Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.

In the Northern Rockies of the United States, predators like wolves (Canis lupus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) have been implicated in fluctuations or declines in populations of game species like elk (Cervus canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). In particular, local distributions of...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Collin J Peterson, Michael S Mitchell, Nicholas J DeCesare, Chad J Bishop, Sarah S Sells
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/265ba07aa899440690ee202c1b74bbe7
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:265ba07aa899440690ee202c1b74bbe7
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:265ba07aa899440690ee202c1b74bbe72021-12-02T20:06:32ZHabitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0254827https://doaj.org/article/265ba07aa899440690ee202c1b74bbe72021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254827https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203In the Northern Rockies of the United States, predators like wolves (Canis lupus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) have been implicated in fluctuations or declines in populations of game species like elk (Cervus canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). In particular, local distributions of these predators may affect ungulate behavior, use of space, and dynamics. Our goal was to develop generalizable predictions of habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions across western Montana. We hypothesized both predator species would select habitat that maximized their chances of encountering and killing ungulates and that minimized their chances of encountering humans. We assessed habitat selection by these predators during summer using within-home range (3rd order) resource selection functions (RSFs) in multiple study areas throughout western Montana, and tested how generalizable RSF predictions were by applying them to out-of-sample telemetry data from separate study areas. Selection for vegetation cover-types varied substantially among wolves in different study areas. Nonetheless, our predictions of 3rd order selection by wolves were highly generalizable across different study areas. Wolves consistently selected simple topography where ungulate prey may be more susceptible to their cursorial hunting mode. Topographic features may serve as better proxies of predation risk by wolves than vegetation cover-types. Predictions of mountain lion distribution were less generalizable. Use of rugged terrain by mountain lions varied across ecosystem-types, likely because mountain lions targeted the habitats of different prey species in each study area. Our findings suggest that features that facilitate the hunting mode of a predator (i.e. simple topography for cursorial predators and hiding cover for stalking predators) may be more generalizable predictors of their habitat selection than features associated with local prey densities.Collin J PetersonMichael S MitchellNicholas J DeCesareChad J BishopSarah S SellsPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 7, p e0254827 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Collin J Peterson Michael S Mitchell Nicholas J DeCesare Chad J Bishop Sarah S Sells Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.
description	In the Northern Rockies of the United States, predators like wolves (Canis lupus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) have been implicated in fluctuations or declines in populations of game species like elk (Cervus canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). In particular, local distributions of these predators may affect ungulate behavior, use of space, and dynamics. Our goal was to develop generalizable predictions of habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions across western Montana. We hypothesized both predator species would select habitat that maximized their chances of encountering and killing ungulates and that minimized their chances of encountering humans. We assessed habitat selection by these predators during summer using within-home range (3rd order) resource selection functions (RSFs) in multiple study areas throughout western Montana, and tested how generalizable RSF predictions were by applying them to out-of-sample telemetry data from separate study areas. Selection for vegetation cover-types varied substantially among wolves in different study areas. Nonetheless, our predictions of 3rd order selection by wolves were highly generalizable across different study areas. Wolves consistently selected simple topography where ungulate prey may be more susceptible to their cursorial hunting mode. Topographic features may serve as better proxies of predation risk by wolves than vegetation cover-types. Predictions of mountain lion distribution were less generalizable. Use of rugged terrain by mountain lions varied across ecosystem-types, likely because mountain lions targeted the habitats of different prey species in each study area. Our findings suggest that features that facilitate the hunting mode of a predator (i.e. simple topography for cursorial predators and hiding cover for stalking predators) may be more generalizable predictors of their habitat selection than features associated with local prey densities.
format	article
author	Collin J Peterson Michael S Mitchell Nicholas J DeCesare Chad J Bishop Sarah S Sells
author_facet	Collin J Peterson Michael S Mitchell Nicholas J DeCesare Chad J Bishop Sarah S Sells
author_sort	Collin J Peterson
title	Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.
title_short	Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.
title_full	Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.
title_fullStr	Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.
title_full_unstemmed	Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.
title_sort	habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western montana.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/265ba07aa899440690ee202c1b74bbe7
work_keys_str_mv	AT collinjpeterson habitatselectionbywolvesandmountainlionsduringsummerinwesternmontana AT michaelsmitchell habitatselectionbywolvesandmountainlionsduringsummerinwesternmontana AT nicholasjdecesare habitatselectionbywolvesandmountainlionsduringsummerinwesternmontana AT chadjbishop habitatselectionbywolvesandmountainlionsduringsummerinwesternmontana AT sarahssells habitatselectionbywolvesandmountainlionsduringsummerinwesternmontana
_version_	1718375350463889408

Habitat selection by wolves and mountain lions during summer in western Montana.

Ejemplares similares