Factors Influencing Homesite Selection by Gray Wolves in Northwestern Wisconsin and East-Central Minnesota

Unger, David E.; Keenlance, Paul; Kohn, Bruce E.; Anderson, Eric M.

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-85952-1_11

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…For wolves living in densely populated countries, this might correspond to understanding the main sources of human‐caused mortality or impaired fitness, and accordingly assess their spatial variation across scales. The same reasoning would account for the fact that, in more pristine ecosystems of North America where anthropogenic effects are less apparent, proximity to water and prey availability are among the features most selected by wolves when selecting rendezvous sites (Trapp et al , Unger et al , Ausband et al , Benson et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Locally, however, homesite selection by wolves is markedly context‐specific and varies based on prevailing ecological conditions and human disturbance. In the more pristine boreal and temperate ecosystems in North America, wolves preferentially locate rendezvous sites in proximity of meadows, wetlands or other water sources, and forests, with some variability concerning forest types, canopy closure, soil type, and topography (Trapp et al , Unger et al , Ausband et al , Benson et al , Klaczek et al ). With increasing levels of disturbance and habitat modifications (e.g., forest roads, logging, other human activities), anthropogenic factors prevail over other landscape and habitat characteristics, and rendezvous sites are increasingly located apart from roads, developments, and disturbed areas (Theuerkauf et al , Person and Russel , Houle et al , Kaartinen et al , Lesmerises et al ).…”

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Hierarchical, multi‐grain rendezvous site selection by wolves in southern Italy

et al. 2018

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Fine‐scale knowledge of how anthropogenic effects may alter habitat selection by wolves (Canis lupus) is important to inform conservation management, especially where wolf populations are expanding into more populated areas or where human activity and development are increasingly encroaching on formerly pristine environments. From 1999 to 2003, we documented rendezvous sites (n = 31) used by wolves (n = 6 packs) in a previously unstudied wolf population in the southern Apennines, Italy (Pollino National Park [PNP]), where conditions are ideal to unveil behavioral adaptations of wolves living in human‐dominated landscapes. We adopted a hierarchical, multi‐scale habitat selection approach by using a set of environmental, topographic, and anthropogenic factors within multi‐grain resource selection functions (MRSFs) at the landscape and the territory extent. Habitat selection by wolves was scale‐dependent and different habitat components affected wolves at different grains. When establishing a territory at the landscape scale, wolves avoided areas featuring high densities of humans, paved roads, and trails, and they preferentially located territories where higher forest cover and rough terrain enhanced concealment and ensured reduced accessibility by humans. Concurrently, wolves also selected open areas and, at coarse grain, areas of high density of dirt roads and trails to enhance hunting and traveling efficiency. When selecting rendezvous sites within territories, wolves still selected for forest cover and lessened avoidance of anthropogenic features apparent at the lower order of selection. When choosing rendezvous sites, wolves also avoided low‐use anthropogenic linear features and rough terrain, unveiling trade‐offs in selection decisions across different spatial and temporal scales. Our results reinforce the notion that occurrence of wolves in human‐modified landscapes is shaped by avoidance of anthropogenic pressure, but they also indicate that rendezvous site selection by wolves conform to a hierarchical decision‐making process that is extent‐ and grain‐dependent. Spatially explicit models of rendezvous site selection such as the one we developed for PNP enhance management effectiveness for strategies such as regulating human access and activity during the pup rearing seasons, preventing human persecution, mitigating livestock depredations, and designing cost‐effective monitoring programs. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hierarchical, multi‐grain rendezvous site selection by wolves in southern Italy

et al. 2018

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“…Wolf homesites, that is, areas where they give birth and rear pups (dens and rendezvous sites), are mostly selected for various microhabitat features (Capitani et al., ; Kaartinen, Luoto, & Kojola, ; Norris, Theberge, & Theberge, ; Trapp, Beier, Mack, Parsons, & Paquet, ) and are located far from human settlements and main roads, roughly in the centre of their territories (Ballard & Dau, ; Theuerkauf et al., ; Unger, Keenlance, Kohn, & Anderson, ). Similarly, in WPL for the rearing of pups, wolves chose areas where forest cover was high, and the area of arable land and density of roads were low.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedentary but not dispersing wolvesCanis lupusrecolonizing western Poland (2001–2016) conform to the predictions of a habitat suitability model

Nowak¹,

Mysłajek

Szewczyk

et al. 2017

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim: To compare predictions of the habitat suitability model (HSM) for wolves Canis lupus in Poland with actual wolf distribution in western Poland after 15 years of recolonization. Location: Western Poland (WPL, ca. 136,000 km 2 ), west of the 18°48′E meridian. Methods: Data on wolf occurrence (8,057 records) were gathered in 2001-2016.Wolf presence in 10 × 10 km cells was classified as follows: (1) permanent occurrence with reproduction, (2) permanent occurrence with no reproduction and (3) sporadic occurrence (interpreted as dispersing individuals). These cells were compared to all 10 × 10 km cells in WPL with respect to the probability of wolf occurrence as predicted by the HSM and habitat variables important for wolves. For temporal analysis, data were divided into two 8-year subsets: the initial and later phases of wolf recovery.Results: Wolves were recorded in 259 cells (19.8% of the study area). The pairs and packs settled in areas predicted by the HSM to have good and very good habitat, in cells characterized by high forest cover and low densities of roads. Wolf groups that reproduced were found in the best-quality habitats characterized by denser forest cover and markedly lower shares of anthropogenic structures. Dispersing individuals were mostly recorded in unsuitable and suboptimal habitats, and they avoided both the poorest and the best habitats. In the initial phase of wolf recovery, cells selected by wolves for settling down and those used by dispersing wolves did not differ in their habitat parameters. However, in the later phase, as WPL became more saturated with wolf packs, dispersing individuals were recorded in less suitable habitats. Main conclusions:The HSM for Polish wolves predicted with high accuracy the areas later occupied by wolf groups in the western part of the country. A similar approach may also be useful to predict the future distribution of wolves in the lowlands of central and western Europe where environmental conditions are comparable and recolonizing wolves originate from the same source population.

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“…Similarly, an independent investigation in the Minnesota-Wisconsin border region carried out by Frair (1999) concluded that average road density in wolf territory was 0.25 km/km 2 and that road density was the best predictor of suitable wolf habitat. Another researcher (Unger 1999) showed that wolves selected den sites in roadless or low road density areas and dens were generally located more than 1 km from improved roads. These data allow us to evaluate the critical road density model by letting ρ cr = 0.24 km/km 2 , w = 0.1 km, and d = 1 km, and comparing the results with the actual territory of gray wolf packs.…”

Section: Derivation and Testing Of Critical Road Densitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Width of Edge Effects of Road Construction on Fauna and Ecologically Critical Road Density

Lin

2015

Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management

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This study investigates the ecological impacts of road construction by trapping rodents, invertebrates, and amphibians with wire-mesh traps and pitfalls along a road under construction on Kinmen island, Taiwan. The capture data show that the Brown country rat’s (Rattus losea) edge habitat is broader in woodland habitat next to farmland than it is in woodland next to the road. Similarly, most invertebrates captured were found within the woodland at an edge width of 15 m along the roadside and 35 m along the farmland. On the other hand, the Ornate rice frog (Microhyla ornate), which typically resides and forages in dim and humid environments, avoids edges. The edge effect results in this paper are applied in a model for determining ecologically critical road density. The estimation of edge width and critical road density obtained in this study can be applied during road planning and design to assess the potential effects of habitat conversion during road construction.

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Factors Influencing Homesite Selection by Gray Wolves in Northwestern Wisconsin and East-Central Minnesota

Cited by 13 publications

References 29 publications

Hierarchical, multi‐grain rendezvous site selection by wolves in southern Italy

Hierarchical, multi‐grain rendezvous site selection by wolves in southern Italy

Sedentary but not dispersing wolvesCanis lupusrecolonizing western Poland (2001–2016) conform to the predictions of a habitat suitability model

The Width of Edge Effects of Road Construction on Fauna and Ecologically Critical Road Density

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