Abstract
Predators can influence populations through top-down effects, but most large predators have been extirpated from the range of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)). Hunters have filled this predatory role, but also can indirectly influence prey species. Indirect behavioral responses can include altered resource selection, space use, or movement. Herein, we developed a controlled study that contained both temporal and spatial risk levels to assess how deer behavior changes relative to temporal periods of risk. Total distance travelled and microrange area over 2-day periods were used to determine the general effects of hunting season on deer spatial behavior. Generally, distance travelled, microrange area, and exploratory behavior decreased during the course of the study, with the greatest decrease occurring during the active 16-day hunting period. Despite potential risk and disturbance from hunters, deer maintained site fidelity to previously established ranges and did not expand microrange areas. These data indicate that deer recognize threats from humans on the landscape and adapt behavioral strategies by minimizing movement and exhibiting high residency times in well-established ranges, factors known to influence harvest susceptibility. This information can be used to assess potential impacts from hunting for management purposes, but also to test the adaptive ability of animals to risk.
Highlights
Most ecosystems are influenced by human intervention; a primary example of this is the extirpation of large terrestrial predators (Ripple et al 2014)
Total distance traveled (m) over a 2-day period was best described by a third-order polynomial relationship that was related to time (Table 2, Fig. 3), which corresponded with variable periods of hunter presence (Table 1)
Examples from this study1 revealed the varying movement patterns associated with different levels of standard deviation (SD)⌬net displacement (ND), where higher standard deviation of net displacement (SD⌬ND) was associated with greater mobility and lower SD⌬ND was associated with encamped behavior
Summary
Most ecosystems are influenced by human intervention; a primary example of this is the extirpation of large terrestrial predators (Ripple et al 2014). In this case, human hunters have taken on the dominant predatory role, resulting in an alternative form of predation risk to prey (Frid and Dill 2002; Ripple and Beschta 2004). One area of wildlife movement ecology that is currently understudied is how human presence on the landscape creates potential risk effects and subsequently influences wildlife movement.
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