Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves
Abstract Animal movements, needed to acquire food resources, avoid predation risk, and find breeding partners, are influenced by annual and circadian cycles. Decisions related to movement reflect a quest to maximize benefits while limiting costs, especially in heterogeneous landscapes. Predation by...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:adbb3c254b6d46c0a78327c1d3bbf1ee 2024-09-15T17:36:10+00:00 Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves Mireille Gagnon Frédéric Lesmerises Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent 2024-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10909 https://doaj.org/article/adbb3c254b6d46c0a78327c1d3bbf1ee EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10909 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.10909 https://doaj.org/article/adbb3c254b6d46c0a78327c1d3bbf1ee Ecology and Evolution, Vol 14, Iss 2, Pp n/a-n/a (2024) Alces alces americana biological periods daily phases habitat selection space use Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10909 2024-08-05T17:49:56Z Abstract Animal movements, needed to acquire food resources, avoid predation risk, and find breeding partners, are influenced by annual and circadian cycles. Decisions related to movement reflect a quest to maximize benefits while limiting costs, especially in heterogeneous landscapes. Predation by wolves (Canis lupus) has been identified as the major driver of moose (Alces alces) habitat selection patterns, and linear features have been shown to increase wolf efficiency to travel, hunt, and kill prey. However, few studies have described moose behavioral response to roads and logging in Canada in the absence of wolves. We thus characterized temporal changes (i.e., day phases and biological periods) in eastern moose (Alces alces americana) habitat selection and space use patterns near a road network in a wolf‐free area located south of the St. Lawrence River (eastern Canada). We used telemetry data collected on 18 females between 2017 and 2019 to build resource selection functions and mixed linear regressions to explain variations in habitat selection patterns, home‐range size, and movement rates. Female moose selected forest stands providing forage when movement was not impeded by snow cover (i.e., spring/green‐up, summer/rearing, fall/rut) and stands offering protection against incidental predation during calving. In winter, home‐range size decreased with an increasing proportion of stands providing food and shelter against harsh weather, limiting the energetic costs associated with movement. Our results reaffirmed the year‐round aversive effect of roads, even in the absence of wolves, but the magnitude of this avoidance differed between day phases, being lower during the “dusk‐night‐dawn” phase, perhaps due to a lower level of human activity on and near roads. Female moose behavior in our study area was similar to what was observed in landscapes where moose and wolves cohabit, suggesting that the risk associated with humans, perceived as another type of predator, and with incidental predators (coyote Canis ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Canis lupus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ecology and Evolution 14 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Alces alces americana biological periods daily phases habitat selection space use Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Alces alces americana biological periods daily phases habitat selection space use Ecology QH540-549.5 Mireille Gagnon Frédéric Lesmerises Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
topic_facet |
Alces alces americana biological periods daily phases habitat selection space use Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Animal movements, needed to acquire food resources, avoid predation risk, and find breeding partners, are influenced by annual and circadian cycles. Decisions related to movement reflect a quest to maximize benefits while limiting costs, especially in heterogeneous landscapes. Predation by wolves (Canis lupus) has been identified as the major driver of moose (Alces alces) habitat selection patterns, and linear features have been shown to increase wolf efficiency to travel, hunt, and kill prey. However, few studies have described moose behavioral response to roads and logging in Canada in the absence of wolves. We thus characterized temporal changes (i.e., day phases and biological periods) in eastern moose (Alces alces americana) habitat selection and space use patterns near a road network in a wolf‐free area located south of the St. Lawrence River (eastern Canada). We used telemetry data collected on 18 females between 2017 and 2019 to build resource selection functions and mixed linear regressions to explain variations in habitat selection patterns, home‐range size, and movement rates. Female moose selected forest stands providing forage when movement was not impeded by snow cover (i.e., spring/green‐up, summer/rearing, fall/rut) and stands offering protection against incidental predation during calving. In winter, home‐range size decreased with an increasing proportion of stands providing food and shelter against harsh weather, limiting the energetic costs associated with movement. Our results reaffirmed the year‐round aversive effect of roads, even in the absence of wolves, but the magnitude of this avoidance differed between day phases, being lower during the “dusk‐night‐dawn” phase, perhaps due to a lower level of human activity on and near roads. Female moose behavior in our study area was similar to what was observed in landscapes where moose and wolves cohabit, suggesting that the risk associated with humans, perceived as another type of predator, and with incidental predators (coyote Canis ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mireille Gagnon Frédéric Lesmerises Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent |
author_facet |
Mireille Gagnon Frédéric Lesmerises Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent |
author_sort |
Mireille Gagnon |
title |
Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
title_short |
Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
title_full |
Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
title_fullStr |
Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
title_sort |
temporal variations in female moose responses to roads and logging in the absence of wolves |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10909 https://doaj.org/article/adbb3c254b6d46c0a78327c1d3bbf1ee |
genre |
Alces alces Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Alces alces Canis lupus |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 14, Iss 2, Pp n/a-n/a (2024) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10909 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.10909 https://doaj.org/article/adbb3c254b6d46c0a78327c1d3bbf1ee |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10909 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1810487569238982656 |