Abstract
ContextThe analysis of individual movement choices can be used to better understand population-level resource selection and inform management.ObjectivesWe investigated movements and habitat selection of 13 bobcats in Vermont, USA, under the assumption individuals makes choices based upon their current location. Results were used to identify “movement-defined” corridors.MethodsWe used GPS-collars and GIS to estimate bobcat movement paths, and extracted statistics on land cover proportions, topography, fine-scale vegetation, roads, and streams within “used” and “available” space surrounding each movement path. Compositional analyses were used to determine habitat preferences with respect to landcover and topography; ratio tests were used to determine if used versus available ratios for vegetation, roads, and streams differed from 1. Results were used to create travel cost maps, a primary input for corridor analysis.ResultsForested and scrub-rock land cover were most preferred for movement, while developed land cover was least preferred. Preference depended on the composition of the “available” landscape: Bobcats moved > 3 times more quickly through forest and scrub-rock habitat when these habitats were surrounded by agriculture or development than when the available buffer was similarly composed. Overall, forest edge, wetland edge and higher stream densities were selected, while deep forest core and high road densities were not selected. Landscape-scale connectivity maps differed depending on whether habitat suitability, preference, or selection informed the travel cost map.ConclusionsBoth local and landscape scale land cover characteristics affect habitat preferences and travel speed of bobcats, which in turn can inform management and conservation activities.
Highlights
Maintaining and restoring the status of wide-ranging carnivore populations are among the most pressing conservation issues we face today (Weber and Rabinowitz 1996; Kareiva 2002; Beier et al 2008; McRae et al 2008)
Bobcats use a variety of land cover types for travel, including stream valleys and associated ridgelines (Woolf and Nielsen 2002), thick understories (Litvaitis et al 1986), and rocky ledges
Movement analysis was based on 13 bobcats (5 females and 8 males), in which 12 individuals recorded movements in both diurnal and nocturnal periods
Summary
Maintaining and restoring the status of wide-ranging carnivore populations are among the most pressing conservation issues we face today (Weber and Rabinowitz 1996; Kareiva 2002; Beier et al 2008; McRae et al 2008). Conservation planners have long recognized that corridors have the capacity to facilitate animal movement and population persistence in landscapes that are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation (Beier and Noss 1998; Palomeres 2001; LaPoint et al 2013). To achieve these goals, a fundamental understanding of how animals move through their environment is needed (Allen and Singh 2016). Circuit theory likewise has been used to identify corridors and movement pinch points (McRae et al 2008)
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