Wildlife habitat selection on landscapes with industrial disturbance

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
BOGDAN CRISTESCU ◽  
GORDON B. STENHOUSE ◽  
MARC SYMBALUK ◽  
SCOTT E. NIELSEN ◽  
MARK S. BOYCE
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Animal Populations

SUMMARYTechnological advancements in remote sensing and telemetry provide opportunities for assessing the effects of expanding extractive industries on animal populations. Here, we illustrate the applicability of resource selection functions (RSFs) for modelling wildlife habitat selection on industrially-disturbed landscapes. We used grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) from a threatened population in Canada and surface mining as a case study. RSF predictions based on GPS radiocollared bears (nduring mining = 7; npost mining = 9) showed that males and solitary females selected areas primarily outside mineral surface leases (MSLs) during active mining, and conversely inside MSLs after mine closure. However, females with cubs selected areas within compared to outside MSLs irrespective of mining activity. Individual variability was pronounced, although some environmental- and human-related variables were consistent across reproductive classes. For males and solitary females, regional-scale RSFs yielded comparable results to site-specific models, whereas for females with cubs, modelling the two scales produced divergent results. While mine reclamation may afford opportunities for bear persistence, managing public access will likely decrease the risk of human-caused bear mortality. RSFs are powerful tools that merit widespread use in quantitative and visual investigations of wildlife habitat selection on industrially-modified landscapes, using Geographic Information System layers that precisely characterize site-specific conditions.

scholarly journals Human shields mediate sexual conflict in a top predator

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1833) ◽  
pp. 20160906 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. J. G. Steyaert ◽  
M. Leclerc ◽  
F. Pelletier ◽  
J. Kindberg ◽  
S. Brunberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Survival And Reproduction

Selecting the right habitat in a risky landscape is crucial for an individual's survival and reproduction. In predator–prey systems, prey often can anticipate the habitat use of their main predator and may use protective associates (i.e. typically an apex predator) as shields against predation. Although never tested, such mechanisms should also evolve in systems in which sexual conflict affects offspring survival. Here, we assessed the relationship between offspring survival and habitat selection, as well as the use of protective associates, in a system in which sexually selected infanticide (SSI), rather than interspecific predation, affects offspring survival. We used the Scandinavian brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) population with SSI in a human-dominated landscape as our model system. Bears, especially adult males, generally avoid humans in our study system. We used resource selection functions to contrast habitat selection of GPS-collared mothers that were successful (i.e. surviving litters, n = 19) and unsuccessful (i.e. complete litter loss, n = 11) in keeping their young during the mating season (2005–2012). Habitat selection was indeed a predictor of litter survival. Successful mothers were more likely to use humans as protective associates, whereas unsuccessful mothers avoided humans. Our results suggest that principles of predator–prey and fear ecology theory (e.g. non-consumptive and cascading effects) can also be applied to the context of sexual conflict.

scholarly journals Resource selection by the Endangered Arabian tahr: identifying critical habitats for conservation and climate change adaptation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Ross ◽  
H. Rawahi ◽  
M.H. Jahdhami
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Thermal Refuge

AbstractThe Arabian tahr is an Endangered mountain ungulate endemic to the Hajar Mountains of Arabia. The Arabian tahr population is in decline and threats to tahr habitat are intensifying, in addition new potential challenges from climate change are emerging. Fundamental to future conservation planning is understanding tahr habitat selection patterns, so we can prioritise habitat protection, and understand how habitat may be used to provide thermal refuge and allow adaptation to climate change impacts. We used GPS collars and resource selection functions to characterise Arabian tahr habitat preferences in Wadi Sareen Nature Reserve, Oman. We found tahr habitat selection was dependent on scale, sex and season. Vegetation resources were only selected at the smallest scales of selection and avoided at other scales. Habitat providing low heat load and thermal refuge were intensely selected at small and medium scales, by both sexes and in both seasons, suggesting the importance of thermal refuges in facilitating thermoregulation. Higher elevations, steep slopes and rugged habitats were selected across all scales tested here, and in previous landscape-scale studies, indicating the fundamental importance of these habitats in supporting Arabian tahr populations. Our results identified critical habitats required to sustain Arabian tahr, and demonstrated the importance of thermal refuges to species living in the hot climates such as the Arabian Peninsula. Given the accessibility of habitat layers, and ease in which the identified habitats can be mapped using a geographical information system, understanding the habitat selection of tahr and other species is a crucial step to increasing conservation management capacity of threatened species. Given our uncertainty of how to conserve wildlife under future climate change, understanding the availability and distribution of wildlife habitat is an important baseline from where we can plan, connect and preserve the resources necessary for wildlife conservation.

scholarly journals First records on habitat use of semi-feral cattle in southern forests: topography reveals more than vegetation

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Seoane
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Beech Forest ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Selection Probability ◽  
Southern Beech

While the presence of cattle in forests is quite common, how they use this habitat is often overlooked. When this is examined, most studies focus on measurements of the vegetation variables influencing habitat selection. This current report provides a suitable model to study habitat use by livestock in forested areas by means of GPS tracking on selected individuals. The model was applied to data from semi-feral cattle in order to obtain the first description of their habitat use in southern forests. Furthermore, the model accounted for individual variability, and hinted at population patterns of habitat use. The positions of 15 individual cows with GPS collars were recorded covering twelve months in a Nothofagus (southern beech) forest in Patagonia (Argentina). By projecting these GPS location data into a geographical information system (GIS), a resource selection probability function (RSPF) that considers topographic and vegetation variables was built. The habitat selection by semi-feral cattle in southern beech forests showed a large interindividual variability, but also some similar characteristics which enable a proper description of habitat-use patterns. It was found that habitat selection by cattle was mainly affected by topographic variables such as altitude and the combination of slope and aspect. In both cases the variables were selected below average relative to availability, suggesting a preferred habitat range. Livestock also tended to avoid areas of closed shrublands and showed a slight preference for meadows. Cattle give significant importance to topographic variables to define their habitat selection in this type of mountainous forests. This might be because of an ecological adaptation to the major features of these types of forests due to ferality. Furthermore, these results are the basis for management applications such as predictive maps of use by semi-feral livestock in forested landscapes.

scholarly journals First records on habitat use of semi-feral cattle in southern forests: topography reveals more than vegetation

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Seoane
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Beech Forest ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Selection Probability ◽  
Southern Beech

While the presence of cattle in forests is quite common, how they use this habitat is often overlooked. When this is examined, most studies focus on measurements of the vegetation variables influencing habitat selection. This current report provides a suitable model to study habitat use by livestock in forested areas by means of GPS tracking on selected individuals. The model was applied to data from semi-feral cattle in order to obtain the first description of their habitat use in southern forests. Furthermore, the model accounted for individual variability, and hinted at population patterns of habitat use. The positions of 15 individual cows with GPS collars were recorded covering twelve months in a Nothofagus (southern beech) forest in Patagonia (Argentina). By projecting these GPS location data into a geographical information system (GIS), a resource selection probability function (RSPF) that considers topographic and vegetation variables was built. The habitat selection by semi-feral cattle in southern beech forests showed a large interindividual variability, but also some similar characteristics which enable a proper description of habitat-use patterns. It was found that habitat selection by cattle was mainly affected by topographic variables such as altitude and the combination of slope and aspect. In both cases the variables were selected below average relative to availability, suggesting a preferred habitat range. Livestock also tended to avoid areas of closed shrublands and showed a slight preference for meadows. Cattle give significant importance to topographic variables to define their habitat selection in this type of mountainous forests. This might be because of an ecological adaptation to the major features of these types of forests due to ferality. Furthermore, these results are the basis for management applications such as predictive maps of use by semi-feral livestock in forested landscapes.

scholarly journals Habitat Selection by Brown Bears with Varying Levels of Predation Rates on Ungulate Neonates

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 678
Author(s):  
Kate Twynham ◽  
Andrés Ordiz ◽  
Ole-Gunnar Støen ◽  
Geir-Rune Rauset ◽  
Jonas Kindberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Predatory Behaviour ◽  
Resource Pulses

In northern Eurasia, large carnivores overlap with semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). In Scandinavia, previous studies have quantified brown bear (Ursus arctos) spring predation on neonates of reindeer (mostly in May) and moose (mostly in June). We explored if habitat selection by brown bears changed following resource pulses and whether these changes are more pronounced on those individuals characterised by higher predatory behaviour. Fifteen brown bears in northern Sweden (2010–2012) were fitted with GPS proximity collars, and 2585 female reindeers were collared with UHF transmitters. Clusters of bear positions were visited to investigate moose and reindeer predation. Bear kill rates and home ranges were calculated to examine bear movements and predatory behaviour. Bear habitat selection was modelled using resource selection functions over four periods (pre-calving, reindeer calving, moose calving, and post-calving). Coefficients of selection for areas closer to different land cover classes across periods were compared, examining the interactions between different degrees of predatory behaviour (i.e., high and low). Bear habitat selection differed throughout the periods and between low and high predatory bears. Differences among individuals’ predatory behaviour are reflected in the selection of habitat types, providing empirical evidence that different levels of specialization in foraging behaviour helps to explain individual variation in bear habitat selection.

scholarly journals Human-induced changes in habitat preference by capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and their potential effect on zoonotic disease transmission

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago C. Dias ◽  
Jared A. Stabach ◽  
Qiongyu Huang ◽  
Marcelo B. Labruna ◽  
Peter Leimgruber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Spotted Fever ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Zoonotic Disease ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Selection Strategies ◽  
Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris ◽  
Natural Landscapes

AbstractHuman activities are changing landscape structure and function globally, affecting wildlife space use, and ultimately increasing human-wildlife conflicts and zoonotic disease spread. Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a conflict species that has been implicated in the spread and amplification of the most lethal tick-borne disease in the world, the Brazilian spotted fever (BSF). Even though essential to understand the link between capybaras, ticks and the BSF, many knowledge gaps still exist regarding the effects of human disturbance in capybara space use. Here, we analyzed diurnal and nocturnal habitat selection strategies of capybaras across natural and human-modified landscapes using resource selection functions (RSF). Selection for forested habitats was high across human- modified landscapes, mainly during day- periods. Across natural landscapes, capybaras avoided forests during both day- and night periods. Water was consistently selected across both landscapes, during day- and nighttime. This variable was also the most important in predicting capybara habitat selection across natural landscapes. Capybaras showed slightly higher preferences for areas near grasses/shrubs across natural landscapes, and this variable was the most important in predicting capybara habitat selection across human-modified landscapes. Our results demonstrate human-driven variation in habitat selection strategies by capybaras. This behavioral adjustment across human-modified landscapes may be related to BSF epidemiology.

scholarly journals Territorial landscapes: incorporating density-dependence into wolf habitat selection studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 190282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn T. O'Neil ◽  
Dean E. Beyer ◽  
Joseph K. Bump
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Density Dependence ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Habitat Availability ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Selection Probability ◽  
Density Dependent

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.

The importance of superior-quality wildlife habitats

2004 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Cumulative Change ◽  
Few Data ◽  
Managed Landscapes ◽  
The Relationship

While animals may use many habitat types, relatively few are preferred and fewer yet are superior in quality (referring to individual fitness as the measure of quality). Historical reduction in habitat quality for some wildlife species has occurred such that we may now have limited reference to original superior-quality habitats. As time passes, managers may be unaware that superior habitats are slowly disappearing and that the slow but cumulative change is significant to a species at the population level. The perception of superior-quality habitat also changes with each successive generation of managers based on their experiences. This paper raises the concern that retrospective work may often be required to determine past forest habitats and associated animal populations to avoid the risk of falling into a trap of not recognizing ever-declining habitat quality through time and relegating animals to what is in fact much poorer quality habitat than those to which they are actually best adapted. Further, the relationship between relative abundance and habitat quality may often be uncertain owing to maladaptive habitat selection by animals, inappropriate survey timing or interannual population differences. While we have begun to appreciate aspects of habitat selection for many forest species, few data are yet available that relate selected habitats to fitness of individual animals. Hence, while we may have models to predict habitat use, considerable research remains to be done to be able to predict long-term sustainability of species in managed landscapes. Key words: habitat quality, forest management, sustainability, biodiversity

Brown bear habitat selection in relation to anthropogenic structures in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Witold Frąckowiak ◽  
Jörn Theuerkauf ◽  
Bartosz Pirga ◽  
Roman Gula
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Anthropogenic Structures ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIn Europe, brown bear Ursus arctos habitats frequently overlap with human settlements and infrastructure. We tested whether anthropogenic structures played an important role in habitat selection by brown bears in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland. We analysed 668 signs of brown bear presence recorded during 6 counts along 246 km of transects (total 1,476 km) in spring, summer and autumn of 1993 and 1994. Habitat selection of bears was more related to habitat and altitude than to human factors. Avoidance of roads, settlements and forest clearings influenced habitat selection by brown bears in spring but less in summer and autumn.

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