Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle
Quantifying spatial and temporal variation in habitat suitability is crucial to understand changes in animal distribution and to inform conservation and management initiatives, especially for species occupying regions profoundly impacted by climatic and environmental change. A detailed understanding...
Published in: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Elsevier
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 https://doaj.org/article/d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 2023-05-15T15:01:52+02:00 Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle Larissa T. Beumer Floris M. van Beest Mikkel Stelvig Niels M. Schmidt 2019-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 https://doaj.org/article/d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419300538 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 https://doaj.org/article/d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 18, Iss , Pp - (2019) Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 2022-12-31T14:50:36Z Quantifying spatial and temporal variation in habitat suitability is crucial to understand changes in animal distribution and to inform conservation and management initiatives, especially for species occupying regions profoundly impacted by climatic and environmental change. A detailed understanding of the environmental conditions shaping seasonal habitat suitability of free-ranging muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), a key species in the Arctic tundra ecosystem, is currently lacking. We applied the maximum entropy modelling algorithm (MaxEnt) to build seasonal species distribution models (SDMs) over four years to quantify variation in habitat suitability in time and space. Suitable habitat was predicted based on location data from 27 GPS-collared adult female muskoxen in northeast Greenland and the spatial distribution of topographic variables and landcover within the study area. Overall, our results highlight distinct seasonal differences in both the spatial extent and distribution of suitable muskox habitat. Suitable space was smallest and spatially most clustered during autumn, and increased in extent and dispersion throughout the snow-covered period until peaking in summer. Nonetheless, the importance of environmental variables influencing habitat suitability was consistent across inter-annual and seasonal scales as habitat suitability was consistently predicted to be highest in vegetated, flat to moderately rugged terrain at low to medium elevation (<500–600 m.a.s.l.) close to the coast (<5–10 km). One year with extraordinary large amounts of snow differed from the general pattern, exhibiting markedly smaller areas of suitable habitat and higher spatial clustering. The results support the notion that adult female muskoxen are able to lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle due to the close proximity of suitable habitats across all seasons. However, above-average snow depths appear to be a potential bottleneck limiting access to suitable habitat, with consequences even beyond the snow-covered season. Our study ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greenland muskox ovibos moschatus Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Greenland Global Ecology and Conservation 18 e00647 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Larissa T. Beumer Floris M. van Beest Mikkel Stelvig Niels M. Schmidt Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Quantifying spatial and temporal variation in habitat suitability is crucial to understand changes in animal distribution and to inform conservation and management initiatives, especially for species occupying regions profoundly impacted by climatic and environmental change. A detailed understanding of the environmental conditions shaping seasonal habitat suitability of free-ranging muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), a key species in the Arctic tundra ecosystem, is currently lacking. We applied the maximum entropy modelling algorithm (MaxEnt) to build seasonal species distribution models (SDMs) over four years to quantify variation in habitat suitability in time and space. Suitable habitat was predicted based on location data from 27 GPS-collared adult female muskoxen in northeast Greenland and the spatial distribution of topographic variables and landcover within the study area. Overall, our results highlight distinct seasonal differences in both the spatial extent and distribution of suitable muskox habitat. Suitable space was smallest and spatially most clustered during autumn, and increased in extent and dispersion throughout the snow-covered period until peaking in summer. Nonetheless, the importance of environmental variables influencing habitat suitability was consistent across inter-annual and seasonal scales as habitat suitability was consistently predicted to be highest in vegetated, flat to moderately rugged terrain at low to medium elevation (<500–600 m.a.s.l.) close to the coast (<5–10 km). One year with extraordinary large amounts of snow differed from the general pattern, exhibiting markedly smaller areas of suitable habitat and higher spatial clustering. The results support the notion that adult female muskoxen are able to lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle due to the close proximity of suitable habitats across all seasons. However, above-average snow depths appear to be a potential bottleneck limiting access to suitable habitat, with consequences even beyond the snow-covered season. Our study ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Larissa T. Beumer Floris M. van Beest Mikkel Stelvig Niels M. Schmidt |
author_facet |
Larissa T. Beumer Floris M. van Beest Mikkel Stelvig Niels M. Schmidt |
author_sort |
Larissa T. Beumer |
title |
Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
title_short |
Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
title_full |
Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
title_fullStr |
Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large Arctic herbivore: Environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
title_sort |
spatiotemporal dynamics in habitat suitability of a large arctic herbivore: environmental heterogeneity is key to a sedentary lifestyle |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 https://doaj.org/article/d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland muskox ovibos moschatus Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland muskox ovibos moschatus Tundra |
op_source |
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 18, Iss , Pp - (2019) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419300538 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 https://doaj.org/article/d0afc4ec0abe41b2a4b813e292029200 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00647 |
container_title |
Global Ecology and Conservation |
container_volume |
18 |
container_start_page |
e00647 |
_version_ |
1766333873428365312 |