Spatial segregation and habitat partitioning of bobcat and Canada lynx

Marrotte, Robby R.; Bowman, Jeff; Morin, Samantha J.

doi:10.1139/facets-2019-0019

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Northwestern shores of Lake Superior received less snow than the northern shores of Lake Huron. Currently, on the north shores of Lake Huron intermediate forest cover is still important to bobcat, since bobcat in this area are almost exclusively found in rural communities within 50 km of urban centers (Marrotte et al, In Review). The increasing density of human disturbances such as roads, rail lines, urban areas, rangeland, and agricultural land would have also further amplified colonization, because road plowing and snow compaction would have become more frequent, which allowed bobcat to move around and hunt more effectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent decades, bobcat sightings, road kills, and individuals incidentally harvested by trappers have become more common in the region (Marrotte, Bowman, & Morin In Review; Roberts & Crimmins, ; Woolf & Hubert, ). There is evidence that bobcat populations are spreading into areas where they were thought to be absent (Linde, Roberts, Gosselink, & Clark, ; Woolf & Hubert, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, Parker et al () suggested that the reason the bobcat did not invade the highlands of Cape Breton was because of the deeper snow. In addition, snow clearing and compaction near human settlements may mediate the influence of snow on colonization and may promote bobcats from occupying areas north of their range (Marrotte et al, In Review).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate connectivity of the bobcat in the Great Lakes region

Marrotte

Bowman

Wilson

2020

Ecology and Evolution

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The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River are imposing barriers for wildlife, and the additive effect of urban and agricultural development that dominates the lower Great Lakes region likely further reduces functional connectivity for many terrestrial species. As the climate warms, species will need to track climate across these barriers. It is important therefore to investigate land cover and bioclimatic hypotheses that may explain the northward expansion of species through the Great Lakes. We investigated the functional connectivity of a vagile generalist, the bobcat, as a representative generalist forest species common to the region. We genotyped tissue samples collected across the region at 14 microsatellite loci and compared different landscape hypotheses that might explain the observed gene flow or functional connectivity. We found that the Great Lakes and the additive influence of forest stands with either low or high canopy cover and deep lake‐effect snow have disrupted gene flow, whereas intermediate forest cover has facilitated gene flow. Functional connectivity in southern Ontario is relatively low and was limited in part by the low amount of forest cover. Pathways across the Great Lakes were through the Niagara region and through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan over the Straits of Mackinac and the St. Marys River. These pathways are important routes for bobcat range expansion north of the Great Lakes and are also likely pathways that many other mobile habitat generalists must navigate to track the changing climate. The extent to which species can navigate these routes will be important for determining the future biodiversity of areas north of the Great Lakes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate connectivity of the bobcat in the Great Lakes region

Marrotte

Bowman

Wilson

2020

Ecology and Evolution

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“…This spatial relationship itself indicates that the bobcat is not responsible for the range contraction in the southeastern zone, since it is rarely found there. Recent finer scale studies suggested segregation between lynx and bobcat (Marrotte et al 2020b, Morin et al 2020.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern range dynamics of Canada lynx over seven decades

Marrotte¹,

Bowman²

2020

Preprint

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The range of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) has contracted substantially from its historical range prior to the 19th century. Using harvest records, we found that the southern range of the lynx in Ontario in the late 1940s collapsed and then in a short period of time increased to its largest extent in the mid-1960s where the lynx range spread south of the boreal forest for a decade. After this expansion the southern range contracted northwards beginning in the 1970s. Most recently, there has been a slight expansion between 2010-2017. We have attributed these dynamics on the southern range periphery to the fluctuation of the boreal lynx population in the core of the species' range. In addition, connectivity to boreal lynx populations and snow depth seemed to condition whether the lynx expanded into an area. However, we did not find any evidence that would suggest that these changes were due to anthropogenic disturbances or competition. The boreal lynx population does not reach numbers as it once did, consequently we likely will not see large expansions of the southern lynx range as in the mid-1960s. Our results suggest that southern lynx range in Ontario have been driven by the magnitude of the boreal lynx population cycle, connectivity to the boreal forest and snow conditions. Therefore, it is quite unlikely that southern lynx population in the Great Lakes will ever recover, since the warming climate and forestry practices are causing a northward contraction of the boreal forest and likely with it the core lynx populations.

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“…As high Firmicutes to Bacteroides ratios correspond to larger body size and fat stores [19,35], we hypothesized that larger Firmicutes to Bacteroides ratios would be correlated with larger home ranges, as individuals building up fat stores for winter would generally use more space to forage. This relationship may be impacted by resource distribution, as specialists prefer homogenously distributed resources, while generalists prefer heterogeneously distributed resources, which can impact space use [36]. Consequently, we hypothesized that relationships between proportional habitat use and the gut microbiome would be stronger in specialists as they have a more restricted niche with deviations from this having larger consequences, whereas generalists can make use of a variety of habitat areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiome composition predicts summer core range size in a generalist and specialist ungulate

Wolf

Kriss

MacAulay

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Individuals exhibit differences in their microbial composition that have important implications for both population dynamics and ecological processes. The gut microbiome of animals can vary by age, reproductive status, diet, and habitat quality, and directly influences an individual’s health and fitness. Likewise, variation in an individual’s home range can lead to differences in reproductive behaviour, feeding strategies, and fitness. Ungulates (hooved mammals) exhibit species-specific microbiomes and habitat use patterns that differ by season, sex, and age-class, leading to variation among individuals occupying a similar geographic area. Here, we combined fecal microbiome and movement data to assess the relationship between space use and the gut microbiome in a specialist and a generalist ungulate. We captured and GPS radiocollared 24 mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) and 34 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). During captures we collected fresh fecal samples and conducted high-throughput sequencing of the fecal microbiome (i.e. 16S rRNA gene) to quantify gut microbial diversity. We generated Brownian Bridge Movement Models from the GPS location data to estimate core (50%) and home range (95%) sizes and calculated the proportion of use for several important habitat types. An increase in Firmicutes to Bacteroides ratios corresponded to an increase in core range area in both species. In mountain goats we observed a negative relationship between gut diversity and use of both escape terrain and treed habitat, both critical features for this alpine specialist. There were no relationships between habitat use and the gut microbiome in the more generalist white-tailed deer. We hypothesize that larger Firmicutes to Bacteroides ratios confer body size or fat advantages that allow for larger home ranges, and that relationships between gut diversity and disproportionate use of particular habitats is stronger in mountain goats due to their restricted niche relative to white-tailed deer. This is the first study to relate core range size to gut diversity in wild ungulates and is an important proof of concept that advances the potential type of information that can be gleaned from non-invasive sampling.

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Spatial segregation and habitat partitioning of bobcat and Canada lynx

Cited by 16 publications

References 62 publications

Climate connectivity of the bobcat in the Great Lakes region

Climate connectivity of the bobcat in the Great Lakes region

Southern range dynamics of Canada lynx over seven decades

Gut microbiome composition predicts summer core range size in a generalist and specialist ungulate

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