Mixed-severity wildfire shapes habitat use of large herbivores and carnivores

2022 ◽  
Vol 506 ◽  
pp. 119933
Author(s):  
Jesse S. Lewis ◽  
Loren LeSueur ◽  
John Oakleaf ◽  
Esther S. Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Large Herbivores

scholarly journals Climatic variation modulates the indirect effects of large herbivores on small-mammal habitat use

2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan A. Long ◽  
Alois Wambua ◽  
Jacob R. Goheen ◽  
Todd M. Palmer ◽  
Robert M. Pringle
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Climatic Variation ◽  
Large Herbivores

Habitat use patterns in relation to escape terrain: are alpine ungulate females trading off better foraging sites for safety?

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 933-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hamel ◽  
S.D. Côté
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Forage Quality ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Mountain Goats

Predation risk often forces prey to trade off good foraging sites for safety, and compromises are expected to be greater in females with vulnerable offspring than in barren females. To determine whether adult females of large herbivores traded off forage for safety, we assessed habitat use and estimated vegetation abundance and quality in relation to distance to escape terrain in marked mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus de Blainville, 1816). We found that all females spent more time foraging near escape terrain than away from them. Females with young foraged on average 20 m closer to escape terrain than barren females in June, a time when offspring were particularly vulnerable to predation. Plant biomass did not vary with distance to escape terrain in June, but was lower closer than away from escape terrain during all other months. The abundance of forbs and shrubs increased with distance to escape terrain, but their quality did not vary. For grasses and sedges, plant digestible content decreased closer to escape terrain, but interestingly proteins increased. Our results suggest that females traded off forage abundance, and to a lesser extent forage quality, for safety. Compared with barren females, females with offspring may face a trade-off in plant digestible content by foraging in safer areas than barren females.

scholarly journals Effects of narrow linear clearings on movement and habitat use in a boreal forest mammal community during winter

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin A. Pattison ◽  
Carla P. Catterall
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Large Predators

Linear clearings for human activities cause internal fragmentation of otherwise intact native forest, with many potential impacts on wildlife. Across a boreal forest region of some 4,000 km2, we investigated how movements and habitat use of ecologically different mammal species are affected by narrow (about eight m) seismic line (SL) clearings associated with fossil fuel extraction, which form extensive networks many kilometers long. We conducted nine repeat snow track surveys during three winters at 14 pairs of one-kilometer transects, each comprising one transect along the SL and a second running perpendicular into adjacent forest. Data for 13 individually-analyzed mammal taxa (species or sets of closely related species) and five mammal groups, categorized based on body size-diet combinations, showed that movements across transects were either unaffected by SL clearings (relative to continuous forest) or restricted only slightly. However, these clearings were favored for linear travel by most species and body size-diet groups (excepting small mammals). The strength of this preference varied in a manner consistent with species’ differing needs to move long distances (associated with their energetic requirements): large predators > large herbivores > mid-sized predators > mid-sized herbivores > small mammals. In terms of overall habitat use, large-bodied predators (e.g., wolves and coyotes) strongly selected SL clearings over forest, medium-sized predators (e.g., mustelids) and medium-sized herbivores (e.g., hares and squirrels) preferred forest, and neither large herbivores nor small mammals had a clear habitat preference. Consequently, there was a net shift in both species and trophic composition within the SL, in favor of large predators and away from medium-sized predators and herbivores. Given the high regional SL density (1.9 km/km2) such shifts are likely to have complex ecological consequences, of currently unknown magnitude.

scholarly journals Holling Meets Habitat Selection - Functional Response of Large Herbivores Revisited

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Dupke ◽  
Anne Peters ◽  
Nicolas Morellet ◽  
Marco Heurich
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Functional Response ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Habitat Availability ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Background: Holling (1959) was the first to describe a functional response between a predator’s consumption-rate and the density of its prey. The same concept may be applied to the habitat selection of herbivores, by considering the change in relative habitat use with the change in habitat availability. Functional responses in habitat selection at a home-range scale has been reported for several large herbivores. However, a link to Holling’s original functional response types has never been drawn despite its potential to understand availability dependence in habitat selection more profoundly. Methods: Discrete choice models were implemented as mixed-effects baseline-category logit models to analyze the variation in habitat selection of a large herbivore over seasonal and diurnal scales. Specifically, changes in habitat use with respect to habitat availability were investigated by monitoring 11 habitat types commonly used by roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany. Functional response curves were then fitted using Holling’s formulas. Results: Strong evidence of non-linear functional responses was obtained for almost all of the examined habitat types. The shape of the functional response curves varied depending on the season, time of day and in some cases between sexes. These responses could be referenced to Holling’s types, with a predominance of type II.Conclusions: Our results indicate that Holling’s types could be applied to describe general patterns in habitat selection behaviour of herbivores. Functional response in habitat selection may occur in situations of trade-off in the selection of habitats offering different resources, due to temporally varying physiological needs of herbivores. Moreover, the two associated parameters defining the curves helps to identify the temporal variations and clarify how strongly the cost-to-benefit ratio is pronounced for a specific habitat. The presented novel approach of using Holling’s equations to describe functional response in habitat selection of herbivores could be used for assigning general habitat attraction values, independent of habitat availability, which might facilitate the identification of suitable habitats.

Population organisation in reef sharks: new variations in coastal habitat use by mobile marine predators

2016 ◽  
Vol 544 ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Chin ◽  
MR Heupel ◽  
CA Simpfendorfer ◽  
AJ Tobin
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Coastal Habitat ◽  
Marine Predators ◽  
Reef Sharks

Habitat use of toothed whales in a marine protected area based on point process models

2019 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
pp. 239-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
TL Silva ◽  
G Fay ◽  
TA Mooney ◽  
J Robbins ◽  
MT Weinrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Point Process ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Point Process Models

Modeling cetacean habitat use in an urban coastal area in southeastern Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. 227-240
Author(s):  
L Lodi ◽  
R Tardin ◽  
G Maricato
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Few Data

Most studies of cetacean habitat use do not consider the influence of anthropogenic activities. We investigated the influence of environmental and anthropogenic variables on habitat use by humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and Bryde’s whales Balaenoptera brydei off the coast of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Although there are 2 marine protected areas (MPAs) in this area, few data are available on cetacean habitat use or on the overlap of different cetacean species within these MPAs. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MPAs and propose a buffer zone to better protect the biodiversity of the study area. We conducted systematic surveys and developed spatial eigenvector generalized linear models to characterize habitat use by the species in the study area. Habitat use by humpback whales was influenced only by depth, whereas for Bryde’s whales there was the additional influence of anthropogenic variables. For Bryde’s whales, which use the area for feeding, sea surface temperature and the distance to anchorages had a major influence on habitat use. We also showed that neither of the MPAs in the study area adequately protects the hotspots of either whale species. Most of the humpback whale grid cells with high sighting predictions were located within 2 km of the MPAs, while areas of high sighting prediction of Bryde’s whales were located up to 5 km from the MPAs, closer to beaches. Our findings provide important insights for the delimitation of protected areas and zoning of the MPAs.

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