Life Sciences Commons^™

Modelling Non-Euclideanmovement And Landscape Connectivity In Highly Structured Ecological Networks, Chris Sutherland, Angela Fuller, J. Royle

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

1. Movement is influenced by landscape structure, configuration and geometry, but measuring distance as perceived by animals poses technical and logistical challenges. Instead, movement is typically measured using Euclidean distance, irrespective of location or landscape structure, or is based on arbitrary cost surfaces. Arecently proposed extension of spatial capture-recapture (SCR)models resolves this issue using spatial encounterhistories of individuals to calculate least-cost paths (ecological distance: Ecology, 94, 2013, 287) thereby relaxingthe Euclidean assumption. We evaluate the consequences of not accounting for movement heterogeneity whenestimating abundance in highly structured landscapes, and demonstrate the value of this approach for estimatingbiologically realistic space-use patterns …

Modelling Non-Euclideanmovement And Landscape Connectivity In Highly Structured Ecological Networks, Chris Sutherland, Angela Fuller, J. Royle

Chris Sutherland

Plasticity In Female Mate Choosiness: A Result Of Variation In Perceived Predation Risk And The Interaction Of Female Age And Male Density, Ashley Atwell

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In many species, female mate choices can be a strong source of sexual selection. Females often prefer a certain male phenotype, and this can be due to benefits females gain from mating with preferred males. However, such benefits can sometimes be outweighed by the cost of searching for a preferred male. These costs and benefits often change concomitantly with changes in environmental (e.g., predator abundance and conspecific density) and internal factors (e.g., female age). Thus, female mate choosiness (the degree to which preferences for certain males are expressed) should often be plastic. Plasticity in female mate choosiness may be complicated …