Identifying and overcoming knowledge gaps in the feeding ecology of grey wolves inhabiting anthropized landscapes

Abstract The recent expansion of grey wolves (Canis lupus) in Italy has led them into new ecological contexts, including areas characterized by poor prey communities and landscape anthropization. While dietary studies are essential for predicting wolf’s ecological functions and impacts, it remains unclear whether research on wolf diet has kept pace with this expansion. We mapped the current distribution of wolves in Italy and then clusterized areas based on food resources available to wolves: domestic or wild ungulates, the coypu (Myocastor coypus), and resources associated with landscape anthropization. Finally, we checked the coverage of each cluster by dietary studies (n = 33). Areas currently inhabited by wolves in Italy include nine different food resource assemblages. However, most studies on wolf diet have focused on remote areas of the Alps, where northern chamois and red deer are abundant, and in areas with a rich assemblage of wild ungulates. In contrast, wolf diet remains unexplored in Mediterranean ecosystems with poorer ungulate assemblages and in highly anthropized landscapes, despite these environments together accounting for most areas of ongoing wolf expansion. These gaps may preventing us from knowing if wolves in highly anthropized landscapes are exposed to toxic compounds and if predation on domestic pets can trigger conflicts. Similarly, the lack of research in areas where wolves rely almost exclusively on wild boar hinders our ability to predict the potential impact of African Swine Fever on wolf ecology and behaviour, as well as its broader influence on human-wolf conflicts.