Supplemental Feeding Stations Modulating Social Dynamics and Population Stability in Wild Ungulate Species

Abstract

Supplemental feeding is a popular practice adopted in wildlife management in the interest of sustaining wild herds during times of resource shortages, but the long-term effects of such practices on herd sociological structure and demographics remain unclear. The current work examines how feeding interventions may affect aggression levels, dominance behaviors, and population equilibrium in wild ungulates. By using observational data and herd demographic records, we studied shifts in herd movements, population growth rates, and changes in behavior in relation to food patches. The analysis demonstrates that although feeding intervention raises carrying capacities and short-term survival rates, it causes dramatic spikes in the number of aggressive incidents and undermines stable matriarchal and bachelor group structures. Feeding patch density creates strong competition among individuals and causes behavioral adjustments towards territorial polygyny and dominance strategies. Importantly, our results show that prolonged interference in managing the population leads to disruption of natural dynamics and leaves the population extremely sensitive to any changes to feeding regimes. It is shown via the mathematical and theoretical modeling provided above that the increased carrying capacity within the ecosystem through the use of subsidies leads to the development of transient dynamics within the animal populations that reduce ecological resilience. The above findings imply that wildlife management practices should shift from continuous provision of subsidies to infrequent and scattered provision practices in order to avoid behavioral modification within the wildlife communities.