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Gedir JV, Cain JW, Swetnam TL, Krausman PR, Morgart JR. Extreme drought and adaptive resource selection by a desert mammal. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jay V. Gedir
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology New Mexico State University Las Cruces New Mexico88003USA
| | - James W. Cain
- US Geological Survey New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology New Mexico State University Las Cruces New Mexico88003USA
| | | | - Paul R. Krausman
- School of Natural Resources University of Arizona Tucson Arizona85721USA
| | - John R. Morgart
- US Fish and Wildlife Service Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge Ajo Arizona85321USA
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Spake R, Bellamy C, Gill R, Watts K, Wilson T, Ditchburn B, Eigenbrod F. Forest damage by deer depends on cross‐scale interactions between climate, deer density and landscape structure. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Spake
- School of Geography and Environmental Science University of Southampton Southampton UK
| | - Chloe Bellamy
- Forest ResearchNorthern Research Station Midlothian UK
| | - Robin Gill
- Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge Farnham Surrey UK
| | - Kevin Watts
- Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge Farnham Surrey UK
| | - Tom Wilson
- Forest ResearchNorthern Research Station Midlothian UK
| | - Ben Ditchburn
- Forest ResearchNorthern Research Station Midlothian UK
| | - Felix Eigenbrod
- School of Geography and Environmental Science University of Southampton Southampton UK
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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.
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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
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Zurell D, von Wehrden H, Rotics S, Kaatz M, Groß H, Schlag L, Schäfer M, Sapir N, Turjeman S, Wikelski M, Nathan R, Jeltsch F. Home Range Size and Resource Use of Breeding and Non-breeding White Storks Along a Land Use Gradient. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Same habitat types but different use: evidence of context-dependent habitat selection in roe deer across populations. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5102. [PMID: 29572510 PMCID: PMC5865119 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23111-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
With the surge of GPS-technology, many studies uncovered space use of mobile animals and shed light on the underlying behavioral mechanisms of habitat selection. Habitat selection and variation in either occurrence or strength of functional responses (i.e. how selection changes with availability) have given new insight into such mechanisms within populations in different ecosystems. However, linking variation in habitat selection to site-specific conditions in different populations facing contrasting environmental conditions but the same habitat type has not yet been investigated. We aimed to fill this knowledge gap by comparing within-home range habitat selection across 61 female roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) during the most critical life history stage in three study areas showing the same habitat types but with different environmental conditions. Female roe deer markedly differed in habitat selection within their home range, both within and among populations. Females facing poor environmental conditions clearly displayed a functional response, whereas females facing rich environmental conditions did not show any functional response. These results demonstrate how the use of a given habitat relative to its availability strongly varies in response to environmental conditions. Our findings highlight that the same habitat composition can lead to very different habitat selection processes across contrasted environments.
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Mysterud A, Austrheim G. The Role of Individual Traits and Environmental Factors for Diet Composition of Sheep. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0146217. [PMID: 26731411 PMCID: PMC4701509 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 12/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Large herbivore consumption of forage is known to affect vegetation composition and thereby ecosystem functions. It is thus important to understand how diet composition arises as a mixture of individual variation in preferences and environmental drivers of availability, but few studies have quantified both. Based on 10 years of data on diet composition by aid of microhistological analysis for sheep kept at high and low population density, we analysed how both individual traits (sex, age, body mass, litter size) linked to preference and environmental variation (density, climate proxies) linked to forage availability affected proportional intake of herbs (high quality/low availability) and Avenella flexuosa (lower quality/high availability). Environmental factors affecting current forage availability such as population density and seasonal and annual variation in diet had the most marked impact on diet composition. Previous environment of sheep (switch between high and low population density) had no impact on diet, suggesting a comparably minor role of learning for density dependent diet selection. For individual traits, only the difference between lambs and ewes affected proportion of A. flexuosa, while body mass better predicted proportion of herbs in diet. Neither sex, body mass, litter size, ewe age nor mass of ewe affected diet composition of lambs, and there was no effect of age, body mass or litter size on diet composition of ewes. Our study highlights that diet composition arises from a combination of preferences being predicted by lamb and ewes’ age and/or body mass differences, and the immediate environment in terms of population density and proxies for vegetation development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316, Oslo, Norway
- * E-mail:
| | - Gunnar Austrheim
- Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Section of Natural History, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway
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Pape R, Löffler J. Seasonality of habitat selection shown to buffer alpine reindeer pastoralism against climate variability. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00169.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Hothorn T, Müller J, Held L, Möst L, Mysterud A. Temporal patterns of deer-vehicle collisions consistent with deer activity pattern and density increase but not general accident risk. ACCIDENT; ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION 2015; 81:143-152. [PMID: 25984644 DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2015.04.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2015] [Revised: 04/27/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The increasing number of deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) across Europe during recent decades poses a serious threat to human health and animal welfare and increasing costs for society. DVCs are triggered by both a human-related and a deer-related component. Mitigation requires an understanding of the processes driving temporal and spatial collision patterns. Separating human-related from deer-related processes is important for identifying potentially effective countermeasures, but this has rarely been done. We analysed two time series of 341,655 DVCs involving roe deer and 854,659 non-deer-related accidents (non-DVCs) documented between 2002 and 2011. Nonparametric smoothing and temporal parametric modelling were used to estimate annual, seasonal, weekly and diurnal patterns in DVCs, non-DVCs and adjusted DVCs. As we had access to data on both DVCs and non-DVCs, we were able to disentangle the relative role of human-related and deer-related processes contributing to the overall temporal DVC pattern. We found clear evidence that variation in DVCs was mostly driven by deer-related and not human-related activity on annual, seasonal, weekly and diurnal scales. A very clear crepuscular activity pattern with high activity after sunset and around sunrise throughout the year was identified. Early spring and the mating season between mid-July and mid-August are typically periods of high roe deer activity, and as expected we found a high number of DVC during these periods, although these patterns differed tremendously during different phases of a day. The role of human activity was mainly reflected in fewer DVCs on weekends than on weekdays. Over the ten-year study period, we estimated that DVCs increased by 25%, whereas the number of non-DVCs decreased by 10%. Increasing deer densities are the most likely driver behind this rise in DVCs. Precise estimates of DVC patterns and their relationship to deer and human activity patterns allow implementation of specific mitigation measures, such as tailored driver warning systems or temporary speed limits. To prevent a further increase in DVCs, state-wide measures to decrease roe deer density are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torsten Hothorn
- Institut für Epidemiologie, Biostatistik und Prävention, Universität Zürich, Hirschengraben 84, CH-8001 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Jörg Müller
- Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald, Freyunger Straße 2, DE-94481 Grafenau, Germany; Lehrstuhl für Terrestrische Ökologie, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, DE-85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Leonhard Held
- Institut für Epidemiologie, Biostatistik und Prävention, Universität Zürich, Hirschengraben 84, CH-8001 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Möst
- Institut für Statistik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Ludwigstraße 33, DE-80539 München, Germany
| | - Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway
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Pape R, Löffler J. Ecological dynamics in habitat selection of reindeer: an interplay of spatial scale, time, and individual animal's choice. Polar Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-015-1750-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Chudzińska ME, van Beest FM, Madsen J, Nabe‐Nielsen J. Using habitat selection theories to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of migratory birds during stopover – a case study of pink‐footed geese
Anser brachyrhynchus. OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.01881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Magda E. Chudzińska
- Dept of Bioscience Aarhus Univ. Frederiksborgvej 399 DK‐4000 Roskilde Denmark
| | - Floris M. van Beest
- Dept of Bioscience Aarhus Univ. Frederiksborgvej 399 DK‐4000 Roskilde Denmark
| | - Jesper Madsen
- Dept of Bioscience Aarhus Univ. Grenåvej 14 DK‐8410 Rønde Denmark
| | - Jacob Nabe‐Nielsen
- Dept of Bioscience Aarhus Univ. Frederiksborgvej 399 DK‐4000 Roskilde Denmark
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Schweiger AK, Schütz M, Anderwald P, Schaepman ME, Kneubühler M, Haller R, Risch AC. Foraging ecology of three sympatric ungulate species - Behavioural and resource maps indicate differences between chamois, ibex and red deer. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2015; 3:6. [PMID: 26807258 PMCID: PMC4722786 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-015-0033-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Accepted: 02/23/2015] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The spatial distribution of forage resources is a major driver of animal movement patterns. Understanding where animals forage is important for the conservation of multi-species communities, since interspecific competition can emerge if different species use the same depletable resources. However, determining forage resources in a spatially continuous fashion in alpine grasslands at high spatial resolution was challenging up to now, because terrain heterogeneity causes vegetation characteristics to vary at small spatial scales, and methods for detection of behavioural phases in animal movement patterns were not widely available. We delineated areas coupled to the foraging behaviour of three sympatric ungulate species (chamois, ibex, red deer) using Time Local Convex Hull (T-LoCoH), a non-parametric utilisation distribution method incorporating spatial and temporal autocorrelation structure of GPS data. We used resource maps of plant biomass and plant nitrogen content derived from high-resolution airborne imaging spectroscopy data, and multinomial logistic regression to compare the foraging areas of the three ungulate species. RESULTS We found significant differences in plant biomass and plant nitrogen content between the core foraging areas of chamois, ibex and red deer. Core foraging areas of chamois were characterised by low plant biomass and low to medium plant nitrogen content. Core foraging areas of ibex were, in contrast, characterised by high plant nitrogen content, but varied in plant biomass, and core foraging areas of red deer had high plant biomass, but varied in plant nitrogen content. CONCLUSIONS Previous studies carried out in the same study area found no difference in forage consumed by chamois, ibex and red deer. Methodologically, those studies were based on micro-histological analysis of plant fragments identifying them to plant family or functional type level. However, vegetation properties such as productivity (biomass) or plant nutrient content can vary within vegetation communities, especially in highly heterogeneous landscapes. Thus, the combination of high spatial resolution resource maps with a utilisation distribution method allowing to generate behavioural maps (T-LoCoH) provides new insights into the foraging ecology of the three sympatric species, important for their conservation and to monitor expected future changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Schweiger
- />Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
- />Research Unit Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- />Department of Research and Geoinformation, Swiss National Park, Chastè Planta-Wildenberg, 7530 Zernez, Switzerland
| | - Martin Schütz
- />Research Unit Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Pia Anderwald
- />Department of Research and Geoinformation, Swiss National Park, Chastè Planta-Wildenberg, 7530 Zernez, Switzerland
| | - Michael E Schaepman
- />Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Mathias Kneubühler
- />Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Rudolf Haller
- />Department of Research and Geoinformation, Swiss National Park, Chastè Planta-Wildenberg, 7530 Zernez, Switzerland
| | - Anita C Risch
- />Research Unit Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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Lone K, van Beest FM, Mysterud A, Gobakken T, Milner JM, Ruud HP, Loe LE. Improving broad scale forage mapping and habitat selection analyses with airborne laser scanning: the case of moose. Ecosphere 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/es14-00156.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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