Coyotes ( Canis latrans ) have been rapidly expanding into the Northeastern Region of the United States since the mid 1900’s most likely due to anthropogenic changes in their habitat. Several studies suggest that in addition to being top predators, coyotes are opportunistic feeders and are able to switch prey based on availability and density. Their generalist predation approach allows variation in their diets, and a widespread impact on the ecosystems in which they reside. In this paper, one hundred and seventy seven coyote stomachs were obtained throughout Pennsylvania from 2009-2012 and were dissected to define coyote winter diet. The contents were identified using ad hoc reference bone collections and a set of SEM hair images. Stomach contents were used to identify any correlation between sexual dimorphism and winter diets. It is hypothesized that if Pennsylvania’s coyotes show sexual dimorphism, male diets may differ from females. Being able to hunt larger animals may provide males the benefit of a higher caloric return. As a by-product of this research we are detailing a list of prey items found in the winter diet of C. latrans arranged by sex and location.
KeywordsCoyoteDiet CompositionStomach Dissection
Crimmins, S.M., Edwards, J.W. and Houben, J.M. (2012) Canis latrans (Coyote) Habitat Use and Feeding Habits in Central West Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist, 19, 411-420. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.019.0304
Kays, R.W., Gompper, M.E. and Ray, J.C. (2008) Landscape Ecology of Eastern Coyotes Based on Large-Scaled Estimates of Abundance. Ecological Application, 18, 1014-1027. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0298.1
Kays, R., Curtis, A. and Kirchman, J.J. (2010) Rapid Adaptive Evolution of Northeastern Coyotes via Hybridization with Wolves. Biological Letters, 6, 89-93. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0575
Cepak, J.D. (2004) Diet Composition of Coyotes in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. Paper 85, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Staff Publication.
Ripple, W.J. and Beschta, R.L. (2011) Trophic Cascades in Yellowstone: The First 15 Years after Wolf Reintroduction. Biological Conservation, 145, 205-213.
Smith, D.W., Peterson, R.O. and Houston, D.B. (2003) Yellowstone after Wolves. BioScience, 53, 330-340.
Prugh, L.R. (2005) Coyote Prey Selection and Community Stability during a Decline in Food Supply. OIKOS, 110, 253-264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13478.x
Atwood, T.C. (2006) The Influence of Habitat Patch Attributes on Coyote Group Size and Interaction in a Fragmented Landscape. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 84, 80-87. https://doi.org/10.1139/z05-180
Atwood, T.C., Weeks, H.P. and Gehring, T.M. (2004) Spatial Ecology of Coyotes along a Suburban-to-Rural Gradient. Journal of Wildlife Management, 68, 1000-1009. https://doi.org/10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[1000:SEOCAA]2.0.CO;2
Boisjoly, D., Ouellet, J. and Courtois, R. (2010) Coyote Habitat Selection and Management Implications for the Gaspésie Caribou. Journal of Wildlife Management, 74, 3-11. https://doi.org/10.2193/2008-149
Bozarth, C.A., Hailer, F., Rockwood, L.L., Edwards, C.W. and Maldonado, J.E. (2011) Coyote Colonization of Northern Virginia and Admixture with Great Lake Wolves. Journal of Mammalogy, 92, 1070-1080. https://doi.org/10.1644/10-MAMM-A-223.1
Way, J.G., Rutledge, L., Wheeldon, T. and White, B.N. (2010) Genetic Characterization of Eastern “Coyotes” in Eastern Massachusetts. Northeastern Naturalist, 17, 189-204. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.017.0202
Allendorf, F.W., Leary, R.F., Spruell, P. and Wenburg, J.K. (2001) The Problems with Hybrids: Setting Conservation Guidelines. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 16, 613-622. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02290-X
Lehman, N., Eisenhower, A., Hanson, K., Mech, L.D., Peterson, R.O. and Gogan, P.J.P. (1991) Introgression of Coyote Mitochondrial DNA into Sympatric North American Gray Wolf Populations. Evolution, 45, 104-119. https://doi.org/10.2307/2409486
Wayne, R.K., Lehman, N., Allard, M.W. and Honeycutt, R.L. (1992) Mitochondrial DNA Variability of the Gray Wolf: Genetic Consequences of Population Decline and Habitat Fragmentation. Conservation Biology, 6, 559-569. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1992.06040559.x
Frair, J., Gibbs, J., Batcheller, G. and Jensen, P. (2014) Population Status and Foraging Ecology of Eastern Coyotes in New York State.
Levi, T. and Wilmers, C.C. (2012) Wolves-Coyotes-Foxes: A Cascade among Carnivores. Ecology, 93, 921-929. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-0165.1
Stronen, A.V. and Paquet, P.C. (2013) Perspectives on the Conservation of Wild Hybrids. Biological Conservation, 167, 390-395.
Kennedy, M.L., Mech, S.G., Tran, B., Grubaugh, J.W. and Lance, R.F. (2003) An Assessment of Geographic Variation in Sexual Size Dimorphism in the Coyote. Mammalia, 67, 411-417. https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.2003.67.3.411
Way, J.G. (2007) A Comparison of Body Mass of Canis latrans (Coyotes) between Eastern and Western North America. Northeastern Naturalist, 14, 111-124. https://doi.org/10.1656/1092-6194(2007)14[111:ACOBMO]2.0.CO;2
Valkenburgh, B.V. and Sacco, T. (2002) Sexual Dimorphism, Social Behavior and Intrasexual Competition in Large Pleistocene carnivorans. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22, 164-169. https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0164:SDSBAI]2.0.CO;2
Gompper, M.E. (2002) Top Carnivores in the Suburbs? Ecological Conservation Issues Raised by Colonization of North-Eastern North America by Coyotes. BioScience, 52, 185-190.
Kenaga, B.A., Krebs, R.A. and Clapham, W.V. (2013) Coyote Land Use Inside and Outside Urban Parks. The American Midland Naturalist, 170, 298-310. https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-170.2.298
McVey, J.M., Cobb, D.T., Powell, R.A., Stoskopf, M.K., Bohling, J.H., Waits, L.P. and Moorman, C.E. (2013) Diets of Sympatric Red Wolves and Coyotes in Northeastern North Carolina. Journal of Mammalogy, 94, 1141-1148. https://doi.org/10.1644/13-MAMM-A-109.1
Prugh, L.R., Stoner, C.J., Epps, C.W., Bean, W.T., Ripple, W.J., Laliberte, A.S. and Brashares, J.S. (2009) The Rise of the Mesopredator. BioScience, 59, 779-791. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2009.59.9.9
Yahner, R.H. (2000) Eastern Deciduous Forest: Ecology and Wildlife Conservation. 2nd Edition, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, USA.
Prange, S. and Gehrt, S.D. (2007) Response of Skunks to a Simulated Increase in Coyote Activity. Journal of Mammalogy, 88, 1040-1049. https://doi.org/10.1644/06-MAMM-A-236R1.1
Selander, R.K. (1966) Sexual Dimorphism and Differential Niche Utilization in Birds. Condor, 68, 113-151. https://doi.org/10.2307/1365712
Wilson, E.O. (1975) Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Belknap/Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Grubbs, S. and Krausman, P.R. (2009) Use of Urban Landscapes by Coyotes. The Southwestern Naturalist, 54, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1894/MLK-05.1
Mastro, L.L., Gese, E.M., Young, J.K. and Shivik, J.A. (2011) Coyote (Canis latrans), 100+ Years in the East: A Literature Review. Addendum to the Proceedings of the 14th Wildlife Damage Management Conference.
Turner, M.M., Rockhill, A.P., Jonathan, C.S., Jenks, A., Klaver, R.W., Jarding, R.W., Grovenburg, T.W. and Pollock, K.H. (2011) Evaluating the Effect of Predators on White-Tailed Deer: Movement and Diet of Coyotes. Journal of Wildlife Management, 75, 905-912. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.109
Gittleman, J.L. and Van Valkenburgh, B. (1997) Sexual Dimorphism in the Canines and Skulls of Carnivores: Effects of Size, Phylogeny, and Behavioural Ecology. Journal of Zoology, 242, 97-117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb02932.x
Newbury, R.K. (2013) Behavioral Ecology of the Bobcat in a Region with Deep Winter Snows. The University of British Columbia, Okanagan.
Wolniewicz, R. (2004) Field Guide to Skulls and Bones of Mammals of the Northeastern United States.
Brundige, G.C. (1993) Predation Ecology of the Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans var.) in the Adirondacks, New York. Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY.
Gipson, P.S. and Kamler, J.F. (2002) Bobcat Killed by a Coyote. Southwestern Nautralist, 47, 511-513. https://doi.org/10.2307/3672519
Grinder, M. and Krausman, P.R. (2001) Morbidity-Mortality Factors and Survival of an Urban Coyote Population in Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 37, 312-317. https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-37.2.312
Hilton, H. (1976) The Physical Characteristics, Taxonomic Status, and Food Habits of the Eastern Coyote in Maine. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Maine, Orono, ME.
Lorenz, J.R. (1978) Physical Characteristics, Movement, and Population Estimate of the Eastern Coyote in New England. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.
Person, D.K. (1988) Home Range, Activity, Habitat Use, and Food Habits of Eastern Coyotes in the Champlain Valley Region of Vermont. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.
Silver, H. and Silver, W.T. (1969) Growth and Behavior of the Coyote-Like Canid of Northern New England with Observations on Canid Hybrids. Wildlife Monographs, 17, 1-41.
Thurber, J.M. and Peterson, R.O. (1991) Changes in Body Size Associated with Range Expansion in the Coyote (Canis latrans). Journal of Mammology, 72, 750-755. https://doi.org/10.2307/1381838
Zunna, A., Ozolins, J. and Pupila, A. (2009) Food Habit of the Wolf Canis lupus in Latvia Based on Stomach Analyses. Estonian Journal of Ecology, 58, 141-152. https://doi.org/10.3176/eco.2009.2.07
Bilodeau, F., Gauthier, G. and Berteaux, D. (2013) Effect of Snow Cover on the Vulnerability of Lemmings to Mammalian Predators in the Canadian Arctic. Journal of Mammology, 94, 813-819. https://doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1
Hillis, T.L. and Mallory, F.F. (1996) Sexual Dimorphism in Wolves (Canis lupus) of the Keewatin District, Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 74, 721-725. https://doi.org/10.1139/z96-081
Parker, G. (1995) Eastern Coyote: The Story of Its Success. Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Stromayer, K.A.K. and Warren, R.J. (1997) Are Overabundant Deer Herds in the Eastern United States Creating Alternate Stable States in Forest Plant Communities? Wildlife Society Bulletin, 25, 227-234.
Lariviere, S. and Crete, M. (1993) The Size of Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans): A Comment. Journal of Mammology, 74, 1072-1074. https://doi.org/10.2307/1382446
Gilbert-Norton, L.B., Leaver, L.A. and Shivik, J.A. (2009) The Effect of Randomly Altering the Time and Location of Feeding Behaviour of Captive Coyotes (Canis latrans). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 120, 179-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2009.06.007
Gosselink, T.E., Van Deelen, T.R., Warner, R.E. and Joselyn, M.G. (2003) Temporal Habitat Partitioning and Spatial Use of Coyotes and Red Foxes in East-Central Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management, 67, 90-103. https://doi.org/10.2307/3803065
Miller, B.J., Harlow, H.J., Harlow, T.S., Biggins, D. and Ripple, W.J. (2012) Trophic Cascades Linking Wolves (Canis lupus), Coyotes (Canis latrans), and Small Mammals. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 90, 70-78. https://doi.org/10.1139/z11-115
Albers, G. (2012) Coyote Diets in West Virginia. Masters Dissertation, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Morey, P.S., Gese, E.M. and Gehrt, S. (2007) Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Diet of Coyotes in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The American Midland Naturalist, 158, 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031(2007)158[147:SATVIT]2.0.CO;2
Steinmann, K.W., Cegelski, K.J. and Delis, P.R. (2011) Dietary Patterns of Pennsylvania Coyotes during Winter. Keystone Journal of Undergraduate Research, 1, 13-18.
Witmer, G.W., Pipas, M.J. and Hayden, A. (1995) Some Observations on Coyote Food Habits in Pennsylvania. Journal of Pennsylvania Academy of Science, 69, 77-80.
Lingle, S. (2000) Seasonal Variation in Coyote Feeding Bahviour and Mortality of White-Tailed Deer and Mule Deer. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 78, 85-99. https://doi.org/10.1139/z99-171
Muntz, E.M. and Patterson, B.R. (2004) Evidence for the Use of Vocalization to Coordinate the Killing of a White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, by Coyotes, Canis latrans. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 118, 278-280. https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v118i2.930
Rohm J.H., Nielsen, C.K. and Woolf, A. (2007) Survival of White-Tailed Deer Fawns in Southern Illinois. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 71, 851-860. https://doi.org/10.2193/2006-027
Piccolo, B.P., Van Deelen, T.R., Hollis-Etter, K., Etter, D.R., Warner, R.E. and Anchor, C. (2010) Behavior and Survival of White-Tailed Deer Neonates in Two Suburban Forest Preserves. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 88, 487-495. https://doi.org/10.1139/Z10-026