The effect of supplemental feeding on home range size and activity patterns in the lizard Uta stansburiana

Oecologia ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Waldschmidt
2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 422 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Moseby ◽  
J. Stott ◽  
H. Crisp

Control of introduced predators is critical to both protection and successful reintroduction of threatened prey species. Efficiency of control is improved if it takes into account habitat use, home range and the activity patterns of the predator. These characteristics were studied in feral cats (Felis catus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in arid South Australia, and results are used to suggest improvements in control methods. In addition, mortality and movement patterns of cats before and after a poison-baiting event were compared. Thirteen cats and four foxes were successfully fitted with GPS data-logger radio-collars and tracked 4-hourly for several months. High intra-specific variation in cat home-range size was recorded, with 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) home ranges varying from 0.5 km2 to 132 km2. Cat home-range size was not significantly different from that of foxes, nor was there a significant difference related to sex or age. Cats preferred habitat types that support thicker vegetation cover, including creeklines and sand dunes, whereas foxes preferred sand dunes. Cats used temporary focal points (areas used intensively over short time periods and then vacated) for periods of up to 2 weeks and continually moved throughout their home range. Aerial baiting at a density of 10 baits per km2 was ineffective for cats because similar high mortality rates were recorded for cats in both baited and unbaited areas. Mortality was highest in young male cats. Long-range movements of up to 45 km in 2 days were recorded in male feral cats and movement into the baited zone occurred within 2 days of baiting. Movement patterns of radio-collared animals and inferred bait detection distances were used to suggest optimum baiting densities of ~30 baits per km2 for feral cats and 5 per km2 for foxes. Feral cats exhibited much higher intra-specific variation in activity patterns and home-range size than did foxes, rendering them a potentially difficult species to control by a single method. Control of cats and foxes in arid Australia should target habitats with thick vegetation cover and aerial baiting should ideally occur over areas of several thousand square kilometres because of large home ranges and long-range movements increasing the chance of fast reinvasion. The use of temporary focal points suggested that it may take several days or even weeks for a cat to encounter a fixed trap site within their home range, whereas foxes should encounter them more quickly as they move further each day although they have a similar home-range size. Because of high intra-specific variability in activity patterns and home-range size, control of feral cats in inland Australia may be best achieved through a combination of control techniques.


1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald G. Eckstein ◽  
Thomas F. O'Brien ◽  
Orrin J. Rongstad ◽  
John G. Bollinger

The effects of snowmobile traffic on the winter home-ranges, movements, and activity patterns, of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), were studied during two winters in northern Wisconsin. There were no significant differences in home-range size and habitat use of the Deer in areas with and without snowmobiling. However, snowmobiling caused some Deer to leave the immediate vicinity of the snowmobile trail. Deer were most affected when they were within 61 m of the snowmobile trail.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Young ◽  
Julie Golla ◽  
John Draper ◽  
Derek Broman ◽  
Terry Blankenship ◽  
...  

Global urbanization is rapidly changing the landscape for wildlife species that must learn to persist in declining wild spacing, adapt, or risk extinction. Many mesopredators have successfully exploited urban niches, and research on these species in an urban setting offers insights into the traits that facilitate their success. In this study, we examined space use and activity patterns from GPS-collared bobcats (Lynx rufus) in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, USA. We found that bobcats select for natural/agricultural features, creeks, and water ways and there is greater home-range overlap in these habitats. They avoid roads and are less likely to have home-range overlap in habitats with more roads. Home-range size is relatively small and overlap relatively high, with older animals showing both greater home-range size and overlap. Simultaneous locations suggest bobcats are neither avoiding nor attracted to one another, despite the high overlap across home ranges. Finally, bobcats are active at all times of day and night. These results suggest that access to natural features and behavioral plasticity may enable bobcats to live in highly developed landscapes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Fergusson ◽  
D Algar

Published estimates of the home range size and movements of the skink Tiliqua rugosa reveal high variability between lizards at any one time and also between seasons. Differences between the sexes could account for some of this variability. In particular, it could be anticipated that the greater body weight of pregnant females restricts movements and thereby reduces home range size. However, movements and home range size of pregnant females in late summer are not significantly different from estimates based on both sexes. This cannot be explained by extensive foraging to sustain the growth of the fetus(es), because the pregnant females maintain relatively constant body weight until parturition. It is still not clear what determines home range size in this lizard.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele De Angelis ◽  
Djuro Huber ◽  
Slaven Reljic ◽  
Paolo Ciucci ◽  
Josip Kusak

Abstract Studying how animals interact with their environment is fundamental to informing conservation and management efforts, especially when examining large, wide-ranging carnivores in human-dominated landscapes. We hypothesized that the home ranges of bears are configured to exploit supplemental food (corn) and avoid people. In 2004–2016, we tracked 10 brown bears from the Dinaric-Pindos population using GPS telemetry, then used Brownian bridge movement models to estimate their home ranges. We related seasonal home range size to circadian period and density of supplemental feeding sites using generalized linear mixed-effect models. We also used ecological-niche factor analysis to study habitat composition within home range core areas in study areas characterized by different levels of human encroachment. We found that home range size was inversely related to density of supplemental feeding sites, and bears had larger home ranges at night (x̅ = 103.3 ± 72.8 km2) than during the day (x̅ = 62.3 ± 16.6 km2). Our results also revealed that bears living in more human-influenced areas concentrated their use far from human settlements and agricultural lands but stayed close to supplemental feeding sites. Our data suggest that bears alter their space-use patterns at the home range level in response to anthropogenic land use and food availability.


2021 ◽  
pp. 400-415
Author(s):  
Robyn M. Powers ◽  
Brian L. Cypher ◽  
Katherine Ralls ◽  
Jan A. Randall ◽  
Erica C. Kelly

Ecological attributes of a species can vary as resource requirements and social interactions change in response to the annual reproductive cycle. We examined variation in home range size, home range overlap, activity (2005–2006), and food item selection (2006–2007) of island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) on San Nicolas Island relative to reproduction-related events. Home ranges, particularly for males, were larger during the mating period compared with the post-mating, pup-rearing, and non-reproduction periods. Home range overlap with non-mate neighbors also increased during the mating period. The greater home range size and overlap during the mating season is consistent with foxes, particularly males, traveling into the ranges of neighboring pairs in an attempt to secure extra-pair copulations. Daily activity patterns did not vary among the reproductive periods. Use of vertebrate prey items increased during the period when adults would have been provisioning weaning young. These items (e.g., mice, birds, lizards) are protein-rich and easier to transport compared with smaller items (e.g., fruits, snails, insects) that also are commonly consumed by island foxes. Variation in ecological attributes among island foxes across the different seasons defined by reproductive events likely represents efforts to maximize mating opportunities, particularly among adult males, and to secure optimal resources for provisioning growing young. These patterns are consistent with those observed among other small canid species.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 544-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley E. Warren ◽  
L. Mike Conner ◽  
Steven B. Castleberry ◽  
Daniel Markewitz

Abstract The southeastern pocket gopher Geomys pinetis is absent from a large portion of its historical range. Translocation may represent a viable management technique to reestablish populations into suitable habitat. However, several aspects of the species' ecology are poorly understood, making development of an effective translocation approach challenging. Therefore, we used radiotelemetry to examine home range, survival, dispersal, and daily activity patterns of the southeastern pocket gopher in southwestern Georgia. We measured soil and vegetation characteristics within individual home ranges and examined relationships between home range size, habitat variables, and body mass. Mean home range size of 17 radio-tagged pocket gophers was 921.9 m2 (range = 43.4–2246.8 m2). Home range size was positively related to body mass, percent silt at a depth of 25 cm, and soil carbon content at 75 cm and was negatively related to percent sand at 25 cm, percent clay at 50 cm, and ground cover of grasses other than wiregrass Aristida beyrichiana. Survival rate was 0.78 (range = 0.50–1.00) over the 51-wk study, and we documented predation, likely by avian predators, on two individuals. Three individuals dispersed, with a maximum dispersal distance of 319.1 m (range = 143.2–319.1 m), the farthest known southeastern pocket gopher dispersal. Pocket gophers exhibited greater activity from 0000 to 0400 hours and from 1600 to 2000 hours, contrasting previous research that southeastern pocket gophers were equally active throughout the diel period. Our home range size estimates for southeastern pocket gophers are the first determined using radiotelemetry and are considerably smaller than previous estimates. Although we documented dispersal distances more than 300 m, the fragmented nature of current and restored habitats likely will prevent large-scale natural colonization. Our results provide information important for maximizing success in future southeastern pocket gopher translocation efforts.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanne Ambrosio Ferreira ◽  
Eduardo Nakano-Oliveira ◽  
Artur Andriolo ◽  
Gelson Genaro

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