Wolves, elk, and bison: reestablishing the "landscape of fear" in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A.

Laundré, John W.; Hernández, Lucina; Altendorf, Kelly B.

doi:10.1139/cjz-79-8-1401

Cited by 364 publications

(461 citation statements)

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“…Conversely, species that readily desensitize and habituate to human disturbance (as described in [4]), such as coyotes ( Canis latrans ) [5] and elk ( Cervus canadensis ) [6] can thrive, but in doing so often disrupt ecosystem function through local overpopulation and disrupted predator–prey dynamics [7]. This problem is particularly acute in protected areas where repetitive benign encounters with humans can accelerate the process of habituation [8], and prey species may exploit human-disturbed areas as predation refugia [9]. Habituated ungulates may also abandon migratory behaviour to use these human-disturbed areas year-round, thereby further damaging ecological integrity [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambidextrous ungulates have more flexible behaviour, bolder personalities and migrate less

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Clair

2017

R. Soc. open sci.

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Studies of wildlife have shown consistent individual variation in behavioural plasticity, which affects the rate of adaptation to changing environments. More flexible individuals may thus be more prone to habituation and conflict behaviour, but these applications of personality to wildlife management are little explored. Behavioural lateralization reflects cerebral specialization that may predict diverse expressions of behavioural plasticity. We recorded front-limb biases (i.e. handedness) in wild elk (Cervus canadensis), a species with facultative migration and high rates of habituation inside protected areas. Less lateralized elk responded more strongly to the application of aversive conditioning (predator-resembling chases by humans) by increasing their average flight response distances, but these same animals were also quicker to reduce their flight responses (i.e. habituate) when human approaches were benign. Greater laterality was correlated with, but not completely predicted by, bolder personalities, which we quantified via five correlated behavioural metrics. Lastly, lateralized elk were three times more likely to migrate, whereas less lateralized animals were similarly likely to remain near humans year-round. Lateralized behaviours can provide insight into behavioural flexibility enabling certain individuals to more quickly adapt to human-disturbed landscapes, and offer an especially productive arena for collaborative work by behaviourists, conservation biologists and wildlife managers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambidextrous ungulates have more flexible behaviour, bolder personalities and migrate less

Found

Clair

2017

R. Soc. open sci.

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“…The life stage and state of an individual can affect its behavioral response to both the road and to the mitigation actions, such as transient individuals avoiding interactions with residents [7], [21], [22]. For example, squirrel glider ( Petaurus norfolcensis ) movements were re-established across a highway after canopy bridges and glider poles were installed [18], [23], yet only half of the individuals known to be present in the vicinity of a canopy bridge used the bridge [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter-Individual Variability of Stone Marten Behavioral Responses to a Highway

et al. 2014

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Efforts to reduce the negative impacts of roads on wildlife may be hindered if individuals within the population vary widely in their responses to roads and mitigation strategies ignore this variability. This knowledge is particularly important for medium-sized carnivores as they are vulnerable to road mortality, while also known to use available road passages (e.g., drainage culverts) for safely crossing highways. Our goal in this study was to assess whether this apparently contradictory pattern of high road-kill numbers associated with a regular use of road passages is attributable to the variation in behavioral responses toward the highway between individuals. We investigated the responses of seven radio-tracked stone martens (Martes foina) to a highway by measuring their utilization distribution, response turning angles and highway crossing patterns. We compared the observed responses to simulated movement parameterized by the observed space use and movement characteristics of each individual, but naïve to the presence of the highway. Our results suggested that martens demonstrate a diversity of responses to the highway, including attraction, indifference, or avoidance. Martens also varied in their highway crossing patterns, with some crossing repeatedly at the same location (often coincident with highway passages). We suspect that the response variability derives from the individual's familiarity of the landscape, including their awareness of highway passage locations. Because of these variable yet potentially attributable responses, we support the use of exclusionary fencing to guide transient (e.g., dispersers) individuals to existing passages to reduce the road-kill risk.

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“…Wolves create a landscape of fear, changing the habitat-selection behavior of their prey [17]. Rather than spending time in dense patches of willows by streams, deer, elk, and moose now spend more time in the open, where they can detect predatory wolves at a greater distance.…”

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confidence: 99%