Evaluating trade-offs between forage, biting flies, and footing on habitat selection by wood bison (Bison bison athabascae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 254-261
Author(s):  
R.J. Belanger ◽  
M.A. Edwards ◽  
L.N. Carbyn ◽  
S.E. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Bison Bison ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Forage Availability ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Wood Bison ◽  
Insect Harassment ◽  
Biting Fly

Habitat selection is a behavioural process that ultimately affects animal fitness. Forage availability and predation risk are often studied in the context of habitat selection for large ungulates, while other biological and environmental factors such as insect harassment and footing are less studied. Here we examine trade-offs in summer habitat selection between forage availability for wood bison (Bison bison athabascae Rhoads, 1898) with that of biting-fly harassment and soil firmness, which affects activity budgets and predation risk, respectively, and contrast this to winter when flies are absent and soils frozen. Using path analysis, we demonstrate that graminoid availability was not related to habitat selection in summer, but was positively related to habitat selection in winter. Habitat selection in summer was negatively related to biting-fly abundance and positively related to firmer footing. Our results suggest that bison observe trade-offs in summer between maximizing forage intake and minimizing harassment from that of biting flies, while avoiding areas of soft substrates that affect locomotion and vulnerability to predators. In contrast, during the winter, bison focus on areas with greater graminoid availability. Although forage is a key aspect of habitat selection, our results illustrate the importance of considering direct and indirect effects of multiple biological and environmental factors related to ungulate habitat selection.

Diet and habitat selection of wood bison in relation to seasonal changes in forage quantity and quality

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2677-2685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C. Larter ◽  
Cormack C. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Bison Bison ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Forage Availability ◽  
Winter Diet ◽  
Wood Bison ◽  
Snow Conditions ◽  
Selection Of

Diet and habitat selection of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) were studied in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, Northwest Territories, between February 1986 and April 1988. Wood bison showed pronounced seasonal changes in diet. Sedges constituted 96.1–98.8% of the winter diet. During summer, the diet became a more diverse mix of sedge (Carex spp.), grass (Graminae), and willow (Salix spp.). Lichen (Cladina mitis) became a major dietary component in fall. Summer browsing on willows increased when sedge standing crops were reduced. Forage availability was the main factor determining habitat selection. Wet sedge meadows provided the most available crude protein in winter and were the preferred winter habitat. Willow savannas provided the most available crude protein in summer and were the preferred summer habitat. Between June and October, all forages except lichen decreased in nitrogen content and increased in fibre content. The lack of distinct habitat preference in fall corresponded to dispersion of animals into forested habitats, increased use of lichen as forage, and more homogeneous availability of crude protein among habitats. Snow conditions were harsher in 1987–1988 than in 1986–1987, which affected forage availability and caused a noticeable shift in habitat use.

scholarly journals The Winter Habitat Selection of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Based on a Multi-Scale Model

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2454
Author(s):  
Yue Sun ◽  
Yanze Yu ◽  
Jinhao Guo ◽  
Minghai Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Optimal Scale ◽  
Scale Models ◽  
Selection Of

Single-scale frameworks are often used to analyze the habitat selections of species. Research on habitat selection can be significantly improved using multi-scale models that enable greater in-depth analyses of the scale dependence between species and specific environmental factors. In this study, the winter habitat selection of red deer in the Gogostaihanwula Nature Reserve, Inner Mongolia, was studied using a multi-scale model. Each selected covariate was included in multi-scale models at their “characteristic scale”, and we used an all subsets approach and model selection framework to assess habitat selection. The results showed that: (1) Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the response scale of red deer to environmental factors was different among different covariate. The optimal scale of the single covariate was 800–3200 m, slope (SLP), altitude (ELE), and ratio of deciduous broad-leaved forests were 800 m in large scale, except that the farmland ratio was 200 m in fine scale. The optimal scale of road density and grassland ratio is both 1600 m, and the optimal scale of net forest production capacity is 3200 m; (2) distance to forest edges, distance to cement roads, distance to villages, altitude, distance to all road, and slope of the region were the most important factors affecting winter habitat selection. The outcomes of this study indicate that future studies on the effectiveness of habitat selections will benefit from multi-scale models. In addition to increasing interpretive and predictive capabilities, multi-scale habitat selection models enhance our understanding of how species respond to their environments and contribute to the formulation of effective conservation and management strategies for ungulata.

Predation risk and microhabitat selection by cave salamanders, Eurycea lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (10-12) ◽  
pp. 841-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gavin Bradley ◽  
Perri K. Eason
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Predation Pressure ◽  
Microhabitat Selection ◽  
Substrate Selection ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Cave Wall

Abstract Habitat selection is driven by many factors, but no one location is likely to be best for all factors; thus, individuals are subject to trade-offs when selecting habitat. Caves provide a clear example of such trade-offs because these habitats are energy deprived. Cave salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga) commonly inhabit caves at least in part because this habitat is cool and wet. We tested the hypothesis that caves also provide cave salamanders with a reduction in predation risk. We used clay models to test for differences in predation risk in caves vs. forests and at low (e.g., ground) vs. elevated (e.g., cave wall) positions, and recorded locations of cave salamanders to assess vertical (i.e., wall) vs. non-vertical (e.g., ground) substrate selection in a cave. Overall, a mean of 3.2 models in caves were damaged and a mean of 8.2 were damaged in forests. Cave salamanders selected vertical substrate more often than non-vertical substrate (, ), and in caves, low-positioned models were more likely to be damaged than models on walls, although there was no effect of model height in forests. This study suggests that caves provide salamanders a refuge from increased predation pressure, a benefit that likely compensates for the costs of moving between caves and the richer foraging grounds outside them.

scholarly journals Sea-ice habitat minimizes grazing impact and predation risk for larval Antarctic krill

Polar Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen L. David ◽  
Fokje L. Schaafsma ◽  
Jan A. van Franeker ◽  
Evgeny A. Pakhomov ◽  
Brian P. V. Hunt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Antarctic Krill ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Euphausia Superba ◽  
Grazing Impact ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Ice Water

AbstractSurvival of larval Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) during winter is largely dependent upon the presence of sea ice as it provides an important source of food and shelter. We hypothesized that sea ice provides additional benefits because it hosts fewer competitors and provides reduced predation risk for krill larvae than the water column. To test our hypothesis, zooplankton were sampled in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence Zone at the ice-water interface (0–2 m) and in the water column (0–500 m) during August–October 2013. Grazing by mesozooplankton, expressed as a percentage of the phytoplankton standing stock, was higher in the water column (1.97 ± 1.84%) than at the ice-water interface (0.08 ± 0.09%), due to a high abundance of pelagic copepods. Predation risk by carnivorous macrozooplankton, expressed as a percentage of the mesozooplankton standing stock, was significantly lower at the ice-water interface (0.83 ± 0.57%; main predators amphipods, siphonophores and ctenophores) than in the water column (4.72 ± 5.85%; main predators chaetognaths and medusae). These results emphasize the important role of sea ice as a suitable winter habitat for larval krill with fewer competitors and lower predation risk. These benefits should be taken into account when considering the response of Antarctic krill to projected declines in sea ice. Whether reduced sea-ice algal production may be compensated for by increased water column production remains unclear, but the shelter provided by sea ice would be significantly reduced or disappear, thus increasing the predation risk on krill larvae.

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