Species-specific habitat use of wing-moulting waterbirds in response to temporary flightlessness

Many studies determine which habitat components are important to animals and the extent their use may overlap with competitive species. However, such studies are often undertaken after populations are in decline or under interspecific stress. Since habitat selection is not independent of interspecific stress, quantifying an animal's current landscape use could be misleading if the species distribution is suboptimal. We present an alternative approach by modeling the predicted distributions of two sympatric species on the landscape using dietary preferences and prey distribution. We compared the observed habitat use of kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) and coyotes (Canis latrans) against their predicted distribution. Data included locations of kit foxes and coyotes, carnivore scat transects, and seasonal prey surveys. Although habitats demonstrated heterogeneity with respect to prey resources, only coyotes showed habitat use designed to maximize access to prey. In contrast, kit foxes used habitats which did not align closely with prey resources. Instead, habitat use by kit foxes represented spatial and behavioral strategies designed to minimize spatial overlap with coyotes while maximizing access to resources. Data on the distribution of prey, their dietary importance, and the species-specific disparities between predicted and observed habitat distributions supports a mechanism by which kit fox distribution is derived from intense competitive interactions with coyotes.

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Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Patch Size Affects Fish Communities in a Turbid-Algal Lake

Frontiers in Conservation Science ◽

10.3389/fcosc.2021.657691 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Audrey Looby ◽

Laura K. Reynolds ◽

Carrie Reinhardt Adams ◽

Charles W. Martin

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation ◽

Patch Size ◽

Aquatic Vegetation ◽

Fish Habitat ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Time Of Day ◽

Management Actions ◽

Species Specific ◽

The Impact

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is declining worldwide, leading to subsequent reductions in the ecological functions associated with SAV in shallow aquatic ecosystems, including providing habitat for fishes. Extensive restoration efforts are required to reverse this trend, but studies focusing on aquatic vegetation have been uncommon in recent years relative to other primary producers. Evaluations of the most beneficial SAV species and characteristics for fishes are especially rare. Because of the potentially complex and inconsistent responses of fish to different management actions, further research is necessary to evaluate the species-specific and community-level effects of SAV to inform restoration decision-making. To examine what SAV characteristics increase fish habitat use in a turbid-algal lake undergoing restoration, we sampled 29 areas around Lake Apopka, Florida (USA) with fyke nets and trotlines. We examined the impact of eight environmental variables on fish abundance, biomass, community structure, and predation potential. For each approximated 0.6 m2 increase in SAV patch size, total fish biomass catch increased 6.5 g hr−1. Fish community composition based on abundance also changed with an increase in SAV patch size. The number of bait items missing from trotlines, a measure of predation potential, was most affected by water temperature, wind speed, and time of day, but not by the SAV variables tested. These results expand existing knowledge of fish habitat use of SAV and will inform future management efforts to conserve and restore fish communities by focusing on specific SAV characteristics such as patch size.

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Spatial Behavior and Habitat Use of Two Sympatric Bat Species

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11123460 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 3460

Author(s):

Nicole Starik ◽

Thomas Göttert ◽

Ulrich Zeller

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Total Activity ◽

Trophic Niche ◽

Spatial Behavior ◽

Movement Behavior ◽

Convex Polygons ◽

Total Size ◽

Core Areas ◽

Species Specific ◽

Activity Areas

Movement behavior and habitat use of the long-eared bat species Plecotus auritus and Plecotus austriacus were studied in the Havelland region in Brandenburg (Germany). Data collection included mist-netting, radiotelemetry, reconstruction of prey items, and monitoring of roosting sites. Body measurements confirm a high degree of phenotypic similarity between the two species. Total activity areas (100% Minimum Convex Polygons, MCPS) of Plecotus austriacus (2828.3 ± 1269.43 ha) were up to five-fold larger compared to Plecotus auritus (544.54 ± 295.89 ha). The activity areas of Plecotus austriacus contained up to 11 distinct core areas, and their mean total size (149.7 ± 0.07 ha) was approximately three-fold larger compared to core areas of Plecotus auritus (49.2 ± 25.6 ha). The mean distance between consecutive fixes per night was 12.72 ± 3.7 km for Plecotus austriacus and 4.23 ± 2.8 km for Plecotus auritus. While Plecotus austriacus was located most frequently over pastures (>40%) and meadows (>20%), P. auritus was located mostly within deciduous (>50%) and mixed forests (>30%) in close vicinity to its roosts. Roost site monitoring indicates that the activity of P. austriacus is delayed relative to P. auritus in spring and declined earlier in autumn. These phenological differences are probably related to the species’ respective diets. Levins’ measure of trophic niche breadth suggests that the prey spectrum for P. auritus is more diverse during spring (B = 2.86) and autumn (B = 2.82) compared to P. austriacus (spring: B = 1.7; autumn: B = 2.1). Our results give reason to consider these interspecific ecological variations and species-specific requirements of P. auritus and P. austriacus to develop adapted and improved conservation measures.

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Sharing the water column: physiological mechanisms underlying species-specific habitat use in tunas

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries ◽

10.1007/s11160-017-9497-7 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 843-880 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Diego Bernal ◽

Richard W. Brill ◽

Kathryn A. Dickson ◽

Holly A. Shiels

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Water Column ◽

Physiological Mechanisms ◽

Species Specific

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Passive acoustic monitoring of bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise, in Cardigan Bay, Wales, with implications for habitat use and partitioning

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315409991226 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 90 (8) ◽

pp. 1539-1545 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Malene Simon ◽

Hanna Nuuttila ◽

Mercedes M. Reyes-Zamudio ◽

Fernando Ugarte ◽

Ursula Verfub ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

Harbour Porpoise ◽

Habitat Partitioning ◽

Specific Interactions ◽

Special Area ◽

One Year ◽

The One ◽

Species Specific ◽

Passive Acoustic

Knowledge about harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphin occurrence in Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Wales, is limited to daylight hours during summer, when conditions are suitable for traditional visual surveys. T-PODs are autonomous instruments programmed to log time-cues of species-specific echolocation signals for long periods of time. Here we investigated bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise habitat use and partitioning by deploying ten calibrated T-PODs in Cardigan Bay SAC for one year. The T-PODs detected both species all year round with a peak of detections in April–October for dolphins and in October–March for porpoise, revealing a previously unknown importance of the place to harbour porpoise during winter. Though the two species are sympatric, simultaneous detections of both species were rare and indication of temporal habitat partitioning between the two species in some parts of the SAC was observed. The one location where simultaneous detections were not as rare was close to the stretch of shoreline where stranding of porpoises killed by dolphins are most common, suggesting that the observed spatiotemporal overlap leads to inter-specific interactions, in some cases fatal for the porpoise.

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Ontogenetic Patterns of Elemental Tracers in the Vertebrae Cartilage of Coastal and Oceanic Sharks

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.704134 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Mariah C. Livernois ◽

John A. Mohan ◽

Thomas C. TinHan ◽

Travis M. Richards ◽

Brett J. Falterman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Habitat Use ◽

Elemental Composition ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Shark Species ◽

Ecosystem Structure ◽

Population Declines ◽

Use Patterns ◽

Species Specific ◽

Over Time

As predators, coastal and oceanic sharks play critical roles in shaping ecosystem structure and function, but most shark species are highly susceptible to population declines. Effective management of vulnerable shark populations requires knowledge of species-specific movement and habitat use patterns. Since sharks are often highly mobile and long-lived, tracking their habitat use patterns over large spatiotemporal scales is challenging. However, the analysis of elemental tracers in vertebral cartilage can describe a continuous record of the life history of an individual from birth to death. This study examined trace elements (Li, Mg, Mn, Zn, Sr, and Ba) along vertebral transects of five shark species with unique life histories. From most freshwater-associated to most oceanic, these species include Bull Sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), Bonnethead Sharks (Sphyrna tiburo), Blacktip Sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus), Spinner Sharks (Carcharhinus brevipinna), and Shortfin Mako Sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus). Element concentrations were compared across life stages (young-of-the-year, early juvenile, late juvenile, and adult) to infer species-specific ontogenetic patterns of habitat use and movement. Many of the observed elemental patterns could be explained by known life history traits: C. leucas exhibited clear ontogenetic changes in elemental composition matching expected changes in their use of freshwater habitats over time. S. tiburo elemental composition did not differ across ontogeny, suggesting residence in estuarine/coastal regions. The patterns of elemental composition were strikingly similar between C. brevipinna and C. limbatus, suggesting they co-occur in similar habitats across ontogeny. I. oxyrinchus elemental composition was stable over time, but some ontogenetic shifts occurred that may be due to changes in migration patterns with maturation. The results presented in this study enhance our understanding of the habitat use and movement patterns of coastal and oceanic sharks, and highlights the applicability of vertebral chemistry as a tool for characterizing shark life history traits.

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