Patterns Associated with Habitat Selection by Peregrine Falcons in Central West Greenland

• Main Author: Wightman, Catherine Strahl
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: ScholarWorks 2001
• Subjects: Ornithology; Greenland
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/449; https://boisestate.on.worldcat.org/v2/oclc/47293146

Animals depend on habitat resources for survival and reproduction (Anderson and Gutzwiller 1994); therefore, access to adequate combinations of resources is an important determinant of the distribution and abundance of animals (Manly et al. 1993, Litvaitis et al. 1994). Habitat resources include, but are not limited to, physical characteristics of the environment, vegetation, and prey availability (Morrison et al. 1998). In 1933, Lack suggested that animals might recognize suitable habitats based on features of those habitats, and his ideas led to the concept of habitat selection. Habitat selection is the process of habitat choice by an animal (Manly et al. 1993) and can be measured when an animal uses a resource disproportionately to its availability (Johnson 1980). Habitat selection relates to habitat suitability (Krebs 1984); therefore, identifying which features are associated with selected habitats indicates which combination of features may be most suitable to those animals. An understanding of habitat choices by animals, and the cues they might use to make these choices, is fundamental to the fields of ecology, conservation biology, and natural resource management. When evaluating habitat selection, it is common to simply assume that resources associated with selected habitats provide fitness benefits, such as better reproduction and survival rates, to the animal, but this may be misleading (Litvaitis et al. 1994, Garshelis 2000). Animals may use certain features disproportionately to their availability even if those resources do not provide measurable fitness benefits. Therefore, while habitat selection studies may identify those features associated with the animal's environment, researchers need to evaluate the fitness benefits associated with selected habitats to identify features that may be important in the quality of a habitat (Van Home 1983). Scale is also an important consideration in habitat selection studies (Johnson 1980, Wiens 1989, Bissonette 1997). Factors important in selection may vary at ...