| Autor: |
Viejou R; Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph ON Canada., Avgar T; Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph ON Canada., Brown GS; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Sault Ste. Marie ON Canada., Patterson BR; Wildlife Research and Development Section Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Peterborough ON Canada., Reid DEB; Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Thunder Bay ON Canada., Rodgers AR; Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Thunder Bay ON Canada., Shuter J; Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Thunder Bay ON Canada., Thompson ID; Canadian Forest Service Sault Ste. Marie ON Canada., Fryxell JM; Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph ON Canada. |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Zdroj: |
Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2018 May 04; Vol. 8 (11), pp. 5863-5872. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 May 04 (Print Publication: 2018). |
| DOI: |
10.1002/ece3.4124 |
| Abstrakt: |
The ideal free distribution assumes that animals select habitats that are beneficial to their fitness. When the needs of dependent offspring differ from those of the parent, ideal habitat selection patterns could vary with the presence or absence of offspring. We test whether habitat selection depends on reproductive state due to top-down or bottom-up influences on the fitness of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ), a threatened, wide-ranging herbivore. We combined established methods of fitting resource and step selection functions derived from locations of collared animals in Ontario with newer techniques, including identifying calf status from video collar footage and seasonal habitat selection analysis through latent selection difference functions. We found that females with calves avoided predation risk and proximity to roads more strongly than females without calves within their seasonal ranges. At the local scale, females with calves avoided predation more strongly than females without calves. Females with calves increased predation avoidance but not selection for food availability upon calving, whereas females without calves increased selection for food availability across the same season. These behavioral responses suggest that habitat selection by woodland caribou is influenced by reproductive state, such that females with calves at heel use habitat selection to offset the increased vulnerability of their offspring to predation risk. |
| Databáze: |
MEDLINE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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