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Predatory behaviors of coyotes (Canis latrans) living in coastal ecosystems

Coyotes (Canis latrans) have increased in abundance and distribution following the extirpation of larger predators (Bekoff 1978; Gompper 2002; Levin & Wilmers 2012; Newsome & Ripple 2015). The expansion of coyote populations into areas that have functionally lacked sustained non-anthropogenic, top-down regulation for decades has the potential to cause considerable ecological change (Bekoff 1978). Coyotes often influence human interests and can be highly interactive within and among trophic levels in ecological systems, particularly in the absence of larger predators (Soulé et al. 2005; Ripple et al. 2013). For example, coyotes can hinder endangered species conservation (Adams et al. 2003; Ripple et al. 2013), cause declines in survival and population growth of economically important game species (Berger et al. 2008; Kilgo et al. 2010), potentially facilitate the emergence of Lyme Disease (Levi et al. 2012), and physically attack humans and domesticated animals (Conover 2001; White & Gehrt 2009). However, coyotes can benefit waterfowl nest success (Sovada et al. 1995), and increase mammalian (Henke & Bryant 1999) and avian (Crooks & Soulé 1999) biodiversity by numerically and behaviorally suppressing other mesopredators. Therefore, there is substantial interest in the ecological implications of expanding coyote populations. The coyote is a living contradiction and the search for generalities about the species can be a fruitless expedition littered with caveats. For example, coyotes often avoid humans (Mitchell et al. 2015) and are negatively affected by fragmentation (Crooks & Soulé 1999), but are frequently subsidized by anthropogenic food resources (Fedriani et al. 2001; Hidalgo-Mihart et al. 2001). Additionally, coyotes primarily prey on mammals (Andelt et al. 1987), but on coastal barrier islands, where large wading birds are common, avian species can account for the majority of coyote diets (Etheredge et al. 2015). Ungulates are the largest and among the most formidable prey coyotes predate. Ungulate predation is largely restricted to juveniles, but adult elk (Cervus elaphis) can be the most commonly occurring food item in coyote scats (Carrera et al. 2008) and coyotes are even capable of preying on adult moose (Alces alces), North America’s largest cervid (Benson & Patterson 2013). However, adult ungulate predation is typically facilitated by landscape or terrain attributes, such as deep snow (Patterson & Messier 2000). Whereas the biology of coyotes and their ability to function as predators is well-documented (references throughout), detailed insights into their predatory behavior are actually quite limited. A discussion of their predatory behavior, with new accounts and observations, may buttress ongoing studies and management regimes, especially as they relate to large prey such as deer. In this forum, we present two empirical Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 2019 Vol. 31, No. 2, 198–204, https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2018.1521874