harvest. The use of soybean fields was negligible. After corn harvest coyotes moved to edges of woods, bare fields, oldfields, and ditches. A yearling monitored in June 1978 was found often in maturing wheat, but appeared to be moving to corn as that crop grew high enough to provide cover. Security was thought to be more important that food-getting in coyotes' use of corn. Home ranges were from 12.2 to 28.3 km('2) (minimum area method). Hunters shot three radio-collared coyotes during or after dispersal 33, 133, and 160 km from the coyotes' original range. The remains of small rodents, swine (probably carrion), and eastern cottontails were the most important foods found in coyote stomachs and scats. Coyotes also regularly ate passerines, grass, summer fruits, and fall grasshoppers. Age structure and reproductive assessment indicated a declining coyote population in northwestern Indiana, the result of three severe winters (1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79) and subsequent decline in prey availability. The sex ratio was nearly even. Coyotes had comparatively high helminth parasite infections. Heartworms were found in 13.2% of coyotes examined reflecting a high prevalence in local domestic dogs. Although coyotes may serve as a local wild reservoir for heartworms, coyotes probably serve more importantly in Indiana as a means of spreading the parasite via dispersal. A relatively low 5.4% of coyotes examined had distemper virus antibody titers. This density-dependent disease may be more prevalent when coyotes are more abundant than they were during this study. Management recommendations include continuing public coyote hunting and trapping, prevention of livestock depredation, rapid removal of individual livestock predators, and public education concerning predator ecology and humane treatment. Annual coyote harvest-per-effect surveys would be valuable.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Forestry
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