Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females
Knowledge about the number of reproductive females is important for monitoring population dynamics, and can be critical for managing human–wildlife conflicts. For wolverines Gulo gulo , counts of reproductive females is the basis for estimates of population size in Scandinavia, as well as a key meas...
Published in: | Wildlife Biology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01079 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wlb3.01079 |
id |
crwiley:10.1002/wlb3.01079 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1002/wlb3.01079 2024-09-15T18:10:30+00:00 Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females Aronsson, Malin Andrén, Henrik Low, Matthew Persson, Jens 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01079 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wlb3.01079 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wildlife Biology volume 2023, issue 4 ISSN 1903-220X 1903-220X journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01079 2024-08-01T04:20:08Z Knowledge about the number of reproductive females is important for monitoring population dynamics, and can be critical for managing human–wildlife conflicts. For wolverines Gulo gulo , counts of reproductive females is the basis for estimates of population size in Scandinavia, as well as a key measure for compensation payments to Sámi reindeer‐herders in Sweden. However, documenting wolverine reproductive events in the field is challenging and requires knowledge of female denning behaviour. Furthermore, females may shift den sites, presenting difficulties in determining whether two den sites belong to the same or two neighbouring females. In this study, we used data from 18 GPS‐collared wolverine females, monitored intensively during the denning season (15 February–31 May) in 2004–2014, to provide baseline information on denning behaviour. We documented reproductive events in 32 of 54 potential denning seasons, and identified a total of 245 den sites. Females used 8.8 ± 8.5 (mean ± SD) den sites per denning season (median = 6, range: 1–28). The number of den site shifts, the distance between subsequent den sites, and the time and distance females spent away from a den site increased during the denning season; while distances between neighbouring females' den sites remained constant. From late April, the distance between consecutive den sites used by the same female overlapped with distances between neighbouring females' den sites, resulting in increased uncertainty regarding whether two den sites belonged to one or two females. Using Bayesian modelling we calculated probabilities that two den sites belonged to the same female, or neighbouring females, conditional on the time of season and the distance between den sites. These findings will allow the monitoring program to adapt its methods for determining if multiple den sites belong to one or two reproductive events, using seasonally‐dynamic threshold based on an understanding of wolverine denning behaviour. Article in Journal/Newspaper Gulo gulo Wiley Online Library Wildlife Biology 2023 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Knowledge about the number of reproductive females is important for monitoring population dynamics, and can be critical for managing human–wildlife conflicts. For wolverines Gulo gulo , counts of reproductive females is the basis for estimates of population size in Scandinavia, as well as a key measure for compensation payments to Sámi reindeer‐herders in Sweden. However, documenting wolverine reproductive events in the field is challenging and requires knowledge of female denning behaviour. Furthermore, females may shift den sites, presenting difficulties in determining whether two den sites belong to the same or two neighbouring females. In this study, we used data from 18 GPS‐collared wolverine females, monitored intensively during the denning season (15 February–31 May) in 2004–2014, to provide baseline information on denning behaviour. We documented reproductive events in 32 of 54 potential denning seasons, and identified a total of 245 den sites. Females used 8.8 ± 8.5 (mean ± SD) den sites per denning season (median = 6, range: 1–28). The number of den site shifts, the distance between subsequent den sites, and the time and distance females spent away from a den site increased during the denning season; while distances between neighbouring females' den sites remained constant. From late April, the distance between consecutive den sites used by the same female overlapped with distances between neighbouring females' den sites, resulting in increased uncertainty regarding whether two den sites belonged to one or two females. Using Bayesian modelling we calculated probabilities that two den sites belonged to the same female, or neighbouring females, conditional on the time of season and the distance between den sites. These findings will allow the monitoring program to adapt its methods for determining if multiple den sites belong to one or two reproductive events, using seasonally‐dynamic threshold based on an understanding of wolverine denning behaviour. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aronsson, Malin Andrén, Henrik Low, Matthew Persson, Jens |
spellingShingle |
Aronsson, Malin Andrén, Henrik Low, Matthew Persson, Jens Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
author_facet |
Aronsson, Malin Andrén, Henrik Low, Matthew Persson, Jens |
author_sort |
Aronsson, Malin |
title |
Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
title_short |
Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
title_full |
Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
title_fullStr |
Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
title_sort |
wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01079 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wlb3.01079 |
genre |
Gulo gulo |
genre_facet |
Gulo gulo |
op_source |
Wildlife Biology volume 2023, issue 4 ISSN 1903-220X 1903-220X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01079 |
container_title |
Wildlife Biology |
container_volume |
2023 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1810448102216171520 |