Home range scaling: intraspecific and comparative trends.

Abstract

Intraspecific and intrasexual variation in home range size, body mass and ecological productivity is examined in three selected species of Carnivora (Felis rufus: Canis latrans; Ursus americanus), reflecting different diets. We then compare the intraspecific results with prior cross-species studies. Home range size and body mass inFelis rufus are positively and significantly correlated, similar to other comparative studies. For both intraspecific and intrasexual analyses of all three species, home range size and latitude are strongly correlated. Home range size scales with latitude more steeply as the proportion of meat increases in the diet of each species. That is, the slope of home range size on latitude is greatest in the meat-eatingFelis rufus followed by a shallower slope in the omnivorousCanis latrans and the most shallow slope in the frugivorous/folivorousUrsus americanus. These differences in slope are consistent with models of trophic level biomass change with variation in productivity, and parallel the dietary differences observed in cross-species differences in home range.