Wildlife Movements & Space Use What are the different types of movements? What affects wildlife movements? How do wildlife movements relate to spatial distributions and habitat use? How does understanding wildlife movements help us? Movements & Space Use Types Home Range Critical areas Territories Hierarchies Dispersal Migration Nomadism Space = Welfare Factor? Movements & Space Use Home Range Area traversed by an animal during its normal daily activities Fulfill all requirements Food, cover, water, space, mates, etc. No sallys or temporary movements Importance? Movement rates within vary by species & temporally Movements & Space Use Home Range How many? Why? (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) Movements & Space Use Home Range How many? Why? Sexual segregation (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) Movements & Space Use Home Range Fidelity km 2004 Home-range 2005 Home-range Coyote Movements & Space Use Home Range Variation in size: why? Larger > smaller Gregarious > solitary Carnivores > herbivores Males > females Age? Season? Resources? Conditions? Population density? Movements & Space Use Home Range Who cares? Spatial requirements Movements & Space Use Home Range Who cares? Habitat relationships (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) Movements & Space Use Home Range Critical Area Core or key area Part(s) of the home range where limiting resources or conditions are located Concentrated movements Importance? (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) Movements & Space Use Home Range Territory Part or all of a home range that is defended against others of the same or different species Not all species Defended by individuals, pairs, or groups Always vs. seasonal Why have one? Cost vs. benefits Size & resources Movements & Space Use Home Range Territory Importance? MVP Photo by Allan O'Connell & Andrew Gilbert, USGS Movements & Space Use Home Range Territory Hierarchies Pecking orders Despotism Effects on territories? A B C D A BDC Movements & Space Use Dispersal A one-way movement, where an animal abandons its home range in search of new one Emigration (E) Immigration (I) Migration? Inter- and intra- specific differences Who? Poorly understood Movements & Space Use Dispersal A one-way movement, where an animal abandons its home range in search of new one Emigration (E) Immigration (I) Migration? Inter- and intra- specific differences Who? Poorly understood Movements & Space Use Dispersal Active vs. passive Movements & Space Use Dispersal Why? Movements & Space Use Dispersal Importance & management implications Overcrowding Rescue effects Recolonization Range expansion Inbreeding Negative Other Movements & Space Use Migration Two (multi)-way movements, usually between seasonal home- ranges Not all species North-South? Why? Cost vs. benefits Predictable Short-stopping? Importance? (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) Movements & Space Use Migration Importance & management implications Movements & Space Use Migration Importance & management implications e.g., NA Waterfowl Management Plan Flyways (1) Atlantic (2) Mississippi (3) Central (4) Pacific Other Management Units (5) Alaska (6) Canada (7) Mexico Movements & Space Use Migration Importance & management implications Migration routes Mississippi Flyway National Wildlife Refuge Canada Goose Migration Corridor Stop over sites Movements & Space Use Nomadism Opportunistic movements in response to habitat resources and conditions Home-range? Australian bustard Polar bear African wild dog (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) Movements & Space Use Dispersion The distribution of organisms in space Related to movements? Types Random Regular, even, uniform, overdispersed Aggregated, contagious, clumped, underdispersed Difference? Importance? Movements & Space Use Dispersion Random Equal probability of an organism occurring anywhere in space Independent of the position of other organisms Fairly even distribution Due to? Movements & Space Use Dispersion Regular, even, uniform, overdispersed Individuals are more evenly spaced than expected based on chance Due to? Movements & Space Use Dispersion Aggregated, contagious, clumped, underdispersed Individuals are closer together than expected by chance Due to? Movements & Space Use Dispersion Temporal changes Movements & Space Use Dispersion Most common type? Scale-dependent Why? Importance? Movements & Space Use Barriers Unusable habitat (matrix) Thick cover Roads Water Fences Other Elephant conservation in Africa Movements & Space Use Activity Patterns & Biological Clocks Circadian rhythms What time is it? Circannual cycle What day/season is it? Environmental cues: Photoperiod Hour of Day Movement Rate (km/hr) Coyotes Month of Year Migratory Activity of Coopers Hawks JanMayMarNovJulSep Movements & Space Use Jaguar feeding ecology: the distribution of predator & prey through time & space A case study So what!