Abstract:
While territoriality is one of the key mechanisms influencing carnivore space use, most studies quantify resource selection and movement in the absence of conspecific influence or territorial structure. Our analysis incorporated social information in a resource selection framework to investigate mechanisms of territoriality and intra-specific competition on the habitat selection of a large, social carnivore. We fit integrated step selection functions to 3-h GPS data from 12 collared African wild dog packs in the Okavango Delta and estimated selection coefficients using a conditional Poisson likelihood with random effects. Packs selected for their neighbors\' 30-day boundary (defined as their 95% kernel density estimate) and for their own 90-day core (defined as their 50% kernel density estimate). Neighbors\' 30-day boundary had a greater influence on resource selection than any habitat feature. Habitat selection differed when they were within versus beyond their neighbors\' 30-day boundary. Pack size, pack tenure, pup presence, and seasonality all mediated how packs responded to neighbors\' space use, and seasonal dynamics altered the strength of residency. While newly-formed packs and packs with pups avoided their neighbors\' boundary, older packs and those without pups selected for it. Packs also selected for the boundary of larger neighboring packs more strongly than that of smaller ones. Social structure within packs has implications for how they interact with conspecifics, and therefore how they are distributed across the landscape. Future research should continue to investigate how territorial processes are mediated by social dynamics and, in turn, how territorial structure mediates resource selection and movement. These results could inform the development of a human-wildlife conflict (HWC) mitigation tool by co-opting the mechanisms of conspecific interactions to manage space use of endangered carnivores.
摘要:
虽然地域性是影响食肉动物空间利用的关键机制之一,大多数研究在没有特定影响或地域结构的情况下量化资源选择和移动。我们的分析将社会信息纳入资源选择框架,以调查大型栖息地选择的地域性和种内竞争机制,社会食肉动物。我们将集成的步长选择函数拟合到来自OkavangoDelta中12个带领子的非洲野狗包的3小时GPS数据,并使用具有随机效应的条件泊松似然估计选择系数。为其邻居的30天边界(定义为其95%内核密度估计)和其自己的90天内核(定义为其50%内核密度估计)选择的包。邻居\'30天边界对资源选择的影响大于任何栖息地特征。当他们在邻居的30天边界之内与之外时,栖息地的选择有所不同。包装尺寸,包任期,小狗的存在,和季节性都介导了包对邻居空间使用的反应,季节性动态改变了居住权的强度。虽然新形成的背包和带小狗的背包避开了邻居的边界,较旧的包装和那些没有选择的小狗。与较小的包相比,较大的相邻包的边界也选择了更强的包。包装内的社会结构对它们如何与特定物种相互作用有影响,以及它们在整个景观中的分布。未来的研究应该继续调查地域过程是如何由社会动态介导的,反过来,地域结构如何中介资源选择和流动。这些结果可以通过选择特定的相互作用机制来管理濒危食肉动物的空间使用,从而为人类与野生动植物冲突(HWC)缓解工具的开发提供信息。