Effects of predation risk on elk (Cervus elaphus) landscape use in a wolf (Canis lupus) dominated system

EisenbergCristina,; HibbsDavid, E; RippleWilliam, J

doi:10.1139/cjz-2014-0138

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Rather than primarily entering these stands to forage, the deer and elk we observed via camera traps may have either been habituated to the area or were simply using these stands to avoid predators; there are clearer lines of sight with lower vegetation density (Eisenberg et al. ). The variability in deer and elk stand use suggests potential landscape‐scale influences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbicides and herbivory interact to drive plant community and crop‐tree establishment

Stokely

Verschuyl

Hagar

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that large herbivores compound the effects of intensive forest management on early seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225-m wild-ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures, nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-herbicide control, light herbicide, moderate herbicide, and intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Vegetation structure, composition, and crop-tree responses to herbivory varied across the gradient of herbicide application during the first two years of stand establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at light and moderate herbicide treatments. In the moderate herbicide treatment, which approximates management applied to >2.5 million hectares in the Pacific Northwest, United States, foraging by deer and elk resulted in simplified, low-cover plant communities more closely resembling the intensive herbicide treatment. Herbivory further suppressed the growth of competing vegetation in the light herbicide treatment, improving crop-tree survival, and providing early evidence of an ecosystem service. By changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; initial shifts in early seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbicides and herbivory interact to drive plant community and crop‐tree establishment

Stokely

Verschuyl

Hagar

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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“…While efficient predators of elk calves, coyote predation on mature, prime-aged elk is very rare and limited to circumstances where the elk is either very old or very young, plus being nutritionally compromised, and snow conditions limit elk access to forage (Gese and Grothe 1995). Coyote predation is generally limited to elk calves in the summer, whereas wolf predation on elk occurs year-round and can include all sex and age classes, thereby having a more overall influence on ecosystem dynamics both directly and indirectly (Christianson and Creel 2010;Creel et al 2011;Eisenberg et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space use and social ecology of coyotes (Canis latrans) in a high-elevation ecosystem: relative stability in a changing environment

Gifford

Gese

Parmenter³

2016

J Ethol

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Coyote (Canis latrans) spatial and social ecology are variable, but have been little studied in high-elevation environments. In these temperate ecosystems, large ungulates are prevalent and coyote pack size may be large in order for them to scavenge and defend ungulate carcasses from conspecifics in neighboring packs. We initiated a study to understand the spatial and social ecology of coyotes on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, a high-elevation (2450-3400 m) protected area in northern New Mexico. Our objectives were to (1) describe the home range size and habitat use of coyotes in the preserve, (2) describe coyote movements within and outside of packs, and (3) to evaluate the relationship between coyote social cohesion and the amount of elk (Cervus elaphus) in the coyote diet. We acquired global positioning system and telemetry locations from 33 coyotes from August 2005 to July 2009. We classified 23 coyotes (70 % of individuals) as residents (i.e., territorial) during at least part of the study and ten coyotes (30 %) as transients. Overall mean home range size of resident packs was 10.6 ± 2.2 (SD) km 2 . Home range size varied between packs, but did not vary by season or year. Coyotes used dry and wet meadow habitats as expected based on availability; coyotes used riparian habitat more than expected, and forests less than expected. Social cohesion did not vary among biological seasons. Alpha coyotes were more socially cohesive with each other than with other pack members, and a transient exhibited temporal-spatial avoidance of pack members while inside the pack's territory followed by integration into the pack. Contrary to expectations, we found no relationship between coyote social cohesion and the proportion of elk in coyote diets. We concluded that coyote space use and sociality on the preserve were relatively stable year-round despite changes in biological needs, snow depth, and utilization of variously sized prey.

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“…The mechanisms of predation risk are complex and often simplified for the purposes of study. Risk is frequently characterized as the probability of encounter (Eisenberg, Hibbs, & Ripple, 2015;Nicholson, Milleret, Månsson, & Sand, 2014), but for many species, risk is comprised of both the probability of encounter and the probability of being killed given an encounter ( Fig. S1; Hebblewhite, Merrill, & McDonald, 2005;Heithaus & Dill, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding predation risk and individual variation in risk avoidance for threatened boreal caribou

Mumma

Gillingham

Johnson

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Predation risk is a driver of species’ distributions. Animals can increase risk avoidance in response to fluctuations in predation risk, but questions remain regarding individual variability and the capacity to respond to changes in spatial risk across human‐altered landscapes. In northeast British Columbia, Canada, boreal caribou populations declined as roads and seismic lines have increased, which are theorized to increase gray wolf predation. Our goal was to model risk and to evaluate individual variability and the development of risk perception by examining individual risk avoidance in response to reproductive status and age. We used locations from collared caribou and wolves to identify landscape features associated with the risk of a potential wolf‐caribou encounter and risk of being killed given an encounter. We built resource selection functions to estimate individual responses to risk. We used general linear regressions to evaluate individual risk and linear feature avoidance as a function of age and reproductive status (calf or no calf). Linear features increased the risk of encounter. Older caribou and caribou with calves demonstrated stronger avoidance of the risk of encounter and roads, but weaker avoidance in late summer to the risk of being killed relative to younger and calf‐less individuals. Mechanisms explaining the inverse relationships between the risk of encounter and risk of being killed are uncertain, but it is conceivable that caribou learn to avoid the risk of encounter and roads. Responses by females with vulnerable calves to the risk of encounter and risk of being killed might be explained by a trade‐off between these two risk types and a prioritization on the risk of encounter. Despite the capacity to alter their responses to risk, the global decline in Rangifer populations (caribou and wild reindeer) suggests these behaviors are insufficient to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances.

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Effects of predation risk on elk (Cervus elaphus) landscape use in a wolf (Canis lupus) dominated system

Cited by 7 publications

References 54 publications

Herbicides and herbivory interact to drive plant community and crop‐tree establishment

Herbicides and herbivory interact to drive plant community and crop‐tree establishment

Space use and social ecology of coyotes (Canis latrans) in a high-elevation ecosystem: relative stability in a changing environment

Understanding predation risk and individual variation in risk avoidance for threatened boreal caribou

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