Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus)
Animals exhibit dynamic movement and activity in response to environmental variation including changes in reproductive opportunities, predation risk, or food availability. Yet, it remains unclear which factors are primary in affecting animal movement, and whether the relative importance of these fac...
Published in: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245 2024-09-15T18:41:47+00:00 Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) Miller, Hannah A. Gobin, Jenilee Boudreau, Melanie R. Horne, Liam G. Scholl, Lee E. Seguin, Jacob L. Sonnega, Samuel Krebs, Charles J. Boonstra, Rudy Kenney, Alice J. Jung, Thomas S. Boutin, Stan Murray, Dennis L. 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution volume 12 ISSN 2296-701X journal-article 2024 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245 2024-07-09T04:03:11Z Animals exhibit dynamic movement and activity in response to environmental variation including changes in reproductive opportunities, predation risk, or food availability. Yet, it remains unclear which factors are primary in affecting animal movement, and whether the relative importance of these factors are consistent through time. We tracked snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus ) using GPS telemetry during eight summers spanning a hare population cycle (2015–2022) in southwestern Yukon, Canada, to determine associations between environmental variation and hare movement and home range size. Hare density varied 25-fold during the study and home range size increased markedly during low hare density, especially for males. Both sexes retained similar core space use and linearity of movements, but at low densities males had greater and more variable movement rates and time spent travelling. Trail cameras revealed that annual changes in hare movement were also correlated with relative abundance of lynx ( Lynx canadensis ) and coyotes ( Canis latrans ). However, hare detection rates within a season were not closely associated with seasonal variation in predator detection. Observed differences between male and female hares in some metrics highlighted that different life histories and reproductive behavior are likely the main drivers of hare movement dynamics. Therefore, fitness rewards associated with successful mate search and reproduction appear to outweigh risks associated with increased movement, even in highly variable environments where costs of prioritizing reproduction-related activities are notably high and variable. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lynx Yukon Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 12 |
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Animals exhibit dynamic movement and activity in response to environmental variation including changes in reproductive opportunities, predation risk, or food availability. Yet, it remains unclear which factors are primary in affecting animal movement, and whether the relative importance of these factors are consistent through time. We tracked snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus ) using GPS telemetry during eight summers spanning a hare population cycle (2015–2022) in southwestern Yukon, Canada, to determine associations between environmental variation and hare movement and home range size. Hare density varied 25-fold during the study and home range size increased markedly during low hare density, especially for males. Both sexes retained similar core space use and linearity of movements, but at low densities males had greater and more variable movement rates and time spent travelling. Trail cameras revealed that annual changes in hare movement were also correlated with relative abundance of lynx ( Lynx canadensis ) and coyotes ( Canis latrans ). However, hare detection rates within a season were not closely associated with seasonal variation in predator detection. Observed differences between male and female hares in some metrics highlighted that different life histories and reproductive behavior are likely the main drivers of hare movement dynamics. Therefore, fitness rewards associated with successful mate search and reproduction appear to outweigh risks associated with increased movement, even in highly variable environments where costs of prioritizing reproduction-related activities are notably high and variable. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miller, Hannah A. Gobin, Jenilee Boudreau, Melanie R. Horne, Liam G. Scholl, Lee E. Seguin, Jacob L. Sonnega, Samuel Krebs, Charles J. Boonstra, Rudy Kenney, Alice J. Jung, Thomas S. Boutin, Stan Murray, Dennis L. |
spellingShingle |
Miller, Hannah A. Gobin, Jenilee Boudreau, Melanie R. Horne, Liam G. Scholl, Lee E. Seguin, Jacob L. Sonnega, Samuel Krebs, Charles J. Boonstra, Rudy Kenney, Alice J. Jung, Thomas S. Boutin, Stan Murray, Dennis L. Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) |
author_facet |
Miller, Hannah A. Gobin, Jenilee Boudreau, Melanie R. Horne, Liam G. Scholl, Lee E. Seguin, Jacob L. Sonnega, Samuel Krebs, Charles J. Boonstra, Rudy Kenney, Alice J. Jung, Thomas S. Boutin, Stan Murray, Dennis L. |
author_sort |
Miller, Hannah A. |
title |
Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) |
title_short |
Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) |
title_full |
Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) |
title_fullStr |
Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) |
title_sort |
cyclic dynamics drive summer movement ecology of snowshoe hares (lepus americanus) |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245/full |
genre |
Lynx Yukon |
genre_facet |
Lynx Yukon |
op_source |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution volume 12 ISSN 2296-701X |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1419245 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
12 |
_version_ |
1810486170812940288 |