Behavioral ecology of disturbed landscapes: the response of territorial animals to relocation

Abstract

Intraspecific territorial interactions are common for a large variety of wildlife species. This often results in high-quality habitat being occupied by dominant individuals, with subordinates relegated to lower quality habitat. The role that these territorial interactions play in influencing the redistribution of animals that have been evicted from their native home ranges remains unclear. My goals were to determine (1) how the density of conspecifics in the new habitats impacts resettlement patterns and (2) to what extent prior dominance status is maintained when an animal is forced to relocate. I relocated white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) from high-quality, oak-dominated hardwood and lower quality, white pine forests to novel sites and released them along the ecotone of these two habitat types. I relocated mice first in the presence and then in the absence of a natural density of resident mice. Habitat selection and resource acquisition of relocated mice were assessed via mark-recapture livetrapping and passive integrated transponder tagging. Relocated mice selected high-quality habitat significantly more often when resident mice were absent, illustrating the importance of territorial interactions for determining resettlement patterns of relocated individuals. Data on resource acquisition also reflected the competitive influence of resident mice--relocated mice were significantly more successful accessing food resources in the treatment without residents. The habitat of origin did not significantly impact habitat selection or resource acquisition, indicating that all relocated individuals were at a disadvantage compared to residents. Copyright 2005.