Where the wolf roams: ecological preferences and wild prey association in a changing Mediterranean landscape.

The wolf (Canis lupus) is a species of great conservation interest and has recently highlighted management challenges throughout Europe. Over the past 50 years, the establishment of National Parks, forest cover changes as well as the expansion of wild ungulates seem to have played a crucial role in shaping the demographic trend of the wolf. We investigated prey-predator associations in the Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni National Park (Southern Italy), one of the most ecologically significant areas contributing to the recovery of wolf in Southern Apennine. During the wolf bottleneck in the 70's, the protected area hosted only a few wolves and wild prey were scarce, while nowadays the wolf population has exceeded two hundred individuals, the wild boar number has increased significantly, and both roe deer and red deer are steadily rising following reintroduction actions. We aim to examine the relationship between the wolf population and its three primary wild prey considering the environmental changes that have occurred over the past few decades to underpin the current and future complex ecological relationships in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Overall, our study lays the groundwork for future management strategies aimed at reconciling large carnivore conservation with sustainable forest use and human-wildlife coexistence.