A specialized forest carnivore navigates landscape-level disturbance: Canada lynx in spruce-beetle impacted forests

Squires, John R.; Holbrook, Joseph D.; Olson, Lucretia E.; Ivan, Jacob S.; Ghormley, Randal W.; Lawrence, Rick L.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118400

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…A linear model with a slope coefficient (±90% CI) that did not overlap 1 (i.e., slope is significantly different from 1, p < 0.1) represented a functional response in habitat use (Holbrook et al, 2019). Statistical deviations from proportional habitat use (slope = 1, and y ‐intercept = 0) could indicate a diversity of responses (positive or negative) that deviate from proportional habitat use (Holbrook et al, 2019; Squires et al, 2020). We then plotted response curves while also displaying the interquartile range (IQR) of availability across all groups (sexes and time periods) for each variable; the IQR aided in contextualizing response curves and availability for each variable.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As landscapes are altered through time from increasing disturbance, it is crucial to understand resulting changes in habitat relationships at the individual and population level (Anderson et al, 2012; Shoemaker et al, 2018; Squires et al, 2020). The responses of populations toward anthropogenic influences are often inconsistent, usually associated with local environmental conditions (Mumma et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiscale habitat relationships of a habitat specialist over time: The case of ocelots in Texas from 1982 to 2017

et al. 2022

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Evaluating temporal trends in habitat and behavioral responses is critical for conservation, yet long‐term monitoring studies are rare. We used a 35‐year dataset (1982–2017) to assess multiscale habitat use and selection by an endangered carnivore, the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), in South Texas, USA. We used a time series of remotely sensed imagery to map changes in availability of woody cover, habitat critical to ocelots that has diminished due to anthropogenic development and increased road infrastructure. Our objectives were to characterize habitat relationships, predict high‐quality habitat, and assess behavior with changing environmental conditions. We fit functional response (third order) and individual‐specific resource selection (second order) functions to assess multiscale habitat use of vegetation cover and roads. Within home ranges, ocelots used woody cover greater than availability. Ocelots used areas near roads in proportion to availability, with minor exceptions. We observed changes in habitat use by ocelots across time with higher proportions of woody and non‐woody cover used in later time periods. Average availability of woody cover decreased in the study area between the 1980s and 2010s (0.44 in 1985 to 0.39 in 2015, p < 0.001), and ocelots used areas with a higher proportion of woody cover (≥0.48) farther from high‐traffic roads compared to availability. High‐quality ocelot habitat was consistently predicted in areas with high proportions of woody cover, while areas closer to high‐traffic roads were consistently predicted as non‐habitat. The extent of predicted habitat never exceeded 47% (1515 km2) of the study area, illustrating the confined nature of ocelot habitat. Our assessment of multiscale habitat use demonstrated that higher order selection processes likely truncate resource gradients within home ranges. Ocelots did not avoid roads as expected within home ranges, which is a likely mechanism for vehicle‐induced mortality. Private lands contained ≥79% of predicted high‐quality habitat over time. Therefore, the future of ocelots in the United States relies on private land stewardship. Insights gained from these analyses can advance habitat conservation and mitigation of road mortality for ocelot populations.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale habitat relationships of a habitat specialist over time: The case of ocelots in Texas from 1982 to 2017

et al. 2022

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“…Previous research determined mountain lions were not selective between male and female mule deer in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA (Pierce et al, 2004 ); therefore we included kill site locations of both male and female deer together into our model. We sampled available locations within the study area at a density of 1 per km 2 , resulting in a ratio of 1:70 (Northrup et al, 2016 ; Squires et al, 2020 ). We used the same topographic variables used in the probability of encounter RF models (Appendix S1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If this density of availability resulted in less than a 1:1 ratio, we increased our sample to a ratio of 1:5. This approach ensured adequate spatial coverage of availability, while also exceeding guidelines suggested to generate stable coefficients in a relatively homogenous environment (Northrup et al, 2016;Squires et al, 2020). We modeled predicted use by elk, coyotes, and mountain lions using habitat and topographic variables expected to influence selection by these species including elevation, slope, topographic position index (de Reu et al, 2013), terrain ruggedness index (Riley et al, 1999), distance to primary roads, distance to secondary roads, transformed circular aspect (Roberts & Cooper, 1989), distance to aspen, and distance to forest.…”

Section: Spatial Variation In Risk: Probability Of Encountermentioning

confidence: 98%

Risky business: How an herbivore navigates spatiotemporal aspects of risk from competitors and predators

Holbrook

2022

Ecological Applications

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Understanding factors that influence animal behavior is central to ecology.Basic principles of animal ecology imply that individuals should seek to maximize survival and reproduction, which means carefully weighing risk against reward. Decisions become increasingly complex and constrained, however, when risk is spatiotemporally variable. We advance a growing body of work in predator-prey behavior by evaluating novel questions where a prey species is confronted with multiple predators and a potential competitor. We tested how fine-scale behavior of female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during the reproductive season shifted depending upon spatial and temporal variation in risk from predators and a potential competitor. We expected female deer to

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“…In contrast, NDVI, canopy cover, and maximum average summer temperature had unexpected influences in our cell‐level analysis. Previous studies reported lynx habitat selection related to lower annual temperature (King et al 2020), and reduced summer heat load (Holbrook et al 2017, Squires et al 2020). We found a positive relationship between probability of occupancy and average maximum summer temperature, although there is some uncertainty in the effect strength, as the lower 95% confidence interval crossed zero (−0.019; Table 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Canada lynx occupancy and density in Glacier National Park

2023

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Protected areas are the cornerstone of conservation strategies for threatened and endangered species. Because protected areas often are insulated from many anthropogenic threats, and contain substantial topographic relief, they may be particularly important as climatic refugia for cold-adapted, atrisk species. Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are a cold-adapted, threatened species, and reach the southern limits of their distribution in the contiguous United States, where they exist in several disjunct populations largely on multiple-use lands (e.g., national forests). Glacier National Park (GNP) is one of the few, large, protected areas located within Canada lynx range in the contiguous United States, and therefore a potentially important lynx stronghold within the Northern Rockies lynx recovery unit. Despite its potential importance, knowledge of lynx populations within the park is extremely limited. We completed a park-wide occupancy survey of lynx using an array of motion-sensitive cameras during summers in 2018-2021. Within a smaller area of the park, we also estimated lynx density by identifying individuals from subtle markings on the inside of the front leg and employing spatially explicit capture-recapture analysis. Finally, we linked park-wide predictions of occupancy with local density to estimate lynx population size across GNP. Lynx were distributed across much of the park in summer and occupancy was influenced by a combination of snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) relative abundance, forest associations, climate, and fire. We were able

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A specialized forest carnivore navigates landscape-level disturbance: Canada lynx in spruce-beetle impacted forests

Cited by 13 publications

References 100 publications

Multiscale habitat relationships of a habitat specialist over time: The case of ocelots in Texas from 1982 to 2017

Multiscale habitat relationships of a habitat specialist over time: The case of ocelots in Texas from 1982 to 2017

Risky business: How an herbivore navigates spatiotemporal aspects of risk from competitors and predators

Canada lynx occupancy and density in Glacier National Park

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