Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate
Abstract How animals use their range can have physiological, ecological, and demographic repercussions, as well as impact management decisions, species conservation, and human society. Fidelity, the predictable return to certain places, can improve fitness if it is associated with high‐quality habit...
Published in: | Ecology and Evolution |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/article/52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b 2023-05-15T15:15:17+02:00 Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate Kyle Joly Eliezer Gurarie D. Alexander Hansen Matthew D. Cameron 2021-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/article/52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/article/52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 12, Pp 8183-8200 (2021) adhesion caribou conservation fidelity migration productivity Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 2022-12-31T14:52:22Z Abstract How animals use their range can have physiological, ecological, and demographic repercussions, as well as impact management decisions, species conservation, and human society. Fidelity, the predictable return to certain places, can improve fitness if it is associated with high‐quality habitat or helps enable individuals to locate heterogenous patches of higher‐quality habitat within a lower‐quality habitat matrix. Our goal was to quantify patterns of fidelity at different spatial scales to better understand the relative plasticity of habitat use of a vital subsistence species that undergoes long‐distance migrations. We analyzed a decade (2010–2019) of GPS data from 240 adult, female Western Arctic Herd (WAH) caribou (Rangifer tarandus) from northwest Alaska, U.S.A. We assessed fidelity at 2 spatial scales: to site‐specific locations within seasonal ranges and to regions within the herd's entire range by using 2 different null datasets. We assessed both area and consistency of use during 6 different seasons of the year. We also assessed the temporal consistency of migration and calving events. At the scale of the overall range, we found that caribou fidelity was greatest during the calving and insect relief (early summer) seasons, where the herd tended to maximally aggregate in the smallest area, and lowest in winter when the seasonal range is largest. However, even in seasons with lower fidelity, we found that caribou still showed fidelity to certain regions within the herd's range. Within those seasonal ranges, however, there was little individual site‐specific fidelity from year to year, with the exception of summer periods. Temporally, we found that over 90% of caribou gave birth within 7 days of the day they gave birth the previous year. This revealed fairly high temporal consistency, especially given the spatial and temporal variability of spring migration. Fall migration exhibited greater temporal variability than spring migration. Our results support the hypothesis that higher fidelity to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Rangifer tarandus Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ecology and Evolution 11 12 8183 8200 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
adhesion caribou conservation fidelity migration productivity Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
adhesion caribou conservation fidelity migration productivity Ecology QH540-549.5 Kyle Joly Eliezer Gurarie D. Alexander Hansen Matthew D. Cameron Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
topic_facet |
adhesion caribou conservation fidelity migration productivity Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract How animals use their range can have physiological, ecological, and demographic repercussions, as well as impact management decisions, species conservation, and human society. Fidelity, the predictable return to certain places, can improve fitness if it is associated with high‐quality habitat or helps enable individuals to locate heterogenous patches of higher‐quality habitat within a lower‐quality habitat matrix. Our goal was to quantify patterns of fidelity at different spatial scales to better understand the relative plasticity of habitat use of a vital subsistence species that undergoes long‐distance migrations. We analyzed a decade (2010–2019) of GPS data from 240 adult, female Western Arctic Herd (WAH) caribou (Rangifer tarandus) from northwest Alaska, U.S.A. We assessed fidelity at 2 spatial scales: to site‐specific locations within seasonal ranges and to regions within the herd's entire range by using 2 different null datasets. We assessed both area and consistency of use during 6 different seasons of the year. We also assessed the temporal consistency of migration and calving events. At the scale of the overall range, we found that caribou fidelity was greatest during the calving and insect relief (early summer) seasons, where the herd tended to maximally aggregate in the smallest area, and lowest in winter when the seasonal range is largest. However, even in seasons with lower fidelity, we found that caribou still showed fidelity to certain regions within the herd's range. Within those seasonal ranges, however, there was little individual site‐specific fidelity from year to year, with the exception of summer periods. Temporally, we found that over 90% of caribou gave birth within 7 days of the day they gave birth the previous year. This revealed fairly high temporal consistency, especially given the spatial and temporal variability of spring migration. Fall migration exhibited greater temporal variability than spring migration. Our results support the hypothesis that higher fidelity to ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kyle Joly Eliezer Gurarie D. Alexander Hansen Matthew D. Cameron |
author_facet |
Kyle Joly Eliezer Gurarie D. Alexander Hansen Matthew D. Cameron |
author_sort |
Kyle Joly |
title |
Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
title_short |
Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
title_full |
Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
title_sort |
seasonal patterns of spatial fidelity and temporal consistency in the distribution and movements of a migratory ungulate |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/article/52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Rangifer tarandus Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Rangifer tarandus Alaska |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 12, Pp 8183-8200 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.7650 https://doaj.org/article/52003bd8879d40a2a0b9c00bf0242d1b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7650 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
8183 |
op_container_end_page |
8200 |
_version_ |
1766345645430407168 |