GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS, MOVEMENT PATTERNS, SPATIAL DYNAMICS AND DIET OF THE EASTERN COYOTE (CANIS LATRANS VAR.) IN CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK by JASON WILFRED BRIAN POWER Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (Biology) Acadia University Fall Convocation 2015 © by JASON WILFRED BRIAN POWER, 2015 This thesis by JASON WILFRED BRIAN POWER was defended successfully in an oral examination on 21 September 2015. The examining committee for the thesis was: ________________________________ Dr. Andre Trudel, Chair ________________________________ Mr. Mark Pulsifer, External Reader ________________________________ Dr. Stephen Mockford, Internal Reader ________________________________ Dr. Søren Bondrup-Nielsen, Supervisor ________________________________ Dr. Rodger Evans, Acting Head This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Science (Biology) ii I, JASON WILFRED BRIAN POWER, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microfilm, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. _________________________________ Author _________________________________ Supervisor _________________________________ Date iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................................. xiii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ..............................................................xv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION ....................................................................1 BACKGROUND ...........................................................................................................1 STUDY AREA ..............................................................................................................6 STUDY RATIONALE ..................................................................................................7 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................9 PERSONAL COMMUNCATION .............................................................................14 CHAPTER 2: SPATIAL GENETIC AND BODY SIZE TRENDS IN ATLANTIC CANADA COYOTE (CANIS LATRANS) POPULATIONS .............................................16 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................16 METHODS ...................................................................................................................19 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...................................................................................21 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................28 PERSONAL COMMUNCATION ...................................................................................32 CHAPTER 3: SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF EASTERN COYOTES (CANIS LATRANS VAR.) IN CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA ..........................................................................................................................40 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................40 METHODS ...................................................................................................................43 RESULTS .....................................................................................................................47 DISCUSSION ...............................................................................................................48 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................53 PERSONAL COMMUNCATION ...................................................................................56 CHAPTER 4: WINTER FORAGING BEHAVIOUR BY EASTERN COYOTES (CANIS LATRANS VAR.) BASED ON FRACTAL ANALYSIS OF SNOW TRACK- PATTERNS IN CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA ..........................................................................................................................64 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................64 iv METHODS ...................................................................................................................66 RESULTS .....................................................................................................................68 DISCUSSION ...............................................................................................................69 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................74 PERSONAL COMMUNCATION ...............................................................................76 CHAPTER 5: DIET OF EASTERN COYOTES (CANIS LATRANS VAR.) BASED ON EXAMINATION OF SCATS DURING SUMMER AND WINTER IN CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA ...................................82 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................82 METHODS ...................................................................................................................87 RESULTS .....................................................................................................................91 DISCUSSION ...............................................................................................................95 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................101 PERSONAL COMMUNCATION ............................................................................106 CHAPTER 6: GENERAL CONCLUSION .....................................................................117 REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................122 v LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER 2 Table 2.1. Summary of genetic diversity observed in the five sampled locations in Atlantic Canada ........................................................................................................................... 33 Table 2.2. Pairwise FST values of coyote mtDNA CR sequences for five locations in Atlantic Canada and their associated p-values. FST values are above the diagonal; p- values are below the diagonal. The total FST value for all samples was 0.275 (p < 0.001) ....................................................................................................................................................... 34 Table 2.3. Adult female morphological characteristics ± 1 SD grouped by mtDNA haplotype. All samples are from Nova Scotia. There were no statistically significant differences between groups defined by haplotype (i.e., cla28 vs. GL20) ........................... 35 Table 2.4. Adult male morphological characteristics ± 1 SD grouped by mtDNA haplotype. All samples are from Nova Scotia. There were no statistically significant differences between groups defined by haplotype (i.e., cla28 vs. GL20) ..........................36 CHAPTER 3 Table 3.1. Coyotes captured in Cape Breton Highlands National Park between October 2011 and July 2013. A = adult; Y = yearling; M = male; F = female ...............................57 Table 3.2. Available and use of high human use biotopes to coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the community of Chéticamp from October 2011 to January 2014.Chi-square statistic shows where differences exist between low and high human presence. M = Male; F = Female; CH = Cape Breton Highlands Coyote ID ...................58 vi Table 3.3. Summary of daylight and dark 2-hour movement averages for collared coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the community of Chéticamp from October 2011 to January 2014. M = Male; F = Female; CH = Cape Breton Highlands Coyote ....59 Table 3.4. Summary of daylight and dark 2-hour movement averages for collared coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the community of Chéticamp from October 2011 to January 2014 ........................................................................................................60 CHAPTER 4 Table 4.1. Proportion of distance travelled in each habitat ..............................................77 CHAPTER 5 Table 5.1. Calendar season frequency (# scats/mean %) of occurrence of prey remains identified from coyote scats collected in Cape Breton Highlands National Park from May 2012 through August 2013. A Chi-squared test was used to test for differences between seasons of prey remains ..................................................................................................107 Table 5.2. Regional frequency (# scats/mean