Human Hunting Research Articles

Management considerations of moose life‐history characteristics in Colorado, USA

Wildlife management agencies are obliged to provide evidence‐based management recommendations to stakeholders. However, allocation of resources towards the management of species is rarely uniform. The consideration of life‐history characteristics of moose offers wildlife managers a more robust understanding of population ecology, while also providing insight into potential limiting factors for long‐term management. From 2014–2020 we simultaneously measured survival of adult female moose, as well as calf productivity, in relation to the nutritional condition of adult females, in Colorado. Mean annual adult survival was high (93% and 95% confidence interval: 91–95%). Human hunter harvest was the leading source of mortality and lowered annual adult survival to 88%. Malnutrition was the leading source of natural mortality. Mean annual pregnancy rates were relatively low (77%) and highly variable (95% confidence interval: 65–88%). However, low pregnancy rates were compensated for by high apparent calf survival. The best predictor of moose pregnancy was nutritional condition. Our data suggest that bottom‐up ecological processes were affecting moose population growth, but populations were likely increasing during our study, with a simulated population growth rate of 1.04 (95% confidence interval: 0.94–1.17).

Naivety dies with the calf: calf loss to human hunters imposes behavioral change in a long-lived but heavily harvested ungulate

BackgroundIn prey, patterns of individual habitat selection and movement can be a consequence of an individuals’ anti-predator behavior. Adjustments of anti-predator behavior are important for prey to increase their survival. Hunters may alter the anti-predator behavior of prey. In long-lived animals, experience may cause behavioral changes during individuals’ lifetime, which may result in altered habitat selection and movement. Our knowledge of which specific events related to hunting activity induce behavioral changes in solitary living species is still limited.MethodsWe used offspring loss in a solitary and long-lived ungulate species, moose (Alces alces), as our model system. We investigated whether offspring loss to hunters induces behavioral changes in a species subjected to heavy human harvest but free from natural predation. To test for behavioral change in relation to two proxies for experience (calf fate and age), we combined movement data from 51 adult female moose with data on their offspring survival and female age. We tested for adjustments in females’ habitat selection and movement following calf harvest using Hidden Markov Models and integrated Step Selection Analysis to obtain behavioral state specific habitat selection coefficients.ResultsWe found that females with a harvested calf modified habitat selection and movement during the following hunting season. Female moose selected for shorter distance to roads during the night, selected for shorter distance to forests and greater distance to human settlements following calf harvest than females who had not lost a calf. The survival of twins in a given hunting season was related to female age. Older females we more likely to have twins survive the hunting season.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that losing offspring to human harvest imposes behavioral changes in a long-lived ungulate species, leading to adjustments in females' habitat selection and movement behavior, which may lower the risk of encountering hunters. In our study, female moose that experienced calf loss selected for lower distance to forest and selected for greater distance to human settlements during periods of high hunting pressure compared to females without the experience of calf loss during the previous hunting season. We interpret this as potential learning effects.

Large mammal behavioral defenses induced by the cues of human predation.

Large mammals respond to human hunting via proactive and reactive responses, which can induce subsequent nonconsumptive effects (NCEs). Thus, there is evidence that large mammals exhibit considerable behavioral plasticity in response to human hunting risk. Currently, however, it is unclear which cues of human hunting large mammals may be responding to. We conducted a literature review to quantify the large mammal behavioral responses induced by the cues of human hunting. We detected 106 studies published between 1978 and 2022 of which 34 (32%) included at least one measure of cue, typically visual (n = 26 of 106, 25%) or auditory (n = 11 of 106, 10%). Space use (n = 37 of 106, 35%) and flight (n = 31 of 106, 29%) were the most common behavioral responses studied. Among the 34 studies that assessed at least one cue, six (18%) measured large mammal behavioral responses in relation to proxies of human hunting (e.g. hunting site or season). Only 14% (n = 15 of 106) of the studies quantified an NCE associated with an animal's response to human hunting. Moreover, the association between cues measured and antipredator behaviors is unclear due to a consistent lack of controls. Thus, while human hunting can shape animal populations via consumptive effects, the cues triggering these responses are poorly understood. There hence remains a need to link cues, responses, NCEs, and the dynamics of large mammal populations. Human activities can then be adjusted accordingly to prevent both overexploitation and unintended NCEs in animal populations.

Large-scale fossil records analysis reveals prehistoric extinction mechanisms of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis).

Climate oscillations and prehistoric human activity during the Middle-Late Pleistocene profoundly affected the population fluctuations and extinctions of megafauna, especially the extinctwoolly rhinoceros. Fordham etal. (2024) recently proposed new solutions based on fossil records, paleoclimates, and prehistoric human activities data to reconstruct an explicit process-driven model, resulting in high-resolution population dynamics of the woolly rhinoceros. This study revealed the mechanisms of the woolly rhinoceros extinction: climate-driven habitat fragmentation combined with low but persistent levels of human hunting weakened metapopulation processes, leading to their extinction.

Predicting the Population Size and Potential Habitat Distribution of Moschus berezovskii in Chongqing Based on the MaxEnt Model

The forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) is a national Class I protected wild animal in China, and the IUCN Red list classifies it as globally endangered. It has significant value in traditional Chinese medicine and spices. However, wild M. berezovskii has faced a severe population decline due to human hunting, habitat loss, and fragmentation. Thus, studying its population size and distribution pattern is of great importance to develop effective conservation measures. Here, we determined the optimal MaxEnt model and used stratified sampling and the fecal pile counting method to predict the population size and potential habitat distribution of wild M. berezovskii in Chongqing using 133 species distribution points and 28 environmental variables. The results were as follows: (1) When the optimal model parameters were RM = 3.5 and FC = LQHPT, it had high model prediction accuracy (AUC = 0.909 ± 0.010, TSS = 0.663). (2) Under various climatic, topographic, vegetation, and anthropogenic disturbance scenarios, M. berezovskii was primarily distributed in northern, eastern, southwestern regions of Chongqing, covering an area of approximately 5562.80 km2. (3) The key environmental factors affecting the potential habitat distribution of M. berezovskii were elevation (36.5%), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, 16.6%), slope (11.8%), and land-use type (7.6%), whereas climate and anthropogenic disturbance factors had relatively little influence. (4) A population estimation for M. berezovskii identified approximately 928 ± 109 individuals in Chongqing. We recommend prioritizing the preservation of high-altitude habitats and native vegetation to mitigate human interference and minimize road damage. In summary, our results can enhance the understanding of M. berezovskii distribution and provide a basis for effective conservation and management initiatives.

Death at the water hole: Opportunistic hunting and scavenging events in the upper sequence of Middle Paleolithic Nesher Ramla, Israel

Distinguishing between selective and opportunistic hunting is a major challenge in Paleolithic archaeology, requiring the comparison of the human hunting record to the usually unknown natural prey abundance. Open-air hunting camps are ubiquitous in the Eurasian Middle Paleolithic (MP) record, alongside cave sites, and are often dominated by large-bodied species. In the Levant, MP faunal records differ between caves and open-air sites: Caves are dominated by mountain gazelle and fallow deer, while open-air sites are more aurochs-dominated. This discrepancy can be explained by transport patterns, but whether the abundance of aurochs in open-air sites is due to deliberate targeting or natural abundance in the landscape is unclear. The Nesher Ramla open-air site is a natural sinkhole in central Israel with an 8-m-deep MP sequence. Detailed zooarchaeological, dental wear, and isotope analyses of the upper sequence fauna found a highly diverse assemblage dominated by medium-sized ungulates in the uppermost phases (Units I and IIa). Results concerning ungulate dietary niches and isotopic signatures demonstrate that animals from different biomes and topographies congregated at the site. Evidence of human butchery is infrequent and fewer than carnivore modifications. Several articulated vertebral columns attest to in situ preservation. Our results demonstrate that the Nesher Ramla's uppermost sequence formed primarily under natural conditions, suggesting that it was a site of opportunistic hunting by humans and carnivores, probably targeting ungulates that came to the sinkhole to drink. Therefore, we consider this assemblage representative of the site's “natural” environment and use it as a benchmark for comparing assemblages and hunting strategies. Thus, we observe a clear difference between our case study and those recovered from the site's lower layers (Unit IIB and below) and other open-air sites. For the first time, we can show that the abundance of large bovines in MP open-air sites is not necessarily due to their abundance in the environment but to deliberate human planning and selective hunting.

High altitude horse use and early horse transport in eastern Eurasia: New evidence from melting ice

While few places on earth have been as deeply impacted by the human-horse relationship as the steppes of Mongolia and eastern Eurasia, gaps in the archaeological record have made it strikingly difficult to trace when and how the first domestic horses were integrated into ancient societies in this key region of the world. Recently, organic materials preserved in melting mountain ice have emerged as a key source of archaeological insight into the region’s deep past. Newly-identified artefacts recovered from melting snow and ice in the Altai Mountain range of western Mongolia (including metal artefacts, skeletal remains, and hoof fragments) provide archaeological evidence for the use of horses at high altitudes from the Bronze Age through the 20th century. Direct radiocarbon dating and genomic sequencing demonstrate the presence of Przewalski’s horse in the region during the early second millennium BCE, suggesting that this taxon may have once foraged at high altitudes frequented by human hunters. Importantly, directly-dated remains of horse hoof trimmings provide some of the oldest direct evidence of horse transport in the Eastern Steppe as early as the 14th century BCE, and suggest a role for high-mountain hunting in the innovation of reliable mounted riding.

Multidecadal Ethnoarchaeological Comparisons of Livelihoods and Wild Meat Availability and Consumption in a Central African Rainforest Foraging and Farming Community

We repurpose multidecadal ethnoarchaeological investigations of human hunting, prey availability, and socioeconomics in a rural Central African Republic village in the service of human ecology. Focusing on forest foragers in the village of Grima, initial 1999–2005 (Old Grima) data collection included documentation of hunting technology and offtakes, identification of wild meat bone assemblages, inventories of household material goods, and measurements of horticultural fields. Similar datasets were collected in 2021–2022 (New Grima) and longitudinal comparisons of prey remains and material wealth detected many significant differences. Old Grima house middens contained larger numbers of bones representing an array of wild meat taxa and inventories recorded diverse and abundant collections of material goods. The New Grima comparative data showed a reduction in the consumption of wild meat, increases in guns and especially metal cable snares, and marked declines in local wild meat (notably duiker) populations and forager material wealth paired with increases in debt. In 2022 the New Grima inhabitants were actively pursuing escargot for food and income and house middens were dominated by tortoise remains. All the data point to resource depression from overhunting and a community in jeopardy. The comparisons are also important because they include the transition from traditional nets and spears to more efficient metal cable snares and guns and provide information on the effects of hunting technology. The complexities of evaluating ecological perturbations and sustainability require multidisciplinary datasets and we propose ethnoarchaeology as a valuable tool to help identify subtleties in human food webs and biodiversity loss.

Images and bodies of the ñandú (rhea americana) in the celebrationsof the qom people

Based on the ethnography of qom (toba) communities living on the right bank of the middle Bermejo River, in the ArgentineChaco, I address the relationship of this people with the ñandú (Rhea americana), a bird native to South America and closelylinked to the hunting tradition in the Gran Chaco. I argue that beyond the hunting activity, this relationship is inscribed in the Chaco landscape, in the memories, cosmology and celebrations of the qom people. This case is framed by the contemporary anthropological debate on the classic opposition between practices and ethos of domestication and hunting, that I approach from the context of indigenous feasts and their ability to congregate in the same space-time human relations and prominent links with plant and animal species. I conclude that the qom’s proximity to the images and body of ñandú, beyond turning the bird into an object of human hunting or significance, allowed them to understand the way of dealing with transformations configured by the alternation between abundance and scarcity, as extremes that shape the landscape and life in the Chaco.

Targeted recreational hunting can reduce animal-vehicle collisions and generate substantial revenue for wildlife management agencies

Reduction of conflicts arising from human-wildlife interactions is necessary for coexistence. Collisions between animals and automobiles cost the world's economy billions of dollars, and wildlife management agencies often are responsible for reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. But wildlife agencies have few proven options for reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions that are effective and financially feasible at large spatiotemporal scales germane to management. Recreational hunting by humans is a primary population management tool available for use with abundant wild ungulates that often collide with automobiles. Therefore, we tested how well policies designed to increase human hunting of deer (longer hunting seasons and increased harvest limits) reduced collisions between white-tailed deer and automobiles along 618 km of high-risk roadways in Indiana, USA. We used a 20-y dataset that compiled >300,000 deer-vehicle collisions. Targeted recreational hunting decreased deer-vehicle collisions by 21.12 % and saved society up to $653,756 (95 % CIs = $286,063–$1,154,118) in economic damages from 2018 to 2022. Potential savings was up to $1,265,694 (95 % CIs = $579,108–$2,402,813) during the same 5-y span if relaxed hunting regulations occurred along all high-risk roadways. Moreover, license sales from targeted hunting generated $206,268 in revenue for wildlife management. Targeted hunting is likely effective in other systems where ungulate-vehicle collisions are prevalent, as behavioral changes in response to human hunting has been documented in many ungulate species across several continents. Our methods are attractive for management agencies with limited funds, as relaxed hunting regulations are relatively inexpensive to implement and may generate substantial additional revenue.

Competing forces: Subsistence strategies and human-carnivore interactions during the middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Northern Iberia

The comparative assessment of dietary choices as part of landscape use strategies deployed by Neanderthal and Anatomically Modern Human populations in Eurasia constitutes a fundamental avenue of Palaeolithic research. The increasing number of taphonomic assessments enables a better understanding of what remains were brought to sites by human hunters versus mammalian carnivores or raptors. A zooarchaeological approach can further elucidate the spatio-temporal dynamics of interaction between carnivores and human populations in terms of landscape use and prey choice during this transitional period. To achieve this objective, we conducted an examination of zooarchaeological and taphonomic data, carnivore indices, and other relevant variables across 36 Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic sites in northern Iberia. These sites encompass 126 archaeological layers dating from 50,000 to 30,000 years ago. Our comprehensive bibliographic meta-analysis reveals that human occupations by both groups at sites across the region were punctuated by episodes influenced by carnivores. This observation implies that human occupations in northern Iberia during Marine Isotope Stage 3 were generally characterised by instability and limited to short periods, often seasonal in nature. From a zooarchaeological perspective, the combined assessment of taxonomic data, species richness and assemblage diversity highlights that the range and proportion of species acquired by these different human groups are similar, although Anatomically Modern Humans engaged in a sustained trend towards increasing dietary diversification even at sites with assemblages heavily dominated by one taxon.

Hunting mode and habitat selection mediate the success of human hunters

BackgroundAs a globally widespread apex predator, humans have unprecedented lethal and non-lethal effects on prey populations and ecosystems. Yet compared to non-human predators, little is known about the movement ecology of human hunters, including how hunting behavior interacts with the environment.MethodsWe characterized the hunting modes, habitat selection, and harvest success of 483 rifle hunters in California using high-resolution GPS data. We used Hidden Markov Models to characterize fine-scale movement behavior, and k-means clustering to group hunters by hunting mode, on the basis of their time spent in each behavioral state. Finally, we used Resource Selection Functions to quantify patterns of habitat selection for successful and unsuccessful hunters of each hunting mode.ResultsHunters exhibited three distinct and successful hunting modes (“coursing”, “stalking”, and “sit-and-wait”), with coursings as the most successful strategy. Across hunting modes, there was variation in patterns of selection for roads, topography, and habitat cover, with differences in habitat use of successful and unsuccessful hunters across modes.ConclusionsOur study indicates that hunters can successfully employ a diversity of harvest strategies, and that hunting success is mediated by the interacting effects of hunting mode and landscape features. Such results highlight the breadth of human hunting modes, even within a single hunting technique, and lend insight into the varied ways that humans exert predation pressure on wildlife.

The fauna from Mughr el-Hamamah, Jordan: Insights on human hunting behavior during the Early Upper Paleolithic

As a corridor for population movement out of Africa, the southern Levant is a natural laboratory for research exploring the dynamics of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition. Yet, the number of well-preserved sites dating to the initial millennia of the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP; ∼45–30 ka) remains limited, restricting the resolution at which we can study the biocultural and techno-typological changes evidenced across the transition. With EUP deposits dating to 45–39 ka cal BP, Mughr el-Hamamah, Jordan, offers a key opportunity to expand our understanding of EUP lifeways in the southern Levant. Mughr el-Hamamah is particularly noteworthy for its large faunal assemblage, representing the first such assemblage from the Jordan Valley. In this paper, we present results from taxonomic and taphonomic analyses of the EUP fauna from Mughr el-Hamamah. Given broader debates about shifts in human subsistence across the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition, we also assess evidence for subsistence intensification, focusing especially on the exploitation of gazelle and the use of small game. Taphonomic data suggest that the fauna was primarily accumulated by human activity. Ungulates dominate the assemblage; gazelle (Gazella sp.) is the most common taxa, followed by fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) and goat (Capra sp.). Among the gazelle, juveniles account for roughly one-third of the sample. While the focus on gazelle and the frequency of juveniles are consistent with broader regional trends, evidence for the regular exploitation of marrow from gazelle phalanges suggests that the EUP occupants of Mughr el-Hamamah processed gazelle carcasses quite intensively. Yet, the overall degree of dietary intensification appears low—small game is rare and evidence for human capture of this game is more equivocal. As a whole, our results support a growing body of data showing gradual shifts in animal exploitation strategies across the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in the southern Levant.

Modeling post-Pleistocene megafauna extinctions as complex social-ecological systems

Abstract The role of human hunting behavior versus climate change in the mass extinction of megafauna during the Late Quaternary is much debated. To move beyond monocausal arguments, we treat human–megafauna–environment relationships as social–ecological systems from a complex adaptive systems perspective, to create an agent-based model that tests how human hunting may interact with environmental stress and animal life history to affect the probability of extinction. Using the extinction of Syncerus antiquus in South Africa at 12–10 ka as a loose inspirational case study, we parameterized a set of experiments to identify cross-feedbacks among environmental dynamics, prey life history, and human hunting pressure that affect extinction probability in a non-linear way. An important anthropogenic boundary condition emerges when hunting strategies interrupt prey animal breeding cycles. This effect is amplified in patchy, highly seasonal environments to increase the chances of extinction. This modeling approach to human behavior and biodiversity loss helps us understand how these types of cross-feedback effects and boundary conditions emerge as system components interact and change. We argue that this approach can help translate archaeological data and insight about past extinction for use in understanding and combating the current mass extinction crisis.

Density, abundance, and activity of the chilla or grey fox (Lycalopex griseus) in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Chile

BackgroundThe chilla or grey fox (Lycalopex griseus) is a native species from continental Chile and neighboring areas of Argentina. It was introduced to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in 1951 and began to increase its abundance, to the chagrin of local sheep ranchers. Since 1998, its hunting has been authorized. Here we update information on the density, abundance, and activity of this fox in the Chilean sector of Tierra del Fuego Island, to evaluate its population trend since the last census conducted by the Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG) in 2007.Methods and resultsWe carried out two fox censuses on a 941-km transect on public roads, divided into eight routes, from October to November (spring) of 2021 and 2022, following the same design used by SAG for the fox assessments carried out from 1999 to 2007. We report a reduction of > 50% in the density and abundance of chilla foxes with respect to the 2007 estimate, which could be attributed to the interference by free-ranging dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), through restricting the use of space by the fox, while transmitting diseases and parasites, and to human hunting pressure and vehicle collisions.DiscussionThe chilla fox decline highlights the need for an in-depth study to determine the ecological and socioeconomic impact of this exotic species on the ecosystems of Tierra del Fuego Island and the desirability of its management, if needed.

Effects of large carnivores, hunter harvest, and weather on the mortality of moose calves in a partially migratory population

Survival of juvenile ungulates represents an important demographic parameter that influences population dynamics within ecosystems. In many ecological systems, the mortality of juvenile ungulates is influenced by various factors, including predation by large carnivores, human hunting activities and weather. While wolves Canis lupus are known to prey on moose Alces alces throughout all seasons, brown bears Ursus arctos primarily engage in predation during early summer, while human harvest primarily occurs in autumn and early winter. Hence, understanding the impacts of predation, harvest, and weather on the survival of juvenile moose is crucial for adaptive population management and the determination of sustainable harvest rates. To investigate the summer and autumn–winter survival of moose calves in relation to carnivore occurrence (wolf presence and bear density), summer habitat productivity, winter severity, human harvest, and migratory behaviour (migratory versus resident), we analysed data collected from 39 GPS‐collared female moose in south‐central Scandinavia. Our findings revealed significant interannual variation in summer survival rates, with areas with relatively higher bear densities exhibiting calf mortality rates twice as high as those in regions with low bear density. During the autumn–winter period, calf survival was lowest in the presence of wolves and deep snow, and it exhibited a negative correlation with the proportion of clearcuts and young forests within the mother's home range. Additionally, calf survival was negatively correlated with the risk of human hunting, and calves of stationary females displayed ten times higher survival rates compared to migratory individuals. Our study provides valuable insights into the survival of moose calves coexisting with two large carnivores and humans. Improving our understanding of the mechanisms causing calf survival to fluctuate has become increasingly important as many local moose populations in Scandinavia are declining and exposed to expanding predator populations, intense hunting pressure, and other threats associated with climate change.

Responses of gut microbiota in crocodile lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) to changes in temperature.

The gut microbiota plays an essential role in maintaining the health and fitness of the host organism. As a critical environmental variable, temperature exerts significant effects on animal survival and reproduction. Elevated temperatures can influence the composition and function of the animal gut microbiota, which may have potentially detrimental effects on the host. The crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) is an ancient and currently endangered reptile species due to human hunting and habitat destruction. Given the predicted shifts in global temperatures in the next century, it is important to understand how warming affects the gut microbiota of these vulnerable lizards, which remains unclear. To determine how the microbial communities change in crocodile lizards in response to warming, we analyzed the gut microbiota under five temperature conditions (22°C, 24°C, 26°C, 28°C, and 30°C) using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that the dominant phyla, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, in gut microbiota were not significantly affected by temperature variations, but increasing temperature altered the structure and increased the community richness of the gut microbiota. In addition, warming changed the abundance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Actinobacteria, which may have negative effects on the physiological health of the crocodile lizards. Functional prediction analysis demonstrated that the functional pathways enriched in crocodile lizards were mainly related to metabolism, with no significant differences observed in these pathways at KEGG pathway level 1 after warming. These results provide valuable insights into the ecological adaptations and regulatory mechanisms employed by crocodile lizards in response to warming, which may be of benefit for their conservation.

Beaver exploitation, 400,000 years ago, testifies to prey choice diversity of Middle Pleistocene hominins

Data regarding the subsistence base of early hominins are heavily biased in favor of the animal component of their diets, in particular the remains of large mammals, which are generally much better preserved at archaeological sites than the bones of smaller animals, let alone the remains of plant food. Exploitation of smaller game is very rarely documented before the latest phases of the Pleistocene, which is often taken to imply narrow diets of archaic Homo and interpreted as a striking economic difference between Late Pleistocene and earlier hominins. We present new data that contradict this view of Middle Pleistocene Lower Palaeolithic hominins: cut mark evidence demonstrating systematic exploitation of beavers, identified in the large faunal assemblage from the c. 400,000 years old hominin site Bilzingsleben, in central Germany. In combination with a prime-age dominated mortality profile, this cut mark record shows that the rich beaver assemblage resulted from repetitive human hunting activities, with a focus on young adult individuals. The Bilzingsleben beaver exploitation evidence demonstrates a greater diversity of prey choice by Middle Pleistocene hominins than commonly acknowledged, and a much deeper history of broad-spectrum subsistence than commonly assumed, already visible in prey choices 400,000 years ago.

Human settlement density, not late Holocene climate change, influenced Artiodactyla species abundance in northeastern California faunal assemblages

Variation in late Holocene artiodactyl (e.g., deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep) hunting in northern California has often been examined from a behavioral ecological perspective to understand past foraging and land-use practices and related changes in human behavior, including settlement patterns, technological change, social signaling, large-scale resource intensification, and anthropogenic resource depression. However, rarely are past climate records and proxies of human population density coupled with zooarchaeological estimates of artiodactyl abundance to evaluate the ecological and anthropogenic drivers of changes in species representation over time. To better understand changes in human behavior related to past large game hunting, we disentangle the causal relationships between late Holocene climate change, human demography, and artiodactyl abundance to assess whether climate change, human hunting, or both impacted the abundance of artiodactyls in zooarchaeological assemblages from northeastern California. We evaluate how climatic variability and inferred human settlement density impacted artiodactyl abundance using modeled paleoclimatic reconstructions, distributions of radiocarbon dates, and faunal data derived from 35 archaeological sites and 37,319 individual faunal specimens. Using piecewise structural equation models, we assess the direct and mediating effects between climate, human settlement density, and artiodactyl abundance and determine the individual effects of these variables on large game species representation in zooarchaeological assemblages. We find that expanding human settlement density and related increases in logistical foraging—not late Holocene climate change—directly impacts the relative abundance of artiodactyls in these assemblages. Moreover, our findings reveal that the effects of climate change are entirely mediated through human settlement density. While our study is unable to decipher if observed changes in human behavior were motivated by goals related to energetic maximization or costly signaling, our study does provide a useful framework for separating the effects of human- and climate-induced explanations for variation in species composition in faunal assemblages.

Eat or be eaten: Implications of potential exploitative competition between wolves and humans across predator-savvy and predator-naive deer populations.

Recolonization of predators to their former ranges is becoming increasingly prevalent. Such recolonization places predators among their prey once again; the latter having lived without predation (from such predators) for a considerable time. This renewed coexistence creates opportunities to explore predation ecology at both fundamental and applied levels. We used a paired experimental design to investigate white-tailed deer risk allocation in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas (UP and LP) in Michigan, USA. Wolves are functionally absent in the LP, while deer in the UP coexist with a re-established wolf population. We treated 15 sites each in UP and LP with wolf olfactory cues and observed deer vigilance, activity, and visitation rates at the interface of habitat covariates using remote cameras. Such a paired design across wolf versus no-wolf areas allowed us to examine indirect predation effects while accounting for confounding parameters such as the presence of other predators and human activity. While wolf urine had no effect across most metrics in both UP and LP, we observed differences in deer activity in areas with versus without wolves. Sites treated with wolf urine in the UP showed a reduction in crepuscular deer activity, compared to control/novel-scent treated sites. Furthermore, we observed a strong positive effect of vegetation cover on deer vigilance in these sites. This indicates that simulated predator cues likely affect deer vigilance more acutely in denser habitats, which presumably facilitates predation success. Such responses were however absent among deer in the LP that are presumably naïve toward wolf predation. Where human and non-human predators hunt shared prey, such as in Michigan, predators may constrain human hunting success by increasing deer vigilance. Hunters may avoid such exploitative competition by choosing hunting/bait sites located in open areas. Our results pertaining to fundamental predation ecology have strong applied implications that can promote human-predator coexistence.