Spatiotemporal Segregation of Wolves from Humans in the Bialowieza Forest (Poland)

Theuerkauf, Jörn; Jędrzejewski, Włodzimierz; Schmidt, Krzysztof; Gula, Roman

doi:10.2307/3802677

Cited by 123 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…This is consistent with increased ungulate abundance in areas of young vegetation (Peek et al 1976;Stelfox et al 2001*), which attract Wolves (Bergerud 1988). However, increased road access into these areas may also allow humans to alter activity patterns of Wolves (Theuerkauf et al 2003), or affect Wolf numbers by direct or indirect killing (Mech 1995, Mladenoff andSickley 1998). In this study, the least used habitat by Wolves was non-forest anthropogenic (pipelines, right-of-ways), possibly to avoid human contact.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Winter Habitat Use by Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, in Relation to Forest Harvesting in West-central Alberta

2004

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Forested landscapes in west-central Alberta are facing increased pressures from forest harvesting and other land-use activities, which may alter the movements and distribution of Wolves and ungulates. Information on habitat use by Wolves in logged forests is scarce, potentially limiting effective land-use planning in the boreal forest. Nine Wolves, from four Wolf packs, were fitted with GPS radiocollars in the Rocky Mountain foothills, near Grande Cache, Alberta (2000-2001). We found Wolves did not use the landscape randomly, but rather exhibited a significant preference for non-forested natural habitats (shrubs, water), relative to their availability. Within forest habitats, Wolves used cutblocks proportionately more than unharvested forest and non-forested anthropogenic habitats (pipelines, clearings); however, selection of forest cutblocks was not statistically significant. We found no evidence that Wolves preferred or avoided forest cutblock edges. Wolf pack territories contained various levels of timber harvesting, but most areas were still in the early stages of harvest. Nevertheless, these areas have been allocated for large-scale harvesting. Understanding the potential responses of Wolves to rapidly changing landscape mosaics poses a significant challenge to researchers and managers, but such information is important to informing future land-management and conservation strategies for boreal forest Wolf-prey systems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Winter Habitat Use by Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, in Relation to Forest Harvesting in West-central Alberta

2004

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“…Consistent with wolf movement in other areas, they selected low use trails (Thurber et al 1994) likely because they offered easy travel routes across the study area with low probabilities of encountering people (Musiani et al 1998, James and Stuart-Smith 2000, Callaghan 2002, Whittington et al 2005, Hebblewhite 2006). Conversely, the wolves avoided areas near the resort and weakly avoided trails with high levels of human use, presumably to minimize the probability of encountering people (Thurber et al 1994, Theuerkauf et al 2003a, Whittington et al 2005. When wolves shifted their movement following restoration, they increased their use of low elevations, shallow slopes, and high prey abundance, suggesting corridor creation increased the area of high quality habitat available to wolves within the study area.…”

Section: Resources Important To Wolves and Change In Resource Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wolves are particularly important carnivores because they affect prey populations (Hebblewhite et al 2002, Hebblewhite et al 2005) and can cause ripple down effects in ecosystems (McLaren andPeterson 1994, Hebblewhite et al 2005). Wolves are a conservation priority because they incur higher risk of mortality due to their wide-ranging movements (Callaghan 2002), they are sensitive to habitat fragmentation (Weaver et al 1996, Mladenoff et al 1999, and they avoid areas with high levels of human activity (Callaghan 2002, Theuerkauf et al 2003a,b, Kaartinen et al 2005, Whittington et al 2005.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Wolves to Corridor Restoration and Human Use Management

Shepherd¹,

Whittington²

2006

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Corridor restoration is increasingly being used to connect habitat in mountainous areas where rugged topography and increasing human activity fragment habitat. Wolves (Canis lupus) are a conservation priority because they avoid areas with high levels of human use and are ecologically important predators. We examined how corridor restoration through a golf course changes the distribution of wolves and their prey in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. We followed and recorded wolf paths in the snow both within the corridor and in the surrounding landscape before and after a corridor was re-established. Track transects were used to estimate prey abundance and snow depths, and trail counters measured human activity. We compared resources on wolf paths to available movement routes using conditional logistic regression and also compared resources used by wolves before and after restoration. We addressed potential confounding effects of prey abundance, snow depths, and levels of human use by testing for changes in these variables. Prior to restoration, wolves traveled around the golf course and used the mountainside to connect valley-bottom habitat. Conversely, elk (Cervus elaphus) densities were highest in the golf course. After restoration, wolves shifted most of their movement to the golf course corridor, whereas elk dispersed along the corridor and mountainside. When traveling through the study area, wolves selected for areas with high prey abundance, low elevations, and low levels of human activity. Corridor restoration increased the area of high quality habitat available to wolves and increased their access to elk and deer at low elevations. Our results corroborate other studies suggesting that wolves and elk quickly adapt to landscape changes and that corridor restoration can improve habitat quality and reduce habitat fragmentation.

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“…Indirect habitat loss caused by avoidance of trails and roads has been documented for wolves (Canis lupus; Theuerkauf et al 2003, Whittington et al 2004, consistent with this species treating human disturbance as predation risk, perhaps because of higher mortality near humans despite protection (Hebblewhite et al 2003). For elk (Cervus canadensis), however, responses were more variable; where some authors reported avoidance (Cassirer et al 1992, others reported selection for areas near human activity (Hebblewhite et al 2005), suggesting that both avoidance and trophic interaction may occur in different populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, most previous research on the effects of human activities on wolf and elk selection has occurred at relatively coarse spatial-temporal scales. For example, previous research that has used human activity models at broad spatial scales includes Theuerkauf et al (2001), Anderson et al (2005), and Shively et al (2005). Research using human activity models at broad temporal scales, i.e., summer vs. winter, includes Jedrzejewski et al (2001) and Sawyer et al (2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Rogala¹,

Hebblewhite²,

Whittington³

et al. 2011

E&S

141

119

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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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Spatiotemporal Segregation of Wolves from Humans in the Bialowieza Forest (Poland)

Cited by 123 publications

References 17 publications

Winter Habitat Use by Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, in Relation to Forest Harvesting in West-central Alberta

Winter Habitat Use by Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, in Relation to Forest Harvesting in West-central Alberta

Response of Wolves to Corridor Restoration and Human Use Management

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

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