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
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
Evaluation of a formula that categorizes female gray wolf breeding status by nipple size
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn risk from Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) predation during summer
Yellowstone wolf (Canis lupus) denisty predicted by elk (Cervus elaphus) biomass
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) dyad monthly association rates by demographic group.
The early history of the International Wolf Center
Group composition effects on aggressive interpack interactions of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park
Growth rates and variances of unexploited wolf populations in dynamic equilibria
Wolves on the hunt: The behavior of wolves hunting wild prey
Re-evaluating the northeastern Minnesota moose decline and the role of wolves
How hot is too hot? Live-trapped gray wolf rectal temperatures and 1-year survival
Wolf population regulation revisited: again
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Evaluation of a formula that categorizes female gray wolf breeding status by nipple size
The proportion by age class of wild Canis lupus (Gray Wolf) females that reproduce in any given year remains unclear; thus, we evaluated the applicability to our long-term (1972–2013) data set of the Mech et al. (1993) formula that categorizes female Gray Wolf breeding status by nipple size and time of year. We used the formula to classify Gray Wolves from 68 capture events into 4 categories (yearAuthorsShannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David MechWhite-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn risk from Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) predation during summer
Little is known about how often various prey animals are at risk of predation by Gray Wolves (Canis lupus). We used a system to monitor the presence during the day of two radio-collared Gray Wolves within 2 km of a radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with a fawn or fawns in August 2013 in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota. We concluded that the fawn or faAuthorsL. David Mech, Aaron Morris, Shannon M. Barber-MeyerYellowstone wolf (Canis lupus) denisty predicted by elk (Cervus elaphus) biomass
The Northern Range (NR) of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) hosts a higher prey biomass density in the form of elk (Cervus elaphus L., 1758) than any other system of gray wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) and prey reported. Therefore, it is important to determine whether that wolf–prey system fits a long-standing model relating wolf density to prey biomass. Using data from 2005 to 2012 after elk populaAuthorsL. David Mech, Shannon Barber-MeyerGray Wolf (Canis lupus) dyad monthly association rates by demographic group.
Preliminary data from GPS-collared wolves (Canis lupus) in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota indicated wolves had low association rates with packmates during summer. However, aerial-telemetry locations of very high frequency (VHF)-radioed wolves in this same area showed high associations among packmates during winter. We analyzed aerial-telemetry-location data from VHF-collareAuthorsShannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David MechThe early history of the International Wolf Center
Highlights how the International Wolf Center came from an idea to reality.AuthorsL. David MechGroup composition effects on aggressive interpack interactions of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park
Knowledge of characteristics that promote group success during intraspecific encounters is key to understanding the adaptive advantages of sociality for many group-living species. In addition, some individuals in a group may be more likely than others to influence intergroup conflicts, a relatively neglected idea in research on social animals. Here we use observations of aggressive interactions beAuthorsKira A. Cassidy, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. Smith, L. David MechGrowth rates and variances of unexploited wolf populations in dynamic equilibria
Several states have begun harvesting gray wolves (Canis lupus), and these states and various European countries are closely monitoring their wolf populations. To provide appropriate perspective for determining unusual or extreme fluctuations in their managed wolf populations, we analyzed natural, long-term, wolf-population-density trajectories totaling 130 years of data from 3 areas: Isle Royale NAuthorsL. David Mech, John FiebergWolves on the hunt: The behavior of wolves hunting wild prey
The interactions between apex predators and their prey are some of the most awesome and meaningful in nature—displays of strength, endurance, and a deep coevolutionary history. And there is perhaps no apex predator more impressive and important in its hunting—or more infamous, more misjudged—than the wolf. Because of wolves’ habitat, speed, and general success at evading humans, researchers have fAuthorsL. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNultyRe-evaluating the northeastern Minnesota moose decline and the role of wolves
We re-evaluated findings from Lenarz et al. (2009) that adult moose (Alces alces) survival in northeastern Minnesota was related to high January temperatures and that predation by wolves (Canis lupus) played a minor role. We found significant inverse relationships between annual wolf numbers in part of the moose range and various moose demographics from 2003 to 2013 that suggested a stronger roleAuthorsL. David Mech, John FiebergHow hot is too hot? Live-trapped gray wolf rectal temperatures and 1-year survival
The ability of physically restrained and anesthetized wolves to thermoregulate is lessened and could lead to reduced survival, yet no information is available about this subject. Therefore, we analyzed rectal temperatures related to survival 1 year post-capture from 173 adult (non-pup) gray wolves (Canis lupus) captured in modified foot-hold traps for radiocollaring during June–August, 1988–2011,AuthorsShannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David MechWolf population regulation revisited: again
The long-accepted conclusion that wolf density is regulated by nutrition was recently challenged, and the conclusion was reached that, at greater levels of prey biomass, social factors such as intraspecific strife and territoriality tend to regulate wolf density. We reanalyzed the data used in that study for 2 reasons: 1) we disputed the use of 2 data points, and 2) because of recognized heterosceAuthorsRonald E. McRoberts, L. David Mech