Territoriality and habitat selection of female snowy owls (Nyctea scandiaca) in winter

Territoriality of snowy owls (Nyctea scandiaca) was investigated near Calgary, Alberta, in the winters of 1976–1977 and 1977–1978. Males appeared to be nomadic, although some individuals remained in small areas for periods of up to 17 days. Many females defended territories of 150–450 ha for periods of up to 80 days. Territories of females contained some habitats in excess of their proportion on the study area. This represents selection of habitats with high prey availability. Owls spent more time in such habitats than in resource-poor habitats within their territories. Territory size was inversely related to the proportion of stubble field and the amount of "edge" habitat bordering stubble fields, on the territories. These findings are consistent with an earlier hypothesis that the size of feeding territories is regulated to provide the territory holder with a constant level of food. Juvenile females defended larger territories than did adult females, with higher proportions of nonpreferred habitats. We suggest that these differences result from the inexperience of juveniles in selecting and defending optimal winter territories.

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Elk (Cervus elaphus) Seasonal Habitat Selection in a Heterogeneous Forest Structure

International Journal of Forestry Research ◽

10.1155/2013/415913 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jesse N. Popp ◽

David N. C. McGeachy ◽

Josef Hamr

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Forest Structure ◽

Hardwood Forests ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

White Birch ◽

Balsam Poplar ◽

Adult Females ◽

Selection Of ◽

Future Management

Seasonal habitat selection by the reintroduced Burwash elk population, approximately 30 km south of Sudbury, Ontario, has been analysed in order to assist in the development of future management. Twenty-five adult females were radio-collared and tracked 1–3 times a week for 3 years. The most prominent patterns included selection of intolerant hardwood forests (trembling aspen, white birch, and balsam poplar) during all seasons, while Great Lakes-St. Lawrence pines (white and red pine dominated stands) were used less than expected based on availability for all seasons. The selection patterns are likely associated with seasonal climatic conditions and forage preferences. Because the selection behaviours displayed here varied greatly from other elk habitat studies, it is suggested that managers consider the importance of population-specific habitat studies before developing related strategies.

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Restricted constrictors: Space use and habitat selection of native Burmese pythons in Northeast Thailand

10.1101/2020.09.17.302661 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Samantha Nicole Smith ◽

Max Dolton Jones ◽

Benjamin Michael Marshall ◽

Surachit Waengsothorn ◽

George A. Gale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Animal Movement ◽

Brownian Bridge ◽

Radio Telemetry ◽

Space Use ◽

Population Level ◽

Human Settlements ◽

Small Areas ◽

Agricultural Conversion ◽

Selection Of

AbstractAnimal movement and resource use are tightly linked. Investigating these links to understand how animals utilize space and select habitats is especially relevant in areas that have been affected by habitat fragmentation and agricultural conversion. We set out to explore the space use and habitat selection of Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in a patchy land use matrix dominated by agricultural crops and human settlements. We used radio telemetry to record daily locations of seven Burmese pythons over the course of our study period of approximately 22 months. We created dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models (dBBMMs) for all individuals, using occurrence distributions to estimate extent of movements and motion variance to reveal temporal patterns. Then we used integrated step selection functions to determine whether individual movements were associated with particular landscape features (aquatic agriculture, forest, roads, settlements, terrestrial agriculture, water), and whether there were consistent associations at the population level. Our dBBMM estimates suggested that Burmese pythons made use of small areas (98.97 ± 35.42 ha), with low mean individual motion variance characterized by infrequent moves and long periods at a single location. At both the individual and population level, Burmese pythons in the agricultural matrix were associated with aquatic environments. Only one individual showed a strong avoidance for human settlements which is troublesome from a human-wildlife conflict angle, especially as Burmese pythons have been observed entering human settlements and consuming livestock in our study site. Our study is one of the first to contribute to the knowledge of Burmese python ecology in their native range as the majority of studies have focused on invasive populations.

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Gender is not a relevant matter in habitat selection of the longsnout seahorse Hippocampus reidi Ginsburg, 1933 (Teleostei: Syngnathidae)

Journal of Aquaculture & Marine Biology ◽

10.15406/jamb.2021.10.00321 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 194-198

Author(s):

Natalie V Freret-Meurer

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Habitat Use ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Strong Association ◽

Food Resource ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Male And Female ◽

Sargassum Vulgare ◽

Selection Of

Habitat selection in certain species may vary according to context and environmental conditions. Sexual differences regarding habitat use have been reported for several species, such as mammals, birds and fish, and have been explained by protection and food resource contexts. This issue is not well studied in seahorses, but it may provide useful data for the management of threatened species. The Longsnout Seahorse has recently been considered near threatened, but many gaps regarding its habitat use are still noted. Seahorses display a particular breeding characteristic, in which males carry the embryos inside a breeding pouch, therefore leading to supposed careful selection of breeding habitats, avoiding predation risks and choosing habitats with high prey availability. In this context, this study aimed to verify differences in habitat selection between male and female Longsnout Seahorse Hippocampus reidi specimens along the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. This study took place at 11 sites along the Rio de Janeiro coastline, in southeastern Brazil. Random belt transects (20x5m) were assessed, searching for seahorses and their holdfasts. Random quadrats (50x50cm) divided into 100 cells/each were placed along the transects and benthic cover was counted, in order to establish substrate availability. Results suggested that males select fewer substrate types than females, but no statistical difference was detected. Both male and female H. reidi specimens select mostly Sargassum vulgare as a frequent habitat. The strong association of H. reidi to these seaweed beds suggests vulnerability concerning the degradation of this habitat.

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Prey and habitat distribution are not enough to explain predator habitat selection: addressing intraspecific interactions, behavioural state and time

Movement Ecology ◽

10.1186/s40462-021-00250-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexis Grenier-Potvin ◽

Jeanne Clermont ◽

Gilles Gauthier ◽

Dominique Berteaux

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Habitat Characteristics ◽

Nest Density ◽

Habitat Distribution ◽

Intraspecific Interactions ◽

Egg Hatching ◽

Prey Distribution ◽

Behavioural State ◽

Selection Of

Abstract Background Movements and habitat selection of predators shape ecological communities by determining the spatiotemporal distribution of predation risk. Although intraspecific interactions associated to territoriality and parental care are involved in predator habitat selection, few studies have addressed their effects simultaneously with those of prey and habitat distribution. Moreover, individuals require behavioural and temporal flexibility in their movement decisions to meet various motivations in a heterogeneous environment. To untangle the relative importance of ecological determinants of predator fine-scale habitat selection, we studied simultaneously several spatial, temporal, and behavioural predictors of habitat selection in territorial arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) living within a Greater snow goose (Anser caerulescens atlantica) colony during the reproductive season. Methods Using GPS locations collected at 4-min intervals and behavioural state classification (active and resting), we quantified how foxes modulate state-specific habitat selection in response to territory edges, den proximity, prey distribution, and habitats. We also assessed whether foxes varied their habitat selection in response to an important phenological transition marked by decreasing prey availability (goose egg hatching) and decreasing den dependency (emancipation of cubs). Results Multiple factors simultaneously played a key role in driving habitat selection, and their relative strength differed with respect to the behavioural state and study period. Foxes avoided territory edges, and reproductive individuals selected den proximity before the phenological transition. Higher goose nest density was selected when foxes were active but avoided when resting, and was less selected after egg hatching. Selection for tundra habitats also varied through the summer, but effects were not consistent. Conclusions We conclude that constraints imposed by intraspecific interactions can play, relative to prey distribution and habitat characteristics, an important role in the habitat selection of a keystone predator. Our results highlight the benefits of considering behavioural state and seasonal phenology when assessing the flexibility of predator habitat selection. Our findings indicate that considering intraspecific interactions is essential to understand predator space use, and suggest that using predator habitat selection to advance community ecology requires an explicit assessment of the social context in which movements occur.

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Salmon subsidies predict territory size and habitat selection of an avian insectivore

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0254314 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0254314

Author(s):

Kirsten A. Wilcox ◽

Marlene A. Wagner ◽

John D. Reynolds

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Habitat Selection ◽

Pacific Salmon ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Territory Size ◽

Territorial Defence ◽

Nutrient Subsidies ◽

The Cost ◽

Spawning Biomass ◽

Selection Of

The annual migration and spawning event of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) can lead to cross-boundary delivery of marine-derived nutrients from their carcasses into adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. The densities of some passerine species, including Pacific wrens (Troglodytes pacificus), have been shown to be positively correlated with salmon abundance along streams in Alaska and British Columbia, but mechanisms maintaining these densities remain poorly understood. Riparian areas near salmon streams could provide higher quality habitat for birds through greater food availability and more suitable vegetation structure for foraging and breeding, resulting in wrens maintaining smaller territories. We examined relationships between salmon biomass and Pacific wren territory size, competition, and habitat selection along 11 streams on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. We show that male wren densities increase and territory sizes decrease as salmon-spawning biomass increases. Higher densities result in higher rates of competition as male wrens countersing more frequently to defend their territories along streams with more salmon. Wrens were also more selective of the habitats they defended along streams with higher salmon biomass; they were 68% less likely to select low-quality habitat on streams with salmon compared with 46% less likely at streams without salmon. This suggests a potential trade-off between available high-quality habitat and the cost of competition that structures habitat selection. Thus, the marine-nutrient subsidies provided by salmon carcasses to forests lead to higher densities of wrens while shifting the economics of territorial defence toward smaller territories being defended more vigorously in higher quality habitats.

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Habitat complexity and lifetime predation risk influence mesopredator survival in a multi-predator system

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-73318-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Laura C. Gigliotti ◽

Rob Slotow ◽

Luke T. B. Hunter ◽

Julien Fattebert ◽

Craig Sholto-Douglas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Habitat Use ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Scale Up ◽

Population Level ◽

Apex Predators ◽

Acinonyx Jubatus ◽

Selection Of

Abstract Variability in habitat selection can lead to differences in fitness; however limited research exists on how habitat selection of mid-ranking predators can influence population-level processes in multi-predator systems. For mid-ranking, or mesopredators, differences in habitat use might have strong demographic effects because mesopredators need to simultaneously avoid apex predators and acquire prey. We studied spatially-explicit survival of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in the Mun-Ya-Wana Conservancy, South Africa, to test hypotheses related to spatial influences of predation risk, prey availability, and vegetation complexity, on mesopredator survival. For each monitored cheetah, we estimated lion encounter risk, prey density, and vegetation complexity within their home range, on short-term (seasonal) and long-term (lifetime) scales and estimated survival based on these covariates. Survival was lowest for adult cheetahs and cubs in areas with high vegetation complexity on both seasonal and lifetime scales. Additionally, cub survival was negatively related to the long-term risk of encountering a lion. We suggest that complex habitats are only beneficial to mesopredators when they are able to effectively find and hunt prey, and show that spatial drivers of survival for mesopredators can vary temporally. Collectively, our research illustrates that individual variation in mesopredator habitat use can scale-up and have population-level effects.

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Territory size and habitat selection of Cinnamon-breasted Rock Bunting Emberiza tahapisi in Nigeria

Ostrich ◽

10.2989/00306525.2013.777947 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 71-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fidelis A Atuo ◽

Shiiwua A Manu

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Territory Size ◽

Selection Of

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The savannah sparrow territorial system: can habitat features be related to breeding success?

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z84-265 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 62 (9) ◽

pp. 1819-1828 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Jean Bédard ◽

Gisèle LaPointe

Keyword(s):

Breeding Success ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Territory Size ◽

Breeding Performance ◽

Mating Status ◽

Passerculus Sandwichensis ◽

Habitat Features ◽

Savannah Sparrow ◽

Territory Holder ◽

Selection Of

We studied the biology of the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) in a tidal marsh – abandoned fields ecotone at Isle Verte, Québec, from 1976 to 1981 in an attempt to relate habitat features of the territories (size, vegetation structure and height, food abundance, and an index of foraging opportunities) with breeding success (success in attracting a mate and in fledging at least one young). The height of plant cover did not influence the selection of nesting areas by females. The index of foraging opportunities was highly variable and could not be related to the age of the territory holder (yearling or older), his mating status (breeder or bachelor), or to his breeding success (success in fledging at least one young). Territory size was not consistently influenced by these factors. We propose several reasons for the lack of relation between breeding performance and those features of habitat quality that we studied.

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