Within-yard habitat use by white-tailed deer at varying winter severity

Morrison, Shawn F.; Forbes, Graham J.; Young, Steven J.; Lusk, Stewart

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(01)00809-x

Cited by 45 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…These yards offer particular factors (i.e. dense cover) that effectively reduce snow depths as well as providing thermal protection and shelter (Morrison et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The scale-dependent impact of wolf predation risk on resource selection by three sympatric ungulates

Kittle¹,

et al. 2008

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Resource selection is a fundamental ecological process impacting population dynamics and ecosystem structure. Understanding which factors drive selection is vital for effective species- and landscape-level management. We used resource selection probability functions (RSPFs) to study the influence of two forms of wolf (Canis lupus) predation risk, snow conditions and habitat variables on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), elk (Cervus elaphus) and moose (Alces alces) resource selection in central Ontario's mixed forest French River-Burwash ecosystem. Direct predation risk was defined as the frequency of a predator's occurrence across the landscape and indirect predation risk as landscape features associated with a higher risk of predation. Models were developed for two winters, each at two spatial scales, using a combination of GIS-derived and ground-measured data. Ungulate presence was determined from snow track transects in 64 16- and 128 1-km(2) resource units, and direct predation risk from GPS radio collar locations of four adjacent wolf packs. Ungulates did not select resources based on the avoidance of areas of direct predation risk at any scale, and instead exhibited selection patterns that tradeoff predation risk minimization with forage and/or mobility requirements. Elk did not avoid indirect predation risk, while both deer and moose exhibited inconsistent responses to this risk. Direct predation risk was more important to models than indirect predation risk but overall, abiotic topographical factors were most influential. These results indicate that wolf predation risk does not limit ungulate habitat use at the scales investigated and that responses to spatial sources of predation risk are complex, incorporating a variety of anti-predator behaviours. Moose resource selection was influenced less by snow conditions than cover type, particularly selection for dense forest, whereas deer showed the opposite pattern. Temporal and spatial scale influenced resource selection by all ungulate species, underlining the importance of incorporating scale into resource selection studies.

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“…These yards offer particular factors (i.e. dense cover) that effectively reduce snow depths as well as providing thermal protection and shelter (Morrison et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The scale-dependent impact of wolf predation risk on resource selection by three sympatric ungulates

Kittle¹,

et al. 2008

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“…Our findings are in line with Mysterud et al [38], who also found roe deer avoiding open habitats in winter. Similarly, under high snow conditions, browse availability was found to be less important for relative patch use of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) [39,40], and only shelter-related features were predictive of variation in habitat use [40]. Animals preferred higher canopy cover when it was cold compared to average temperatures or when snow heights of our reference weather station exceeded 60 cm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

LiDAR Remote Sensing of Forest Structure and GPS Telemetry Data Provide Insights on Winter Habitat Selection of European Roe Deer

Ewald

Dupke

Heurich

et al. 2014

Forests

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Abstract:The combination of GPS-Telemetry and resource selection functions is widely used to analyze animal habitat selection. Rapid large-scale assessment of vegetation structure allows bridging the requirements of habitat selection studies on grain size and extent, particularly in forest habitats. For roe deer, the cold period in winter forces individuals to optimize their trade off in searching for food and shelter. We analyzed the winter habitat selection of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in a montane forest landscape combining estimates of vegetation cover in three different height strata, derived from high resolution airborne Laser-scanning (LiDAR, Light detection and ranging), and activity data from GPS telemetry. Specifically, we tested the influence of temperature, snow height, and wind speed on site selection, differentiating between active and resting animals using mixed-effects conditional logistic regression models in a case-control design. Site selection was best explained by temperature deviations from hourly means, snow height, and activity status of the animals. Roe deer tended to use forests of high canopy cover more frequently with decreasing temperature, and when snow height exceeded 0.6 m. Active animals preferred lower canopy cover, but higher understory cover. Our approach demonstrates the OPEN ACCESSForests 2014, 5 1375 potential of LiDAR measures for studying fine scale habitat selection in complex three-dimensional habitats, such as forests.

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“…CARTs are becoming increasingly common for addressing a variety of ecological issues such as predicting species occurrence (De'ath and Fabricius 2000; Morrison et al 2003), age classification (classified as young-of-theyear, juveniles, or adults; Karels et al 2004), survival (survived or died;Franken 2002), and the response of populations to climate variability (Crozier and Zabel 2006). In essence, classification trees are a regression technique that allows the use of categorical and continuous data, nonlinear relationships, missing values, and implicitly include interactions among predictor variables (Faraway 2006).…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of food hoarding behavior on the over-winter survival of pikas in strongly seasonal environments

et al. 2008

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Food hoarding is a behavioral adaptation of some herbivores to manage food availability through time and space. In strongly seasonal environments, where summer growing seasons are short relative to winter, an earlier start to hoarding should increase the amount of vegetation stored for winter and improve subsequent survival. We examined hoarding behavior ('haying') and its impact on survival for a small alpine lagomorph, the collared pika (Ochotona collaris) in Yukon, Canada. We used a combination of video surveillance, haypile measurements, and survival data from marked individuals of known age and sex. Annual haypile initiation was strongly influenced by age and year. Adult pikas began haying an average of 16 days earlier in 2004 relative to 2005, whereas young of the year (juveniles) did not vary in the timing of haypile initiation. The mean haying rate per hour increased monthly from 3.7 +/- 0.7 trips in June to 6.6 +/- 0.8 trips in August. Simulation analysis estimated the median haypile mass (dry weight) by mid-September to be 5.5 kg. At least 75% of simulated haypiles had a minimum of 90 days (3 months) of food reserves, and 50% of simulated haypiles had a minimum of 177 days (5.9 months) of food reserves by mid-September, supporting the hypothesis that haypiles serve as the primary source of food during winter. Survival was greatest for pikas in 2005 when they began haying prior to 31 July, but the benefits of earlier accumulation of vegetation on survival also varied between years. The implications of earlier spring snowmelt are discussed with respect to pika foraging and overwinter survival.

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Within-yard habitat use by white-tailed deer at varying winter severity

Cited by 45 publications

References 23 publications

The scale-dependent impact of wolf predation risk on resource selection by three sympatric ungulates

The scale-dependent impact of wolf predation risk on resource selection by three sympatric ungulates

LiDAR Remote Sensing of Forest Structure and GPS Telemetry Data Provide Insights on Winter Habitat Selection of European Roe Deer

Influence of food hoarding behavior on the over-winter survival of pikas in strongly seasonal environments

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