Don't go chasing the ghosts of the past: habitat selection and site fidelity during calving in an Arctic ungulate

Paulsen, Ingrid Marie Garfelt; Soininen, Eeva M.; Ravolainen, Virve; Loe, Leif Egil; Hansen, Brage Bremset; Irvine, R. Justin; Stien, Audun; Ropstad, Erik; Veiberg, Vebjørn; Fuglei, Eva; Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik

doi:10.2981/wlb.00740

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Using the latter approach, we found that calving‐sequences of caribou expressing spatial fidelity were on average ~ 1.0 km apart, which was considerably less than individuals that did not express spatial fidelity (~15.7 km). This mean distance is closer than previously reported in sedentary woodland caribou in Quebec and Labrador (6.7 km, Schaefer et al., 2000), in woodland caribou in the central mountains of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada (8.7 km, Nobert et al., 2016), and in Svalbard reindeer ( R. t. platyrhynchus , 1.5–3.9 km, Garfelt‐Paulsen et al., 2021). In fact, three caribou observed in this study calved within 50 m of the site where they calved the previous year.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 41%

Woodland caribou calving fidelity: Spatial location, habitat, or both?

Walker,

Rodgers,

Shuter

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Individuals that isolate themselves to give birth can use more than one strategy in choosing birth sites to maximize reproductive success. Previous research has focused on the consistency in the use of the same birth‐site across years (i.e., spatial fidelity), but individuals alternatively may use similar habitat conditions across years (i.e., habitat fidelity). Using GPS telemetry, we determined whether woodland caribou expressed spatial or habitat fidelity during calving, and evaluated intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with expressing either type of fidelity. We identified 56 individuals with ≥2 putative birth events, via a movement‐based model, across northern Ontario between 2010 and 2014. Individuals were classified as expressing (1) spatial fidelity by comparing sequential calving locations to a random spatial distribution of available calving locations, (2) habitat fidelity using a logistic use model compared to a null (intercept only) model, (3) no fidelity (neither criterion met), or (4) both spatial and habitat fidelity (both criteria met). Across all individuals, 37% expressed no fidelity (36 of 98), 15% expressed only spatial fidelity (15 of 99), 35% expressed only habitat fidelity (34 of 98), and 14% expressed both spatial and habitat fidelity (14 of 98). Older individuals were more likely to express spatial fidelity, whereas lower availability of upland and lowland conifer forests without linear features increased the probability an individual expressed habitat fidelity. Our results indicate that managing for caribou calving needs to consider protecting both specific, known birthing sites, but also broad‐scale areas of preferred habitat for calving. Understanding the mechanisms that influence caribou expressing calving fidelity, and associated fitness costs, is crucial for the conservation of the species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 41%

Woodland caribou calving fidelity: Spatial location, habitat, or both?

Walker,

Rodgers,

Shuter

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, herbivores, and reindeer particularly, can influence vegetation via grazing, trampling and manuring which can lead to the vegetation becoming dominated by a thick layer of mosses with interspersed graminoids and forbs 29 – 31 . While the sea bird colonies are concentrated on coastal cliffs, reindeer have occupied the whole land area of Svalbard 32 , also shallow mountain slopes where topographical conditions favour peat formation 33 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Newly initiated carbon stock, organic soil accumulation patterns and main driving factors in the High Arctic Svalbard, Norway

Juselius

Ravolainen

Zhang

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High latitude organic soils form a significant carbon storage and deposition of these soils is largely driven by climate. Svalbard, Norway, has experienced millennial-scale climate variations and in general organic soil processes have benefitted from warm and humid climate phases while cool late Holocene has been unfavourable. In addition to direct effect of cool climate, the advancing glaciers have restricted the vegetation growth, thus soil accumulation. Since the early 1900’s climate has been warming at unprecedented rate, assumingly promoting organic soil establishment. Here we present results of multiple organic soil profiles collected from Svalbard. The profiles have robust chronologies accompanied by soil property analyses, carbon stock estimations and testate amoeba data as a proxy for soil moisture. Our results reveal relatively recent initiation of organic soils across the Isfjorden area. The initiation processes could be linked to glacier retreat, and improvement of growing conditions and soil stabilization. Carbon stock analyses suggested that our sites are hot spots for organic matter accumulation. Testate amoebae data suggested drying of soil surfaces, but the reason remained unresolved. If continued, such a process may lead to carbon release. Our data suggest that detailed palaeoecological data from the Arctic is needed to depict the on-going processes and to estimate future trajectories.

show abstract

“…Additionally, increase in both male and female home ranges in spring may be related to the seasonal altitudinal migration to mountain meadows ( Viana et al 2018 ). Furthermore, reduction in female home range size after giving birth is likely due to the restricted mobility of their newborn kids ( Garfelt-Paulsen et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home range in genus Capra: from polygons to Brownian bridges of scabietic and healthy Iberian ibexes (Capra pyrenaica)

Valldeperes,

Pascual-Rico,

Fandos

et al. 2024

Journal of Mammalogy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Home range and home range overlap can be used to describe use of space and movement of wildlife. During the last years, advancements in technology have greatly improved our understanding of animal movement, especially among large herbivores. Wild ungulate abundance and distribution have increased in temperate areas. Moreover, their diseases—including sarcoptic mange in the Iberian Ibex (Capra pyrenaica)—have become a cause of concern for livestock, public health, and wildlife conservation. In this study, we first reviewed existing literature on the home range of species in the genus Capra. We then analyzed data from 52 GPS-GSM-collared Iberian ibexes, of which 33 were healthy and 19 were affected by sarcoptic mange from 3 different populations in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula to analyze: (1) differences in size and characteristics of home ranges obtained by the 3 most commonly used methodologies—minimum convex polygon, kernel density estimation, and Brownian bridges movement models (BBMMs); and (2) the impact of endemic sarcoptic mange on Iberian Ibex home range. The literature review revealed that available information on spatial behavior of Capra spp. was based only on 3 species, including the Iberian Ibex, estimated through a diversity of methods which made it difficult to compare results. We found positive correlations among the different home range estimation methods in the Iberian Ibex, with BBMMs proving to be the most accurate. This study is the first to use BBMMs for estimating home range in this species, and it revealed a marked seasonal behavior in spatial use, although sarcoptic mange smoothed such seasonal pattern. The seasonal overlaps obtained suggest that core areas of the Iberian Ibex change within wider home range areas, which are ecological parameters relevant to identifying key areas for species management and conservation.

show abstract

Don't go chasing the ghosts of the past: habitat selection and site fidelity during calving in an Arctic ungulate

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 8 publications

References 79 publications

Woodland caribou calving fidelity: Spatial location, habitat, or both?

Woodland caribou calving fidelity: Spatial location, habitat, or both?

Newly initiated carbon stock, organic soil accumulation patterns and main driving factors in the High Arctic Svalbard, Norway

Home range in genus Capra: from polygons to Brownian bridges of scabietic and healthy Iberian ibexes (Capra pyrenaica)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About