Effects of temporal and spatial variation in habitat quality on red squirrel dispersal behaviour

Lurz, Peter W. W.; Garson, Peter J.; Wauters, Lucas A.

doi:10.1006/anbe.1996.0486

Cited by 90 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Evidence generally supports that resource availability influences philopatry of rodents (Garrett and Franklin 1988, Jones et al 1988, Keane 1990, Boutin et al 1993, Ribble 1992, Lambin 1994, Lurz et al 1997, Gundersen and Andreassen 1998, Byrom and Krebs 1999, Solomon et al 1999. However, evidence for a more specific connection between availability of burrows and philopatry (and sociality) is much more limited.…”

Section: Hypotheses Of Rodent Sociality: Mixed Modelsmentioning

confidence: 97%

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Ebensperger

2001

Acta Theriol

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Ebensperger L. A. 2001. A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living. Acta Theriologica 46: 115-144.I analyze and summarize the empirical evidence supporting alternative hypotheses posed to explain the evolution of rodent group-living. Eight hypotheses are considered: two rely on net fitness benefits to individuals, five rely on ecological and life-history constraints, and one uses elements of both. I expose the logic behind each hypothesis, identify its key predictions, examine how the available evidence on rodent socioecology supports or rejects its predictions, and identify some priorities for future research. I show that empirical support for most hypotheses is meager due to a lack of relevant studies. Also, empirical support for a particular hypothesis, when it exists, comes from studies of the same species used to formulate the original hypothesis. Two exceptions are the hypothesis that individual rodents live in groups to reduce their predation risk and the hypothesis that group-living was adopted by individuals to reduce their cost of thermoregulation. Finally, most hypotheses have been examined without regard to competing hypotheses and often in a restricted taxonomic context. This is clearly an unfortunate situation given that most competing hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. I suggest that in the future comparative approaches should be used. These studies should examine simultaneously the relevance of different benefits and constraints hypothesized to explain the evolution of rodent sociality.

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Section: Hypotheses Of Rodent Sociality: Mixed Modelsmentioning

confidence: 97%

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Ebensperger

2001

Acta Theriol

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“…Habitat quality is known to influence fitness (e.g., Strong and Sherry 2000;Calsbeek and Sinervo 2002;Gunnarsson et al 2005) and population dynamics (Brown 1969;Pulliam 1988;Fretwell 1972;Lurz et al 1997;Sutherland 1998; but see Moilanen and Hanski 1998). Knowledge of the proximate mechanisms influencing variation in habitat quality is critical for predicting changes in population size and designing effective conservation and management plans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Experimental evidence for a novel mechanism driving variation in habitat quality in a food-caching bird

Strickland¹,

Kielstra

Norris

2011

Oecologia

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Variation in habitat quality can have important consequences for fitness and population dynamics. For food-caching species, a critical determinant of habitat quality is normally the density of storable food, but it is also possible that quality is driven by the ability of habitats to preserve food items. The food-caching gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis) occupies year-round territories in the coniferous boreal and subalpine forests of North America, but does not use conifer seed crops as a source of food. Over the last 33 years, we found that the occupancy rate of territories in Algonquin Park (ON, Canada) has declined at a higher rate in territories with a lower proportion of conifers compared to those with a higher proportion. Individuals occupying territories with a low proportion of conifers were also less likely to successfully fledge young. Using chambers to simulate food caches, we conducted an experiment to examine the hypothesis that coniferous trees are better able to preserve the perishable food items stored in summer and fall than deciduous trees due to their antibacterial and antifungal properties. Over a 1-4 month exposure period, we found that mealworms, blueberries, and raisins all lost less weight when stored on spruce and pine trees compared to deciduous and other coniferous trees. Our results indicate a novel mechanism to explain how habitat quality may influence the fitness and population dynamics of food-caching animals, and has important implications for understanding range limits for boreal breeding animals.

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“…Dispersal is required to establish populations on previously vacant patches and to sustain populations in sink habitats. Most studies of dispersal in subdivided populations have emphasized the importance of the intrinsic quality and geometry (e.g., size and isolation) of patches (Gilbert and Singer 1973;Thomas and Harrison 1992;Hanski 1994;Hill et al 1996;Lurz et al 1997;Brommer and Fred 1999;Doak 2000;Thomas et al 2001;Fleishman et al 2002;Matter and Roland 2002;Caudill 2003), though several recent examples demonstrate that dispersal rates are often strongly influenced extrinsically by landscape context (e.g., composition of the matrix; Roland et al 2000;Ricketts 2001;Cronin 2003a;Haynes and Cronin 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape context outweighs local habitat quality in its effects on herbivore dispersal and distribution

et al. 2006

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Past studies with spatially structured herbivore populations have emphasized the primacy of intrinsic factors (e.g., patch quality), patch geometry (e.g., patch size and isolation), and more recently landscape context (e.g., matrix composition) in affecting local population abundance and dispersal rate. However, few studies have examined the relative importance of each factor, or how they might interact to affect herbivore abundance or dispersal. Here, we performed a factorial field experiment to examine the independent and interactive effects of patch quality (plant biomass, leaf protein, leaf phenolics) and matrix composition [mudflat or non-host grass (Bromus inermis)] on planthopper (Prokelisia crocea) emigration from host-plant patches (prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata). In addition, a field survey was conducted to examine the relative importance of patch quality, geography, and matrix composition on planthopper occupancy and density. In the experiment, we found that rates of emigration from low and intermediate quality patches were, on average, 21% percent higher for patches embedded in brome than mudflat. In contrast, the emigration rate was unaffected by matrix composition in nutrient-rich patches. Within matrix types, plant quality had little effect on emigration. In the survey, planthopper density and the patch occupancy rate of planthoppers increased nonadditively with increasing patch size and the percentage of the surrounding matrix composed of mudflat. This study suggests that landscape-level factors, such as the matrix, may be more important than factors intrinsic to the patches.

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Effects of temporal and spatial variation in habitat quality on red squirrel dispersal behaviour

Cited by 90 publications

References 23 publications

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Experimental evidence for a novel mechanism driving variation in habitat quality in a food-caching bird

Landscape context outweighs local habitat quality in its effects on herbivore dispersal and distribution

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