scholarly journals Sensory deficiencies affect resource selection and associational effects at two spatial scales

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (21) ◽  
pp. 10569-10577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Verschut ◽  
Brian D. Inouye ◽  
Peter A. Hambäck
Keyword(s):  
Resource Selection ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Associational Effects

Resource selection in a high-altitude rangeland equid, the kiang (Equus kiang): influence of forage abundance and quality at multiple spatial scales

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine St-Louis ◽  
Steeve D. Côté
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Plant Quality ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Higher Plant ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales

Herbivores foraging in arid and seasonal environments often face choices between plant patches varying in abundance and nutritional quality at several spatial and temporal scales. Because of their noncompartmented digestive system, equids typically rely on abundant forage to meet their nutrient requirements. In forage-limited environments, therefore, scarcity of food resources represents a challenge for wild equids. We investigated hierarchical resource-selection patterns of kiangs (Equus kiang Moorcroft, 1841), a wild equid inhabiting the high-altitude steppes of the Tibetan Plateau, hypothesizing that vegetation abundance would be the main factor driving resource selection at a large scale and that plant quality would influence resource selection at finer scales. We investigated resource-selection patterns at three spatial levels (habitat, feeding site, and plant (vegetation groups, i.e., grasses, sedges, forbs, and shrubs)) during summer and fall. At the habitat level, kiangs selected both mesic and xeric habitats in summer and only xeric habitats (plains) during fall. At the feeding-site level, feeding sites had higher plant biomass and percentage of green foliage than random sites in the same habitats. At the plant level, grasses were selected over forbs and shrubs, and sedges were used in proportion to their availability during all seasons. Our results indicate that resource-selection patterns in kiangs vary across scales and that both forage abundance and quality play a role in resource selection. Plant quality appeared more important than hypothesized, possibly to increase daily nutrient intake in forage-limited and highly seasonal high-altitude rangelands.

Black bear (Ursus americanus) functional resource selection relative to intraspecific competition and human risk

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared F. Duquette ◽  
Jerrold L. Belant ◽  
Clay M. Wilton ◽  
Nicholas Fowler ◽  
Brittany W. Waller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Vegetation Productivity ◽  
Riparian Corridors ◽  
Trade Offs

The spatial scales at which animals make behavioral trade-offs is assumed to relate to the scales at which factors most limiting resources and increasing mortality risk occur. We used global positioning system collar locations of 29 reproductive-age female black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) in three states to assess resource selection relative to bear population-specific density, an index of vegetation productivity, riparian corridors, or two road classes of and within home ranges during spring–summer of 2009–2013. Female resource selection was best explained by functional responses to vegetation productivity across nearly all populations and spatial scales, which appeared to be influenced by variation in bear density (i.e., intraspecific competition). Behavioral trade-offs were greatest at the landscape scale, but except for vegetation productivity, were consistent for populations across spatial scales. Females across populations selected locations nearer to tertiary roads, but females in Michigan and Mississippi selected main roads and avoided riparian corridors, whereas females in Missouri did the opposite, suggesting population-level trade-offs between resource (e.g., food) acquisition and mortality risks (e.g., vehicle collisions). Our study emphasizes that female bear population-level resource selection can be influenced by multiple spatially dependent factors, and that scale-dependent functional behavior should be identified for management of bears across their range.

scholarly journals Differential resource selection within shared habitat types across spatial scales in sympatric toads

Ecology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (12) ◽  
pp. 3430-3444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Indermaur ◽  
Thomas Winzeler ◽  
Benedikt R. Schmidt ◽  
Klement Tockner ◽  
Michael Schaub
Keyword(s):  
Resource Selection ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Habitat Types

Spatial scales of foraging in fallow deer: Implications for associational effects in plant defences

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasi Rautio ◽  
Kari Kesti ◽  
Ulrika A. Bergvall ◽  
Juha Tuomi ◽  
Olof Leimar
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Fallow Deer ◽  
Plant Defences ◽  
Associational Effects

scholarly journals Winter Resource Selection of Reintroduced Elk and Sympatric White-tailed Deer at Multiple Spatial Scales

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Jenkins ◽  
James A. Schaefer ◽  
Rick Rosatte ◽  
Tim Bellhouse ◽  
Josef Hamr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Selection ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Multiple Spatial Scales ◽  
Selection Of

scholarly journals Effects of Bait on Male White-Tailed Deer Resource Selection

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2334
Author(s):  
James T. Johnson ◽  
Richard B. Chandler ◽  
L. Mike Conner ◽  
Michael J. Cherry ◽  
Charlie H. Killmaster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Order Selection ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Third Order

Bait is often used to increase wildlife harvest susceptibility, enhance viewing opportunities, and survey wildlife populations. The effects of baiting depend on how bait influences space use and resource selection at multiple spatial scales. Although telemetry studies allow for inferences about resource selection within home ranges (third-order selection), they provide limited information about spatial variation in density, which is the result of second-order selection. Recent advances in spatial capture-recapture (SCR) techniques allow exploration of second- and third-order selection simultaneously using non-invasive methods such as camera traps. Our objectives were to describe how short-term baiting affects white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) behavior and distribution. We fit SCR models to camera data from baited and unbaited locations in southwestern Georgia to assess the effects of short-term baiting on second- and third-order selection of deer during summer and winter surveys. We found little evidence of second-order selection during late summer or early winter surveys when camera surveys using bait are typically conducted. However, we found evidence for third-order selection, indicating that resource selection within home ranges is affected. Concentrations in space use resulting from baiting may enhance disease transmission, change harvest susceptibility, and potentially bias the outcome of camera surveys using bait.

Revealing a cryptic life-history stage: differences in habitat selection and survivorship between hatchlings of two turtle species at risk (Glyptemys insculpta and Emydoidea blandingii)

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Paterson ◽  
B. D. Steinberg ◽  
J. D. Litzgus
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
Species At Risk ◽  
Turtle Species ◽  
Emydoidea Blandingii ◽  
Glyptemys Insculpta ◽  
Risk Of Predation

Context Turtles are one of the most imperilled taxonomic groups worldwide and information about population ecology is essential to species recovery. Although the spatial ecology and demography of adults of several turtle species have been well studied, little is known about early life stages. The small size, soft shell, and limited mobility of hatchling turtles may cause differences in survivorship and habitat selection compared with adults. Aims We tested the hypothesis that hatchling turtles select habitat as they move away from nests, so as to reduce the risk of predation and desiccation. Methods We examined survivorship, behaviour and habitat selection at two spatial scales in hatchling Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) and wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) in 2009 and 2010, using radio-telemetry in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. In addition, temperatures of sites used by hatchlings during winter were compared with those at haphazard stations in various habitats. Key results The mortality rate was high, with 42% of E. blandingii and 11% of G. insculpta hatchlings surviving to winter; most mortality was caused by predation. Most behavioural observations for both species were of individuals hiding under cover. Both species showed evidence of macrohabitat and microhabitat selection as they dispersed from nests towards overwintering sites, and important variables in the models differed between species. Likewise, the adult stages of these two species differ in their macrohabitat specialisation. There was also evidence that hatchlings chose overwintering sites on the basis of temperature. Conclusions Despite significant differences in survivorship between hatchlings and adults, resource selection was similar between these two demographic stages, and conservation plans based on adult habitat use should simultaneously protect hatchlings. Implications Understanding habitat selection by juveniles is important for testing hypotheses about ontogenetic shifts in resource selection and for protecting habitat for species at risk.

scholarly journals Multi-scale Cover Selection by White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, in an Agro-forested Landscape

2009 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Tim L. Hiller ◽  
Henry Campa ◽  
Scott R. Winterstein
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
South Central ◽  
Hierarchical Selection ◽  
And Behavior

Resource selection studies are commonly conducted at a single spatial scale, but this likely does not fully or accurately assess the hierarchical selection process used by animals. We used a multi-spatial scale approach to quantify White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cover selection in south-central Michigan during 2004–2006 by varying definitions of use and availability and ranking the relative importance of cover types under each study design. The number of cover types assigned as selected (proportional use > proportional availability) decreased from coarse (landscape level) to fine (within home range) scales, although at finer scales, selection seemed to be more consistent. Although the relative importance changed substantially across spatial scales, two cover types (conifers, upland deciduous forests) were consistently ranked as the two most important, providing strong evidence of their value to deer in the study area. Testing for resource selection patterns using a multi-spatial scale approach would provide additional insight into the ecology and behavior of a particular species.

scholarly journals Spatial extent of neighboring plants influences the strength of associational effects on mammal herbivory. Insights from a meta-analysis

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Champagne ◽  
Jean-Pierre Tremblay ◽  
Steeve D. Côté
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Spatial Process ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Plot Size ◽  
Associational Effects ◽  
And Function ◽  
Ecosystem Structure And Function ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThere is high variability in the level of herbivory between individual plants from the same species with potential effects on population dynamics, community composition, and ecosystem structure and function. This variability can be partly explained by associational effects i.e. the impact of the presence of neighboring plants on the level of herbivory experienced by a focal plant, but it is still unclear how the spatial scale of plant neighborhood modulates foraging choice of herbivores; an inherently spatial process in itself. Using a meta-analysis, we investigated how spatial scale modifies associational effects on the susceptibility to browsing by herbivores with movement capacities similar to deer. From 2496 articles found in literature databases, we selected 46 studies providing a total of 168 differences of means in damage by herbivores or survival to woody plants (mostly) with and without neighboring plants. Spatial scales were reported as distance between plants or as plot size. We estimated the relationships between the effect sizes and spatial scale, type of associational effects and nature of the experiment using meta-analysis mixed models. The strength of associational effects declined with increasing plot size, regardless of the type of associational effects. Associational defences (i.e. decrease in herbivory for focal plants associated with unpalatable neighbors) had stronger magnitude than associational susceptibilities. The high remaining heterogeneity among studies suggests that untested factors modulate associational effects, such as nutritional quality of focal and neighboring plants, density of herbivores, timing of browsing, etc. Associational effects are already considered in multiple restoration contexts worldwide, but a better understanding of these relationships could improve their use in conservation, restoration and forest exploitation when browsing is a concern. This study is the first to investigate spatial patterns of associational effects across species and ecosystems, an issue that is essential to determine differential herbivory damages among plants.

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