Foodniche of Coyotes in the Rolling Plains of Texas

Abstract

Coyote diets were determined from scat and stomach analyses over a two-year period in an area centered in the Rolling Plains region of Texas. Fruit from 9 species of native plants were the most important food for coyotes, making up 46% of the annual diet. Honey mesquite pods alone contributed 15.6% of the annual diet. Rodents contributed 24.5% of the coyote's annual diet, while leporids made up just 10.5%. The foodniche of coyotes varied seasonally as well as annually. The coyote's role as an agent of seed dispersal appears minimal since digestion of some seeds by coyotes significantly reduces percent germination. Late evening and pre-dawn hours seem the normal feeding period for most coyotes, and moon phase did not affect the timing of this activity. In this study there was no evidence of coyote predation on cattle.