Spatial memory shapes migration and its benefits: evidence from a large herbivore

Merkle, Jerod A.; Sawyer, Hall; Monteith, Kevin L.; Dwinnell, Samantha P. H.; Fralick, Gary L.; Kauffman, Matthew J.

doi:10.1111/ele.13362

Cited by 81 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Mounting evidence indicates that animals use memory to make movement decisions that improve resource acquisition in a heterogeneous landscape (Bailey et al, 1996;Fagan et al, 2013;Bracis et al, 2015;Abrahms et al, 2019;Merkle et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pronounced Fidelity and Selection for Average Conditions of Calving Area Suggestive of Spatial Memory in a Highly Migratory Ungulate

et al. 2020

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A distinguishing characteristic of many migratory animals is their annual return to distinct calving (birthing) areas in the spring, yet the navigational mechanisms employed during migration that result in this pattern are poorly understood. Effective conservation of these species requires reliable delineation of such areas, quantifying the factors that influence their selection, and understanding the underlying mechanisms resulting in use of calving areas. We used barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) as a study species and identified calving sites of the Western Arctic Herd in Alaska using GPS collar data from 2010–2017. We assessed variability in calving areas by comparing spatial delineations across all combinations of years. To understand calving area selection at a landscape scale, we performed a resource selection analysis comparing calving sites to available locations across the herd’s range and incorporated time-varying, remotely sensed metrics of vegetation quality and quantity. We found that whereas calving areas varied from year to year, this annual variation was centered on an area of recurring attraction consistent with previous studies covering the last six decades. Calving sites were characterized by high-quality forage at the average time of calving, but not peak calving that year, and by a narrow range of distinct physiographic factors. Each year, calving sites were located on areas of above-average conditions based on our predictive model. Our findings indicate that the pattern of spring migration for pregnant females was to migrate to areas that consistently provide high-quality forage when averaged across years, and then upon arriving at this calving ground, refine selection using their perception of annually varying conditions that are driven by environmental stochasticity. We suggest that the well-documented and widespread pattern of fidelity to calving grounds by caribou is supportive of a navigational mechanism based on spatial memory at a broad scale to optimize foraging and energy acquisition at a critical life-history stage. The extent to which migrants depend on memory to reach their spring destinations has implications for the adaptability of populations to changing climate and human impacts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pronounced Fidelity and Selection for Average Conditions of Calving Area Suggestive of Spatial Memory in a Highly Migratory Ungulate

et al. 2020

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“…A final caveat is that migratory behavior of mule deer is not apparently as flexible or plastic as other ungulates (Sawyer et al 2019 b ). The migratory patterns of mule deer appear to be strongly influenced by memory (Merkle et al 2019). With such rigid behaviors, mule deer may be less adaptive to rapidly changing landscapes than elk that routinely exhibit flexible migratory behavior (Eggeman et al 2016, Peters et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migratory Disturbance Thresholds with Mule Deer and Energy Development

Sawyer¹,

Lambert

Merkle

2020

J Wildl Manag

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Fine‐scale movement data has transformed our knowledge of ungulate migration ecology and now provides accurate, spatially explicit maps of migratory routes that can inform planning and management at local, state, and federal levels. Among the most challenging land use planning issues has been developing energy resources on public lands that overlap with important ungulate habitat, including the migratory routes of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). We generally know that less development is better for minimizing negative effects and maintaining habitat function, but we lack information on the amount of disturbance that animals can tolerate before reducing use of or abandoning migratory habitat. We used global positioning system data from 56 deer across 15 years to evaluate how surface disturbance from natural gas well pads and access roads in western Wyoming, USA, affected habitat selection of mule deer during migration and whether any disturbance threshold(s) existed beyond which use of migratory habitat declined. We used resource and step selection functions to examine disturbance thresholds at 3 different spatial scales. Overall, migratory use by mule deer declined as surface disturbance increased. Based on the weight of evidence from our 3 independent but complementary metrics, declines in migratory use related to surface disturbance were non‐linear, where migratory use sharply declined when surface disturbance from energy development exceeded 3%. Disturbance thresholds may vary across regions, species, or migratory habitats (e.g., stopover sites). Such information can help with management and land use decisions related to mineral leasing and energy development that overlap with the migratory routes of ungulates. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

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“…Yet, Zeller et al ( 2019 ) found individual differences in resource choices in black bears even when accounting for behavioral state. Future studies might reveal that behaviorally explicit resource choices by coyotes are also individually variable, perhaps by a functional response to human presence or disturbance (as seen in wolves; Muhly et al 2019 ), spatial learning (Merkle et al 2019 ), or genotypic or phenotypic expressions (such as boldness; Wurth 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and daily shifts in behavior and resource selection: how a carnivore navigates costly landscapes

Ellington

Muntz²,

Gehrt

2020

Oecologia

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The dynamic environmental conditions in highly seasonal systems likely have a strong influence on how species use the landscape. Animals must balance seasonal and daily changes to landscape risk with the underlying resources provided by that landscape. One way to balance the seasonal and daily changes in the costs and benefits of a landscape is through behaviorally-explicit resource selection and temporal partitioning. Here, we test whether resource selection of coyotes (Canis latrans) in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada is behaviorally-explicit and responsive to the daily and seasonal variation to presumed costs and benefits of moving on the landscape. We used GPS data and local convex hulls to estimate space use and Hidden Markov Models to estimate three types of movement behavior: encamped, foraging, and traveling. We then used integrated step-selection analysis to investigate behaviorally explicit resource selection across times of day (diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal) and season (snow-free and snow). We found that throughout the day and seasonally coyotes shifted foraging behavior and altered behavior and resource choices to avoid moving across what we could be a challenging landscape. These changes in behavior suggest that coyotes have a complex response to land cover, terrain, and linear corridors that are not only scale dependent but also vary by behavior, diel period, and season. By examining the resource selection across three axes (behavior, time of day, and season), we have a more nuanced understanding of how a predator balances the cost and benefits of a stochastic environment.

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Spatial memory shapes migration and its benefits: evidence from a large herbivore

Cited by 81 publications

References 52 publications

Pronounced Fidelity and Selection for Average Conditions of Calving Area Suggestive of Spatial Memory in a Highly Migratory Ungulate

Pronounced Fidelity and Selection for Average Conditions of Calving Area Suggestive of Spatial Memory in a Highly Migratory Ungulate

Migratory Disturbance Thresholds with Mule Deer and Energy Development

Seasonal and daily shifts in behavior and resource selection: how a carnivore navigates costly landscapes

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