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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Predicting Mountain Lion Resource Selection And Abundance In North America, William Connor O'Malley
Predicting Mountain Lion Resource Selection And Abundance In North America, William Connor O'Malley
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The relationship between habitat quality and density is well documented in lower trophic levels but to what extent it can be extended to higher trophic levels is unknown. I tested the relationship between habitat quality, home-range size and density using a wide-ranging, well-studied, top carnivore, the mountain lion (Puma concolor). First, I created a second-order resource selection function (RSF) for mountain lions in their current North American range using GPS collar data from 476 individuals in 20 study sites and remotely-sensed landscape data. I used the RSF and home range estimates derived from collared animals to quantify mountain …
Selection Of Forage And Avoidance Of Predation Risk By Partially Migratory Mule Deer, Collin Jeffrey Peterson
Selection Of Forage And Avoidance Of Predation Risk By Partially Migratory Mule Deer, Collin Jeffrey Peterson
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Migration by ungulates has traditionally been thought of as a strategy that increases access to forage quality or reduces exposure to risk of predation, but the benefits of migration may be waning globally. In partially migratory populations, the persistence of both migrant and resident strategies is an intriguing ecological phenomenon, because migrants and residents often face contrasting fitness consequences. Partial migration is common in mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), a species that has experienced widespread declines across the western United States during recent decades. Mule deer seldom switch between migratory strategies throughout their lifetime, which may make them less resilient to …
Life On The Edge: Risk Of Predation Drives Selection Of Habitat And Survival Of Neonates In Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, Shannon Forshee
Life On The Edge: Risk Of Predation Drives Selection Of Habitat And Survival Of Neonates In Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, Shannon Forshee
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Long-term viability of endangered populations requires development of effective management strategies that target the population vital rate with the highest potential to influence population trajectories. When adult survival is high and stable, juvenile recruitment is the vital rate with the greatest potential to improve population trajectories. For my thesis I examined how lactating Sierra Nevada Bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis sierra) balance forage and predation risk during the neonatal period. I first identified resource selection strategies employed by lactating females to promote survival of neonates and then determined the primary factors affecting survival of neonates. I found lactating females selected for …