Mountain lions on the prairie: habitat selection by recolonizing mountain lions at the edge of their range

Abstract

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) have historically experienced large‐scale range contractions, but are beginning to recolonize portions of their former range. To reach potential suitable habitats in eastern North America, mountain lions need to move across the grassland and agriculture‐dominated habitats of the Great Plains, which are different from the forested areas associated with mountain lions in western North America. To inform restoration planning in this area, it is important to understand differences in mountain lion habitat selection in this “nontraditional” grassland habitat. We tracked GPS‐collared mountain lions in the Northern Great Plains of Montana and identified movement states (localized or exploratory) using behavioral change point analysis and net‐squared displacement. We compared habitat selection between the different states using step‐selection functions that included several environmental covariates. Similar to elsewhere throughout their range, across both movement states, mountain lions tended to select forested environments that were farther from human development. In contrast to more traditionally occupied mountainous regions, mountain lions in the Great Plains selected areas of lower elevations. They selected areas both near and far from water, but avoided riparian areas and selected more rugged environments when in exploratory movement states. This suggests that mountain lions in the Northern Great Plains are utilizing river corridors, particularly those with rough or broken topography during exploratory phases. To enhance future recolonization and connectivity of mountain lions to the east of our study area, we encourage managers to maintain and restore forest fragments along river corridors in the Great Plains.

Eat or be eaten: Implications of potential exploitative competition between wolves and humans across predator‐savvy and predator‐naive deer populations

“…Predator‐effects on prey are a fundamental focus in ecology, although dynamic predator–prey interactions in a fast‐changing Anthropocene warrant more experimental examinations of the underlying mechanisms of these direct and indirect effects (Parsons et al., 2022 ; Scrosati, 2021 ). While predator populations are declining in many parts of the world (Ripple et al., 2014 ), some areas are witnessing their comebacks (Gigliotti et al., 2019 ; Jarausch et al., 2021 ; Scharf & Fernández, 2018 ). Such contrasting levels of predator presence create (and re‐create) intriguing interactions.…”

Eat or Be Eaten: Implications of potential exploitative competition between wolves and humans across predator- savvy and -naive deer populations

“…Predator-effects on prey are a fundamental focus in ecology, although, dynamic predator-prey interactions in a fast-changing Anthropocene warrant more experimental examinations of the underlying mechanisms of these direct and indirect effects (Parsons et al, 2022; Scrosati, 2021). While predator populations are declining in many parts of the world (Ripple et al, 2014), some areas are witnessing their comebacks (Gigliotti et al, 2019; Jarausch et al, 2021; Scharf & Fernández, 2018). Such contrasting levels of predator presence create (and re-create) intriguing interactions.…”

Pathways towards coexistence with large carnivores in production systems

“…In the USA, coyotes are common rangeland predators, and increasingly wolf (C. lupus), bear (Ursus spp. ), and cougar (Puma concolor) as populations are recovering in rangelands (Schwartz et al 2001;Kendall et al 2009;Maletzke et al 2016;Gigliotti et al 2019).…”