| Summary: | Abstract of the article Spatiotemporal patterns of hunting and predation risk are mediated by the physical landscape, with hunting risk often associated with habitat features contrasting those linked to risk from large carnivores. Contrasting risk patterns from hunters and large carnivores can also vary in time, which may allow prey species to adjust anti-predator strategies not only in risky places but also during risky times. We examined whether moose (Alces alces) in south-central Scandinavia adjusted diel habitat selection during and after the hunting season in response to contrasting human hunting and wolf (Canis lupus) predation risks. We found evidence for a diel and seasonal shift in habitat selection of moose, consistent with a behavioural adaptation to no hunting risk at night and after the hunting season. We found only partial evidence that moose responded to the seasonal and spatial variation in wolf predation risk. Moose selected habitats of both high and low wolf predation risk during and after the hunting season. Hunting risk was therefore the main driver of moose responses during the hunting season while decreasing in importance during times and in areas when hunting did not occur. However, since we did not find evidence for a diel or seasonal shift in habitat selection consistent with an increase in the importance of wolf predation risk during the night and after the hunting season, our study is in line with the notion that moose in Scandinavia are currently naïve to wolves. Our study shows the importance of including the effects of humans in studies of predator-prey dynamics in anthropogenic landscapes. An increased understanding of the risk effects arising from humans and large carnivores and the responses of prey might be important for managing ungulate populations, since behaviours aimed at reducing exposure to risk may also affect crucial demographic traits like growth and reproduction. This is especially important considering the return of large carnivores to anthropogenic landscapes.
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