Cumulative effects of human footprint, natural features and predation risk best predict seasonal resource selection by white-tailed deer
| dc.contributor.author | Darlington, Siobhan | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ladle, Andrew | |
| dc.contributor.author | Burton, A. Cole | |
| dc.contributor.author | Volpe, John P. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Fisher, Jason T. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-06-19T15:26:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-06-19T15:26:58Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Land modified for human use alters matrix shape and composition and is a leading contributor to global biodiversity loss. It can also play a key role in facilitating range expansion and ecosystem invasion by anthrophilic species, as it can alter food abundance and distribution while also influencing predation risk; the relative roles of these processes are key to habitat selection theory. We researched these relative influences by examining human footprint, natural habitat, and predator occurrence on seasonal habitat selection by range-expanding boreal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the oil sands of western Canada. We hypothesized that polygonal industrial features (e.g. cutblocks, well sites) drive deer distributions as sources of early seral forage, while linear features (e.g. roads, trails, and seismic lines) and habitat associated with predators are avoided by deer. We developed seasonal 2nd -order resource selection models from three years of deer GPS-telemetry data, a camera-trap-based model of predator occurrence, and landscape spatial data to weigh evidence for six competing hypotheses. Deer habitat selection was best explained by the combination of polygonal and linear features, intact deciduous forest, and wolf (Canis lupus) occurrence. Deer strongly selected for linear features such as roads and trails, despite a potential increased risk of wolf encounters. Linear features may attract deer by providing high density forage opportunity in heavily exploited landscapes, facilitating expansion into the boreal north. | |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Faculty | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Field research was primarily supported by InnoTech Alberta (IA), Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP). It was also supported by the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada AUPRF, and MEG Energy. SD was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) CGS scholarship and a MITACS Canada Accelerate Grant. JTF and AL were supported in part by the Oil Sands Monitoring Program, and this research does not necessarily reflect the views of that program. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Darlington, S., Ladle, A., Burton, A. C., Volpe, J. P., & Fisher, J. T. (2022). Cumulative effects of human footprint, natural features and predation risk best predict seasonal resource selection by white-tailed deer. Scientific Reports, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05018-z | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05018-z | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/16629 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Scientific Reports | |
| dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
| dc.title | Cumulative effects of human footprint, natural features and predation risk best predict seasonal resource selection by white-tailed deer | |
| dc.type | Article |