Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park
A trophic cascade recently has been reported among wolves, elk, and aspen on the northern winter range of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, but the mech- anisms of indirect interactions within this food chain have yet to be established. We in- vestigated whether the observed trophic cascade m...
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ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:aspen_bib-1035 2023-08-27T04:08:55+02:00 Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park Fortin, Daniel Beyer, Hawthorne L Boyce, Mark S. Smith, Douglas W. Duchesne, Thierry Mao, Julie S. 1995-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/38 https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0953 unknown Hosted by Utah State University Libraries https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/38 doi:10.1890/04-0953 https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0953 Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. Aspen Bibliography aspen Canis lupus Cervus canadensis conditional logistic regression elk habitat selection movement analysis Populus tremuloides roads robust variance trophic cascade wolf Forest Sciences text 1995 ftutahsudc https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0953 2023-08-03T17:36:52Z A trophic cascade recently has been reported among wolves, elk, and aspen on the northern winter range of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, but the mech- anisms of indirect interactions within this food chain have yet to be established. We in- vestigated whether the observed trophic cascade might have a behavioral basis by exploring environmental factors influencing the movements of 13 female elk equipped with GPS radio collars. We developed a simple statistical approach that can unveil the concurrent influence of several environmental features on animal movements. Paths of elk traveling on their winter range were broken down into steps, which correspond to the straight-line segment between successive locations at 5-hour intervals. Each observed step was paired with 200 random steps having the same starting point, but differing in length and/or direction. Com- parisons between the characteristics of observed and random steps using conditional logistic regression were used to model environmental features influencing movement patterns. We found that elk movements were influenced by multiple factors, such as the distance from roads, the presence of a steep slope along the step, and the cover type in which they ended. The influence of cover type on elk movements depended on the spatial distribution of wolves across the northern winter range of the park. In low wolf-use areas, the relative preference for end point locations of steps followed: aspen stands ???? open areas ???? conifer forests. As the risks of wolf encounter increased, the preference of elk for aspen stands gradually decreased, and selection became strongest for steps ending in conifer forests in high wolf-use areas. Our study clarifies the behavioral mechanisms involved in the trophic cascade of Yellowstone’s wolf–elk–aspen system: elk respond to wolves on their winter range by a shift in habitat selection, which leads to local reductions in the use of aspen by elk. Text Canis lupus Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU Ecology 86 5 1320 1330 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
op_collection_id |
ftutahsudc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
aspen Canis lupus Cervus canadensis conditional logistic regression elk habitat selection movement analysis Populus tremuloides roads robust variance trophic cascade wolf Forest Sciences |
spellingShingle |
aspen Canis lupus Cervus canadensis conditional logistic regression elk habitat selection movement analysis Populus tremuloides roads robust variance trophic cascade wolf Forest Sciences Fortin, Daniel Beyer, Hawthorne L Boyce, Mark S. Smith, Douglas W. Duchesne, Thierry Mao, Julie S. Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park |
topic_facet |
aspen Canis lupus Cervus canadensis conditional logistic regression elk habitat selection movement analysis Populus tremuloides roads robust variance trophic cascade wolf Forest Sciences |
description |
A trophic cascade recently has been reported among wolves, elk, and aspen on the northern winter range of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, but the mech- anisms of indirect interactions within this food chain have yet to be established. We in- vestigated whether the observed trophic cascade might have a behavioral basis by exploring environmental factors influencing the movements of 13 female elk equipped with GPS radio collars. We developed a simple statistical approach that can unveil the concurrent influence of several environmental features on animal movements. Paths of elk traveling on their winter range were broken down into steps, which correspond to the straight-line segment between successive locations at 5-hour intervals. Each observed step was paired with 200 random steps having the same starting point, but differing in length and/or direction. Com- parisons between the characteristics of observed and random steps using conditional logistic regression were used to model environmental features influencing movement patterns. We found that elk movements were influenced by multiple factors, such as the distance from roads, the presence of a steep slope along the step, and the cover type in which they ended. The influence of cover type on elk movements depended on the spatial distribution of wolves across the northern winter range of the park. In low wolf-use areas, the relative preference for end point locations of steps followed: aspen stands ???? open areas ???? conifer forests. As the risks of wolf encounter increased, the preference of elk for aspen stands gradually decreased, and selection became strongest for steps ending in conifer forests in high wolf-use areas. Our study clarifies the behavioral mechanisms involved in the trophic cascade of Yellowstone’s wolf–elk–aspen system: elk respond to wolves on their winter range by a shift in habitat selection, which leads to local reductions in the use of aspen by elk. |
format |
Text |
author |
Fortin, Daniel Beyer, Hawthorne L Boyce, Mark S. Smith, Douglas W. Duchesne, Thierry Mao, Julie S. |
author_facet |
Fortin, Daniel Beyer, Hawthorne L Boyce, Mark S. Smith, Douglas W. Duchesne, Thierry Mao, Julie S. |
author_sort |
Fortin, Daniel |
title |
Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park |
title_short |
Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park |
title_full |
Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park |
title_fullStr |
Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in Yellowstone National Park |
title_sort |
wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cacade in yellowstone national park |
publisher |
Hosted by Utah State University Libraries |
publishDate |
1995 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/38 https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0953 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Aspen Bibliography |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/38 doi:10.1890/04-0953 https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0953 |
op_rights |
Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0953 |
container_title |
Ecology |
container_volume |
86 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1320 |
op_container_end_page |
1330 |
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1775349864845017088 |