Tolerance of wolves shapes desert canid communities in the Middle East

Abstract

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is recovering globally due to increasing human acceptance, which can drive trophic cascades. An endangered subspecies, the Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs), inhabits arid regions of the southern Levant and Arabian Peninsula where it remains widely persecuted, and little is known about its ecology. Most of the Arabian wolf’s range is dominated by pastoralism, where tolerance of wolves is low. We assessed how acceptance of Arabian wolves, relative to human land-use and density, has cascading effects on other canids by comparing spatial and temporal interactions, and relative abundance of canids across a hyper-arid desert crossing the Israel-Jordan border. Canids responded by adjusting their spatial and temporal activity patterns in relation to human activity. Wolves were recorded significantly less in pastoralist landscapes, leading to cascading effects. We found that jackals (Canis aureus) and foxes (Vulpes spp.) are both suppressed by larger canids. Wolves and jackals both suppressed foxes, but wolves also facilitated foxes by reducing pressure from jackals. Representing the first documentation of the role of an apex predator in the Middle East, our findings highlight the strong ecological effects that Arabian wolves have on desert ecosystems. Conservation efforts should focus on increasing tolerance and working towards coexistence in pastoralist landscapes.

Keywords

• Apex predator
• Human attitudes
• Human-wildlife conflict
• Mesopredator
• Predator interactions