1
|
Polivka CM, Malone MA, Carran SA, Dwyer G. Understanding how restoration reduces competition for habitat by combining theory, observation, and experiment. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024:e3033. [PMID: 39359057 DOI: 10.1002/eap.3033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024]
Abstract
Habitat selection theory enables inferences about species habitat choice across a range of observed population densities. However, it is relatively uncommon to use habitat selection theory in studies of habitat restoration efficacy to understand the effect of restoration on habitat competition. We combined observational density data and resource selection functions to analyze habitat correlations with both habitat selection theory and a mark-recapture experiment to show how habitat restoration can mitigate competition between species with similar habitat preferences. To restore degraded and channelized riverine habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) engineered log jams (ELJs) have been installed to create pools to enhance growth and rearing. Application of habitat selection theory first showed that both species share a preference for ELJ-treated habitat over unrestored habitat. Linear models showed that steelhead are generalists with respect to depth in unrestored habitat, whereas both species' abundance varies along a depth gradient in ELJ-treated habitat. Selective versus opportunistic use of deep and shallow ELJ pools was density-dependent. We found a range of densities at which a "ghost of competition" exists, where Chinook are selective on deep ELJ-treated pools and steelhead are selective on shallow pools. A mark-recapture experiment confirmed that steelhead limit Chinook movement into unrestored habitat, but this competitive effect vanished in ELJ-treated habitat where selection occurred with respect to pool depth. The experiment, combined with theory, enabled (1) the identification of a mechanism allowing for shared preference of restored habitat and (2) the description of how restoration can mitigate competition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Polivka
- Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Wenatchee, Washington, USA
| | - Margaret A Malone
- Cascadia Conservation District, Wenatchee, Washington, USA
- Institute of Environment Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Spencer A Carran
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Greg Dwyer
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Webber QMR, Laforge MP, Bonar M, Vander Wal E. The adaptive value of density-dependent habitat specialization and social network centrality. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4423. [PMID: 38789438 PMCID: PMC11126670 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48657-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Density dependence is a fundamental ecological process. In particular, animal habitat selection and social behavior often affect fitness in a density-dependent manner. The Ideal Free Distribution (IFD) and niche variation hypothesis (NVH) present distinct predictions associated with Optimal Foraging Theory about how the effect of habitat selection on fitness varies with population density. Using caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in Canada as a model system, we test competing hypotheses about how habitat specialization, social behavior, and annual reproductive success (co)vary across a population density gradient. Within a behavioral reaction norm framework, we estimate repeatability, behavioral plasticity, and covariance among social behavior and habitat selection to investigate the adaptive value of sociality and habitat selection. In support of NVH, but not the IFD, we find that at high density habitat specialists had higher annual reproductive success than generalists, but were also less social than generalists, suggesting the possibility that specialists were less social to avoid competition. Our study supports niche variation as a mechanism for density-dependent habitat specialization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Quinn M R Webber
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NF, Canada.
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Michel P Laforge
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NF, Canada
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Maegwin Bonar
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NF, Canada
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NF, Canada
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NF, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
van den Bosch M, Kellner KF, Gantchoff MG, Patterson BR, Barber-Meyer SM, Beyer DE, Erb JD, Isaac EJ, MacFarland DM, Moore SA, Norton DC, Petroelje TR, Price Tack JL, Roell BJ, Schrage M, Belant JL. Habitat selection of resident and non-resident gray wolves: implications for habitat connectivity. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20415. [PMID: 37990118 PMCID: PMC10663587 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47815-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Habitat selection studies facilitate assessing and predicting species distributions and habitat connectivity, but habitat selection can vary temporally and among individuals, which is often ignored. We used GPS telemetry data from 96 Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the western Great Lakes region of the USA to assess differences in habitat selection while wolves exhibited resident (territorial) or non-resident (dispersing or floating) movements and discuss implications for habitat connectivity. We used a step-selection function (SSF) to assess habitat selection by wolves exhibiting resident or non-resident movements, and modeled circuit connectivity throughout the western Great Lakes region. Wolves selected for natural land cover and against areas with high road densities, with no differences in selection among wolves when resident, dispersing, or floating. Similar habitat selection between resident and non-resident wolves may be due to similarity in environmental conditions, when non-resident movements occur largely within established wolf range rather than near the periphery or beyond the species range. Alternatively, non-resident wolves may travel through occupied territories because higher food availability or lower human disturbance outweighs risks posed by conspecifics. Finally, an absence of differences in habitat selection between resident and non-resident wolf movements may be due to other unknown reasons. We recommend considering context-dependency when evaluating differences in movements and habitat use between resident and non-resident individuals. Our results also provide independent validation of a previous species distribution model and connectivity analysis suggesting most potential wolf habitat in the western Great Lakes region is occupied, with limited connectivity to unoccupied habitat.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M van den Bosch
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - K F Kellner
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - M G Gantchoff
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA
| | - B R Patterson
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Wildlife Research and Development Section, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
| | | | - D E Beyer
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - J D Erb
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group, Grand Rapids, MN, USA
| | - E J Isaac
- Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Biology and Environment, Grand Portage, MN, USA
| | - D M MacFarland
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Office of Applied Science, Rhinelander, WI, USA
| | - S A Moore
- Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Biology and Environment, Grand Portage, MN, USA
| | - D C Norton
- Wildlife Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - T R Petroelje
- Wildlife Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - J L Price Tack
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Office of Applied Science, Rhinelander, WI, USA
| | - B J Roell
- Wildlife Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - M Schrage
- Fond du Lac Resource Management Division, Cloquet, MN, USA
| | - J L Belant
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Benhamou S, Courbin N. Accounting for central place foraging constraints in habitat selection studies. Ecology 2023; 104:e4134. [PMID: 37386731 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Habitat selection studies contrast actual space use with the expected use under the null hypothesis of no selection (hereafter neutral use). Neutral use is most often equated to the relative frequencies with which environmental features occur. This generates a considerable bias when studying habitat selection by foragers that perform numerous trips back and forth to a central place (CP). Indeed, the increased space use close to the CP with respect to distant places reflects a mechanical effect, rather than a true selection for the closest habitats. Yet, correctly estimating habitat selection by CP foragers is of paramount importance for a better understanding of their ecology and to properly plan conservation actions. We show that including the distance to the CP as a covariate in unconditional Resource Selection Functions, as applied in several studies, is ineffective to correct for the bias. This bias can be eliminated only by contrasting the actual use to an appropriate neutral use that considers the CP forager behavior. We also show that the need to specify an appropriate neutral use overall distribution can be bypassed by relying on a conditional approach, where the neutral use is assessed locally regardless of the distance to the CP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Benhamou
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Nicolas Courbin
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Turner JW, Prokopenko CM, Kingdon KA, Dupont DLJ, Zabihi-Seissan S, Vander Wal E. Death comes for us all: relating movement-integrated habitat selection and social behavior to human-associated and disease-related mortality among gray wolves. Oecologia 2023; 202:685-697. [PMID: 37515598 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05426-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Avoiding death affects biological processes, including behavior. Habitat selection, movement, and sociality are highly flexible behaviors that influence the mortality risks and subsequent fitness of individuals. In the Anthropocene, animals are experiencing increased risks from direct human causes and increased spread of infectious diseases. Using integrated step selection analysis, we tested how the habitat selection, movement, and social behaviors of gray wolves vary in the two months prior to death due to humans (being shot or trapped) or canine distemper virus (CDV). We further tested how those behaviors vary as a prelude to death. We studied populations of wolves that occurred under two different management schemes: a national park managed for conservation and a provincially managed multi-use area. Behaviors that changed prior to death were strongly related to how an animal eventually died. Wolves killed by humans moved slower than wolves that survived and selected to be nearer roads closer in time to their death. Wolves that died due to CDV moved progressively slower as they neared death and reduced their avoidance of wet habitats. All animals, regardless of dying or living, maintained selection to be near packmates across time, which seemingly contributed to disease dynamics in the packs infected with CDV. There were no noticeable differences in behavior between the two management areas. Overall, habitat selection, movement, and sociality interact to put individuals and groups at greater risks, influencing their cause-specific mortality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie W Turner
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada.
| | - Christina M Prokopenko
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Katrien A Kingdon
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Daniel L J Dupont
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
- Département des sciences expérimentales, Université de Saint-Boniface, 200 ave de la Cathédrale, Winnipeg, MB, R2H 0H7, Canada
| | - Sana Zabihi-Seissan
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ramsay MS, Sgarlata GM, Barratt CD, Salmona J, Andriatsitohaina B, Kiene F, Manzi S, Ramilison ML, Rakotondravony R, Chikhi L, Lehman SM, Radespiel U. Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Connectivity and Genetic Diversity in an Endemic and an Invasive Rodent in Northwestern Madagascar. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1451. [PMID: 37510355 PMCID: PMC10378931 DOI: 10.3390/genes14071451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Habitat loss and fragmentation are of concern to conservation biologists worldwide. However, not all organisms are affected equally by these processes; thus, it is important to study the effects of living in fragmented habitats on species that differ in lifestyle and habitat requirements. In this study, we examined the dispersal and connectivity patterns of rodents, one endemic (Eliurus myoxinus) and one invasive (Rattus rattus), in two landscapes containing forest fragments and adjacent continuous forest patches in northwestern Madagascar. We generated genetic (RADseq) data for 66 E. myoxinus and 81 R. rattus individuals to evaluate differences in genetic diversity as well as inbreeding and connectivity in two landscapes. We found higher levels of inbreeding and lower levels of genetic diversity in E. myoxinus compared with R. rattus. We observed related dyads both within and between habitat patches and positive spatial autocorrelation at lower distance classes for both species, with a stronger pattern of spatial autocorrelation in R. rattus. Across each site, we identified contrasting migration rates for each species, but these did not correspond to habitat-matrix dichotomies. The relatively low genetic diversity in the endemic E. myoxinus suggests ecological constraints that require further investigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Malcolm S Ramsay
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | | | - Christopher D Barratt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jordi Salmona
- CNRS-UPS-IRD, UMR5174, Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Bertrand Andriatsitohaina
- Planet Madagascar, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
- Faculté des Sciences, de Technologies et de l'Environnement, Université de Mahajanga, Mahajanga 401, Madagascar
| | - Frederik Kiene
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - Sophie Manzi
- CNRS-UPS-IRD, UMR5174, Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Miarisoa L Ramilison
- Faculté des Sciences, de Technologies et de l'Environnement, Université de Mahajanga, Mahajanga 401, Madagascar
- Department of Primate Behavior and Ecology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA
| | - Romule Rakotondravony
- Faculté des Sciences, de Technologies et de l'Environnement, Université de Mahajanga, Mahajanga 401, Madagascar
| | - Lounès Chikhi
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
- CNRS-UPS-IRD, UMR5174, Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Shawn M Lehman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada
| | - Ute Radespiel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Blum ME, Stewart KM, Shoemaker KT, Cox M, Wakeling BF, Dilts TE, Bennett JR, Bleich VC. Changes in selection of resources with reproductive state in a montane ungulate. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:20. [PMID: 37020241 PMCID: PMC10077753 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00378-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Animals select habitats based on food, water, space, and cover. Each of those components are essential to the ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in a particular habitat. Selection of resources is linked to reproductive fitness and individuals likely vary in how they select resources relative to their reproductive state: during pregnancy, while provisioning young when nutritional needs of the mother are high, but offspring are vulnerable to predation, or if they lose young to mortality. We investigated the effects of reproductive state on selection of resources by maternal female desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) by comparing selection during the last trimester of gestation, following parturition when females were provisioning dependent young, and if the female lost an offspring. We captured, and recaptured each year, 32 female bighorn sheep at Lone Mountain, Nevada, during 2016-2018. Captured females were fit with GPS collars and those that were pregnant received vaginal implant transmitters. We used a Bayesian approach to estimate differences in selection between females provisioning and not provisioning offspring, as well as the length of time it took for females with offspring to return levels of selection similar to that observed prior to parturition. Females that were not provisioning offspring selected areas with higher risk of predation, but greater nutritional resources than those that were provisioning dependent young. When females were provisioning young immediately following parturition, females selected areas that were safe from predators, but had lower nutritional resources. Females displayed varying rates of return to selection strategies associated with access to nutritional resources as young grew and became more agile and less dependent on mothers. We observed clear and substantial shifts in selection of resources associated with reproductive state, and females exhibited tradeoffs in favor of areas that were safer from predators when provisioning dependent young despite loss of nutritional resources to support lactation. As young grew and became less vulnerable to predators, females returned to levels of selection that provided access to nutritional resources to restore somatic reserves lost during lactation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcus E Blum
- Natural Resources Institute, Texas A&M University, 1001 Holleman Dr, College Station, TX, 77840, USA.
| | - Kelley M Stewart
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., MS 186, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - Kevin T Shoemaker
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., MS 186, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - Mike Cox
- Nevada Department of Wildlife, 6980 Sierra Center Parkway #120, Reno, NV, 89511, USA
| | - Brian F Wakeling
- Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT, 59620, USA
| | - Thomas E Dilts
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., MS 186, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - Joe R Bennett
- Nevada Department of Wildlife, 6980 Sierra Center Parkway #120, Reno, NV, 89511, USA
| | - Vernon C Bleich
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., MS 186, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Capera-Aragones P, Tyson RC, Foxall E. The maximum entropy principle to predict forager spatial distributions: an alternate perspective for movement ecology. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-023-00552-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
|
9
|
Smith BJ, MacNulty DR, Stahler DR, Smith DW, Avgar T. Density-dependent habitat selection alters drivers of population distribution in northern Yellowstone elk. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:245-256. [PMID: 36573288 PMCID: PMC10107875 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Although it is well established that density dependence drives changes in organismal abundance over time, relatively little is known about how density dependence affects variation in abundance over space. We tested the hypothesis that spatial trade-offs between food and safety can change the drivers of population distribution, caused by opposing patterns of density-dependent habitat selection (DDHS) that are predicted by the multidimensional ideal free distribution. We addressed this using winter aerial survey data of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus canadensis) spanning four decades. Supporting our hypothesis, we found positive DDHS for food (herbaceous biomass) and negative DDHS for safety (openness and roughness), such that the primary driver of habitat selection switched from food to safety as elk density decreased from 9.3 to 2.0 elk/km2 . Our results demonstrate how population density can drive landscape-level shifts in population distribution, confounding habitat selection inference and prediction and potentially affecting community-level interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brian J Smith
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Daniel R MacNulty
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Daniel R Stahler
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
| | - Douglas W Smith
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
| | - Tal Avgar
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.,Biodiversity Pathways Ltd., British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Montalvo VH, Sáenz-Bolaños C, Carrillo E, Fuller TK. A review of environmental and anthropogenic variables used to model jaguar occurrence. NEOTROPICAL BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 2023. [DOI: 10.3897/neotropical.18.e98437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Jaguars (Panthera onca) are a landscape species of conservation importance and our understanding of environmental and anthropogenic drivers of jaguar occurrence is necessary to improve conservation strategies. We reviewed available literature to simply describe environmental and anthropogenic variables used and found to be significant in occurrence modeling. We reviewed 95 documents published from 1980 to 2021 that focused on jaguar occurrence and that used 39 variable types (21 anthropogenic, 18 environmental) among different techniques, scales, and approaches. In general, these variables included both anthropogenic (roads, land use, human activities, and population) and environmental (climate, vegetation, ecological interactions, topographic, water, and others) factors. Twelve variables were identified as affecting jaguar occurrence overall, eleven at local scale and seven at broad scales (regional and continental). Focusing more specifically on the variables that correlate with occurrence should help researchers to make better predictions in areas without quantitative jaguar data.
Collapse
|
11
|
Iverson AR, Humple DL, Cormier RL, Hull J. Land cover and NDVI are important predictors in habitat selection along migration for the Golden-crowned Sparrow, a temperate-zone migrating songbird. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:2. [PMID: 36639697 PMCID: PMC9837890 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00353-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Migrating passerines in North America have shown sharp declines. Understanding habitat selection and threats along migration paths are critical research needs, but details about migrations have been limited due to the difficulty of tracking small birds. Recent technological advances of tiny GPS-tags provide new opportunities to delineate fine-scale movements in small passerines during a life stage that has previously been inherently difficult to study. METHODS We investigated habitat selection along migration routes for a temperate-zone migratory passerine, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla), given GPS tags on California wintering grounds. We used a resource selection function combined with conditional logistic regression to compare matched sets of known stopover locations and available but unused locations to determine how land cover class, vegetation greenness and climate variables influence habitat selection during migration. We also provide general migration descriptions for this understudied species including migration distance, duration, and elevation, and repeated use of stopover areas. RESULTS We acquired 22 tracks across 19 individuals, with a total of 541 valid spring and fall migration locations. Birds traveled to breeding grounds in Alaska and British Columbia along coastal routes, selecting for shrubland and higher vegetation greenness in both migration seasons as well as grasslands during fall migration. However, model interactions showed they selected sites with lower levels of greenness when in forest (both seasons) and shrubland (fall only), which may reflect their preference for more open habitats or represent a trade-off in selection between habitat type and productivity. Birds also selected for locations with higher daily maximum temperature during spring migration. Routes during spring migration were lower in elevation on average, shorter in duration, and had fewer long stopovers than in fall migration. For two birds, we found repeated use of the same stopover areas in spring and fall migration. CONCLUSIONS Using miniaturized GPS, this study provides new insight into habitat selection along migration routes for a common temperate-zone migrating songbird, contributing to a better understanding of full annual cycle models, and informing conservation efforts. Golden-crowned Sparrows selected for specific habitats along migration routes, and we found previously unknown behaviors such as repeated use of the same stopover areas by individuals across different migratory seasons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Autumn R Iverson
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| | - Diana L Humple
- Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive #11, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Renée L Cormier
- Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive #11, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Josh Hull
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Šigutová H, Šigut M, Dolný A, Harabiš F. Individual variability in habitat selection by aquatic insects is driven by taxonomy rather than specialisation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20735. [PMID: 36456650 PMCID: PMC9715563 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25363-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat selection, the choice of a habitat based on its perceived quality, is a key mechanism structuring freshwater communities. To date, individual variability in habitat selection has been neglected, and specialisation has never been considered in this type of studies. We examined the individual differences in the habitat selection of backswimmers (Notonectidae) and diving beetles (Dytiscidae). From each family, we selected one habitat generalist able to coexist with fish (Notonecta glauca, Dytiscus marginalis), and one species specialised to fishless habitats (Notonecta obliqua, Acilius sulcatus). We performed a mesocosm experiment quantifying the consistency in individuals' decisions in response to fish and vegetation structure, in relation to sex and specialisation. Neither the overall pattern of preferences nor consistency in individuals' decisions differed between specialists and generalists or between the sexes, but both were consistent within families. At the population level, backswimmers preferred fishless pools with submersed and floating macrophytes, while diving beetles showed no clear preferences. Individual decisions of backswimmers were consistent and likely driven by conspecific/heterospecific attraction. In diving beetles, individual decisions were primarily density-dependent. Our results reinforce the significance of habitat selectivity for aquatic community assembly, while suggesting a range of mechanisms driving variability in individual behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hana Šigutová
- grid.412684.d0000 0001 2155 4545Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic ,grid.10979.360000 0001 1245 3953Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Šigut
- grid.412684.d0000 0001 2155 4545Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Dolný
- grid.412684.d0000 0001 2155 4545Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Harabiš
- grid.15866.3c0000 0001 2238 631XDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Multi-species occupancy modeling suggests interspecific interaction among the three ungulate species. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17602. [PMID: 36266303 PMCID: PMC9584884 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20953-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Species with sympatric distribution influence ecosystem dynamics and are impacted by the presence of other co-existing species. Assessing the coexistence and the role of interspecific interactions with the landscape variables is necessary to know the species co-occurrence in space. In the Indian Himalayan region, such studies are completely lacking due to limited efforts being made, mainly because of complex terrains and inaccessible landscape features. We used camera trapping and sign survey in a multi-species occupancy framework to understand the influence of environmental variables on occupancy and detection probability of species-specific and pair-wise interaction of the three ungulates in Uttarkashi. Our results concluded that individual species' occupancy probabilities were related both to the environmental variables and the presence or absence of other interacting species. Our top model showed evidence of interspecific interaction among species pairs, and the occupancy probability of species one varied in the presence or absence of another species. The overall activity patterns were similar among all the three species and were found active throughout the day. The activity overlap between sambar-barking deer (Dhat1 value = 0.85) was considerably higher than barking deer-goral (Dhat1 value = 0.78). The findings of the present study will be useful for the conservation and management of ungulates in the Indian Himalayan and adjoining regions.
Collapse
|
14
|
Regan CE, Pemberton JM, Pilkington JG, Smiseth P. Having a better home range does not reduce the cost of reproduction in Soay sheep. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1352-1362. [PMID: 36063153 PMCID: PMC9826142 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
A cost of reproduction may not be observable in the presence of environmental or individual heterogeneity because they affect the resources available to individuals. Individual space use is critical in determining both the resources available to individuals and the exposure to factors that mediate the value of these resources (e.g. competition and parasitism). Despite this, there has, to our knowledge, been little research to understand how between-individual differences in resource acquisition, caused by variation in space use, interact with environmental variation occurring at the population scale to influence estimates of the cost of reproduction in natural populations. We used long-term data from the St. Kilda Soay sheep population to understand how differences in age, relative home range quality, and average adult body mass, interacted with annual variation in population density and winter North Atlantic Oscillation index to influence over-winter survival and reproduction in the subsequent year, for females that had invested into reproduction to varying degrees. Our results suggest that Soay sheep females experience costs both in terms of future survival and future reproduction. However, we found little evidence that estimated costs of reproduction vary depending on relative home range quality. There are several possible causes for the lack of a relationship between relative home range quality and our estimate of the costs experienced by females. These include the potential for a correlation between relative home range quality and reproductive allocation to mask a relationship between home range quality and reproductive costs, as well as the potential for the benefit of higher quality home ranges being offset by higher densities. Nevertheless, our results raise questions regarding the presence or context-dependence of relationships between resource access and the estimated cost of reproduction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte E. Regan
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of ZoologyEdward Grey Institute, University of OxfordOxfordUK
| | | | | | - Per T. Smiseth
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology, University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Paterson JT, Proffitt KM, DeCesare NJ, Gude JA, Hebblewhite M. Evaluating the summer landscapes of predation risk and forage quality for elk ( Cervus canadensis). Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9201. [PMID: 35979523 PMCID: PMC9366754 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The recovery of carnivore populations in North American has consequences for trophic interactions and population dynamics of prey. In addition to direct effects on prey populations through killing, predators can influence prey behavior by imposing the risk of predation. The mechanisms through which patterns of space use by predators are linked to behavioral response by prey and nonconsumptive effects on prey population dynamics are poorly understood. Our goal was to characterize population- and individual-level patterns of resource selection by elk (Cervus canadensis) in response to risk of wolves (Canis lupus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) and evaluate potential nonconsumptive effects of these behavioral patterns. We tested the hypothesis that individual elk risk-avoidance behavior during summer would result in exposure to lower-quality forage and reduced body fat and pregnancy rates. First, we evaluated individuals' second-order and third-order resource selection with a used-available sampling design. At the population level, we found evidence for a positive relationship between second- and third-order selection and forage, and an interaction between forage quality and mountain lion risk such that the relative probability of use at low mountain lion risk increased with forage quality but decreased at high risk at both orders of selection. We found no evidence of a population-level trade-off between forage quality and wolf risk. However, we found substantial among-individual heterogeneity in resource selection patterns such that population-level patterns were potentially misleading. We found no evidence that the diversity of individual resource selection patterns varied predictably with available resources, or that patterns of individual risk-related resource selection translated into biologically meaningful changes in body fat or pregnancy rates. Our work highlights the importance of evaluating individual responses to predation risk and predator hunting technique when assessing responses to predators and suggests nonconsumptive effects are not operating at a population scale in this system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Aliperti JR, Jenderseck K, Van Vuren DH. Habitat selection in a fluctuating ground squirrel population: Density-dependence and fitness consequences. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9241. [PMID: 36052297 PMCID: PMC9424181 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigating individual-based habitat settlement decisions is a central theme in ecology, yet studies that quantify density-dependent habitat selection or tie fitness to resource selection decisions remain rare. We quantified habitat selection in golden-mantled ground squirrels (Callospermophilus lateralis) across two spatial scales (home-range placement, and occurrence within the home range) by using 11 consecutive years of data on individual space use, and we used resource selection functions and multilevel modeling to address how habitat preferences may be influenced by density or linked to fitness outcomes. Squirrels preferred dry meadow over other habitat types (wet meadow, aspen, spruce, and willow) at both spatial scales. Squirrels were more likely to use dry meadow that contained shorter vegetation and vision-enhancing prominences such as rocks ("perches"). The use of dry meadow at each scale was not influenced by changes in density. The use of dry meadow did not lead to increased litter size, pre-hibernation mass, or survival. However, squirrels that experienced a greater number of perches or lower local densities had higher survival rates. Our results suggest that a lack of visual obstruction, probably facilitating detection of predators, drives habitat selection in this system. Surprisingly, squirrels maintained their preference for dry meadow as density increased, and they experienced reduced survival as a result. This work furthers our understanding about the causes and consequences of changes in habitat use, informing wildlife management and conservation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn R. Aliperti
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCAUSA
- Rocky Mountain Biological LaboratoryCrested ButteCOUSA
| | - Kimberly Jenderseck
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCAUSA
- Rocky Mountain Biological LaboratoryCrested ButteCOUSA
| | - Dirk H. Van Vuren
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCAUSA
- Rocky Mountain Biological LaboratoryCrested ButteCOUSA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Broekman MJE, Hilbers JP, Huijbregts MAJ, Mueller T, Ali AH, Andrén H, Altmann J, Aronsson M, Attias N, Bartlam‐Brooks HLA, van Beest FM, Belant JL, Beyer DE, Bidner L, Blaum N, Boone RB, Boyce MS, Brown MB, Cagnacci F, Černe R, Chamaillé‐Jammes S, Dejid N, Dekker J, L. J. Desbiez A, Díaz‐Muñoz SL, Fennessy J, Fichtel C, Fischer C, Fisher JT, Fischhoff I, Ford AT, Fryxell JM, Gehr B, Goheen JR, Hauptfleisch M, Hewison AJM, Hering R, Heurich M, Isbell LA, Janssen R, Jeltsch F, Kaczensky P, Kappeler PM, Krofel M, LaPoint S, Latham ADM, Linnell JDC, Markham AC, Mattisson J, Medici EP, de Miranda Mourão G, Van Moorter B, Morato RG, Morellet N, Mysterud A, Mwiu S, Odden J, Olson KA, Ornicāns A, Pagon N, Panzacchi M, Persson J, Petroelje T, Rolandsen CM, Roshier D, Rubenstein DI, Saïd S, Salemgareyev AR, Sawyer H, Schmidt NM, Selva N, Sergiel A, Stabach J, Stacy‐Dawes J, Stewart FEC, Stiegler J, Strand O, Sundaresan S, Svoboda NJ, Ullmann W, Voigt U, Wall J, Wikelski M, Wilmers CC, Zięba F, Zwijacz‐Kozica T, Schipper AM, Tucker MA. Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data. GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY : A JOURNAL OF MACROECOLOGY 2022; 31:1526-1541. [PMID: 36247232 PMCID: PMC9544534 DOI: 10.1111/geb.13523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Aim Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species. Location Worldwide. Time period 1998-2021. Major taxa studied Forty-nine terrestrial mammal species. Methods Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types. Results IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively. Main conclusions We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maarten J. E. Broekman
- Department of Environmental ScienceInstitute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Jelle P. Hilbers
- Department of Environmental ScienceInstitute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Mark A. J. Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental ScienceInstitute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für NaturforschungFrankfurt (Main)Germany
- Department of Biological SciencesGoethe UniversityFrankfurt (Main)Germany
| | | | - Henrik Andrén
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
| | - Jeanne Altmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
| | - Malin Aronsson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
- Department of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Nina Attias
- Ecology and Conservation Graduate ProgramFederal University of Mato Grosso do SulCampo GrandeMato Grosso do SulBrazil
- Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS)Campo GrandeMato Grosso do SulBrazil
| | | | | | - Jerrold L. Belant
- Global Wildlife Conservation CenterState University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuseNew YorkUSA
| | - Dean E. Beyer
- Department of Fisheries and WildlifeMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | - Laura Bidner
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Niels Blaum
- Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Randall B. Boone
- Department of Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Mark S. Boyce
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Michael B. Brown
- Giraffe Conservation FoundationErosNamibia
- Conservation Ecology CenterSmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology InstituteFront RoyalVirginiaUSA
| | - Francesca Cagnacci
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular EcologyResearch and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund MachTrentoItaly
| | - Rok Černe
- Slovenia Forest ServiceLjubljanaSlovenia
| | - Simon Chamaillé‐Jammes
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3MontpellierFrance
| | - Nandintsetseg Dejid
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für NaturforschungFrankfurt (Main)Germany
| | | | - Arnaud L. J. Desbiez
- Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS)Campo GrandeMato Grosso do SulBrazil
- IPÊ (Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas; Institute for Ecological Research)São PauloBrazil
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)EdinburghUK
| | - Samuel L. Díaz‐Muñoz
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Claudia Fichtel
- German Primate Center, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology UnitGöttingenGermany
| | - Christina Fischer
- Faunistics and Wildlife Conservation, Department of Agriculture, Ecotrophology, and Landscape DevelopmentAnhalt University of Applied SciencesBernburgGermany
| | - Jason T. Fisher
- School of Environmental StudiesUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Adam T. Ford
- Department of Biology, Faculty of ScienceUniversity of British ColumbiaKelownaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - John M. Fryxell
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of GuelphGuelphOntarioCanada
| | - Benedikt Gehr
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Jacob R. Goheen
- Department of Zoology and PhysiologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Morgan Hauptfleisch
- Department of Agriculture And Natural Resources Sciences, Biodiversity Research CentreNamibia University of Science and TechnologyWindhoekNamibia
| | - A. J. Mark Hewison
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFSCastanet‐TolosanFrance
- LTSER ZA Pyrénées GaronneAuzeville‐TolosaneFrance
| | - Robert Hering
- Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Marco Heurich
- Department of Conservation and ResearchBavarian Forest National ParkGrafenauGermany
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and ManagementAlbert Ludwigs University of FreiburgFreiburgGermany
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesKoppangNorway
| | - Lynne A. Isbell
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCaliforniaUSA
- Animal Behavior Graduate GroupUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Florian Jeltsch
- Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Petra Kaczensky
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesKoppangNorway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchTrondheimNorway
- Research Institute of Wildlife EcologyUniversity of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Peter M. Kappeler
- German Primate Center, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology UnitGöttingenGermany
| | - Miha Krofel
- Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Biotechnical FacultyUniversity of LjubljanaLjubljanaSlovenia
| | - Scott LaPoint
- Black Rock ForestCornwallNew YorkUSA
- Lamont‐Doherty Earth ObservatoryColumbia UniversityPalisadesNew YorkUSA
| | - A. David M. Latham
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
- Wildlife Ecology and ManagementManaaki Whenua – Landcare ResearchLincolnNew Zealand
| | - John D. C. Linnell
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesKoppangNorway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchTrondheimNorway
| | | | | | - Emilia Patricia Medici
- IPÊ (Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas; Institute for Ecological Research)São PauloBrazil
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Tapir Specialist Group (TSG)Campo GrandeMato Grosso do SulBrazil
| | | | | | - Ronaldo G. Morato
- National Research Center for Carnivores ConservationChico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of BiodiversityAtibaiaBrazil
| | - Nicolas Morellet
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFSCastanet‐TolosanFrance
- LTSER ZA Pyrénées GaronneAuzeville‐TolosaneFrance
| | - Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of BiosciencesUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Stephen Mwiu
- Wildlife Research and Training InstituteNaivashaKenya
| | - John Odden
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchOsloNorway
| | - Kirk A. Olson
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Mongolia ProgramUlaanbaatarMongolia
| | - Aivars Ornicāns
- Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”SalaspilsLatvia
| | | | | | - Jens Persson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
| | - Tyler Petroelje
- Global Wildlife Conservation CenterState University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuseNew YorkUSA
| | | | - David Roshier
- Australian Wildlife ConservancySubiacoWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Daniel I. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
| | - Sonia Saïd
- Direction de la Recherche et de l'Appui ScientifiqueOffice Français de la BiodiversitéBirieuxFrance
| | - Albert R. Salemgareyev
- Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK)Nur‐SultanKazakhstan
| | - Hall Sawyer
- Western Ecosystems Technology Inc.LaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Niels Martin Schmidt
- Department of BioscienceAarhus UniversityRoskildeDenmark
- Arctic Research CentreAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
| | - Nuria Selva
- Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of SciencesKrakowPoland
| | - Agnieszka Sergiel
- Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of SciencesKrakowPoland
| | - Jared Stabach
- Conservation Ecology CenterSmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology InstituteFront RoyalVirginiaUSA
| | - Jenna Stacy‐Dawes
- Conservation Science and Wildlife HealthSan Diego Zoo Wildlife AllianceEscondidoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Frances E. C. Stewart
- School of Environmental StudiesUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
- Department of BiologyWilfrid Laurier UniversityWaterlooOntarioCanada
| | - Jonas Stiegler
- Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Olav Strand
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchTrondheimNorway
| | | | - Nathan J. Svoboda
- Carnivore Ecology Laboratory, Forest and Wildlife Research CenterMississippi State UniversityMississippi StateMississippiUSA
- Alaska Department of Fish and GameKodiakAlaskaUSA
| | - Wiebke Ullmann
- Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Ulrich Voigt
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife ResearchUniversity of Veterinary Medicine Hannover FoundationHannoverGermany
| | | | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of MigrationMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorRadolfzellGermany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective BehaviourUniversity of KonstanzConstanceGermany
| | - Christopher C. Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies DepartmentUniversity of CaliforniaSanta CruzCaliforniaUSA
| | | | | | - Aafke M. Schipper
- Department of Environmental ScienceInstitute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
- PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment AgencyThe HagueThe Netherlands
| | - Marlee A. Tucker
- Department of Environmental ScienceInstitute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Matthiopoulos J. Defining, estimating, and understanding the fundamental niches of complex animals in heterogeneous environments. ECOL MONOGR 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason Matthiopoulos
- Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine. University of Glasgow. Glasgow. G12 8QQ Scotland
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Pérez-Girón JC, Díaz-Varela ER, Álvarez-Álvarez P, Hernández Palacios O, Ballesteros F, López-Bao JV. Linking landscape structure and vegetation productivity with nut consumption by the Cantabrian brown bear during hyperphagia. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 813:152610. [PMID: 34963596 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In bears, reproduction is dependent on the body reserves accumulated during hyperphagia. The Cantabrian brown bear mainly feeds on nuts during the hyperphagia period. Understanding how landscape heterogeneity and vegetation productivity in human-dominated landscapes influence the feeding habits of bears may therefore be important for disentangling species-habitat relationships of conservation interest. We determined the spatial patterns of nut consumption by brown bears during the hyperphagia period in relation to landscape structure, characteristics of fruit-producing patches and vegetation productivity. For this purpose, we constructed foraging models based on nut consumption data (obtained by scat analysis), by combining vegetation productivity data, topographical variables and landscape metrics to identify nut foraging patterns during this critical period for bears. The average wooded area of patches where scats were collected and where the nuts that the bears had consumed were produced was larger than that of the corresponding patches where nuts were not produced. For scats collected outside of nut-producing patches, the distance between the scats and the patches was greatest for chestnut-producing patches. Elevation, Gross Primary Production (GPP) and the Aggregation Index (AI) were good predictors of acorn consumption in the models. Good model fits were not obtained for data on chestnut consumption in bears. The findings confirm that brown bears feeding on nuts show a preference for relatively large, highly aggregated patches with a high degree of diversity in the landscape pattern, which may help the bears to remain undetected. The nut prediction model highlights areas of particular importance for brown bears during hyperphagia. The human presence associated with sweet chestnut forest stands or orchards may make bears feel more vulnerable when feeding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José Carlos Pérez-Girón
- Department of Organisms and Systems Biology, Polytechnic School of Mieres, University of Oviedo, E-33600, Mieres, Asturias, Spain.
| | - Emilio Rafael Díaz-Varela
- Research Group on Planning and Management in Complex Adaptive Socio-Ecological Systems (COMPASSES), School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-27002 Lugo, Spain
| | - Pedro Álvarez-Álvarez
- Department of Organisms and Systems Biology, Polytechnic School of Mieres, University of Oviedo, E-33600, Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Orencio Hernández Palacios
- Dirección General del Medio Natural y Planificación Rural, Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, E-33005 Oviedo, Spain
| | | | - José Vicente López-Bao
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC - Oviedo University - Principality of Asturias), University of Oviedo, E-33600 Mieres, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Matthiopoulos J, Wakefield E, Jeglinski JWE, Furness RW, Trinder M, Tyler G, Mccluskie A, Allen S, Braithwaite J, Evans T. Integrated modelling of seabird‐habitat associations from multi‐platform data: A review. J Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason Matthiopoulos
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow Glasgow Scotland
- MacArthur Green Glasgow Scotland
| | - Ewan Wakefield
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow Glasgow Scotland
| | - Jana W. E. Jeglinski
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow Glasgow Scotland
| | | | | | | | - Aly Mccluskie
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science RSPB, Etive House, Beechwood Park Inverness Scotland
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Northrup JM, Vander Wal E, Bonar M, Fieberg J, Laforge MP, Leclerc M, Prokopenko CM, Gerber BD. Conceptual and methodological advances in habitat-selection modeling: guidelines for ecology and evolution. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e02470. [PMID: 34626518 PMCID: PMC9285351 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Habitat selection is a fundamental animal behavior that shapes a wide range of ecological processes, including animal movement, nutrient transfer, trophic dynamics and population distribution. Although habitat selection has been a focus of ecological studies for decades, technological, conceptual and methodological advances over the last 20 yr have led to a surge in studies addressing this process. Despite the substantial literature focused on quantifying the habitat-selection patterns of animals, there is a marked lack of guidance on best analytical practices. The conceptual foundations of the most commonly applied modeling frameworks can be confusing even to those well versed in their application. Furthermore, there has yet to be a synthesis of the advances made over the last 20 yr. Therefore, there is a need for both synthesis of the current state of knowledge on habitat selection, and guidance for those seeking to study this process. Here, we provide an approachable overview and synthesis of the literature on habitat-selection analyses (HSAs) conducted using selection functions, which are by far the most applied modeling framework for understanding the habitat-selection process. This review is purposefully non-technical and focused on understanding without heavy mathematical and statistical notation, which can confuse many practitioners. We offer an overview and history of HSAs, describing the tortuous conceptual path to our current understanding. Through this overview, we also aim to address the areas of greatest confusion in the literature. We synthesize the literature outlining the most exciting conceptual advances in the field of habitat-selection modeling, discussing the substantial ecological and evolutionary inference that can be made using contemporary techniques. We aim for this paper to provide clarity for those navigating the complex literature on HSAs while acting as a reference and best practices guide for practitioners.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Northrup
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 1Z8, Canada
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 1Z8, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Maegwin Bonar
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 1Z8, Canada
| | - John Fieberg
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Michel P Laforge
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Martin Leclerc
- Département de Biologie, Caribou Ungava and Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Christina M Prokopenko
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Brian D Gerber
- Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Street GM, Potts JR, Börger L, Beasley JC, Demarais S, Fryxell JM, McLoughlin PD, Monteith KL, Prokopenko CM, Ribeiro MC, Rodgers AR, Strickland BK, Beest FM, Bernasconi DA, Beumer LT, Dharmarajan G, Dwinnell SP, Keiter DA, Keuroghlian A, Newediuk LJ, Oshima JEF, Rhodes O, Schlichting PE, Schmidt NM, Vander Wal E. Solving the sample size problem for resource selection functions. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Garrett M. Street
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State MS USA
- Quantitative Ecology and Spatial Technologies Laboratory Mississippi State University Mississippi State MS USA
| | - Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences Swansea University Swansea UK
- Centre for Biomathematics Swansea University Swansea UK
| | - James C. Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia Aiken SC USA
| | - Stephen Demarais
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State MS USA
| | - John M. Fryxell
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph ON Canada
| | | | - Kevin L. Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Wyoming Laramie WY USA
| | | | - Miltinho C. Ribeiro
- Instituto de Biosciências Universidad Estadual Paulista Rio Claro, São Paulo Brazil
| | - Arthur R. Rodgers
- Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ON Canada
| | - Bronson K. Strickland
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University Mississippi State MS USA
| | | | | | | | - Guha Dharmarajan
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia Aiken SC USA
| | - Samantha P. Dwinnell
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit University of Wyoming Laramie WY USA
| | - David A. Keiter
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia Aiken SC USA
| | | | - Levi J. Newediuk
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s NL Canada
| | - Júlia Emi F. Oshima
- Instituto de Biosciências Universidad Estadual Paulista Rio Claro, São Paulo Brazil
| | - Olin Rhodes
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia Aiken SC USA
| | | | | | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s NL Canada
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Picardi S, Coates P, Kolar J, O'Neil S, Mathews S, Dahlgren D. Behavioural state‐dependent habitat selection and implications for animal translocations. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simona Picardi
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT USA
- Jack H. Berryman InstituteUtah State University Logan UT USA
| | - Peter Coates
- U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon CA USA
| | - Jesse Kolar
- North Dakota Game and Fish Department Bismarck ND USA
| | - Shawn O'Neil
- U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon CA USA
| | - Steven Mathews
- U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon CA USA
| | - David Dahlgren
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
|
25
|
Peterson CJ, Mitchell MS, DeCesare NJ, Bishop CJ, Sells SS. Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254827. [PMID: 34293042 PMCID: PMC8297843 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In the Northern Rockies of the United States, predators like wolves (Canis lupus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) have been implicated in fluctuations or declines in populations of game species like elk (Cervus canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). In particular, local distributions of these predators may affect ungulate behavior, use of space, and dynamics. Our goal was to develop generalizable predictions of habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions across western Montana. We hypothesized both predator species would select habitat that maximized their chances of encountering and killing ungulates and that minimized their chances of encountering humans. We assessed habitat selection by these predators during summer using within-home range (3rd order) resource selection functions (RSFs) in multiple study areas throughout western Montana, and tested how generalizable RSF predictions were by applying them to out-of-sample telemetry data from separate study areas. Selection for vegetation cover-types varied substantially among wolves in different study areas. Nonetheless, our predictions of 3rd order selection by wolves were highly generalizable across different study areas. Wolves consistently selected simple topography where ungulate prey may be more susceptible to their cursorial hunting mode. Topographic features may serve as better proxies of predation risk by wolves than vegetation cover-types. Predictions of mountain lion distribution were less generalizable. Use of rugged terrain by mountain lions varied across ecosystem-types, likely because mountain lions targeted the habitats of different prey species in each study area. Our findings suggest that features that facilitate the hunting mode of a predator (i.e. simple topography for cursorial predators and hiding cover for stalking predators) may be more generalizable predictors of their habitat selection than features associated with local prey densities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Collin J. Peterson
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Michael S. Mitchell
- US Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States of America
| | - Nicholas J. DeCesare
- Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Missoula, MT, United States of America
| | - Chad J. Bishop
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States of America
| | - Sarah S. Sells
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Huang RK, Webber QM, Laforge MP, Robitaille AL, Bonar M, Balluffi-Fry J, Zabihi-Seissan S, Vander Wal E. Coyote (Canis latrans) diet and spatial co-occurrence with woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). CAN J ZOOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2020-0253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The interplay of predator encounters and antipredator responses is an integral part of understanding predator–prey interactions and spatial co-occurrence and avoidance can elucidate these interactions. We conducted hard-part dietary analysis of coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) and space use of coyotes and woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) to test two competing hypotheses about coyote and caribou predator–prey spatial dynamics using resource selection functions. The high encounter hypothesis predicts that coyotes would maximize encounters with caribou via high spatial co-occurrence, whereas the predator stealth hypothesis predicts that through low spatial co-occurrence with caribou, coyotes act as stealth predators by avoiding habitats that caribou typically select. Our dietary analysis revealed that ∼46% of sampled coyote diet is composed of caribou. We found that coyote share space with caribou in lichen-barren habitat in both summer and winter and that coyotes co-occur with caribou in forested habitat during summer, but not during winter. Our findings support predictions associated with the high encounter predator hypothesis whereby coyotes and caribou have high spatial co-occurrence promoting caribou in coyote diet.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard K.K. Huang
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Quinn M.R. Webber
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Michel P. Laforge
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Alec L. Robitaille
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Maegwin Bonar
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Juliana Balluffi-Fry
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Sana Zabihi-Seissan
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Avgar T, Betini GS, Fryxell JM. Habitat selection patterns are density dependent under the ideal free distribution. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:2777-2787. [PMID: 32961607 PMCID: PMC7756284 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Despite being widely used, habitat selection models are rarely reliable and informative when applied across different ecosystems or over time. One possible explanation is that habitat selection is context-dependent due to variation in consumer density and/or resource availability. The goal of this paper is to provide a general theoretical perspective on the contributory mechanisms of consumer and resource density-dependent habitat selection, as well as on our capacity to account for their effects. Towards this goal we revisit the ideal free distribution (IFD), where consumers are assumed to be omniscient, equally competitive and freely moving, and are hence expected to instantaneously distribute themselves across a heterogeneous landscape such that fitness is equalised across the population. Although these assumptions are clearly unrealistic to some degree, the simplicity of the structure in IFD provides a useful theoretical vantage point to help clarify our understanding of more complex spatial processes. Of equal importance, IFD assumptions are compatible with the assumptions underlying common habitat selection models. Here we show how a fitness-maximising space use model, based on IFD, gives rise to resource and consumer density-dependent shifts in consumer distribution, providing a mechanistic explanation for the context-dependent outcomes often reported in habitat selection analysis. Our model suggests that adaptive shifts in consumer distribution patterns would be expected to lead to nonlinear and often non-monotonic patterns of habitat selection. These results indicate that even under the simplest of assumptions about adaptive organismal behaviour, habitat selection strength should critically depend on system-wide characteristics. Clarifying the impact of adaptive behavioural responses may be pivotal in making meaningful ecological inferences about observed patterns of habitat selection and allow reliable transferability of habitat selection predictions across time and space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tal Avgar
- Department of Wildland ResourcesUtah State UniversityLoganUTUSA
| | | | - John M. Fryxell
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of GuelphGuelphCanada
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Balluffi‐Fry J, Leroux SJ, Wiersma YF, Heckford TR, Rizzuto M, Richmond IC, Vander Wal E. Quantity-quality trade-offs revealed using a multiscale test of herbivore resource selection on elemental landscapes. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:13847-13859. [PMID: 33391685 PMCID: PMC7771173 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Herbivores consider the variation of forage qualities (nutritional content and digestibility) as well as quantities (biomass) when foraging. Such selection patterns may change based on the scale of foraging, particularly in the case of ungulates that forage at many scales.To test selection for quality and quantity in free-ranging herbivores across scales, however, we must first develop landscape-wide quantitative estimates of both forage quantity and quality. Stoichiometric distribution models (StDMs) bring opportunity to address this because they predict the elemental measures and stoichiometry of resources at landscape extents.Here, we use StDMs to predict elemental measures of understory white birch quality (% nitrogen) and quantity (g carbon/m2) across two boreal landscapes. We analyzed global positioning system (GPS) collared moose (n = 14) selection for forage quantity and quality at the landscape, home range, and patch extents using both individual and pooled resource selection analyses. We predicted that as the scale of resource selection decreased from the landscape to the patch, selection for white birch quantity would decrease and selection for quality would increase.Counter to our prediction, pooled-models showed selection for our estimates of quantity and quality to be neutral with low explanatory power and no scalar trends. At the individual-level, however, we found evidence for quality and quantity trade-offs, most notably at the home-range scale where resource selection models explain the largest amount of variation in selection. Furthermore, individuals did not follow the same trade-off tactic, with some preferring forage quantity over quality and vice versa.Such individual trade-offs show that moose may be flexible in attaining a limiting nutrient. Our findings suggest that herbivores may respond to forage elemental compositions and quantities, giving tools like StDMs merit toward animal ecology applications. The integration of StDMs and animal movement data represents a promising avenue for progress in the field of zoogeochemistry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Balluffi‐Fry
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’sNLCanada
- Present address:
Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonABCanada
| | - Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’sNLCanada
| | - Yolanda F. Wiersma
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’sNLCanada
| | - Travis R. Heckford
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’sNLCanada
| | - Matteo Rizzuto
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’sNLCanada
| | | | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of BiologyMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’sNLCanada
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Perry TA, Laforge MP, Vander Wal E, Knight TW, McLoughlin PD. Individual responses to novel predation risk and the emergence of a landscape of fear. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A. Perry
- Department of Biology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SaskatchewanS7N 5E2Canada
| | - Michel P. Laforge
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s Newfoundland and LabradorA1B 3X9Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s Newfoundland and LabradorA1B 3X9Canada
| | - Thomas W. Knight
- Parks Canada AgencyGMNP Rocky Harbour Newfoundland and LabradorA0K 4N0Canada
| | - Philip D. McLoughlin
- Department of Biology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SaskatchewanS7N 5E2Canada
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Wisdom MJ, Nielson RM, Rowland MM, Proffitt KM. Modeling Landscape Use for Ungulates: Forgotten Tenets of Ecology, Management, and Inference. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
31
|
Plante S, Dussault C, Richard JH, Garel M, Côté SD. Untangling Effects of Human Disturbance and Natural Factors on Mortality Risk of Migratory Caribou. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
|
32
|
Habitat selection of female sharp-tailed grouse in grasslands managed for livestock production. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233756. [PMID: 32497098 PMCID: PMC7272000 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat selection links individual behavior to population abundance and dynamics, so evaluation of habitat selection is necessary for conservation and management. Land management can potentially alter both the structure and composition of habitats, thus influencing habitat selection and population size. Livestock grazing is the dominant land use worldwide and, while overstocking has been linked to the decline of many wildlife species, properly managed grazing could improve habitat quality and maintain native rangeland habitats. We evaluated breeding season habitat selection of female sharp-tailed grouse, an indicator species for grassland ecosystems, in relation to grazing management and landscape features in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. At broad spatial scales, females selected for multiple landscape features, including grassland, but exhibited no selection for either landscape or management variables when selecting habitat at smaller spatial scales. Females selected for pastures managed with rest-rotation grazing when choosing a home range, but selection did not equate to improved fitness. Moreover, we observed strong individual variation in both home range size and third-order habitat selection. While the high variability among individuals makes specific management recommendations difficult, selection for grassland habitats at broad scales suggests that strategies that maintain intact native rangelands are important for the conservation of sharp-tailed grouse.
Collapse
|
33
|
Hurley MA, Hebblewhite M, Gaillard J. Competition for safe real estate, not food, drives density-dependent juvenile survival in a large herbivore. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:5464-5475. [PMID: 32607167 PMCID: PMC7319175 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Density-dependent competition for food reduces vital rates, with juvenile survival often the first to decline. A clear prediction of food-based, density-dependent competition for large herbivores is decreasing juvenile survival with increasing density. However, competition for enemy-free space could also be a significant mechanism for density dependence in territorial species. How juvenile survival is predicted to change across density depends critically on the nature of predator-prey dynamics and spatial overlap among predator and prey, especially in multiple-predator systems. Here, we used a management experiment that reduced densities of a generalist predator, coyotes, and specialist predator, mountain lions, over a 5-year period to test for spatial density dependence mediated by predation on juvenile mule deer in Idaho, USA. We tested the spatial density-dependence hypothesis by tracking the fate of 251 juvenile mule deer, estimating cause-specific mortality, and testing responses to changes in deer density and predator abundance. Overall juvenile mortality did not increase with deer density, but generalist coyote-caused mortality did, but not when coyote density was reduced experimentally. Mountain lion-caused mortality did not change with deer density in the reference area in contradiction of the food-based competition hypothesis, but declined in the treatment area, opposite to the pattern of coyotes. These observations clearly reject the food-based density-dependence hypothesis for juvenile mule deer. Instead, our results provide support for the spatial density-dependence hypothesis that competition for enemy-free space increases predation by generalist predators on juvenile large herbivores.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology ProgramDepartment of Ecosystem Sciences and ConservationW.A. Franke College of Forestry and ConservationUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMTUSA
| | - Jean‐Michel Gaillard
- Laboratoire Biométrie & Biologie ÉvolutiveCNRSUMR‐CNRS 5558University Claude Bernard ‐ Lyon IVilleurbanne CedexFrance
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Matthiopoulos J, Fieberg J, Aarts G, Barraquand F, Kendall BE. Within Reach? Habitat Availability as a Function of Individual Mobility and Spatial Structuring. Am Nat 2020; 195:1009-1026. [PMID: 32469662 DOI: 10.1086/708519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Organisms need access to particular habitats for their survival and reproduction. However, even if all necessary habitats are available within the broader environment, they may not all be easily reachable from the position of a single individual. Many species distribution models consider populations in environmental (or niche) space, hence overlooking this fundamental aspect of geographical accessibility. Here, we develop a formal way of thinking about habitat availability in environmental spaces by describing how limitations in accessibility can cause animals to experience a more limited or simply different mixture of habitats than those more broadly available. We develop an analytical framework for characterizing constrained habitat availability based on the statistical properties of movement and environmental autocorrelation. Using simulation experiments, we show that our general statistical representation of constrained availability is a good approximation of habitat availability for particular realizations of landscape-organism interactions. We present two applications of our approach, one to the statistical analysis of habitat preference (using step-selection functions to analyze harbor seal telemetry data) and a second that derives theoretical insights about population viability from knowledge of the underlying environment. Analytical expressions for habitat availability, such as those we develop here, can yield gains in analytical speed, biological realism, and conceptual generality by allowing us to formulate models that are habitat sensitive without needing to be spatially explicit.
Collapse
|
35
|
Merems JL, Shipley LA, Levi T, Ruprecht J, Clark DA, Wisdom MJ, Jackson NJ, Stewart KM, Long RA. Nutritional-Landscape Models Link Habitat Use to Condition of Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
36
|
Eckrich CA, Coe PK, Clark DA, Nielson RM, Lombardi J, Gregory SC, Hedrick MJO, Johnson BK, Jackson DH. Summer Habitat Use of Female Mule Deer in Oregon. J Wildl Manage 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn A. Eckrich
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Priscilla K. Coe
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Darren A. Clark
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Ryan M. Nielson
- Eagle Environmental, Inc. 30 Fonda Road Santa Fe NM 87508 USA
| | - John Lombardi
- Western EcoSystems Technology 415 W. 17th Street, Suite 200 Cheyenne WY 82001 USA
| | - Sara C. Gregory
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 61374 Parrell Road Bend OR 97702 USA
| | - Mary JO Hedrick
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 54198 Highway 31 Summer Lake OR 97640 USA
| | - Bruce K. Johnson
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - DeWaine H. Jackson
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 4192 N Umpqua Highway Roseburg OR 97470 USA
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Tédonzong LRD, Willie J, Makengveu ST, Lens L, Tagg N. Variation in behavioral traits of two frugivorous mammals may lead to differential responses to human disturbance. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:3798-3813. [PMID: 32313637 PMCID: PMC7160177 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Human activities can lead to a shift in wildlife species' spatial distribution. Understanding the specific effects of human activities on ranging behavior can improve conservation management of wildlife populations in human-dominated landscapes. This study evaluated the effects of forest use by humans on the spatial distribution of mammal species with different behavioral adaptations, using sympatric western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee as focal species. We collected data on great ape nest locations, ecological and physical variables (habitat distribution, permanent rivers, and topographic data), and anthropogenic variables (distance to trails, villages, and a permanent research site). Here, we show that anthropogenic variables are important predictors of the distribution of wild animals. In the resource model, the distribution of gorilla nests was predicted by nesting habitat distribution, while chimpanzee nests were predicted first by elevation followed by nesting habitat distribution. In the anthropogenic model, the major predictors of gorilla nesting changed to human features, while the major predictors of chimpanzee nesting remained elevation and the availability of their preferred nesting habitats. Animal behavioral traits (body size, terrestrial/arboreal, level of specialization/generalization, and competitive inferiority/superiority) may influence the response of mammals to human activities. Our results suggest that chimpanzees may survive in human-encroached areas whenever the availability of their nesting habitat and preferred fruits can support their population, while a certain level of human activities may threaten gorillas. Consequently, the survival of gorillas in human-dominated landscapes is more at risk than that of chimpanzees. Replicating our research in other sites should permit a systematic evaluation of the influence of human activity on the distribution of mammal populations. As wild animals are increasingly exposed to human disturbance, understanding the resulting consequences of shifting species distributions due to human disturbance on animal population abundance and their long-term survival will be of growing conservation importance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luc Roscelin Dongmo Tédonzong
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), CameroonCentre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC)Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Present address:
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF)MonroviaLiberia
| | - Jacob Willie
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), CameroonCentre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC)Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
| | - Sandra Tewamba Makengveu
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), CameroonCentre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Department of ForestryFaculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA)University of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC)Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), CameroonCentre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
O'Neil ST, Vucetich JA, Beyer DE, Hoy SR, Bump JK. Territoriality drives preemptive habitat selection in recovering wolves: Implications for carnivore conservation. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1433-1447. [PMID: 32145068 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
According to the ideal-free distribution (IFD), individuals within a population are free to select habitats that maximize their chances of success. Assuming knowledge of habitat quality, the IFD predicts that average fitness will be approximately equal among individuals and between habitats, while density varies, implying that habitat selection will be density dependent. Populations are often assumed to follow an IFD, although this assumption is rarely tested with empirical data, and may be incorrect when territoriality indicates habitat selection tactics that deviate from the IFD (e.g. ideal-despotic distribution or ideal-preemptive distribution). When territoriality influences habitat selection, species' density will not directly reflect components of fitness such as reproductive success or survival. In such cases, assuming an IFD can lead to false conclusions about habitat quality. We tested theoretical models of density-dependent habitat selection on a species known to exhibit territorial behaviour in order to determine whether commonly applied habitat models are appropriate under these circumstances. We combined long-term radiotelemetry and census data from grey wolves Canis lupus in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA to relate spatiotemporal variability in wolf density to underlying classifications of habitat within a hierarchical state-space modelling framework. We then iteratively applied isodar analysis to evaluate which distribution of habitat selection best described this recolonizing wolf population. The wolf population in our study expanded by >1,000% during our study (~50 to >600 individuals), and density-dependent habitat selection was most consistent with the ideal-preemptive distribution, as opposed to the ideal-free or ideal-despotic alternatives. Population density of terrestrial carnivores may not be positively correlated with the fitness value of their habitats, and density-dependent habitat selection patterns may help to explain complex predator-prey dynamics and cascading indirect effects. Source-sink population dynamics appear likely when species exhibit rapid growth and occupy interspersed habitats of contrasting quality. These conditions are likely and have implications for large carnivores in many systems, such as areas in North America and Europe where large predator species are currently recolonizing their former ranges.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn T O'Neil
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI, USA
| | - John A Vucetich
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI, USA
| | - Dean E Beyer
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI, USA.,Wildlife Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 1990 U.S. Hwy 41 So, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Sarah R Hoy
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI, USA
| | - Joseph K Bump
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2003 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Gerber BD, Northrup JM. Improving spatial predictions of animal resource selection to guide conservation decision making. Ecology 2019; 101:e02953. [PMID: 31840242 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Resource selection is often studied by ecologists interested in the environmental drivers of animal space use and movement. These studies commonly produce spatial predictions, which are of considerable utility to resource managers making habitat and population management decisions. It is thus paramount that predictions from resource selection studies are accurate. We evaluated model building and fitting strategies for optimizing resource selection function predictions in a use-availability framework. We did so by simulating low- and high-intensity spatial sampling data that respectively predicted study area and movement-based resource selection. We compared one of the most commonly used forms of statistical regularization, Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC), with the lesser used least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). LASSO predictions were less variable and more accurate than AIC and were often best when considering additive and interacting variables. We explicitly demonstrate the predictive equivalence using the logistic and Poisson likelihoods and how it is lost when the available sample is too small. Regardless of modeling approach, interpreting the sign of coefficients as a measure of selection can be misleading when optimizing for prediction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Gerber
- Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, 02881-2018, USA
| | - Joseph M Northrup
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 1Z8, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Bump JK, Barton PS, Evans MJ, Foster CN, Pechal JL, Quaggiotto MM, Benbow ME. Echoing the Need to Quantify Carrion Biomass Production. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 35:92-94. [PMID: 31822369 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph K Bump
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
| | - Philip S Barton
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Maldwyn J Evans
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia; Department of Ecosystem Studies, Graduate School of Life and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Claire N Foster
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Jennifer L Pechal
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - M-Martina Quaggiotto
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - M Eric Benbow
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Spatial and temporal patterns of a pulsed resource dynamically drive the distribution of specialist herbivores. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17787. [PMID: 31780724 PMCID: PMC6882897 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54297-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Patterns and drivers of the spatio-temporal distribution of herbivores are key elements of their ecological and evolutionary impacts on plant populations. Herbivore spatial distributions may be influenced by increased (RCH: resource concentration hypothesis) or decreased (RDH: resource dilution hypothesis) resource densities, but the effect of temporal variations in resource densities on such distributions remains poorly documented. We used a survey of a masting tree species and its seed predators in Southeastern France to address the effect of a host’s pulsed resource on the spatio-temporal distributions of highly specialized insect herbivores feeding on seeds. Variations in both resource and seed predator densities were assessed by estimating seed production and seed infestation rates in focus trees during 10 consecutive years. We found increasing seed infestation rates with decreasing host tree densities in years of low seed production, indicating a RDH pattern of seed predators. However, such pattern was not persistent in years of high seed production during which seed infestation rates did not depend on host tree densities. We showed that temporal variations in resource density can lead to transience of seed predator spatial distribution. This study highlights how predictions of plant-herbivore interactions in natural ecosystems may rely on temporal components underlying RCH and RDH hypotheses.
Collapse
|
42
|
O'Neil ST, Beyer DE, Bump JK. Territorial landscapes: incorporating density-dependence into wolf habitat selection studies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190282. [PMID: 31827818 PMCID: PMC6894554 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Habitat selection is a process that spans space, time and individual life histories. Ecological analyses of animal distributions and preferences are most accurate when they account for inherent dynamics of the habitat selection process. Strong territoriality can constrain perception of habitat availability by individual animals or groups attempting to colonize or establish new territory. Because habitat selection is a function of habitat availability, broad-scale changes in habitat availability or occupancy can drive density-dependent habitat functional responses. We investigated density-dependent habitat selection over a 19-year period of grey wolf (Canis lupus) recovery in Michigan, USA, using a generalized linear mixed model framework to develop a resource selection probability function (RSPF) with habitat coefficients conditioned on random effects for wolf packs and random year intercepts. In addition, we allowed habitat coefficients to vary as interactions with increasing wolf density over space and time. Results indicated that pack presence was driven by factors representing topography, human development, winter prey availability, forest structure, roads, streams and snow. Importantly, responses to many of these predictors were density-dependent. Spatio-temporal dynamics and population changes can cause considerable variation in wildlife-habitat relationships, possibly confounding interpretation of conventional habitat selection models. By incorporating territoriality into an RSPF analysis, we determined that wolves' habitat use in Michigan shifted over time, for example, exhibiting declining responses to winter prey indices and switching from positive to negative responses with respect to stream densities. We consider this an important example of a habitat functional response in wolves, driven by colonization, density-dependence and changes in occupancy during a time period of range expansion and population increase.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn T. O'Neil
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Avenue, Houghton, MI, USA
| | - Dean E. Beyer
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Avenue, Houghton, MI, USA
- Wildlife Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette, MI, USA
| | - Joseph K. Bump
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Najafi J, Farashi A, Pasha Zanoosi A, Yadreh R. Water resource selection of large mammals for water resources planning. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-019-1321-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
44
|
Ritter TD, Gower CN, McNew LB. Habitat conditions at beaver settlement sites: implications for beaver restoration projects. Restor Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Torrey D. Ritter
- Department of Animal and Range Sciences Montana State University, P.O. Box 172900 Bozeman MT 59717 U.S.A
| | - Claire N. Gower
- Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, 1400 South 19th Avenue Bozeman MT 59718 U.S.A
| | - Lance B. McNew
- Department of Animal and Range Sciences Montana State University, P.O. Box 172900 Bozeman MT 59717 U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Wittemyer G, Northrup JM, Bastille-Rousseau G. Behavioural valuation of landscapes using movement data. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180046. [PMID: 31352884 PMCID: PMC6710572 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Wildlife tracking is one of the most frequently employed approaches to monitor and study wildlife populations. To date, the application of tracking data to applied objectives has focused largely on the intensity of use by an animal in a location or the type of habitat. While this has provided valuable insights and advanced spatial wildlife management, such interpretation of tracking data does not capture the complexity of spatio-temporal processes inherent to animal behaviour and represented in the movement path. Here, we discuss current and emerging approaches to estimate the behavioural value of spatial locations using movement data, focusing on the nexus of conservation behaviour and movement ecology that can amplify the application of animal tracking research to contemporary conservation challenges. We highlight the importance of applying behavioural ecological approaches to the analysis of tracking data and discuss the utility of comparative approaches, optimization theory and economic valuation to gain understanding of movement strategies and gauge population-level processes. First, we discuss innovations in the most fundamental movement-based valuation of landscapes, the intensity of use of a location, namely dissecting temporal dynamics in and means by which to weight the intensity of use. We then expand our discussion to three less common currencies for behavioural valuation of landscapes, namely the assessment of the functional (i.e. what an individual is doing at a location), structural (i.e. how a location relates to use of the broader landscape) and fitness (i.e. the return from using a location) value of a location. Strengthening the behavioural theoretical underpinnings of movement ecology research promises to provide a deeper, mechanistic understanding of animal movement that can lead to unprecedented insights into the interaction between landscapes and animal behaviour and advance the application of movement research to conservation challenges. This article is part of the theme issue 'Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Joseph M. Northrup
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9J 8M5
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Wang Y, Blackwell PG, Merkle JA, Potts JR. Continuous time resource selection analysis for moving animals. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yi‐Shan Wang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Paul G. Blackwell
- School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Jerod A. Merkle
- Wyoming Cooperative Research Unit and Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming Laramie WY
| | - Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Rudolph TD, MacNearney D, Finnegan L. Lost in translation? Insights into caribou habitat selection from forest inventory data. Facets (Ott) 2019. [DOI: 10.1139/facets-2018-0050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The gap between research and its implementation is an impediment to conservation of the environment. Translating science into actionable management and policy requires effective communication and collaboration among scientists, practitioners, and policy-makers. Ecologists routinely rely on spatial data to describe wildlife distributions; however, habitat definitions vary by species, and data sources often differ from those used by land managers. Finding commonalities in the language and data used to plan for industrial activities and wildlife conservation may help address the research-implementation gap for threatened species like woodland caribou. We built resource selection functions for caribou using Alberta Vegetation Index (AVI) habitat data, which is employed by the Alberta forest industry for landbase planning. Our goal was to bridge the research-implementation gap by providing the forest industry with tools to facilitate planning for caribou conservation within their jurisdiction. In contrast to previous studies that highlighted shortcomings in AVI data for predicting wildlife habitat use, we found that resource selection function models that combined AVI data with complementary covariates validated well to predict caribou habitat use. We suggest that by using a data source familiar to land managers, ecologists can facilitate the bridging of the research-implementation gap without compromising the quality of ecological modeling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Doug MacNearney
- Caribou Program, fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, AB T7V 1V3, Canada
| | - Laura Finnegan
- Caribou Program, fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, AB T7V 1V3, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Clark DA, Coe PK, Gregory SC, Hedrick MJ, Johnson BK, Jackson DH. Habitat Use Informs Species Needs and Management: A Reply to Maestas et al. J Wildl Manage 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Darren A. Clark
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Priscilla K. Coe
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Sara C. Gregory
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 61374 Parrell Road Bend OR 97702 USA
| | - Mary Jo Hedrick
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 53447 Highway 31 Summer Lake OR 97640 USA
| | - Bruce K. Johnson
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - DeWaine H. Jackson
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 4192 N Umpqua Highway Roseburg OR 97470 USA
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Holbrook JD, Olson LE, DeCesare NJ, Hebblewhite M, Squires JR, Steenweg R. Functional responses in habitat selection: clarifying hypotheses and interpretations. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 29:e01852. [PMID: 30653797 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental challenge in habitat ecology and management is understanding the mechanisms generating animal distributions. Studies of habitat selection provide a lens into such mechanisms, but are often limited by unrealistic assumptions. For example, most studies assume that habitat selection is constant with respect to the availability of resources, such that habitat use remains proportional to availability. To the contrary, a growing body of work has shown the fallacy of this assumption, indicating that animals modify their behavior depending on the context at broader scales. This has been termed a functional response in habitat selection. Furthermore, a diversity of methods is employed to model functional responses in habitat selection, with little attention to how methodology might affect scientific and conservation conclusions. Here, we first review the conceptual and statistical foundations of methods currently used to model functional responses and clarify the ecological tests evaluated within each approach. We then use a combination of simulated and empirical data sets to evaluate the similarities and differences among approaches. Importantly, we identified multiple statistical issues with the most widely applied approaches to understand functional responses, including: (1) a complex and important role of random- or individual-level intercepts in adjusting individual-level regression coefficients as resource availability changes and (2) a sensitivity of results to poorly informed individual-level coefficients estimated for animals with low availability of a given resource. Consequently, we provide guidance on applying approaches that are insensitive to these issues with the goal of advancing our understanding of animal habitat ecology and management. Finally, we characterize the management implications of assuming similarity between the current approaches to model functional responses with two empirical data sets of federally threatened species: Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) in the United States and woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Canada. Collectively, our assessment helps clarify the similarities and differences among current approaches and, therefore, assists the integration of functional responses into the mainstream of habitat ecology and management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph D Holbrook
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, 82072, USA
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, Montana, 59801, USA
| | - Lucretia E Olson
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, Montana, 59801, USA
| | - Nicholas J DeCesare
- Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, 3201 Spurgin Road, Missoula, Montana, 59804, USA
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - John R Squires
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, Montana, 59801, USA
| | - Robin Steenweg
- Species At Risk, Resource Management, Alberta Environment and Parks, Box 23 10320 - 99 St, Grande Prairie, Alberta T8V 6J4 , Canada
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Webb MH, Heinsohn R, Sutherland WJ, Stojanovic D, Terauds A. An Empirical and Mechanistic Explanation of Abundance-Occupancy Relationships for a Critically Endangered Nomadic Migrant. Am Nat 2019; 193:59-69. [PMID: 30624105 DOI: 10.1086/700595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The positive abundance-occupancy relationship (AOR) is a pervasive pattern in macroecology. Similarly, the association between occupancy (or probability of occurrence) and abundance is also usually assumed to be positive and in most cases constant. Examples of AORs for nomadic species with variable distributions are extremely rare. Here we examined temporal and spatial trends in the AOR over 7 years for a critically endangered nomadic migrant that relies on dynamic pulses in food availability to breed. We predicted a negative temporal relationship, where local mean abundances increase when the number of occupied sites decreases, and a positive relationship between local abundances and the probability of occurrence. We also predicted that these patterns are largely attributable to spatiotemporal variation in food abundance. The temporal AOR was significantly negative, and annual food availability was significantly positively correlated with the number of occupied sites but negatively correlated with abundance. Thus, as food availability decreased, local densities of birds increased, and vice versa. The abundance-probability of occurrence relationship was positive and nonlinear but varied between years due to differing degrees of spatial aggregation caused by changing food availability. Importantly, high abundance (or occupancy) did not necessarily equate to high-quality habitat and may be indicative of resource bottlenecks or exposure to other processes affecting vital rates. Our results provide a rare empirical example that highlights the complexity of AORs for species that target aggregated food resources in dynamic environments.
Collapse
|