Group‐size‐mediated habitat selection and group fusion–fission dynamics of bison under predation risk

Fortin, Daniel; Fortin, Marie-Eve; Beyer, Hawthorne L.; Duchesne, Thierry; Courant, Sabrina; Dancose, Karine

doi:10.1890/08-0345.1

Cited by 216 publications

(250 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…The need to maximize energy intake while minimizing predation risk has the potential to drive herbivore group size formation (Fortin et al 2009), resource selection patterns (Kittle et al 2008), and the spatial variation of their density (Creel and Winnie 2005), but the relative extent to which predation avoidance can play a role in shaping ungulate spatial behavior, and thus induce ecosystem effects, is still debated. Elk in the Yellowstone ecosystem have been shown to have modified their movement patterns (Fortin et al 2005) and habitat use in response to wolf predation, but how such a shift also could have induced cascading effects is far from being clarified (Mech 2012, Winnie 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposing risk: Landscape structure and wolf behavior generate different predation patterns in two sympatric ungulates

Gervasi

Sand

Zimmermann³

et al. 2013

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Recolonizing carnivores can have a large impact on the status of wild ungulates, which have often modified their behavior in the absence of predation. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of reestablished predator-prey systems is crucial to predict their potential ecosystem effects. We decomposed the spatial structure of predation by recolonizing wolves (Canis lupus) on two sympatric ungulates, moose (Alces alces) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), in Scandinavia during a 10-year study. We monitored 18 wolves with GPS collars, distributed over 12 territories, and collected records from predation events. By using conditional logistic regression, we assessed the contributions of three main factors, the utilization patterns of each wolf territory, the spatial distribution of both prey species, and fine-scale landscape structure, in determining the spatial structure of moose and roe deer predation risk. The reestablished predator-prey system showed a remarkable spatial variation in kill occurrence at the intra-territorial level, with kill probabilities varying by several orders of magnitude inside the same territory. Variation in predation risk was evident also when a spatially homogeneous probability for a wolf to encounter a prey was simulated. Even inside the same territory, with the same landscape structure, and when exposed to predation by the same wolves, the two prey species experienced an opposite spatial distribution of predation risk. In particular, increased predation risk for moose was associated with open areas, especially clearcuts and young forest stands, whereas risk was lowered for roe deer in the same habitat types. Thus, fine-scale landscape structure can generate contrasting predation risk patterns in sympatric ungulates, so that they can experience large differences in the spatial distribution of risk and refuge areas when exposed to predation by a recolonizing predator. Territories with an earlier recolonization were not associated with a lower hunting success for wolves. Such constant efficiency in wolf predation during the recolonization process is in line with previous findings about the naı¨ve nature of Scandinavian moose to wolf predation. This, together with the human-dominated nature of the Scandinavian ecosystem, seems to limit the possibility for wolves to have large ecosystem effects and to establish a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade in Scandinavia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposing risk: Landscape structure and wolf behavior generate different predation patterns in two sympatric ungulates

Gervasi

Sand

Zimmermann³

et al. 2013

Ecological Applications

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“…We performed a Spearman's rank correlation based on a case-control k-fold cross validation (k=5) to assess the predictive capability of each model (Boyce et al 2002, Fortin et al 2009). The 5-fold cross validation used 80% of the data to create a model that predicted the frequency of occurrence of the withheld 20% using bins that represented the range of predicted RSF scores; the process was repeated five times replacing the withheld 20%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Activity Differentially Redistributes Large Mammals in the Canadian Rockies National Parks

Rogala¹,

Hebblewhite²,

Whittington³

et al. 2011

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141

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ABSTRACT. National parks are important for conservation of species such as wolves (Canis lupus) and elk (Cervus canadensis). However, topography, vegetation conditions, and anthropogenic infrastructure within parks may limit available habitat. Human activity on trails and roads may lead to indirect habitat loss, further limiting available habitat. Predators and prey may respond differentially to human activity, potentially disrupting ecological processes. However, research on such impacts to wildlife is incomplete, especially at fine spatial and temporal scales. Our research investigated the relationship between wolf and elk distribution and human activity using fine-scale Global Positioning System (GPS) wildlife telemetry locations and hourly human activity measures on trails and roads in Banff, Kootenay, and Yoho National Parks, Canada. We observed a complex interaction between the distance animals were located from trails and human activity level resulting in species adopting both mutual avoidance and differential response behaviors. In areas < 50 m from trails human activity led to a mutual avoidance response by both wolves and elk. In areas 50 -400 m from trails low levels of human activity led to differential responses; wolves avoided these areas, whereas elk appeared to use these areas as a predation refugia. These differential impacts on elk and wolves may have important implications for trophic dynamics. As human activity increased above two people/hour, areas 50 -400 m from trails were mutually avoided by both species, resulting in the indirect loss of important montane habitat. If park managers are concerned with human impacts on wolves and elk, or on these species' trophic interactions with other species, they can monitor locations near trails and roads and consider hourly changes of human activity levels in areas important to wildlife.

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“…Given that we always ran a quadratic effect of human density, the total model set consisted of 255 models. We used model-averaged coefficients and the global model in a bootstrap k-fold cross validation similar to Fortin et al (2009); we ran 10,000 iterations of the dataset being partitioned, with 80% of the foraging events being used to estimate the regression coefficients and the remaining 20% used to evaluate model performance. Within each foraging event stratum (i.e., one foraging location and five random locations) we used our model to calculate the relative probability of selection for each location.…”

Section: Attributes Associated With Anthropogenic Foragingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging ecology of black bears in urban environments: guidance for human‐bear conflict mitigation

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Urban environments offer wildlife novel anthropogenic resources that vary spatiotemporally at fine scales. Property damage, economic losses, human injury, or other human-wildlife conflicts can occur when wildlife use these resources; however, few studies have examined urban wildlife resource selection at fine scales to guide conflict mitigation. We studied black bears (Ursus americanus) in the urban area of Aspen, Colorado, USA from 2007 to 2010 to quantify bear foraging on natural and anthropogenic resources and to model factors associated with anthropogenic feeding events. We collected fine-scale spatiotemporal data by tracking GPS-collared bears at 30-min intervals and backtracked to bear locations within 24 hours of use. We used discrete choice models to assess bears' resource selection, modeling anthropogenic feeding (use) and five associated random (availability) locations as a function of attributes related to temporally changing natural (e.g., ripe mast) and human (e.g., garbage) food resources, urban characteristics (e.g., housing density), and land cover characteristics (e.g., distance to riparian area). We backtracked to 2,675 locations used by 24 bears and classified 20% as foraging locations. We found that bears foraged on both natural and anthropogenic food sources in the urban environment, with 77% of feeding events being anthropogenic. We documented inter-and intra-annual foraging patterns in which bears foraged extensively in urban areas when natural food production was poor, then switched to natural food sources when available. These patterns suggest that bears balance energy budgets and individual safety when making foraging decisions. Overwhelmingly, garbage was the main anthropogenic food source that bears used. Selection of foraging sites was not only influenced by presence of garbage but also by proximity to riparian habitat and presence of ripe anthropogenic fruit trees. We found that while 76% of the garbage containers at random locations were bear-resistant, 57% of these bear-resistant containers were not properly secured. We recommend conflict mitigation focus on reducing available garbage and anthropogenic fruit trees, particularly near riparian areas, to make urban environments less energetically beneficial for foraging. Additionally, deploying bear-resistant containers is inadequate without education and proactive enforcement to change human behavior to properly secure garbage and ultimately reduce human-bear conflict.

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Group‐size‐mediated habitat selection and group fusion–fission dynamics of bison under predation risk

Cited by 216 publications

References 53 publications

Decomposing risk: Landscape structure and wolf behavior generate different predation patterns in two sympatric ungulates

Decomposing risk: Landscape structure and wolf behavior generate different predation patterns in two sympatric ungulates

Human Activity Differentially Redistributes Large Mammals in the Canadian Rockies National Parks

Foraging ecology of black bears in urban environments: guidance for human‐bear conflict mitigation

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