Prey size plays surprising role in competition among wolves, bears and cougars
From Phys.org:
New research from the University of Minnesota upends long-held understanding about how wolves, bears and cougars—three of Yellowstone National Park’s most iconic carnivores—compete for prey.
For years, scientists theorized that when prey becomes scarce, predators become more aggressive toward each other. It’s a straightforward theory: fewer resources and more competition suggest that dominant predators—like wolves and bears—will steal food from subordinate predators—like cougars. New findings, published in Communications Biology, reveal that the size of prey animals plays a surprisingly pivotal role in competition patterns among predators.
