Closer to Carrying Capacity: Analysis of the Internal Demographic Structure Associated with the Management and Density Dependence of a Controlled Wolf Population in Latvia

Jurģis Šuba, Agrita Žunna, Guna Bagrade, Gundega Done, Mārtiņš Lūkins, Aivars Ornicāns, Digna Pilāte, Alda Stepanova and Jānis Ozoliņš
Additional contact information
Jurģis Šuba: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Agrita Žunna: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Guna Bagrade: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Gundega Done: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Mārtiņš Lūkins: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Aivars Ornicāns: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Digna Pilāte: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Alda Stepanova: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Jānis Ozoliņš: Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas Street 111, LV–2169 Salaspils, Latvia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: Large carnivores are essential components of natural ecosystems. In populated areas, their conservation depends on preserving a favorable status in coexistence with humans, which may require the elimination of excess carnivores to minimize public concerns. As the Baltic region currently hosts a thriving wolf population, locally sustainable management of wolves is important for preserving biodiversity at a European scale. In this paper, we provide a dynamic assessment of the Latvian wolf subpopulation from 1998 until 2020. This study is based on age composition and fecundity data from teeth, uteri, and ovaria inspections obtained from samples of legally culled or accidentally killed individuals. The abundance estimates indicated population growth that exceeded the previously predicted carrying capacity. The proportion of juveniles among the culled individuals increased in recent years, but the mean age of culled adults exhibited a stable trend. In presumably nonselective hunting, the juveniles and individuals older than 3 years had greater culling mortality estimates in comparison with other age classes, and the culling rates for adult females of particular age classes were higher than for males of the same age. While creating significant hunting pressure, wolf management in Latvia may have contributed to the population growth by affecting its demographic processes.

Keywords: wolf; Canis lupus; Latvia; demography; population management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/17/9783/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/17/9783/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:17:p:9783-:d:626210

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().