Hierarchical habitat selection by North American porcupines in southern boreal forest

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (10) ◽  
pp. 1333-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Morin ◽  
Dominique Berteaux ◽  
Ilya Klvana
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
North American ◽  
Deciduous Trees ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Erethizon Dorsatum ◽  
Multi Scale

In habitat-selection studies, a multi-scale approach is considered necessary to ensure that all elements of selection are depicted and that management decisions accurately reflect the needs of the species under study. We examined hierarchy in summer habitat selection in North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum (L., 1758)) in Eastern Canada at the scales of landscape, home range, and single tree. We used radiotelemetry to locate and observe animals visually to record their behaviour and exact location in the habitat. Den use in summer was unexpectedly high for some of our animals, which forced us to use a restricted number of locations per individual for comparison among scales. Although porcupines are generalists at the landscape level, selection patterns appear at the home-range and tree levels. Human-used land and conifer forests were least selected features of home ranges, while deciduous forests dominated by trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and mixed forests were most selected. At the tree scale, trembling aspen was found to be selected over other deciduous trees. However, fruit-producing trees were even more selected. This study shows the importance of a multi-scale approach that includes fine-scale selection.

Dynamics of regeneration gaps following harvest of aspen stands

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1818-1833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A MacIsaac ◽  
Philip G Comeau ◽  
S Ellen Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Deciduous Trees ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Calamagrostis Canadensis ◽  
Edaphic Conditions ◽  
Over Time

This study assessed the dynamics of gap development in postharvest regeneration in five stands in northwestern Alberta dominated by trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). The pattern of gap development over time was determined from analysis of air photographs taken preharvest and 1, 4, 10, and 12 years postharvest. The area of each stand covered by gaps increased after harvest because of the addition of harvest-related gaps over and above those that had been present prior to harvest. The blocks we studied had a combined gap area of up to 29% of stand area 12 years postharvest. We measured regeneration characteristics, microsite, soil, light, and browse conditions in 30 aspen regeneration gaps (gaps in regeneration that were not gaps preharvest and were not due to obvious harvest-related disturbance) 14 years following harvest. Although deciduous trees within postharvest regeneration gaps were the same age as those outside (i.e., in a fully stocked matrix of newly established even-aged aspen stems), they were often suppressed, with significantly lower density and growth. Within the 14-year-old postharvest regenerating aspen stands, aspen height varied from 1 to 11 m; this substantial variability appeared to be largely due to the influence of browsing. There was little evidence of ongoing regeneration within postharvest regeneration gaps, indicating that these gaps will probably persist over time. This may impact future deciduous stocking and volume. It is unknown what may have initiated the formation of these gaps, although results suggest that they are not due to edaphic conditions or disease in the preharvest stands. There is evidence that bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv.) cover and browsing are important factors in the maintenance of postharvest regeneration gaps. The spatial heterogeneity resulting from gaps could be advantageous, however, either as part of ecosystem-based management emulating natural disturbance or as a template for mixedwood management, where white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) are established in gaps.

Winter survival and habitat use of orphaned and non-orphaned moose calves in southern Quebec

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 919-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Jolicoeur ◽  
Michel Crête
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Winter Survival ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Severe Winter ◽  
Browse Species ◽  
Forage Utilization

Survival, movements, home ranges, habitat selection, and diets of 13 orphaned and 13 non-orphaned moose calves were compared during their first winter. Survival of four other calves that became separated from their mothers was also monitored. The study took place during three winters between December 1978 and April 1983. Overall, winter survival rates between the two groups did not differ. When mortality did occur, it involved solitary (orphaned and separated) calves during a severe winter. Movements and home-range sizes of the two groups were also similar. Biomass of forage on winter sites, forage utilization, and importance of tree cover were similar on sites chosen by orphaned and non-orphaned calves. Minor differences were observed in the order of preference of browse species. Five solitary calves were involved in either temporary or permanent associations with other moose.

scholarly journals Great Gray Owl home range and habitat selection during the breeding-season

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 90-96
Author(s):  
Katherine Gura ◽  
Bryan Bedrosian ◽  
Anna D. Chalfoun ◽  
Susan Patla
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Resource Requirements

Identifying resource requirements of under-studied species during key stages such as breeding is critical for effective management. We quantified breeding-season home-range attributes and habitat selection of adult Great Gray Owls across multiple spatial (home-range and within-home-range level) and temporal (nesting and post-fledging; day versus night) scales in western Wyoming, USA. In 2018 and 2019 we outfitted adult male owls (n = 18) with GPS remote-download transmitters and collected hourly location data throughout the breeding season (1 May – 15 September). Using 50% and 95% kernel density estimates (KDE), mean core area was 1.2 km2 and mean home-range size was 6.2 km2 (n = 16). Resource selection analyses incorporated both remotely-sensed and microsite data. We conducted microsite surveys at used and available points within 95% KDE home ranges using a stratified random sample design (n = 661). Determining home-range and breeding habitat requirements will improve density estimates and facilitate the effective management of Great Gray Owls and their habitat. We found differing patterns between habitat selection at the home-range and within-home-range scales.   Featured photo by YNP on Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/SA17KT

scholarly journals Home Range Attributes and Habitat Selection of Barred Owls and Spotted Owls in an Area of Sympatry

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 750-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Hamer ◽  
Eric D. Forsman ◽  
Elizabeth M. Glenn
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Strix Varia ◽  
Spotted Owls ◽  
Barred Owls ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract We compared home range areas and habitat selection of radio-marked Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis) and Barred Owls (Strix varia) in an area of sympatry in the northern Cascade Range of Washington in 1986–1989. On average, home ranges of Spotted Owls were 3–4 times larger than ranges of Barred Owls, and there was little overlap of home ranges during the breeding season. Ranges of both species tended to expand during winter. Home range size of both species was negatively correlated with the amount of old forest, but the negative slope of the regression was much steeper for Spotted Owls than for Barred Owls. For both species, home ranges of individual owls typically had high overlap among seasons and years, indicating high site fidelity. Barred Owls generally occupied home ranges at lower elevations than Spotted Owls (mean  =  386 ± 27 m vs. 750 ± 68 m). Both species tended to use old forests more than expected, but Spotted Owls tended to use other cover types less than expected, whereas Barred Owls used most other cover types in proportion to their availability. We suggest that Spotted Owls may use larger ranges than Barred Owls because they prey selectively on a few species of nocturnal mammals, whereas Barred Owls forage more evenly across a broad range of prey types, including diurnal and aquatic species. The low overlap of Barred Owl and Spotted Owl home ranges suggests that territorial Barred Owls exclude Spotted Owls from their territories, at least during the breeding season, thus reducing the amount of habitat available to Spotted Owls.

Movements and habitat selection by wild dogs in eastern Victoria

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Robley ◽  
Andrew Gormley ◽  
David M. Forsyth ◽  
Alan N. Wilton ◽  
Danielle Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Global Positioning System ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Wild Dog ◽  
Wild Dogs

To investigate movements and habitat selection by wild dogs we attached satellite-linked global positioning system (GPS) units to nine wild dogs (Canis lupus dingo and Canis lupus familiaris) captured in eastern Victoria in summer 2007. Units estimated locations at 30-min intervals for the first six months and then at 480-min intervals for six more months. DNA testing revealed all these wild dogs to be related. Home ranges of males were almost three times larger than those of females (males: 124.3 km2 ± 56.3, n = 4; females: 45.2 km2 ± 17.3, n = 5) and both sexes preferred subalpine grassland, shrub or woodland at the landscape and home-range scales. Wild dogs were recorded more often than expected within 25 m of roads and less often than expected within 25 m of watercourses. Wild dogs displayed higher-velocity movements with shallow turning angles (generally forwards) that connected spatial and temporal clusters comprising slower-velocity, shorter, and sharper turning movements. One wild dog travelled 230 km in 9 days before returning to its home range and another travelled 105 km in 87 days. The home-range sizes reported in this study are much larger than previously reported in south-eastern Australia. This finding, together with previous studies, suggests that the spatial scale at which wild dog management occurs needs to be reconsidered.

Home Range and Habitat Selection of Female Mountain Nyalas (Tragelaphus Buxtoni) in the Human-Dominated Landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anagaw Atickem ◽  
Matthias Klapproth ◽  
Martha Fischer ◽  
Dietmar Zinner ◽  
Leif Egil Loe
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
National Park ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Human Settlement ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Background: Human settlement and agricultural activities restrict increasingly the range of large mammals in many cases contributing to declining numbers of ungulates. Here, we studied home range size and habitat selection of female mountain nyalas in the northern end of the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) (31 km2) surrounded by human settlement. We collected data on space use of seven adult female mountain nyalas equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars. Home range size was estimated using fixed kernel density and habitat selection was determined by resource selection functions.Results: We found that female mountain nyalas have much smaller (5.7 km2) home ranges than the 19 km2 home range size predicted for a 170 kg, group-living species living in mixed habitats. Home ranges were 30% larger in night time than daytime. We suggest that the night time extension beyond the park boundaries were caused by both push and pull effects. The presumably high livestock and other ungulates grazing pressure within the protected area may cause forage-driven excursions out of the park, in particular during agricultural crop seasons. In addition, mountain nyalas are probably attracted by humans as shields against hyena predation. Resource selection index indicates bush land and forest habitat are the most preferred habitat types while agriculture and human settlements are least preferred habitats.Conclusions: Given that mountain nyalas are found in high density (24 individuals/km2) and the size of the northern part of the Bale Mountain National Park, which is currently under protection by the park authorities for the mountain nyala conservation, is too small for the predicted home range size of large ungulates, we suggest protecting additional area may be needed for the long-term conservation of the endangered mountain nyala.

Habitat selection by parturient elk (Cervus elaphus) in agricultural and forested landscapes

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (10) ◽  
pp. 968-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan K. Brook
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Resource Managers

I examined the home range and habitat selection of 146 radio-collared female elk ( Cervus elaphus L., 1758) from 2002 to 2005 during the calving period (15 May to 24 June). I determined the proportion of home ranges of parturient cow elk during the calving period and the proportion of birthing sites of elk that were in either forested protected areas or the adjacent fragmented agriculture-dominated matrix in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Overall, 73% of the minimum convex polygon home ranges were entirely within a protected area, 6% were only on farmland, and 21% included both. Home ranges including farmland and protected area (mean = 17.9 km2) were 3.8 times larger than those entirely inside a protected area (mean = 4.7 km2) or only on farmland (mean = 4.5 km2) (U = –2.79, P = 0.005). Female elk remaining solely in protected areas selected deciduous and mixedwood forest, marsh and fen, and water at the scale of the home range. Elk exclusively on farmland selected forage crops only. At the scale of the birthing site, females on farmland and those in protected areas selected only deciduous forest, and both types avoided agricultural cropland and marsh and fen. Identification of calving habitat will allow resource managers to manage bovine tuberculosis in the population more effectively.

scholarly journals New insights on the rarity of the vulnerable Cinereous Warbling-finch (Aves, Emberizidae) based on density, home range, and habitat selection

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 795-802
Author(s):  
F Marques-Santos ◽  
U Wischhoff ◽  
M Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Habitat Modification ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Grassland Bird ◽  
Cerrado Vegetation ◽  
Selection Of

The Cinereous Warbling-finch Poospiza cinerea (Emberizidae) is a Neotropical grassland bird considered rare, with population declining due to habitat loss and classified as vulnerable. However, the species conspicuously remains in several degraded areas, suggesting that it may be favored by these environments. Studies which focus on this species were inexistent until 2012, making questionable any statement about its threaten status. Here we analyzed population density, home range, and habitat selection of two groups of P. cinerea at independent sites that differ in human impact levels. Density was estimated by counting and mapping birds. Kernel density and minimum convex polygon were used to estimate home ranges. Habitat selection was inferred from use and availability of every habitat identified within the home range boundaries. One group positively selected urban tree vegetation, despite the availability of natural habitats in its home range. Based on a review on the literature and our findings, we assume that it is unlikely that P. cinerea is rare owing to habitat degradation, as previously thought. Nevertheless, this species was always recorded around native Cerrado vegetation and thus habitat modification may still threaten this species at some level. It is suggested that this species might be a woodland edge species, but future studies are necessary to confirm this assumption.

The spatial scale of habitat selection by red deer

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
pp. 1337-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Schaefer ◽  
Nicolas Morellet ◽  
Dominique Pépin ◽  
Hélène Verheyden
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Spatial Statistics ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Hierarchical Analysis ◽  
Geostatistical Model

Accounting for spatial scale is essential for understanding habitat selection, but few studies have used spatial statistics to reveal the characteristic scale at which organisms respond to their environment. We studied habitat selection by GPS-tracked red deer ( Cervus elaphus L., 1758) in the Pyrenees Mountains, France, by applying a geostatistical model that compares autocorrelation of a resource between used and available sites to uncover the scale at which animals assess habitat. Using an artificial landscape, we demonstrated that the model can handle discrete habitat classes. Based on conventional hierarchical analysis, deer selected for open habitat, especially meadow, and avoided coniferous forest, more strongly at the coarse level of the home range than GPS locations. Home ranges exhibited generally lower autocorrelation in elevation and meadow habitat than random locations within the population range, indicative of preference for high habitat heterogeneity. Mean maximum discrepancy in autocorrelation, which was more pronounced at the level of the home range than GPS locations, occurred at 830 m for meadow habitat and at 1511 m for elevation, suggesting that red deer responded to their environment at this scale. Our study demonstrates how spatial statistics can serve as an instructive complement to conventional approaches to habitat selection.

Response of eastern pygmy possums, Cercartetus nanus, to selective logging in New South Wales: home range, habitat selection and den use

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Law ◽  
Mark Chidel ◽  
Alf Britton ◽  
Traecey Brassil
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Selective Logging ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Den Use ◽  
Cercartetus Nanus

Context Selective logging of native forests creates a mosaic of disturbance histories; however, little is known about how different taxa respond to such a mosaic. Aims We followed adaptive-management principles to test logging and burning impacts on eastern pygmy possums, Cercartetus nanus (Geoffroy and Desmarest, 1817), by undertaking a large-scale field experiment that coincided with harvesting. We predicted that home range would increase after logging because of a reduction in resources (food and/or dens) and because hollows suitable for denning would decrease, resulting in greater use of unlogged patches and alternate dens. Methods We radio-tracked C. nanus in a before-and-after logging experiment to investigate home range, habitat selection and den use. We tracked 50 possums, some individuals for a maximum of 8 months, within control, recently logged and regrowth (5 years since logging) sites. Key results Home ranges were variable (0.04–19.5 ha), with males having significantly larger home ranges. We were unable to detect a difference in home-range size between controls and the first year after logging and burning, or regrowth 5 years after logging. Home ranges comprised a mosaic of disturbed and undisturbed areas, and possums did not avoid logged habitat in their home ranges, indicating that logging did not significantly influence habitat selection. We suggest that possums were not sensitive to selective logging and burning because nectar-producing plants are adapted to fire disturbance and because a variety of den sites were used, most commonly in tree hollows and fallen logs, which were commonly left as logging residue. Indeed, possums frequently denned in logged patches, both recently after logging (63% of dens) and in regrowth 5 years after logging (76% of dens). Counts of fallen hollow logs at each site indicated that their density was not reduced by logging, with regrowth sites having the greatest abundance of logs (260 ha–1). Conclusions The mosaic of disturbance created by selective logging operations did not negatively affect home range or den selection of C. nanus. Implications Ecologically sustainable logging practices that include a range of mitigation measures to protect biodiversity can be compatible with the management of threatened species. Assessment of the effectiveness of these methods often will rely on scientific research.

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