With neighbours like these : what influences the size of Scandinavian wolf territories

Abstract: The home-range of an animal and what factors influence it’s size and appearance is vital information when it comes to understanding and protecting a species. One of these factors can be intraspecific competition over resources, especially amongst territorial species like large carnivores. The intensity of this competition can vary depending on geography, resource abundance and population density In this study over 20 years of telemetry-location data from wolves belonging to the Scandinavian population were used along with data on social and environmental factors to analyse variation in territory size, building on an already existing study published in 2013. The goal was to observe potential changes within the Scandinavian population and if it has grown to a point where intraspecific competition had become a significant factor in territory size variation. I identified three factors that correlated with wolf territory size. Wolf territories increased in size with latitude, most likely due to different variables and processes that are correlated with latitude, such as decreasing landscape productivity and decreasing densities of agricultural fields and human density. Meanwhile, territories shrank in size as packs grew larger in numbers. Finally, territories grew smaller as the Scandinavian wolf population increased in size, possibly hinting at increased competition between packs over territory.