David Mech, PhD
L. David Mech (“Dave”) is a Senior Research Scientist with the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center and works at the St. Paul, Minnesota duty station.
Dr. Mech
Dr. Mech
Wolf Information
Wolf Information
Dr. Mech has studied wolves since 1958 in Isle Royale National Park (1958-1961), Minnesota (1964 to present), Yellowstone National Park (1995 to Present) , Denali National Park (1986-1995). Each summer from 1986 through 2010, he lived with, and studied, a pack of wolves tolerant to humans on Ellesmere Island, in Canada’s High Arctic. He chaired the IUCN Wolf Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union from 1978 to 2013 when the group was absorbed into the Canid Specialist Group (CSG). Dr. Mech is now an advisor on wolves to the chair of the CSG. He is continuing his research on wolf ecology and behavior, predator-prey relations, population regulation, and social ecology.
Professional Experience
Senior Research Scientist, 1999 to present; U.S. Geological Survey
Research Wildlife Biologist, 1969 to 1999; Biological Resources Division of the USGS (formerly Division of Endangered Species Research, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Degree, Wildlife Ecology, Purdue University, 1962, Lafayette, IN
B.S. Degree, Conservation, Cornell University, 1958, Ithaca, NY
Honors and Awards
Aldo Leopold Memorial Award - The Wildlife Society
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 408
Studies of wolf x coyote hybridization via artificial insemination
Following the production of western gray wolf (Canis lupus) x western coyote (Canis latrans) hybrids via artificial insemination (AI), the present article documents that the hybrids survived in captivity for at least 4 years and successfully bred with each other. It further reports that backcrossing one of the hybrids to a male gray wolf by AI also resulted in the birth of live pups that have surv
Authors
L. David Mech, Cheryl S. Asa, Margaret Callahan, Bruce W. Christensen, Fran Smith, Julie K. Young
Can we save large carnivores without losing large carnivore science?
Large carnivores are depicted to shape entire ecosystems through top-down processes. Studies describing these processes are often used to support interventionist wildlife management practices, including carnivore reintroduction or lethal control programs. Unfortunately, there is an increasing tendency to ignore, disregard or devalue fundamental principles of the scientific method when communicatin
Authors
Benjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Henrik Andrén, Guy Ballard, Luigi Boitani, Richard M. Engeman, Peter J.S. Fleming, Peter M. Haswell, Adam T. Ford, Rafał Kowalczyk, John D.C. Linnell, L. David Mech, Daniel M. Parker
Large carnivore science: non-experimental studies are useful, but experiments are better
We recently described the following six interrelated issues that justify
questioning some of the discourse about the reliability of the literature on the
ecological roles of large carnivores (Allen et al. In press):
1. The overall paucity of available data,
2. The reliability of carnivore population sampling techniques,
3. The general disregard for alternative hypotheses to top-down forcing,
4. Th
Authors
Benjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Henrik Andrén, Guy Ballard, Luigi Boitani, Richard M. Engeman, Peter J. S. Fleming, Adam T. Ford, Peter M. Haswell, Rafał Kowalczyk, John D. C. Linnell, L. David Mech, Daniel M. Parker
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) death by stick impalement
Although Canis lupus L. (Gray Wolf) individuals are sometimes impaled by sticks, we could find no documentation of natural impalement by sticks as a cause of death for wild Wolves. Here we report on a wild Gray Wolf from northeastern Minnesota that died due to stick puncture of its thorax and abdomen.
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Lori Schmidt, L. David Mech
Use of erroneous wolf generation time in assessments of domestic dog and human evolution
Scientific interest in dog domestication and parallel evolution of dogs and humans (Wang et al. 2013) has increased recently (Freedman et al. 2014, Larson and Bradley 2014, Franz et al. 2016,), and various important conclusions have been drawn based on how long ago the calculations show dogs were domesticated from ancestral wolves (Canis lupus). Calculation of this duration is based on “the most c
Authors
L. David Mech, Shannon Barber-Meyer
A serosurvey of diseases of free-ranging gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Minnesota
We tested serum samples from 387 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from 2007 to 2013 for exposure to eight canid pathogens to establish baseline data on disease prevalence and spatial distribution in Minnesota's wolf population. We found high exposure to canine adenoviruses 1 and 2 (88% adults, 45% pups), canine parvovirus (82% adults, 24% pups), and Lyme disease (76% adults, 39% pups). Sixty-six
Authors
Michelle Carstensen, John H. Giudice, Erik C. Hildebrand, J. P. Dubey, John Erb, Dan Stark, John Hart, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Steve K. Windels, Andrew J. Edwards
Sexually dimorphic aggression indicates male gray wolves specialize in pack defense against conspecific groups
Aggression directed at conspecific groups is common among gregarious, territorial species, and for some species such as gray wolves (Canis lupus) intraspecific strife is the leading cause of natural mortality. Each individual in a group likely has different measures of the costs and benefits associated with a group task, such as an aggressive attack on another group, which can alter motivation and
Authors
Kira A. Cassidy, L. David Mech, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. Smith
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) subsidize gray wolves (Canis lupus) during a moose (Alces americanus) decline: A case of apparent competition?
Moose (Alces americanus) in northeastern Minnesota have declined by 55% since 2006. Although the cause is unresolved, some studies have suggested that Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) contributed to the decline. After the Moose decline, wolves could either decline or switch prey. To determine which occurred in our study area, we compared winter wolf counts and summer diet before and after the Moose decli
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech
Differential wolf-pack-size persistence and the role of risk when hunting dangerous prey
Risk to predators hunting dangerous prey is an emerging area of research and could account for possible persistent differences in gray wolf (Canis lupus) pack sizes. We documented significant differences in long-term wolf-pack-size averages and variation in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Denali National Park and Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon, Canada (p<0.01). The SNF differe
Authors
Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Wesley E. Newton, Bridget Borg
Territoriality and inter-pack aggression in gray wolves: shaping a social carnivore's life history
When Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book in 1894 and included the famous line "For the strength of the Wolf is the Pack, and the strength of the Pack is the Wolf," he would have had no idea that over a century later, scientific research would back up his poetic phrase. Recent studies in Yellowstone have found that both the individual wolf and the collective pack rely on each other and play impor
Authors
Kira A. Cassidy, Douglas W. Smith, L. David Mech, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Matthew C. Metz
Wolf (Canis lupus) generation time and proportion of current breeding females by age
Information is sparse about aspects of female wolf (Canis lupus) breeding in the wild, including age of first reproduction, mean age of primiparity, generation time, and proportion of each age that breeds in any given year. We studied these subjects in 86 wolves (113 captures) in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota (MN), during 1972–2013 where wolves were legally protected for most of th
Authors
L. David Mech, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, John Erb
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- Publications
Filter Total Items: 408
Studies of wolf x coyote hybridization via artificial insemination
Following the production of western gray wolf (Canis lupus) x western coyote (Canis latrans) hybrids via artificial insemination (AI), the present article documents that the hybrids survived in captivity for at least 4 years and successfully bred with each other. It further reports that backcrossing one of the hybrids to a male gray wolf by AI also resulted in the birth of live pups that have survAuthorsL. David Mech, Cheryl S. Asa, Margaret Callahan, Bruce W. Christensen, Fran Smith, Julie K. YoungCan we save large carnivores without losing large carnivore science?
Large carnivores are depicted to shape entire ecosystems through top-down processes. Studies describing these processes are often used to support interventionist wildlife management practices, including carnivore reintroduction or lethal control programs. Unfortunately, there is an increasing tendency to ignore, disregard or devalue fundamental principles of the scientific method when communicatinAuthorsBenjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Henrik Andrén, Guy Ballard, Luigi Boitani, Richard M. Engeman, Peter J.S. Fleming, Peter M. Haswell, Adam T. Ford, Rafał Kowalczyk, John D.C. Linnell, L. David Mech, Daniel M. ParkerLarge carnivore science: non-experimental studies are useful, but experiments are better
We recently described the following six interrelated issues that justify questioning some of the discourse about the reliability of the literature on the ecological roles of large carnivores (Allen et al. In press): 1. The overall paucity of available data, 2. The reliability of carnivore population sampling techniques, 3. The general disregard for alternative hypotheses to top-down forcing, 4. ThAuthorsBenjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Henrik Andrén, Guy Ballard, Luigi Boitani, Richard M. Engeman, Peter J. S. Fleming, Adam T. Ford, Peter M. Haswell, Rafał Kowalczyk, John D. C. Linnell, L. David Mech, Daniel M. ParkerGray Wolf (Canis lupus) death by stick impalement
Although Canis lupus L. (Gray Wolf) individuals are sometimes impaled by sticks, we could find no documentation of natural impalement by sticks as a cause of death for wild Wolves. Here we report on a wild Gray Wolf from northeastern Minnesota that died due to stick puncture of its thorax and abdomen.AuthorsShannon Barber-Meyer, Lori Schmidt, L. David MechUse of erroneous wolf generation time in assessments of domestic dog and human evolution
Scientific interest in dog domestication and parallel evolution of dogs and humans (Wang et al. 2013) has increased recently (Freedman et al. 2014, Larson and Bradley 2014, Franz et al. 2016,), and various important conclusions have been drawn based on how long ago the calculations show dogs were domesticated from ancestral wolves (Canis lupus). Calculation of this duration is based on “the most cAuthorsL. David Mech, Shannon Barber-MeyerA serosurvey of diseases of free-ranging gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Minnesota
We tested serum samples from 387 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from 2007 to 2013 for exposure to eight canid pathogens to establish baseline data on disease prevalence and spatial distribution in Minnesota's wolf population. We found high exposure to canine adenoviruses 1 and 2 (88% adults, 45% pups), canine parvovirus (82% adults, 24% pups), and Lyme disease (76% adults, 39% pups). Sixty-sixAuthorsMichelle Carstensen, John H. Giudice, Erik C. Hildebrand, J. P. Dubey, John Erb, Dan Stark, John Hart, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Steve K. Windels, Andrew J. EdwardsSexually dimorphic aggression indicates male gray wolves specialize in pack defense against conspecific groups
Aggression directed at conspecific groups is common among gregarious, territorial species, and for some species such as gray wolves (Canis lupus) intraspecific strife is the leading cause of natural mortality. Each individual in a group likely has different measures of the costs and benefits associated with a group task, such as an aggressive attack on another group, which can alter motivation andAuthorsKira A. Cassidy, L. David Mech, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. SmithWhite-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) subsidize gray wolves (Canis lupus) during a moose (Alces americanus) decline: A case of apparent competition?
Moose (Alces americanus) in northeastern Minnesota have declined by 55% since 2006. Although the cause is unresolved, some studies have suggested that Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) contributed to the decline. After the Moose decline, wolves could either decline or switch prey. To determine which occurred in our study area, we compared winter wolf counts and summer diet before and after the Moose decliAuthorsShannon Barber-Meyer, L. David MechDifferential wolf-pack-size persistence and the role of risk when hunting dangerous prey
Risk to predators hunting dangerous prey is an emerging area of research and could account for possible persistent differences in gray wolf (Canis lupus) pack sizes. We documented significant differences in long-term wolf-pack-size averages and variation in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Denali National Park and Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon, Canada (p<0.01). The SNF differeAuthorsShannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Wesley E. Newton, Bridget BorgTerritoriality and inter-pack aggression in gray wolves: shaping a social carnivore's life history
When Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book in 1894 and included the famous line "For the strength of the Wolf is the Pack, and the strength of the Pack is the Wolf," he would have had no idea that over a century later, scientific research would back up his poetic phrase. Recent studies in Yellowstone have found that both the individual wolf and the collective pack rely on each other and play imporAuthorsKira A. Cassidy, Douglas W. Smith, L. David Mech, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Matthew C. MetzWolf (Canis lupus) generation time and proportion of current breeding females by age
Information is sparse about aspects of female wolf (Canis lupus) breeding in the wild, including age of first reproduction, mean age of primiparity, generation time, and proportion of each age that breeds in any given year. We studied these subjects in 86 wolves (113 captures) in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota (MN), during 1972–2013 where wolves were legally protected for most of thAuthorsL. David Mech, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, John Erb