Post-parturition habitat selection by elk calves and adult female elk in New Mexico

Pitman, Jim; Cain, James W.; Liley, Stewart; Gould, William; Quintana, Nicole T.; Ballard, Warren B.

doi:10.1002/jwmg.776

Cited by 21 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(83 reference statements)

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“…Similarly, Festa‐Bianchet and Côté () reported that only 30% of parturition sites of mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus ) were on cliffs, the majority were in areas with more gentle terrain that were seldom used by mountain goats during other times of year. Analogous findings have been reported for elk (Rearden et al , Pitman et al ), pronghorn (Canon and Bryant ), and white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ; Huegel et al ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Desert bighorn sheep lambing habitat: Parturition, nursery, and predation sites

Karsch

Cain

Rominger³

2016

J Wildl Manag

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Fitness of female ungulates is determined by neonate survival and lifetime reproductive success. Therefore, adult female ungulates should adopt behaviors and habitat selection patterns that enhance survival of neonates during parturition and lactation. Parturition site location may play an important role in neonatal mortality of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) when lambs are especially vulnerable to predation, but parturition sites are rarely documented for this species. Our objectives were to assess environmental characteristics at desert bighorn parturition, lamb nursery, and predation sites and to assess differences in habitat characteristics between parturition sites and nursery group sites, and predation sites and nursery group sites. We used vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) to identify parturition sites and capture neonates. We then compared elevation, slope, terrain ruggedness, and visibility at parturition, nursery, and lamb predation sites with paired random sites and compared characteristics of parturition sites and lamb predation sites to those of nursery sites. When compared to random sites, odds of a site being a parturition site were highest at intermediate slopes and decreased with increasing female visibility. Odds of a site being a predation site increased with decreasing visibility. When compared to nursery group sites, odds of a site being a parturition site had a quadratic relationship with elevation and slope, with odds being highest at intermediate elevations and intermediate slopes. When we compared predation sites to nursery sites, odds of a site being a predation were highest at low elevation areas with high visibility and high elevation areas with low visibility likely because of differences in hunting strategies of coyote (Canis latrans) and puma (Puma concolor). Parturition sites were lower in elevation and slope than nursery sites. Understanding selection of parturition sites by adult females and how habitat characteristics at these sites differ from those at predation and nursery sites can provide insight into strategies employed by female desert bighorn sheep and other species during and after parturition to promote neonate survival. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Desert bighorn sheep lambing habitat: Parturition, nursery, and predation sites

Karsch

Cain

Rominger³

2016

J Wildl Manag

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“…Moose and red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) have been observed seeking out high quality forage during lactation (Clutton‐Brock et al , Melin et al ). However, other ungulates typically continue to avoid predation at the expense of access to forage while juveniles are at‐heel (Pitman et al , Smith et al , Karsch et al ). Restricted access to forage during lactation in white‐tailed deer has resulted in fawns gaining less mass, nursing more, and spending more time with their mothers foraging, and in survival decreasing 35% (Therrien et al , ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of moose parturition and post‐parturition habitat with calf survival

2018

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Habitat use during calving and the energetically demanding post‐parturition period can be an important determinant of neonatal survival. The moose (Alces alces) population in northeastern Minnesota, USA declined 65% from 2006 to 2018. During 2013–2015, annual survival of calves was estimated as low as 28%. We remotely monitored global positioning system (GPS)‐collared adult female moose and their neonates during the calving and post‐parturition seasons to examine calving movements, birth‐sites, habitat use, survival, and cause‐specific mortality of neonates. Identifying the association of specific landscape characteristics with neonate survival should yield insight into mechanisms contributing to the declining moose population and serve as a basis for an ecologically sound management response. We compared habitat characteristics of pre‐calving, calving, peak‐lactation, and mortality sites at a fine and broad scale. We also compared calving sites of females that successfully reared a calf to winter to those that did not. In general, females tended to move to areas of more conifer cover to calve. During peak‐lactation, females and their calves used steeper areas with abundant forage and high concealment but less conifer cover. Mortalities occurred at sites that were more level than other site types. Females that successfully reared a calf to 1 February typically calved in areas with more deciduous forest and less forested wetland cover than females whose calves died before 9 months of age. Habitat improvement projects for moose should consider forage requirements and placement on the landscape in relation to cover and slope. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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“…) and to fulfill their shifting resource requirements (e.g., elk selecting birthing sites in the spring; Pitman et al. ), greater consistency in resource availability or an increase in fine‐scale resource needs at a particular scale may dampen or intensify the relevance of any given scale. For instance in our study, model‐averaged coefficients indicated that elk diel preference for individual habitat variables varied seasonally, but model selection indicated that changes in elk diel preferences were less pronounced in winter and summer than in spring and fall.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seasonal shifts in behavior can indicate the temporal scale of spawning or parturition periods (Pitman et al. ), and diel shifts in behavior can indicate changes between foraging and resting areas with sufficient cover to avoid predators (Holomuzki , Creel et al. , Robinson et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying ecologically relevant scales of habitat selection: diel habitat selection in elk

2017

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Abstract. Although organisms make resource selection decisions at multiple spatiotemporal scales, not all scales are ecologically relevant to any given organism. Ecological patterns and rhythms such as behavioral and climatic patterns may provide a consistent method for identifying ecologically relevant scales of habitat selection. Using elk (Cervus canadensis) as an example species, we sought to test the ability of behavioral patterns to empirically partition diel scales for modeling habitat selection. We used model selection to partition diel scales by shifts in dominant behavior and then used resource selection probability functions to model elk habitat selection hierarchically at diel scales within seasons. Model selection distinguished four diel temporal partitions following elk crepuscular behavioral patterns: dawn, midday, dusk, and night. Across seasons, model-averaged coefficients indicated that elk shifted from selecting grassland cover at dawn/dusk, to selecting for greater canopy and forest cover at midday, and then to areas with greater herbaceous biomass at night. Top models changed between diel intervals in spring and fall but stayed the same across diel intervals in winter and summer. In winter, elk selected for southern aspects during midday, for unburned areas at dawn/dusk, and for areas burned within 1-3 yr at dawn/dusk and night. In spring, elk selected for northern aspects and for areas burned within 1-3 yr at midday, for areas farther from roads at dawn/dusk and midday, and for areas farther from water at midday. In summer, elk changed diel preferences for fewer covariates: At dawn/dusk and midday, elk selected for areas farther from water and avoided forest cover, and at night, elk selected for areas burned within 1-3 yr. In fall, elk selected for areas burned the previous year at dawn/dusk and night, for higher elevations at midday, and for areas closer water at night. Using behavioral patterns to identify ecologically relevant scales can help identify overlooked habitat requirements such as diel changes in preference for fire history, forage availability, and cover. We show that the ecological relevancy of a given scale (e.g., a diel temporal scale) can change throughout a given extent (e.g., across seasons).

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Post-parturition habitat selection by elk calves and adult female elk in New Mexico

Cited by 21 publications

References 48 publications

Desert bighorn sheep lambing habitat: Parturition, nursery, and predation sites

Desert bighorn sheep lambing habitat: Parturition, nursery, and predation sites

Association of moose parturition and post‐parturition habitat with calf survival

Identifying ecologically relevant scales of habitat selection: diel habitat selection in elk

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