Habitat selection by muskrats in experimental marshes undergoing succession

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Plant Succession ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Wetland Succession ◽  
Wetland Complex ◽  
Density Dependent Habitat Selection ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of

I analyzed habitat selection by muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in relation to density and plant succession in an experimental wetland complex flooded to three different levels: normal (long-term average elevation), medium (30 cm above normal), and high (60 cm above normal) at Delta, Manitoba. Locations where muskrats were trapped or built lodges were superimposed on vegetation types and water depth, in a geographic information system, to determine habitat selection. More than 60% of all individuals were captured in stands of Scirpus, Scolochloa, or Typha, and muskrats significantly avoided areas with water < 1 cm that were dominated by annuals and Hordeum. Muskrats preferred Typha and Scirpus stands for lodges, although some lodges were built in Scolochloa and Phragmites. Water depth at lodges averaged 38 cm, and > 90% of lodges were located in water ≥ 10 cm. Tall dense emergent growth trapped the most snow, resulting in the ice being less thick. Muskrats first captured in Typha or Scirpus stands gained significantly more mass during winter than did those captured in all other habitat types. As emergent vegetation changed and muskrat population density increased, the selection of habitat such as Typha in moderately deep water changed less than did the selection of habitat in shallow water or of those dominated by Scolochloa or sparse Scirpus. These data confirm density-dependent habitat selection by muskrats and suggest that spatial complexity induced by wetland succession is important in muskrat population dynamics.

Population dynamics of muskrats in experimental marshes at Delta, Manitoba

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1620-1628 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Clark ◽  
Darryl W. Kroeker
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Winter Survival ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Open Population ◽  
Wetland Complex ◽  
Estimate Population Size ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Natural Prairie

Muskrat populations were studied in relation to water level and vegetation succession in an experimental wetland complex at Delta Marsh, Manitoba, Canada, flooded to three different levels: normal (long-term average elevation); medium (30 cm above normal); and high (60 cm above normal). Trapping in October and May, combined with closed and open population estimators, was usesd to estimate population size, survival, and recruitment. Muskrat densities reached > 30/ha after the second growing season. Populations in medium and high treatments initially reached densities greater than in normal cells, but all populations decreased to < 1/ha in May 1988. Winter survival declined from 0.31 in 1986 to 0.09 in 1987 and recruitment had declined significantly by May 1988. Winter survival, per-capita recruitment, body condition, and winter mass changes were inversely related to population density, but not consistently related to water level treatments. Survival was directly related to winter mass gain although recruitment the following spring was not. The most influential demographic factor in observed declines in density was decreased winter survival, which was consistently low in all treatments once flooding reduced the emergent vegetation. In natural prairie marsh systems, spatial and temporal variation in vegetation response to flooding contributes to variation in the density dependence of both the survival and recruitment of muskrats.

Ontogenetic and sex-specific differences in density-dependent habitat selection of a marine fish population

Ecology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Bartolino ◽  
Lorenzo Ciannelli ◽  
Nathan M. Bacheler ◽  
Kung-Sik Chan
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Marine Fish ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Density Dependent Habitat Selection ◽  
Selection Of

Habitat selection by adult female eastern grey kangaroos

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin D. Moore ◽  
Graeme Coulson ◽  
Sarah Way
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Compositional Analysis ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Foraging Habitat ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Spring Period ◽  
Night And Day ◽  
Selection Of

We determined patterns of habitat selection in the winter–spring period by adult female eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) at Yan Yean Reservoir Catchment near Melbourne, Victoria, during 1994–95. We assessed habitat selection at two levels by radio-tracking 11 adult female kangaroos. The 95% isopleth harmonic mean home-range size (mean = 62.3 ha) was the smallest recorded for female eastern grey kangaroos. No range encompassed all of the habitat types available in the study area, and the mix and rankings of habitats selected at this level varied amongst individuals when compared by compositional analysis with available habitats. Selection of habitats at the within-range level also varied among individuals and differed between night and day for many individuals, but not for the population mean. Individuals selected strongly for good foraging habitat within their ranges. In particular, grassy clearings were used by all individuals and were selected strongly by day, night or at both times.

Habitat use and selection by takin in the Qinling Mountains, China

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Bo Yan ◽  
Zhi-Gao Zeng ◽  
Hui-Sheng Gong ◽  
Xiang-Bo He ◽  
Xin-Yu Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Qinling Mountains ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Forest Habitats ◽  
Selection Of

Context Understanding habitat use and selection by threatened ungulates is a crucial prerequisite to prioritise management areas and for developing effective conservation strategies. Aims The aim of our research was to determine the habitat use and selection of takins (Budorcas taxicolor) in the middle range of the Qinling Mountains, China. Methods The study was conducted from August 2013 to August 2015. Global positioning system (GPS) radio-tracking was used to monitor 10 collared takins to gain their location information. The Manly–Chesson selectivity index and Bonferroni-adjusted 95% confidence intervals were applied to determine which habitats were selected. Key results Habitat use and selection by takins showed obvious individual differences. At the landscape scale, all of the four most common habitat types were preferred by takins. However, all takins avoided artificially planted larch forest, and farmland and village. Available habitats within the home ranges also mostly included the four common habitat types. At the home-range scale, all individuals had significant habitat selectivity during the entire tracking period and each season. The habitat use and selection within the home range varied obviously with season and showed sexual differences to a certain extent. Conclusions The habitat selection by takins is scale-dependent. At the landscape scale, takins are most likely to occur at sites covered by forest. At both landscape and home-range scales, our results indicated that takins need more diverse forest habitats, but none of the four most common forest habitats is essential for survival of this species. Implications The present work has provided more insight into the habitat use and habitat selection of takins in mountainous forest landscapes. Many measures such as maintaining a diversity of forest habitats, avoiding habitat alteration by invasion of exotic plants, and increasing the area of available habitats by relocating the villages from within to outside of the reserve are recommended to conserve this large species.

Long-Term Changes in Habitat Selection of Wintering Waterbirds: High Importance of Cold Weather Refuge Sites

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matyáš Adam ◽  
Zuzana Musilová ◽  
Petr Musil ◽  
Jan Zouhar ◽  
Dušan Romportl
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
High Importance ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Selection Of

scholarly journals Long-term study of population dynamics and habitat selection of rodents in the Negev Desert

2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 776-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgy Shenbrot ◽  
Boris Krasnov ◽  
Sergei Burdelov
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Selection Of

scholarly journals Some Memories Never Fade: Inferring Multi-Scale Memory Effects on Habitat Selection of a Migratory Ungulate Using Step-Selection Functions

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Rheault ◽  
Charles R. Anderson ◽  
Maegwin Bonar ◽  
Robby R. Marrotte ◽  
Tyler R. Ross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Environmental Covariates ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Step Selection Functions ◽  
Step Selection ◽  
Selection Of

Understanding how animals use information about their environment to make movement decisions underpins our ability to explain drivers of and predict animal movement. Memory is the cognitive process that allows species to store information about experienced landscapes, however, remains an understudied topic in movement ecology. By studying how species select for familiar locations, visited recently and in the past, we can gain insight to how they store and use local information in multiple memory types. In this study, we analyzed the movements of a migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) population in the Piceance Basin of Colorado, United States to investigate the influence of spatial experience over different time scales on seasonal range habitat selection. We inferred the influence of short and long-term memory from the contribution to habitat selection of previous space use within the same season and during the prior year, respectively. We fit step-selection functions to GPS collar data from 32 female deer and tested the predictive ability of covariates representing current environmental conditions and both metrics of previous space use on habitat selection, inferring the latter as the influence of memory within and between seasons (summer vs. winter). Across individuals, models incorporating covariates representing both recent and past experience and environmental covariates performed best. In the top model, locations that had been previously visited within the same season and locations from previous seasons were more strongly selected relative to environmental covariates, which we interpret as evidence for the strong influence of both short- and long-term memory in driving seasonal range habitat selection. Further, the influence of previous space uses was stronger in the summer relative to winter, which is when deer in this population demonstrated strongest philopatry to their range. Our results suggest that mule deer update their seasonal range cognitive map in real time and retain long-term information about seasonal ranges, which supports the existing theory that memory is a mechanism leading to emergent space-use patterns such as site fidelity. Lastly, these findings provide novel insight into how species store and use information over different time scales.

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

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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