Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.

Knowing the influence of intrinsic and environmental traits on animals' movement is a central interest of ecology and can aid to enhance management decisions. The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a vulnerable mammal that presents low capacity for physiological thermoregulation and us...

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Autores principales:	Aline Giroux, Zaida Ortega, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira-Santos, Nina Attias, Alessandra Bertassoni, Arnaud Léonard Jean Desbiez
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/bac65a87c51e432db0e84ab730d42398
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:bac65a87c51e432db0e84ab730d423982021-12-02T20:17:53ZSexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0253345https://doaj.org/article/bac65a87c51e432db0e84ab730d423982021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253345https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Knowing the influence of intrinsic and environmental traits on animals' movement is a central interest of ecology and can aid to enhance management decisions. The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a vulnerable mammal that presents low capacity for physiological thermoregulation and uses forests as thermal shelters. Here, we aim to provide reliable estimates of giant anteaters' movement patterns and home range size, as well as untangle the role of intrinsic and environmental drivers on their movement. We GPS-tracked 19 giant anteaters in Brazilian savannah. We used a continuous-time movement model to estimate their movement patterns (described by home range crossing time, daily distance moved and directionality), and provide an autocorrelated kernel density estimate of home range size. Then, we used mixed structural equations to integratively model the effects of sex, body mass and proportion of forest cover on movement patterns and home range size, considering the complex net of interactions between these variables. Male giant anteaters presented more intensive space use and larger home range than females with similar body mass, as it is expected in polygynous social mating systems. Males and females increased home range size with increasing body mass, but the allometric scaling of intensity of space use was negative for males and positive for females, indicating different strategies in search for resources. With decreasing proportion of forest cover inside their home ranges, and, consequently, decreasing thermal quality of their habitat, giant anteaters increased home range size, possibly to maximize the chances of accessing thermal shelters. As frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and deforestation are increasing, effective management efforts need to consider the role of forests as an important thermal resource driving spatial requirements of this species. We highlight that both intrinsic and environmental drivers of animal movement should be integrated to better guide management strategies.Aline GirouxZaida OrtegaLuiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira-SantosNina AttiasAlessandra BertassoniArnaud Léonard Jean DesbiezPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0253345 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Aline Giroux Zaida Ortega Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira-Santos Nina Attias Alessandra Bertassoni Arnaud Léonard Jean Desbiez Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
description	Knowing the influence of intrinsic and environmental traits on animals' movement is a central interest of ecology and can aid to enhance management decisions. The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a vulnerable mammal that presents low capacity for physiological thermoregulation and uses forests as thermal shelters. Here, we aim to provide reliable estimates of giant anteaters' movement patterns and home range size, as well as untangle the role of intrinsic and environmental drivers on their movement. We GPS-tracked 19 giant anteaters in Brazilian savannah. We used a continuous-time movement model to estimate their movement patterns (described by home range crossing time, daily distance moved and directionality), and provide an autocorrelated kernel density estimate of home range size. Then, we used mixed structural equations to integratively model the effects of sex, body mass and proportion of forest cover on movement patterns and home range size, considering the complex net of interactions between these variables. Male giant anteaters presented more intensive space use and larger home range than females with similar body mass, as it is expected in polygynous social mating systems. Males and females increased home range size with increasing body mass, but the allometric scaling of intensity of space use was negative for males and positive for females, indicating different strategies in search for resources. With decreasing proportion of forest cover inside their home ranges, and, consequently, decreasing thermal quality of their habitat, giant anteaters increased home range size, possibly to maximize the chances of accessing thermal shelters. As frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and deforestation are increasing, effective management efforts need to consider the role of forests as an important thermal resource driving spatial requirements of this species. We highlight that both intrinsic and environmental drivers of animal movement should be integrated to better guide management strategies.
format	article
author	Aline Giroux Zaida Ortega Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira-Santos Nina Attias Alessandra Bertassoni Arnaud Léonard Jean Desbiez
author_facet	Aline Giroux Zaida Ortega Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira-Santos Nina Attias Alessandra Bertassoni Arnaud Léonard Jean Desbiez
author_sort	Aline Giroux
title	Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
title_short	Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
title_full	Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
title_fullStr	Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
title_full_unstemmed	Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
title_sort	sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/bac65a87c51e432db0e84ab730d42398
work_keys_str_mv	AT alinegiroux sexualallometricandforestcovereffectsongiantanteatersmovementecology AT zaidaortega sexualallometricandforestcovereffectsongiantanteatersmovementecology AT luizgustavorodriguesoliveirasantos sexualallometricandforestcovereffectsongiantanteatersmovementecology AT ninaattias sexualallometricandforestcovereffectsongiantanteatersmovementecology AT alessandrabertassoni sexualallometricandforestcovereffectsongiantanteatersmovementecology AT arnaudleonardjeandesbiez sexualallometricandforestcovereffectsongiantanteatersmovementecology
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Sexual, allometric and forest cover effects on giant anteaters' movement ecology.

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